Birthplace: Edmond, Oklahoma, USA
Mat Hoffman, The ride of my life, 2002: I arrived kicking and screaming on January 9, 1972. My parents wanted to call me Matthew, but rather than make me a "Jr." they left out a T: Mathew.
Mat has two brothers, Travis and Todd, and two sisters, Gina and Linda.
Mat: My first true BMX bike was a red Mongoose.
Matt Hoffman and his brothers got a six foot quarterpipe from plans found in a copy of BMX Action magazine.
Mat, The ride of my Life, 2002: The American Freestyle Association (AFA) was starting to take root, and we got word of sporadic, organized local competitions happening around Oklahoma. I entered my first contest as a novice. It was in the days when we still rode the six-foot quarterpipe, before we built "The Wall. " The contest had an eight foot-tall ramp, and I wasn't used to the height I'd hit the ramp really fast and crashed every time. On one of the slams I held onto my bars and my brake lever pinched my fingernail like a pair of pliers and tore the nail clean off. That one sucked.
In the june issue of Freestylin, a picture of 14 years old Mathew Hoffman catching some serious air, and a letter from him telling readers about his Mountain Dew sponsorship and the RAD shows his team put on.
Mat, The ride of my Life, 2002: I sent a photo of me on "The Wall" to Freest ylin' magazine and they printed it in their letters section. It was a shot some lady took at a local show; I was clocking a one-footed air about seven feet out. I was psyched.
1986 HARO TEAM.
Mat, The ride of my Life, 2002: The Haro team came through Oklahoma, and Steve Swope mom drove us to the show, to check out Tony Murray and Dennis McCoy. They let us ride their ramp with them before the demo, and I unleashed everything I had to impress the famous factory superstars. They paid me the ultimate honor, asking me to ride with them during their demo. This was the equivalent of an aspiring local guitarist being asked by Metallica to come on stage and jam. Afterward, Dennis took Steve and me to dinner and announced that he wanted to bring me on the road for the rest of their tour. I was so blown away I could barely stammer out "sure," and during dinner I was already mentally packing my gear bag for the tour. Dennis made a phone call to tell the guys at Haro the good news. He came back with a weird look on his face that said the call hadn't gone well Today, I understand how silly it must have sounded when he phoned in his request: "Hey, I found some random fourteen-year-old kid in Oklahoma who rules. Can we pick him up and take him on tour around the rest of the United States?"
AFA MASTERS NYC.
1st place 14-15 expert ramp @ 1986 AFA Masters round 4, NYC, june 1986.
Mat Hoffman, The ride of my Life, 2002: On June 29, 1986, there was a massive AFA contest scheduled in New York's Madison Square Garden. I'd been riding every day from sunup to sundown, and my friends told me this would be the comp where I'd earn a factory sponsorship. I bet my friend Page five dollars that he was wrong Then, just days before the event I crashed and broke my toe. I taped my foot up so I could ride in the contest and flew to New York with my dad, mom, and sister. I was nervous to be entering but stoked to be present around all the other riders I hit it off with Skyway rider Eddie Roman after meeting him in the stands, and we passed the time heckling bystanders and cracking corny jokes When it was time for my run, I put the butterflies out of my stomach, bowed my head down, and cranked toward the quarterpipe. A slew of can-can lookbacks, switch-handers, no-footers, no-footed can-cans, and everything else in my arsenal poured out of me Out of nowhere, the arena burst to life with applause and camera flashes. I won 14-15 Expert Ramps and lost the five dollars to Page.
Before I'd caught my breath after my run, the team managers from Skyway and Haro had approached with sponsorship offers. Haro wanted to try me out on their B Team, and let me work my way up. Skyway didn't operate like that-I would be part of their factory squad and get to go on tour, get flown to contests, and draw a salary.
SKYWAY.
Mat Hoffman joined the Skyway team.
Mat Hoffman, The ride of my Life, 2002: I signed on the line with Skyway and was soon flown to their headquarters in Redland, California. The team manager had been hyping my skills, and the owners wanted to witness their new kid in action During the show I slammed so hard I snapped my other collarbone and wound up in the hospital. Luckily, they decided to keep me on the team.
101 FREESTYLE TRICKS.
BMX Plus 101 freestyle tricks video.
KOV ENCHANTED RAMP.
1st place amateur @ 1986 2-Hip KOV round 2, Enchanted ramp, CA.
Matt wasn't 15 yet, but he was by far the raddest guy in the class. He was popping off eight- to nine-foot aerials, no-footed cancans, regular cancans, no handers and all sorts of other tricks. He was unbelievable. He was actually radder during practice than he was in his run (like he was at the Velodrome), but still rad enough in his run that there was no doubt who had won. If he stays in freestyle long enough, it's virtually a sure thing he'll be the raddest guy alive in a couple of years. He's kind of shy and quiet when you meet him, not at all what you'd expect from someone so radical.
BMX Plus! december 1986: Newcomer 14-year-old Matt Hoffman is Skyway's latest addition to its freestyle squad. He ripped in Canada: second behind Tim Rogers.
No foot cancan on the cover of Freestylin march 1987.
Cover and bio in BMX Plus! july 1987.
Matt tried doing a decade-fakie. he didn't quite make it, but he came really close.
Cancan on the cover of BMX Plus! august 1987.
No foot cancan on the cover of BMX Action october 1987.
NO HANDER ONE FOOTER.
Super BMX&Freestyle, october 1987: Of all the limbless variations we've ever seen, Matt Hoffman no hander one footer has to be one of the all-time gnarliest.
WORLD CHAMPION.
Matt Hoffman est incontestablement le roi des airs. Quand il tourne, on ne peut s'empêcher de se tenir la tête (pas pratique pour prendre des photos), Cancan déments, No Hand One Foot, No Hand puis No Foot ou No Hand puis Cancan ahurissants, No Hand ou Look Down Over the Canyon et toute une série d'autres aérials susceptibles de provoquer des arrêts cardiaques dans le public.
Mat Hoffman, The ride of my Life, 2002: It was my first time overseas, I was alone, didn't know anybody, and was hating it. The event was sponsored by Tizer, some weird British beverage, and it took place over the course of a week in seven places around England, climaxing with made-for-TV finals held in Carlisle. There were TV cameras everywhere, and each day I had to psych myself up to make it to the contests, knowing I would have to mingle, chitchat, and explain my actions for European television. I felt really timid around my fans, and as soon as the riding was over, I bolted straight to my tiny six-by-ten-foot dorm room. As I sat in my room staring at the wall, bored out of my skull, I realized something had to change. If i didn't learn to be a little more outgoing, my life was going to be pretty dry. During the week, I forced myself to interact with the promoters fans, and other riders. Gradually, I began to shed my fear of being in the limelight. I'd also been crowned the Supreme Amateur Ramp Champion of the World (whatever that meant). They also held a contest between all the winners of the week's events, and I won that, too. I was declared the Champion of the Champions.
Interview dans Bicross magazine #61 octobre 1987.
Matt Hoffman is completing double candybar airs.
1987 Holeshot contest, UK.
Bicross magazine février 1988: Le plus délirant, et de loin, ce sont les prestations de Matt Hoffman qui, je le rappelle, se donne en categorie 14 ans. Down by law, le killer vient de trouver une nouvelle manière de s'exprimer et de rétamer la concurrence. V'la t'y pas que l'aggro Skyway s'est mis dans la tête d'enchaîner plusieurs figures en aérial. Non ? Oui, il parvient ainsi à enchaîner No Hand, Cancan No Foot et No Foot. Ça vous la coupe ! Ou encore Can Can No Foot extérieur, Can Can No Foot intérieur et No Foot. Vous vous tapez la tête contre les murs ? Matt, lui, préfère sa selle en Archy Gay Air. En position de Gay Air, il se cambre en arrière en essayant de toucher le reposoir avec son casque. Déjà des bruits courent. On aurait affaire parait il a un Bioman.
no hander one footer
Matt Hoffman world champion.
Mat's dad let him build a half pipe indoors at his office building: the secret Ninja Ramp
Mat Hoffman, The Ride of my Life, 2002: The Secret Ninja Ramp was a curved slab of nirvana. The joists were solid, and I even sanded the transitions to make it smooth as glass. The thing was twenty feet wide, which sometimes wasn't wide enough When coming down off a thirteen-foot air into the ramp, you were going fast. We quickly learned (the hard way) that the roof's support posts at the edges of the ramp needed roam padding.
The ramp was ten feet tall, and we were hitting the ceiling with our airs, so the roof had to be raised to thirty-six feet. This turned the room into a big metal cave that stayed ice cold in the winter and hot in the summer. The warehouse became our clubhouse. We added a few custom touches to give it a little homeboy charm The sanitary white walls were begging for creative expression, so with a few cans of Krylon and some ladders we threw up aerosol slogans, creatures, skulls, and slang words on the interior walls. We built a catwalk from one deck to the opposite side, for photographers, deck monkeys, and coping loafers Beneath one transition I kept a graveyard of broken bike parts-the price of progress was extracted in smashed rims, fractured Haro frames, or exploded forks, at least once a week. I kept a stockpile of brand-new replacement gear on hand as well. There was a thrift store couch under one of the transitions that had miraculous properties. We dubbed it the Healing Couch, and after a bad slam, a fifteen-minute rest on H C:s nappy tweed cushions could mend aching flesh better than any pain reliever. A megawatt sound system was needed to bring the noise, so we lugged huge Peavey speaker cabinets right up onto the decks for maximum sonic enjoyment. Steve, Travis, our riding friends, and I rode the Secret Ninja Ramp day and night A steady rotation of out-of-town guests stopped in to session, too. Dennis McCoy and Joe Johnson were frequent flyers. A lot of history went down on that ramp. I stood on the deck and watched Joe pull the first tailwhip airs. Another casual session between Joe, Dennis, and I yielded a whole new style of lip tricks We were just corking around and I came up with icepicks (rear peg coping stalls), while Joe invented toothpicks (front peg coping stalls) Serendipity was flowing that day.
Matt Hoffman has made a deal to ride with Haro.
Mat, The Ride of my Life, 2002: Rhino (Ron Haro) had resigned as the Skyway team manager and was going back to work for Haro, his brother Bob's company. For years, I'd wanted to ride for Haro -the first company to create a freestyle bike, run by the guy who invented the sport. It was a pure respect thing. Adding to the appeal, Haro's roster of sponsored riders was the coolest in the world: Ron Wilkerson, Brian Blyther, Dave Nourie, Joe Johnson, Dennis McCoy... it was the dream team.
Around this time, a shady lady had entered the bike scene with high hopes of turning bike riders into Michael-Jordan-level megabrands. Despite having little clue as to what bike riding was even about, she began handling the careers of a few riders-including Joe Johnson and Dennis McCoy. Whispers of big-buck sponsorships convinced McCoy and Johnson to quit the Haro team, which left gaps in Haro's am and pro ranks and loosened up quite a bit of cash in their team rider budget. It took months for the drama to unfold, but their manager almost "managed" to torpedo their careers. It was unsettling to see two of the best riders in the sport paying their own way to contests, wearing Adidas track suits and doing demos at Chrysler dealerships, just to make a little extra money until that bazillion dollar Pepsi/Huffy deal kicked in (which, of course, never did).
But Dennis and Joe's lapse in judgment was my gain-I made a phone call to Rhino and secured a spot on the Haro team. I would remain classified as an am for at least the rest of the year, but I got a pay increase and was making about $50,000 in annual salary -approximately ten times what I earned with Skyway.
540 no hand.
Candybar lookback on the cover of American Freestyler july 1988.
Cancan lookback on the cover of American Freestyler september 1988.
Mat Hoffman on the cover of BMX Mania issue 2.
Bicross International de Paris Bercy 5, 6 novembre 1988.
Mat Hoffman, The Ride of my Life, 2002: Brian Blyther and I were lowered into the stadium from the ceiling in a boxing ring to the "Theme From Rocky" Nine thousand screaming French lunatics greeted us, and we put on a good show On the last trick, though, I did a no-hander over Brian, who was doing a 540, and something went wrong. Brian slammed, breaking his ankle.
Mat Hoffman: My first pro contest was in January of 1989 in Irvine, Calif. at the 2hip finals. And I competed amateur then pro the same day. I won two snowboards.
First pulled 900° during a contest. It was March 1989. I was 17. It was my second try. I was in Ontario Canada. It was my second pro contest. I didn't have a sponsor at the time. I had just quit riding for Haro.
Interview in Freestylin #48 april 1989.
Mat Hoffman: Matt is riding a SE PK Ripper.
I was on my way back to California with Mindy Udell (Aggroman), my girlfriend, and we stopped in Yuma, Arizona, to visit her cousins, I think. It was sitting in the town's local bike shop. I just had to have it. It was the first time I got a bike where I could glob it with stickers and do whatever I wanted. The only bad thing was paying the bill.
Roule pour Airwalk shoes.
Cover: Go #2 december 1989
BMX PLUS! COVER.
Matt Hoffman with his PK Ripper on the cover of the february 1990 issue of BMX Plus!
BACK ON HARO.
Matt Hoffman is sponsored by Haro again.
Mat Hoffman: I was sponsorless for about a year. It was a learning experience -I learned how to fix my parts really well.
Mat Hoffman: Je suis revenu chez Haro. Ils font de bons vélos et je gagne plus d'argent.
Bercy 6. Dimanche 18 mars 1990. Hoffman et Kevin Jones sont les stars us freestyle invitées.
Tente Backflip fakie et rentre Flair.
Interviews: Bicross and skate magazine n°88 mai 1990,
BMX Plus! may 1990.
Covers: Bicross and skate magazine n°88 mai 1990.
Invert issue11 june1990.
Go issue 9 july 1990 photo Spike Jonze.
FAT zine 17/18.
1990 HARO FREESTYLE TOUR.
Matt pulled flawlessly a 900 to a 540 to a tailwhip.
INVERT COVER.
Superman on the cover of Invert november 1990.
bercy 6
The Albion, april 2011: Before Mat started Hoffman Bikes he rode firstly as an amateur for Skyway and later as a professional for Haro, his childhood dream sponsor. Many would have been content with Mat’s life as a pro rider, earning a salary of $50,000 a year in the late 80s, with little responsibility and all the freedom to devote to riding. However, Mat was never satisfied riding for someone else, he wanted to do more for the BMX than just riding. “When Bob [Haro] left in 87, I was there 88 and 89, now it’s Jim Fordes company and Jim has to make money and these people don’t know where they’re going with Haro, they don’t know how to reinvent. Haro weren’t about reinventing, they were just about growth, and I was about reinventing. I was the reason why Haro had a bash guard and had pegs coming out of the forks, they were my designs. I was trying to do new things for Haro, but I would design something and by the time it got to the table and back to me, it was not what I was saying. I was getting knocked out daily, often because of bad parts. Whenever it was about designing parts, I can’t tell someone how to do it, I have to do it myself. I could have stayed at Haro and it would have been easier but I would never have got what I believed in, I’d always have to compromise. I never got into BMX to compromise. I got into BMX to dream and keep it pure whatever I dreamed about.”
HEAD FIRST.
Head First video avec un festival de tricks à une altitude minimum de 10 pieds en vert avec les premiers flairs, des 540° no hand, 540° swich hand, 540° table top et 900°, également les premiers handrails en street sur plus de 20 marches.
INTERVIEW.
Interview in Go september 1991.
Go: What's the next crazy trick you'll try ?
Mat Hoffman: (...) no-handed 900 (...)
In 1991, Mat began Hoffman Promotions. Hoffman Promotions grew rapidly and gave birth to the Hoffman Sports Association (HSA).
Found Hoffman Bikes.
BIG AIR.
Jonnie Airtime (a top motorcycle stuntman) said to Matt, "Hey, if you can get ten foot air on a ten foot ramp, you could get twenty foot on a twenty foot ramp." Matt put some thought to it and built his 21 foot tall quarterpipe. Jonnie Airtime then tows Matt up to speeds of 50mph towards the ramp, lets Matt go, and Matt hits this quarterpipe. Yes: Matt did a twenty foot aerial out of a twenty-one foot tall ramp.
Taj Mihelich, Ride BMX US #100: Mat Hoffman's big air in the Hoffman Bikes ad in issue one of Ride BMX US freaked everyone out when we first saw it. Today everyone has seen pictures of Mat doing the big airs, but you have to imagine how shocking it was the first time any of us saw it. No one could believe it was real. I mean, how the hell did he get so high? The highest air I had ever seen was maybe 14 feet and here's a picture of Mat going double that. But it was Mat, so none of us knew what to think. "There's no way someone could go that high, but it is Mat, so maybe..."
WORLDCHAMPION.
Worldchampion in Budapest, Hungary.
Mat Hoffman, The Ride of my Life, 2002: It was in Budapest, Hungary that Dennis McCoy took the worst slam I've ever seen anyone suffer. He slammed a flair and his body bounced at least one foot off the flatbottom after the impact. I joked with him later that it looked like he was trying to do a loop on the halfpipe and reenter down the opposite transition. He somehow got up under his own power, but later at the hospital it was discovered he'd broken his back. During my run I got a flat tire and had to borrow his bike. It was so small and set up so weird I could barely ride. Getting on a strange bike and having to adapt as you roll into a ramp is like trying to do cartwheels through a car wash holding a watermelon: It's awkward. Using Dennis's Mongoose, I dropped in end aired a couple feet out feeling incredibly dangerous. I got a pump off the wall and threw a no-handed 540, half-expecting to go down in flames. I pulled it by some mystery, linked a couple more tricks in my run, and decided it was best not to question that miracle. I ended up winning the contest, and as an odd bonus I was declared the world champion of mini ramps.
RIDER CUP.
Mat Hoffman, The Ride of my Life, 2002: Our next overseas travel adventure was the Rider Cup in England. The Cup was one of the first contests to blend skate and bike events together under one roof with a street course and vert ramp. Riders and skaters from all over the world were there. It was a bad contest for me for a couple of reasons. First, it started out bad-I'd blown up the transmission in my car on the way to the airport. But by the time I'd arrived in England, I was ready to work out some tension. I found the vert ramp to my liking and was quickly clocking airs fourteen feet out, doing high tailwhips, 540 variations, and keeping my legs busy kicking through, around, and over my bike. My runs were interrupted by a steady stream of shoulder-shearing slams, flat tires, and more bike borrowing. At the end of the day I took myself out for good with a flair to chainring hangup-1 pitched forward into the flatbottom and stuck out my arms to break my fall. Bad move. I didn't know it at the time, but I'd completely torn the rotator cuff and inherited arm and shoulder problems forever. I'd already had one surgery to repair my right rotator cuff, so I had a sinking feeling I was in for some more time under the knife.
1992 BS round 5 in Florida.
Matt Hoffman pulled no handed to no footed 540°. He ended his run with a no handed backflip. (cf pic)
MARRIED.
Mat got married to Jaci.
FAT zine #25 cover: Matt Hoffman (in 1992 it was still written with two T's) tailwhipping in USA shorts in Budapest, Hungary.
Matt Hoffman went for his much anticipated tailwhip backflip and came darned close to pulling it off.
42 feet high on the cover of BMX Plus! october 1993.
Mat Hoffman, mathoffman.com, april 2011: I didn’t land this solid, but I could get a foot back on the frame and roll out… This was at the “Death In The Desert” BS comp – 1st series.
After a one year competition hiatus to let his injured shoulder heal properly, Mat Hoffman was back in top form. He pulled a double tailwhip air straight to pedals, pulled a 900, did a flip fakie attempt at 3 feet, and as a last trick a triple tailwhip attempt.
WORLDS GERMANY.
Worlds 1994
- Ride BMX US april 1995
- Ride BMX UK august 1995 (Matt Hoffman riding on a wet ramp in front of a couple hundred people. This was a no handed double barspin at the backyard vert jam.)
- Ride BMX US october 1995 (extreme games)
INTERVIEW.
Ride BMX US #15 april 1995
MADD MATT.
Video Madd Matt... half géant ... , 900°, double tailwhip, ...
1995 BS ROUND 3 OKC.
Matt Hoffman rode like he was out of mind. Tailwhips from the wallride four feet out onto the quarter, a huge footplant way up onto the big hoffman logo, and a double flip attempt that once again broke him. This time, it was his wrist and his hand ...
YOUNG ENTREPENEUR OF THE YEAR.
Small Business Administration's Young Entrepreneur of the Year for 1995.
Mat Hoffman left Airwalk and is designing new shoes for none other than shoe giants Reebok under the Boks label.
OLYMPIC GAMES.
Mat was part of the team selected to take part in the closing ceremonies of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Ga.
COVER OF BMX PLUS!
Superman to fakie on the cover of BMX Plus! june 1996.
Matt is sponsored by Casio.
BOKS.
There is no more Boks shoe company. Reebok decided to pull the plug on the Boks line before the Matt Hoffman signature shoe was even released.
SALAD DAYS.
Mat Hoffman has open a shop in OKC called SALAD DAYS.
INTERVIEW.
Interview in Ride BMX US #29 august september 1997.
Et toi, comptes-tu rouler sans frein ? Non, je vais continuer à rouler avec (...)
Cancan lookback on the cover of Props #30 march april 1999.
NORA CUP.
NORA Cup #1 ramp rider.
CFB.
#1 stuntman ramp @ CFB series ; Hoffman took the title, and golden straight jacket that goes with it.
GIAVANNA.
Giavanna Katherine Hoffman was born at 9:33am Dec. 19th to Mat and Jaci Hoffman.
CFB finals Woodward
Mat has partnered with Activision to produce Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX video game.
RIDE BMX US COVER.
Ride BMX US june 2000
SPOKESMEN.
Mat Hoffman doing a no-hander at the worlds in Cologne on the cover of the Spokesmen fall issue.
DIG IT COVER.
Dig-It october 2000
Interview: Transworld BMX #1 june 2001
3rd place pro vert @ X-Games Philadelphia.
Just after successfully landing a 900 and claiming 3rd place at the 2001 X Games in Philadelphia, PA, Mat commented on camera "this may be my last competition."
Cover of Transworld BMX december 2001.
Ride BMX US april 2002
INTERVIEW.
Interviewin Cream #17 été 2002.
VIDEO.
Video Hoffman Bikes Testimony.
2002 X-GAMES.
Mat pulled the first no handed 900°.
INTERVIEW.
Mat Hoffman, the flatland interview in Ride BMX UK november 2002.
X-Games 2002, no handed 900.
Condor on the cover of Transworld BMX july 2004.
August 01, 2005 - BMX star Mat Hoffman is on the Aug. 1 cover of ESPN The Magazine — the first time an action sports athlete has been the main feature of the magazine’s cover.
Mat Hoffman indian air with plaid short and Play shinpads at the 2006 CFB on the cover of BMX Plus! october 2006. Photo by Ben Crockett.
The Albion, april 2011: On the afternoon of October 29th 2008, Mat set off in his car to collect his children from the nursery. He never arrived. Within a mile of his home Mat’s small car was hit by a truck that had run a stop sign. Having survived his many base jumps and skydives and having flat-lined from bike crashes, his life was almost taken by this seemingly mundane everyday act.
Mat Hoffman spotted at Kevin Robinson’s 40th birthday. Shorts, t-shirt, no brakes, and some chuck taylors… Photo by Jared Souney.
INTERVIEW.
The Albion april 2011.
