King of VERT Event Sign...How Far the Sport Has Come!

©Brad Fanshaw

I went to so many BMX and Freestyle events in the early days and most were at rural out-of-the-way locations. BMX tracks were out in the boonies and freestyle events were only sometimes held at areas.

Today, huge corporations like Mountain Dew and Gillette sponsor the events and they are held in nice stadiums and have TV coverage. Just 20 years ago events like Ron Wilkerson's 2-Hip King of Vert competitions were pretty low key. Just take a look at the event sign above and it gives you a clear ideas of how it was!