Thanks OZ for giving me and freinds somthing to relate to,and somewhere to shine.So much talent in your family and crew my life will never be the same thank you thank you thank you. B BLYTHER

Brian Blyther,

Man, it is good to hear from you. Just seeing your name causes pictures of major aerials to flash through my head. I hope life has been good to you.

I saw/heard you announcing the (I think) X-games a month or two ago and kept telling my wife, "I think I know that guy"!

Somewhere in here I ran a few old photos of you. I think this is worth tracking the thread down and resurrecting it. Got to work out and run first (ugh). Check back later (I hope you're going to hang around) and I'll have it up.

Good to be talking with you after all these years!

Oz

P.S. Hal...You gotta change "Looking over the fence" to something like "Flying over the fence"! This guy's got more air time than a B-29!

[ January 28, 2005, 12:29 PM: Message edited by: Oz ]

Yeah on a good day...but my attitude in general...ok I have the key to this place I'm at...I guess I could goof off all day. But I need some grooming...

Yuppers.. the beard worked for me too Oz.. got me some older more experienced ones when I was 16 to 19 too! Yeeehhhaaaa... LOL.. But now I look 105 with it.. hmmmm could it have anything to do with the wrinkles that accompany it?...
C-Ya..
OM

Man, never in my wildest imagination ... finding a very small clique of guys on the "Old Roads" site back in 1998 ... did I ever figure that I'd make posts along side OM, Jeff Utterack, Guy B, Thom Lund, Cash & Carry, Turbo, Greg Hill, Stompin' Stu, Scott Clark, Toby Henderson, PK, Brian Blyther ... and Oz.

Seriously ... I'm afraid words just don't give justice to the feeling of absolute delight it gives me (most of us, eh?) to be part of these discussions.

Not that I particularly want to be 13 or 14 again ... but, you guys totally bring back what was by far the best memories of being that age.

For that ... thanks so much to all of you !!!

Kevin O'

[ January 28, 2005, 02:51 PM: Message edited by: Kevin O' ]

Kevin, has Scott Clark been on VBMX? How did I miss that? That would be far out!

Oz,

a while back ... and I think Frank Post too ... e-mail me at kevin.odonnell@zdg.com and I'll get you Scott's e-mail addy. I bet, like a lot of others, he'd be tickled to hear from you.

Check the "BMX Museum" section of this site ... then INTERVIEWS to see what we put together a couple years ago.

Scott is doing well and is a seriously good guy.

Kevin O'

I agree with Kevin. Unbelievable. I can't even get started. I just can't believe all of this has come to this...

Dear Oz

I tried the "riding by on my bike " routine. I tried the caveman/Thom Lund routine. I even tried the Mariachi serenade routine:



But it still didn't work. She won't give me the time of day and still I cannot score. Any other tips?

Lost in SD

[ March 25, 2005, 10:58 PM: Message edited by: reilley1 ]

Hey Oz, I just wanted to continue what was on here. I am just getting to the party late..... I have every one of the issues starting with #1. And back when I was a privateer, I finally got to meet you at a race in Tennessee, a few months later, I had my first picture in the best magazine, World wide. Over the years, all of the experiences that were recorded in BMXA. Just having the honor of knowing you, and being in your presence. You will never be forgotten.

John, if you get a chance check out the "Regarding Cosmo" post and you'll see how many of us feel the same way

Oz and OM,

I give thanks...from the bottom of my heart, to both of you. Somewhere thousands of miles away, there was this 15 year old kid who used to idolise the magazine, the bikes featured in them and the stories. This kid was in another world everytime he read those mags. This kid went on to be a Kuwahara-sponsored rider and won races, partly because he wanted to be like the pros that were featured so brilliantly in the magazine. 20 years later, this kid is in charge of Singapore BMX, in charge of the BMX happenings in this little island here. Oz and OM, that little kid was me.

I thank you...all of you. You made a 15 year old kid smile then, but you are making a 37 year old kid-at-heart cry now.

Alan Oliveiro
Singapore BMX

Man, John and Alano, that's really nice. You guys are starting to make me cry now. And I know Scot well enough to know he'll be blubbering his head off when he reads this.

Scot's the one on the left!

I found out about all things bmx thru oz and bicycle motocross action. I was in Iowa, surrounded by cornfields, and that mag brought the outside world of Cali and other states of bmx to me. I owe all that i know and love about 1970's and 1980's bmx to that man and that mag.

Editor of BMX Plus?

I have been told that without the beard, Oz looks like this


But I also been told that Moose Poop beer tastes like Guinness so.......

(Maybe they are related: the more Moose Poop beer ya drink the better you look)


Editor of BMX Plus...hehhe Me and Raymer will be seeing you soon down here in hell I gather..

[ March 28, 2005, 10:39 AM: Message edited by: reilley1 ]

I must say i am very impressed at all you "guys" getting so emotional...this is very good, for guys!!!

I would also like to send a Big ole' Thanks to you Oz and Scott, Stuart and Greg and all you other guys and gals in this forum for speaking so openly about your passion for bmx. We all choose our own paths and we have all gone in so many different directions but we are always brought back together in some shape or form.

I know for me, it hasnt always been the easiest path to choose, being a girl and now a grown woman in a predominantly male sport. But you know the deal, i love it, i am passionate about it and it has molded me and my life into what it is today.

So to all of you, whether i was just a little peanut trying to keep up with all of you when you were hanging with my brothers, or if i happened to be the girl who embarrassed you by beating you as a teenager or now the chick running the bike shop in Fruita...i just want to say thanks for pushing me a bit further!

And Oz, you better be coming to visit me. Thanks so much for all the incredible pics and words of wisdom.

cheers
jenny z

I'll say thanks too for the endless hours of enjoyment spent reading BMXA and thinking about what it might be like to see my own picture in there. And then it finally happened, Wendy came out to Parks and did the local thrashing clip. I can remember going to Sav on drug store and buying all 10 mags in the store that was close to 20 years ago and it seems like yesterday! I still remember that good old feeling! Thanks

Oz,
You done moving yet? Your friends here miss you.

Rad!

I'd like to echo exactly what Parks said. I did the same thing with the same issue! Still have a few copies at home. That was a dream come true.

Thanks Oz!!!

Oz,

Where are you? If you get a minute give me a shout please..

Thank you sir,

Greg

wfo and greased moose poop. where would we be without these. oz thanks for the mag. words alone cannot express the gratitude that i have for you. your mag guided my life. every month it was watch the mailbox for the next issue.hard to think about how differen things would have been if not for bmxa. once again thanks for everything.
mongo

Damn it Oz...post something, even a grunt or a body noise

Burp!

sniff..ugh..
smells like a trout belch here...

oz,i love showing my 9 yr old son my copy of bmxa from '78. it has the pikes peak article in it which i still think is totally cool. thanks for all you've done.
mike

Oz - thanks so much for being a hugely important part of the most difficult years of my life.
Being 12-14 years old can really be awful, but your magazine energized me to ride like a madman, be it on the track or a short trip down the street.
BMX as a sport kept me healthy. BMX as a lifestyle kept me broke. Thank goodness I had so many trick parts to buy - they kept me away from harmful pastimes, while luring me towards my eventual pasion and career - product design.
You and your magazine were incredibly influential in a positive way - a big thanks for all!

I had hal-i-but steak for lunch... just for the hell-of-it.
-
Wizard Publications rocks!

Ha! He speaks!

Only just joined, so very late on this thread. Originally coming from a small city way downunder we had to get all our news through BMXA. As soon as some-one had the latest issue they'd take it to school and we'd all study the pages over and over. Who would have thought 25 or so years later I would have the opportunity to discuss things with the people I read about (and wanted to be) be then. Thanks Oz and everyone else who made BMXA so great.

I don't think it can be said any better OM, but then again I don't think enough can be said about how much an icon OZ is to BMX. I remember I couldn't wait to get home from school and find my issue of BMXA in the mail. For me anyways Cali. was the MECCA of BMX. Now thinking back on it, If it was not for BMXA pretty much most of the US / world would have been outside the loop so to say. Even though I only met a few of my child hood idols a hand full of times at shows, tours or contest cause of BMXA and FREESTYLIN I got the feeling I was living in the BMX world with them and every other BMXer in the world. Hail to OZ, Scott, all the oldschool pros, and anyone who made BMX part of there live.

OZ,My Mom would put Bicycle Motocross Action as it was back then,in the window.Starting in May 79!When I got off the school bus and saw it from way down the street,I would run home.Sitting in New Jersey in the freezing snow,tracks closed.I would read the mag,with it's pictures of sunny So-Cal and dream.Eventually I broke!I would move to Cali in May 88, and actually get a photo in it for a race in Roseville.BMXA was the guidance counselor I needed..................follow your dreams.

Oz by the looks of this thread it looks like you have help shaped many of our lives .I know you have been a influence to me as much as my parents have and i thank you for that.Oz your the best thanks for making the 80'S so great.

Jeff D

The 70s too!

Dear Wiz,

All I can say to you is Thank you for being such a huge part of my life as I was growing up.
I worked in the bike industry for close to twenty years,and can trace my love of BMX and bicycles
in general,to the seeds you planted every month in the mighty BMXA.
I have been recovering from ACL replacement surgery.
Had been pretty down about things bike wise for a while,and not on VintageBMX for quite a while,could not believe how jazzed I became reading all the great posts from everyone.
It would seem that I am not alone when I say how you changed my life for the better.
The life lessons that you shared with us are such a great gift. You can not underestimate the impact you have had on so many lives.
As a very average racer from Iowa,you were able to take me places that I couldn't go to on my own.
I felt as though I had gone to many more places thanks to BMXA.
Bob Osborn, again thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything!
May God always bless you.

Bryan Franklin

Aside from agreeing with every positive thing said about you here. ...I want you to know that I am certain my High School teachers indirectly hated you. As I was typically notorius for having a copy of the mag hidden within a text book facade! Open a math book, BMXA. Open a history book, BMXA....

I can't imagine going through high school without it. It was more than a magazine, it was a friend that helped you through the day, wherever you were, with a loyalty rivaled only by a Golden Retriever.

And it taught lessons not offered in "real" school. Winning, losing, dreaming, creating....And lets not forget it's contributions to the English Language itself.

I still know what "Triparidicus Diatodads" are because of you!!!! (Lest ye forget...they are the bugs that grow in your helmet liner). And although it may not be listed in my Funk and Wagnel, It was listed where it affected us most. (and it is still the single most effective catch phrase to prevent people from borrowing your helmet! ..."You won't mind the Triparidicus Diatodads will you?")

You affected our very essence of who we were, and who we became in ways far beyond simple description.

Except maybe one.....

That is.....
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moto

[ November 22, 2005, 07:50 PM: Message edited by: JohnnyJohnson OMAS DirtSlinger ]

Since the outcome of my recent tutoring with Reilley regarding the word MOTO ended with the indisputable conclusion that the word MOTO is a huge compliment to bikes, concepts, actualities, styles, and people, and seems to be rivaled only by the words, Radical, Gnarly, and Outrageous. And the closest mathamatical approximation of the word Moto would be, Moto=Cool. I would say you two approve of my choice of words I have presented to OZ.

Words are easy to assemble when they are sincere. But I am glad you (Johnny and Reilley) approve none the less, as they were sincere, OZ deserves every one of them!