Luftgekühlt Interviews BMX Legend and Porsche Fanatic Bob Haro
Haro was there at the birth of freestyle BMX — and he made Porsche a part of the sport’s culture.
If you were a rich kid in the 1980s, you got around on a tricked-out BMX bike. If you were a rich grownup, you got around in a tricked-out Porsche. And if you were Bob Haro, well, you had more of both than you knew what to do with.
BMX was still a young sport in the 1980s when it went through one of the most drastic transformations seen in any sport. Racing gave way to freestyle, where riders invented wild, acrobatic tricks that utilized bicycles in a way never before seen.
Haro was uniquely positioned to take advantage of the growing popularity of freestyle. Freestyle required immense creativity, and Haro is about as creative as it gets. In fact, Haro invented the first specialized freestyle BMX frame in 1981 — the legendary Haro Freestyler.
In this video, Haro is interviewed by Luftgekühlt, where he explains how he got started in the business — and how Porsches became an integral part of 1980s BMX culture.
Before freestyle, BMX race bikes offered few opportunities for self-expression. Haro created number plates that, for the first time, allowed riders to customize their bikes. As Haro explains, “For me, that was an artistic product that turned into a little business.”
In addition to making a name for himself with his high-end freestyle bikes, Haro worked for BMX Action magazine. As he says, “[BMX Action] really crafted the look and the feel of the sport.” The epic, heroic action shots and the professional-looking uniforms worn by the riders gave the growing sport legitimacy.
In California, it was common to ride in empty pools. The problem is, though, not everyone has an empty in-ground pool in their neighborhood. Haro started riding ramps, and went on a world tour demonstrating how to build ramps and ride them, bringing the sport to the masses. As he says, “I took the idea, and really expanded on it — packaged it. I turned it into something portable.”
Haro is also credited with inventing flatland BMX. In flatland BMX, riders show off incredible feats of balance and coordination on the ground, instead of in the air. Flatland BMX tricks can be performed anywhere, from a garage to a parking lot.
People were making a living off of BMX, and they were proud to show off their newfound wealth and free-wheeling lifestyles on the pages of magazines like BMX Action. When pro rider Stu Thomsen jumped his bike over a Porsche 930 owned by Oakley’s Jim Jannard, the classic Porsche shape became a part of BMX culture forever.
Throughout the 1980s and beyond, the image of a freestyle bike launching over a Porsche became something of a meme within the sport. Hutch even published an ad of team rider Woody Itson driving his 911 Cabriolet with a high-dollar Trick Star in the back seat.
For Haro, being an artist, a rider, and an entrepreneur are spokes upon the same wheel. Those qualities complement each other and have made him successful.
He’s now partnered with Luftgekühlt on a line of teeshirts, featuring one of his most iconic illustrations — a Porsche, loaded for bear with enough BMX bikes to support an entire team.
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