(1987) AFA Masters Finals: Socco Freestyle Championship

1987 AFA Masters Finals @ The Velodrome which was held on November 21, 22 1987. ESPN Televised this and it may have been their first attempt in bring the Sport of Freestyle BMX to TV and the masses. It mainly focuses on a few of our Favorite Pros (R.L., Dennis, Martin, Wilkerson, Blyther Dominquez, Hofmann, ) on both Flatland and Ramp, but was heavily sponsored by "Murray" and Rich Sigur is highlighted many times. It was covered by "Super BMX & Freestyle" (March 1988 Issue)
Try not to pay to much attention to the announcers, I think they did the commentary AFTER and at times you can hear them fumbling through paper to say things like: "That was a Cherry Picker..."
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[@bluetronikk]

Im 47 now and still get the feels! This is what kids back in the 80’s did all the time! Ride!

[@Scotty-P]

Well, not "all" the time!

[@nuniyabizness2772]

The GT boys were good, like Martin and Eddie but the precision and smooth transitions that Dennis McCoy displayed was unparalleled at the time!! My favorite by far!!

[@GeorgeSmith-ze5vk]

Dennis “ The Real “ McCoy! Met him about 30 years ago in Texas .. very cool guy..

[@MormSineng]

BMX thanks 🥰🫡🤝🤝🤝

[@mikieson]

Dennis blew them all away.Not even a debate.

[@DanCohoon]

got to see him ride in person

[@ralfwith57bmx]

Oldschool bmx very cool i love it.l am 56years and drive a gt performer from 1984. This is so cool......best decade 80to88 yeaaa .VERY nice time from germany 😉 Get RAD

[@Ladysman_217]

I can hear "break the ice" playing in my head watching this.

[@sober_edc6877]

RAD

[@kevin43324332]

very cool video. Throws me back to when I was about 14 and this stuff was ALL I thought about and did.

[@jamesdojr]

Time flies... its crazy. Seems so ancient. Best era to be a kid!

[@mopar1465]

Had to wear my vans while I watched this. I can feel my hutch bear traps digging in my shins too.

[@VillaDeLaLuz]

mopar 1 I could just feel my mushroom handle bar grips in my palms... or was it my pink Ame grips? 🤔

[@azbikerider49]

Here's to shindintations! If you ride BMX you have them :)

[@ropearoni4]

Yep, shindentations . Not in swype dictionary. Got a bunch from slipped bunny hops, and missed hitchhikers.

[@ropearoni4]

My worst was a lard yard with freewheel that came around too quick to get out of the way. Looks like a worm just above the back of my ankle. Scarred for life that one.

[@BerserkerNick]

I still have scars from pedal checks

[@toddjohnson1518]

Holly shit I remember this comp! I was there down front !

[@932goldengates]

Me too Bud! It was so awesome.

[@acanadianwoodworker]

11:00 Amazing, McCoy doing balance moves and then busting out a double whiplash. Such a twilight time between the old and modern eras

[@Burnt-ve8bv]

I worked at 2 bike shops in town when I was a kid. Loved bmx and working on bikes like fanatic style. But one of the shops paid for GT to come set up their Ramps in the parking lot with all their pros to do a freestyle show. Was like my personal Heaven at that age. A small town but all the sudden the guys from bmx plus were doing airs and flatland tricks in front of me. A couple mullets were legendary too.

[@ropearoni4]

12:13 I found myself in the sideline in the misfits shirt. I remember the day well. Took about 300 pictures of the event, and met Kevin Jones in person the day before at the Pier in Redondo Beach. I was working on a trick I called a co-pilot. I show up and everyone is doing it already (and pulling it), and calling it a God trick, or Kevin the "ropearoni"

[@WilliamBarryRoberts]

Nice try, but that was me in the misfits shirt @ 12:13

[@ropearoni4]

@@WilliamBarryRoberts okay, who is that next to you? That is my friend Rick in the hat he came in 14th in expert. I have the footage I took from that angle of Dennis and most of the pros. Go get your eyes checked. Or get a copy of issue 15 of rad zone magazine the velodrome contest with all of the footage I took, including and mostly just Kevin Jones in practice. A lady at the event also took a picture of me... for the shirt, she didn't even know who the misfits were, but liked the shirt. Any other proof, case dismissed! 12:31 I'm looking down at my camera after Dennis finished, checking the film which I went through 14 rolls of 32 pictures each. I wish we had digital cameras back then so I didn't have to wait till a week later to see the shots.

[@wickidpissafilms]

The Chairman is so classy, he has great energy, a nice guy, always giving props to the dude's he's competing against - he's as much a Dennis fan as all of us. Dennis what a down to Earth, great guy, bad ass even when he's was a kid. 87 was the year of years - Mat as a kid going higher than everyone his age - Blyther vs. Wilkerson & Mike - this was the best of times. The trick tips are still helpful too - Stay RAD brothers!

[@MOUNTAINOUS]

alot of the clips in this were in the movie freestyle fanatics. i loved that video growing up. i am 46 years old and i still do flatland and i can do all the old tricks still. 6'3 and 250 pounds and i still can do old school flatland super smooth. i just made a vid doing whips all over town etc. so fun.

[@heel4reel387]

get out...im 47...i loved this shit. my bike was a tank compared to bikes today lol

[@HannibalHector714]

49 here and still riding my 1986 GT PRO WORLD TOUR. The kids around town point fingers and laugh at me because it's GT MAUI BLUE & PINK. They think I'm riding a girls bike, but I don't care. ✌🏾😎

[@DonAltopio]

​@@HannibalHector714had the 1987 in maui blue / white/ silver 😂 good bike

[@DonAltopio]

​@@HannibalHector714 might of been 1986

[@Brix2626]

Thanks a million for uploading this! Saw it on ESPN when it first aired, taped part of it and have no idea what I did with that tape. Been looking for this ever since!! THANKS A TON!!!!!!!

[@norepetitivebeats]

The bikes looked so much nicer than the modern equivalents now days.

[@nuniyabizness2772]

100% right my friend!! They all had iconic shapes, you could tell a HARO from a GT, DYNO, Redline, Mongoose, Skyway, Bully, PK Ripper and the list goes on and on. They were all unique, and could tell them apart from a block away, and although today's bikes are more technologically advanced they all look almost identical to each other. I had a HARO Master with knee saver bars. I used to sleep with it next to me lol!! Those were the days!!

[@terrybates5509]

Kinda like skateboards...... They finally found the best shape for a bike just like the Popsicle shape is the best and most efficiently working shape for a skate board......but both bikes and boards from the 80s had way more character and beauty

[@theadmiral460]

@@nuniyabizness2772 Just sold my 86 maui blue GT performer yesterday :( miss my Vertigo from the early 90s as well.. & was the only kid riding a DiamondBack in my hood

[@nuniyabizness2772]

@@theadmiral460 oh no!! Hope you got a pretty penny for it!! Those bikes are so hard to find nowadays. My brother used to ride a diamond back too lol

[@harryangel4822]

They put effort and craftsmanship in to things back then. Now it’s lazy, sloppy, stoner types that are doing everything.At the end of the day it’s all just man-made junk in a rotting Material world.

[@BASE5NYC]

Nothing like those 80s bikes. SO awesome. I got my first Pro Performer in 88. Still have it.

[@OldSchoolBMXTV]

Awesome... Still have my 88 Team Master: instagram.com/p/BdFvk6mBnG7/

[@shawnwaldrop3702]

1986 in Austin at the AFA Texas Finals, we got to see all of these guys. Up till then, I'd never seen someone go full speed into flatland tricks like Dennis McCoy. Still one of my faves.

[@LoneWolfed]

Glad to have R.L.Osborn back on a 20 inch. Freestyle is in the blood!🤘

[@rodney5454]

Brung a lot of fond memories I use to have this on tape!!! & use to watch several times a day!!!!! 💖 Thanks for sharing!!!! 💖 Bmx/Freestyle for life!!!!!

[@nandorbl]

Thank you for all videos uploaded! Thanks from Brazil,

[@manjoi7075]

Dennis mccoy my bmx hero. Cheers from Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

[@haro82]

I wish more AFA contests had been televised back then. I think this was the only one. Great stuff!

[@jamescorbett5729]

Interesting to see this. I rode freestyle throughout the 80s. Almost overnight in 1987 we all went over to skateboards. This was the end of the era. Actually surprised to see RL still riding at this point.

[@OldSchoolBMXTV]

RL just recently got back into Riding. He was not one for Social Media either, but maybe he saw the community was alive and also there is money to be made

[@nandorbl]

First of all, thank you for sharing. One thing that I love in this guys is that they have style, they have a signature, things that the guys today dont. All the new riders today looks like the same. And yes, they do amazing and unbelivable things, and I love it, but with no style, looks like robots (a blender). The only exception I see today is Ryan Nyquist, you know when it's him on the track, you dont need to tell, you dont need to ask, you know.

[@ohbogey]

Holy crap the 13 y/o me is going crazy! Thanks & all peace & goodwill to the uploader!!! Young 'uns, this is b4 foam pits & X Games, m'kaaayyy?

[@OldSchoolBMXTV]

Welcome!!!

[@GarretGrayCamera]

Wow! I totally remember this when it aired. It was one of the few times ESPN put freestyle on the air or even any freestyle on TV. I taped it because it was one of only few opportunities to see how the tricks were done that you'd see in the magazines. There was another one where the same hosts went to Taco Bell in the beginning and they invited some freestylers to a contest.

[@jrvapor]

Wow, haven't seen this in wooo, well lets say a very long time! Hope all the guys are alive and well!

[@bobbycasias3096]

If I only new .that all those bikes would be worth so much now.i miss my haro master.

[@oldsarge52]

Taking me way back - Dyno Comp '86ish

[@csj9619]

Vision Street Wear. Been a while since I've seen that logo. Gary Lewis lived across the street from me when I was a wee lad.

[@patrickdulin4179]

RIP Scott B, a true legend

[@PRINCE-ve7hb]

Amazing ! Thanks

[@workingshlub8861]

the golden age of bmx....to bad kevin jones was not really into competitions...he made everyone step up there game.

[@acanadianwoodworker]

8:56 'Kanas City' - surprising for a professional broadcast

[@ManewBlewww]

Put the 1k thumb lol And...I'm enjoying this vid like many by this precious channel!! THANKS

[@bedlambikes]

RL was a savage at this comp. At the peak of his game!

[@heavymetal600]

I taped this original airing when I was younger. I wore the this tape out.

[@aphex14]

Wasn't there a tie breaker ride off between R.L. and DMC? I can't find that footage.

[@Napthalicious]

@3:00 -R.L Osborne (Redline) says Dennis (Haro) and Martin (GT) are out there. I must be old or something to be watching this...

[@PACKERMAN2077]

5:20 _"Dennis McCoy really introduced I guess all that fast footwork on the tires. And he combines with all that rap talk"_ 😂

[@LukeSkywalker-tk8lx]

Ron Wilkerson invented it.

[@PACKERMAN2077]

@@LukeSkywalker-tk8lx yeah but did he do the "rap talk"? 🤣

[@LukeSkywalker-tk8lx]

No wrap talk. Thats the KC influence. Ron was in San Diego.

[@BIGDOXX]

Wow. I used to have a Haro Master

[@ropearoni4]

Club Homeboy - Lofter of Jive t-shirts were popular. I think it was Eddie Fiola who was "sponsored" by it. (independent i.e. no sponsors). I was told that night Dominguez "hand tightened" his wheels and rode the ramps, for this competition, but I highly suspect it was a fable. Mike D's porche magenta truck was very popular, with suicide doors, and about an inch off the ground. I have about 20 pages of pictures from that competition, my first national competition I ever watched.

[@ricktrujillo373]

Yesss!!! Mike D's Nissan got me into MiniTruckin' all those years ago... I still own my first Nissan 720 35 plus years later, and I own the actual Freestylin' magazine that they interviewed Mike in with the magenta Nissan 720 with matching bike in the bed of the truck. That truck has shaped my life for the last almost 40 years I'm actually building my son a slammed regular cab stepside S10 that's going to be murdered out(everything blacked out) Right now, he's in High School Whoever posted this... Thanks for the memories!!!!

[@ropearoni4]

@@ricktrujillo373 my brothers also slammed their Porsche magenta nissan truck due to Dominguez' truck. They always had to explain it wasn't pink, it was Porsche magenta. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gn3WZIl4j855l8k Video of it, and me riding a cw with no chain

[@TXLoneStar_]

Damn..I used to ride with these guys.

[@VillaDeLaLuz]

What a throwback... had to go bust out my Dyno and watch the movie Rad after... 😎

[@HannibalHector714]

R.I.P. (RIDE IN PARADISE) SCOTT B. ✌🏾😎

[@coolvid]

That was a real crowd pleaser

[@mattsc5383]

I did not see this when it aired, I was not alive.

[@ericdouglass1995]

Had a hard time deciding if I wanted to ride my Hutch Pro Raider or my Ronald Roskopp skateboard in the 80's.

[@PCJ7969]

Speed rims, bullseye hubs, flight crankes.. riders ready? watch the lights!

[@jwprimetime9795]

I remember watching and taping this when it first aired. Nothing against Martin but Dennis was friggen robbed. He was by far the king of flatland by this year and this run proves it.

[@drumfanatik316]

I remember taping this on VHS! 🤣🤣🤣 Can’t remember if it aired on Nickelodeon or ESPN? Still very cool and makes me want to dust off the old Haro Master!!

[@JuniorPolancoLaCoalicion]

I actually saw this first on Nickelodeon around April '88, and then a different edit on ESPN around July, same contest,slightly different commentary albeit by Ron and Scot nonetheless, and different background music. Martin's routine had some sort of upbeat jazz type tune on the ESPN edition.

[@firstinfreestyle8381]

The Chairman´s run was amazing - knew he had first place right away…….Btw is that Kevin Jones in the crowd at 7:55?

[@omarwilliams638]

OGs. 48s on DECK!!!

[@bonze1973]

Awesome vid..:)

[@hiscottyoung7677]

Three of my favs: DMC, APARIJO, THEN RL Osborne

[@randywissler9923]

I'd have to throw Eddie Fiola and Woody Itson in there and make it a top 5!!

[@hgarza1136]

glad to see I'm not the only one that thought DMC got robbed on that run

[@ropearoni4]

They only cared about touches it seemed, not difficulty. But even at 50+ years old, Dennis can still pull a 900 - now that is dedication.

[@danshehorn9813]

I keep trying to adjust the tracking on my phone

[@200016LIVE]

Thank

[@sober_edc6877]

"I'm gonna save my ass-sliding for somebody special..."

[@albertpang102]

Yeah !!!!!! 80’s BMX freestyle tricks bicycles are better than millennium freestyle bicycles nonetheless. With hot 🥵 names like : Haro Master, GT, Dyno, Mongoose, Diamond Back and Redline.

[@Mistertbones]

Lenny Batycki doing BMX? Sort of a surprise to me, as I always know him as a motorsports guy.

[@acanadianwoodworker]

12:20 Fire hydrant to cherry picker, still the most crowd hyping trick of all time

[@JKryanX]

freecoasters back in the day

[@nuniyabizness2772]

Dennis McCoy was the best!!

[@brianalva6939]

I was in this comp 15 intermediate I took 3 rd place I received a converse shoe dipped in chrome I lost that trophy I want to know if I can get video of my run

[@toddamusroberts1397]

Hope you can find it, keep trying. There was an '88 comp in Federal Way with Dave Nourie and I had made a comment on the video saying my friend was there and filmed it on VHS. He DMd me, asking if he still had it. So my friend and I got it burned on DVD and shipped it to him. He sent me some of his old pegs and bmx photos in return. So cool!

[@ExtremeDailyDrivers]

There is no way Martin or RL beat Dennis in that flatland comp. I also would have given Ron a very close second to Mike D. Ron was more consistent with his tricks, but was lacking a 540.

[@Snipology]

The chicken hook switch won the comp

[@susancorgi]

Denis mccoy was the best in flatland!

[@nuniyabizness2772]

Dennis might not have had his best run here, but even then he won hands down. Martin's only difficult trick was the chicken hook switch

[@1982daverogers]

Funny how nearly 20 years later Crossfit has the same producers.

[@bladerances5467]

i was today years old when i heard shifting on bmx bike becuse shifting is always done with a mtb and man was i shocked when it was on a race bmx bike

[@johnnybrewer2992]

What kind of bike was rich sigur riding in the demo scenes?

[@OldSchoolBMXTV]

He was on Team Murry and if I am right, he was riding a Diamond Back Strike Zone

[@wolfofrhodeislandx7462]

Wow i wonder were all those murray 3 piece crank sets went? Lol

[@jcmint1]

Dmc has the best and most difficult run. Judges were behind the times

[@NeilLB7]

This stuff sold bikes on Monday. Because I wanted a GT Performer so bad as a 13 year old I'd have done anything to get one. And I was fortunate enough to have dad buy me one for my birthday. Had to drive 2 hours to the bike shop to get it. I wasn't any good...but I had THE bike.

[@jsong1974]

Anyone know the song Dennis is riding to?

[@standardarm63]

I tried reverse top gun once. Never tried again.

[@MegaKikeGasGas]

Dam! I was 16 yrs old...... Full blown girlfriend, TIJUANA MEX was the SHIT!😎 Revolution st...WAS the best. You could hear the music bumping when you GOT TO THE BORDER BROTHA😂😂😂🎶🎵🎶🎵🎶🎵 Those days are long and gone😥😥😥😥😥

[@bigben1986]

You saw RL Osborn boomerang on the handle bars ???????? 😳😳😳😳😳😳😳

[@ropearoni4]

that was his unique version of the hanglider everyone was starting to do. Him, and Chris Day, both were doing this at the time.

[@bigben1986]

Scott Nelson and here I am thinking that I knew everything about old school BMX .... thanks a ton Scott I appreciate it

[@ropearoni4]

@@bigben1986 ask me anything. I could help answer a lot of questions one may have of the era. I published the Rad Zone freestyle 'zine for 3 years during that time. My twin brothers and I all rode all the time, and bought all the freestylin' magazines we could get (I still have all of them in a tub in my garage). I talked to Kevin a lot back then about new tricks, by phone, and yes, it was a long distance call to York, Penn. My phone bill can attest to that, but well worth it to learn about what he was working on, and riding in general. Oh, and my brothers rode the first (and nearly only) Elf Styler bikes (until they got ripped off) and Haro Masters (still my favorite ride).

[@ropearoni4]

Oh, I still ride, but never can get out of a hitchhiker, so there I stay. One day, before I am 50 it will happen! ;)

[@bigben1986]

Scott Nelson man I don’t even know where to start!!! From elf bikes to radzone zine to talking with the K ...... man you are rad!!!!! I got back into riding a few years ago and miss it so much!!! I also have my freestylin, bmx plus, and American freestyler magazines as well... glad to meet you brother man I remember bmx being my life and can you believe at age 45 I still make it an important thing to me, I just can’t let it go. Thanks for your info man. Your name seemed familiar like I heard it somewhere back in the day but then I said nah . Now look 😂😂 stay rad brother!!!

[@jcmint1]

dmc got robbed but look at the judges, guys who never rode

[@marccaruso1351]

"Totally Raidcal-l-l-l, Brah-h-h-!"

[@chrisroach8385]

Why the calling the Cherry picker a “ Firehydrant ?

[@Tweekend27]

Because he did a Fire Hydrant into a Cherrypicker.

[@emrakultheaeonstorn7430]

R.L. had DYNO pretzels on a redline 🤦‍♂️... Fired

[@byrontownsel7274]

Did Team Murray ever have a freestyle bike or did the riders just ride whatever they liked?

[@brandonholmes7157]

Is that Charlotte Motor Speedway?

[@OldSchoolBMXTV]

Velodrome, California

[@Lalofelix73]

Awesoome

[@michaell.8985]

HARO MASTER 🤙🏼🤙🏼

[@johnalenwork53]

GTV

[@marcelobiscola3590]

Show!!

[@KARMA2369]

#ScCherryPickerChallenge (Start video at 15:18)...

[@franku211rc]

I want some Socko

[@lottness31]

Dennis got robbed, his tricks had more technicaly difficulty in them. But oh well he went on to dominate for many years so he got his due.

[@WaldoUnited]

+lottness31 Well he did win the overall and get a tuck so...not so much. i agree he was the best but i got to ride with him a lot.

[@KrushKrills]

+lottness31 Yeah McCoys runs was a lot better & he didnt touch down at all either

[@sirbrad4]

Actually yeah he did, he fell off the bike completely trying to go into a backyard. 11:34. Dennis is great overall but Martin is the King of Flatland and had harder tricks that make touching down more likely due to brakes slipping. Also they cut off DMC few times and went to the crowd so tough to tell. Rick Moliterno and Martin were the flatland kings back then as far as competition goes.

[@jcmint1]

sirbrad4 harder tricks...Not a chance Dmc was doing rolling tricks which were easily more difficult

[@ropearoni4]

@@jcmint1 Back then, at this competition especially, the gliding/rolling/scuffing tricks were brand new (about a yr old), and thus, the judges would not know how to judge them against the older-school tricks, so usually they just counted how many touches and called it good.

[@Ducksauce33]

LOL, What did a hoffman say🤨24:47

[@jschmid]

I thought murray always made cheap crappy bikes. Didn't know they made cool ass bmx models before they started selling crappy bikes to walmart, kmart and every other cheap-mart in america.

[@gabrielaaron]

How tall was Martin ?

[@ropearoni4]

5' 7" or so. I met him with Woody at the Echo teach-thing they did at Montepelier, Idaho, and Woody was definitely taller, but not by more than a head.

[@ropearoni4]

i.pinimg.com/564x/1c/84/fb/1c84fbde0b3fa7444708594c0b7ea482.jpg

[@joaom.s4421]

A época da febre da bmx.

[@franciscolopez-dx4np]

Bikes. From. Those. Times. I. Think. They. Had. More Life. On. Colors. Now. I. See. Them. Less. Shine. That's my. Thinking.

[@radicalhabitoldschoolbmxap6942]

Let The Rad Days Roll on...

[@shawnrw3727]

RL and Dennis both had a way better run than Martin.

[@blacknyc22]

Awesome video but fix the tracking

[@OldSchoolBMXTV]

+Allan De Hard to fix tracking on a 30 year old VHS tape that over time you are glad still plays and does not rip.