Birthplace: Green Bay, WI, USA.
Chad, Ride BMX UK april 2006: Chris Rye didn't use that name back in the day. He went by 'Eli.' My brother was in class with him in high school and they started talking one day. Next thing I knew he was at our house fiddling in the garage doing pogos. After I saw that it was on. Got some cheap Skyway pegs that threaded on and started doing pogos al day long. I would pogo out front of my house for hours, then go to the park and do another few hours, then go downtown and do another few hours.
In the small town of Green Bay, Wisconsin resides a 17-year-old flatlander who is anything but the norm -Chad DeGroot of Baco Designs. Chad has taken his riding a step beyond and rides with flair and originality. Tricks such as the baglady (cross-footed wheelchair roll) and hijacker (crackpacker behind the seat) are examples of his somewhat demented mind going over the brink of consciousness. Take a step now into the world of Chad DeGroot and witness for yourself the freshness he provokes. The climate in Wisconsin is hatin' it according to Chad. It's too humid in the summer and too cold in the winter. Indoor skateparks, warehouses, and basements supply the needed riding areas in the winter so Chad can keep up on his riding. And keep up he does. He can be seen riding at all Rampage comps and recently attended a three-week stay where he rode with Rick Moliterno, who pushed his riding even farther. He claims that video cameras inspire him to immensely to progress. "It totally does because if we think of a new trick or link, our main goal is to get it on tape so people will see it. That way it motivates us to do the trick a lot and then we eventually get it down." Checking out Chad in the video "BacoVision II' confirms the fact that he's an inspired one. Chad not only excels at flatland, but street riding as well. He will learn anything SO fast. He used to be pretty good at street, then when we went to pick him up from his stay at Rampage, he was doing insane jumps over the box and all these complicated lip trick combos. He even did a 19-step handrail in Davenport, Iowa before our bulging eyes. Where does he see street riding going in the future? "I can see a lot of flatland tricks being combined with basic street tricks to make them even harder. Stuff like decade fufanus and a lot of combo stuff' He cites "aggressive god Rick Moliterno, Bill Neuman, Trevor Meyer, and all the guys I ride with" as his most respected riders. He wants to eventually turn Pro and is ready and willing to do whatever it takes to make it... Record for jugglers (hitchiker whips)? "Nine, but the parking lot was small and I had to go down a driveway and into the street." Favorite music? "De La Soul, Beastie Boys, AC/DC, Bach." Will we see another video from the Baco crew? "Actually, we started filming some street stuff and a little flatland. We have a lot of footage from Rampage when I was there, too. So yeah, expect another video really soon. It seems that everything is going so great with Baco. It's cool because we keep on thinking of stuff to keep it hyped."
1st place stuntboy flat @ BS round 3, Lake Owen Freestyle Camp, Wisconsin, 1992.
1st place stuntboy flat @ BS round 5, Daytona, FL, 1992.
2nd place stuntboy flat @ BS round 6, Chicago, november 1992.
Chad took second and the Stuntboy flatland title for the year.
2nd place stuntman flat @ BS round 2, Shimerville, Pennsylvania, april 1993.
Chad was riding as well as he ever has. His run was solid, clean, hard, and included tricks like a gyrator to caboose to backward wheelie to caboose again.
1st place flat A @ KOC 1993, UK.
3rd place stuntman flat @ BS round 3, Oklahoma City, september 1993.
Darkside stuff: UpsideDown Wheelie to Backpacker.
2nd place stuntman flat @ BS round 4, Chicago, IL, november 1993.
Shimerville, april 1993.
Chicago, november 1993.
3rd place stuntman flat @ BS round 1, Moreno Valley, february 1995.
Cover of Freedom #9 september 1995.
Cover of Props #10 september 1995
Interview: Ride BMX US june 1995
3rd place stuntman flat @ BS round 3, Oklahoma City, OK, september 1995.
Chad Degroot pulled upside down megaspins on the pedal to switch footed stick-b on the pedal.
Chad has switched from Poorboy to riding for UGP.
Chad Degroot part in Standard Style Cats.
3rd place stuntboys street and 2nd place stuntmen flat @ 1997 BS round 1, Providence, RI, march 1997.
Sporting the rainbow sticker that comes with the new Baco Pride video somewhere on your bike. Chad Degroot is the leader of the Rainbow Coalition and one hell of a rider. Chad rode really well in amateur street (third place) with no footed nosewheelies and big 360 and even better in pro flat (second place). Move like backwards manuals to back wheel links and darkside ticks helped keep the pride alive.
6th place flat @ X-Games, San Diego, CA, june 1997.
Summer 1997: Chad Degroot quitte Standard et roule pour Haro avec cependant un EP de chez Hoffman en attendant de dessiner un vélo de sol.
Interview: Ride BMX US #29 august september 1997.
1997 BS round 1. Photo by Sparky Clark.
2nd place stuntman flat @ BS/B3 round 3, Woodward, PA.
5th place stuntman flat @ BS/B3 round 4 and finals, Oceanside, CA.
7th place flat @ X-Games, San Diego, CA, 1998.
10th place stuntman flat @ BS round 2, Richmond, VA, may 1999.
20th place flat @ X-Games, 1999.
8th place pro flat @ BS/B3 round 1, Anaheim, CA, march 2001.
13th place pro flat @ BS/B3 round 2, Louisville, KY, april 2001.
Leigh Ramsdell, www.hsacentral.com, 2001: Chad is a unique individual. In his riding and in his personality. But he's one of my favorite people to hang out with because you just never know what's going to happen next. He's been on top of his game from the beginning and even more so now. This year at the x-games he got sixth place. Not bad, not bad at all. One time I dropped Chad's camera and when it hit the ground it broke to pieces. He didn't get mad, he just laughed and put it back together. Maybe that's why I like him because he didn't punch me in the nose.
6th place flat @ X-Games, Philadelphia, PA, august 2001.
2001 NORA cup #1 flatlander award.
Chad DeGroot shows rollback, peg wheelie, manual, nose manual, backyard, lardyard, frontyard, whiplash, side donut, decade, rollaid, and more.
4th place pro flat @ CFB round 1, Merrit Island, FL, march 2002.
www.expn.com: Degroot donned the motion capture suit with the little balls on it at Camp Woodward, PA in March 2002 for the Mirra3 video game by Acclaim Max Sports. "I would have never thought that flat would be involved in the game industry. And how to incorporate it so it will be interesting is a battle, but not impossible," says Degroot. Regarding the process Chad says it was "Soo hard to ride in that tight ass suit. The balls fall off all the time. Riding flat involves soo much movement and twisting and turning. The motion capture area is soo small, so to pull the moves off is hard."
4th place pro flat @ Backyard jam round 1, Telford, UK, march 2002.
8th place pro flat @ CFB round 2, Joliet IL, june 2002.
5th place pro flat @ EXPN Invitational round 2, Gwinnett County, GA.
Chad was voted NORA Cup winner of "Best Flatland Rider" in 2002
vicx05, www.youtube.com, november 2007: This is the part of the Props video after Chad's flatland how-to's. He's got some original ride-in and ride-outs that I've never seen anyone else do to this day.
Baco 10.
BrownHours, www.bmx-test.com, april 2004: Chad Degroot does a lot of park stuff and a little bit of flatland. He pulls a lot of tech shit at his own skatepark. It's hard to explain his part. It's so tech, but it's awesome.
Baco 10 section with Chad DeGroot from chad degroot on Vimeo.
Chad DeGroot, www.undergroundproducts.com: I live in Altamonte Springs Florida. I really like the weather here. This summer was horrible due to being inside building my new park. But otherwise you can't go wrong with beaches. When I started my park I realized that I am here for awhile so I bought a house. With the house included a girlfriend (long story how that worked out). I really like going back home (Green Bay) but, I know that I can come back to Florida and sun bath. Try and beat my tan. Should look like leather soon. Can't wait.
Interview in Dig may 2007.
Chad Degroot, www.profileracing.com, july 2009: Just completed the American dream, wife, house, baby boy and now our newest member, Coco DeGroot. Cooper (my son) can already do bar spins and really likes inlines with a soft spot for classical music and re-runs of the Cosby Show. The wife sews, sips on wine, and likes the art of pole dancing. Baby Coco doesn't really know anything yet, cept where the milk comes from and appreciates a good nap. Me, well do you really want me to get into that? I like soft sand, a stinging pilsner, some hot sass, and raw coffee in the morning. I still hate idiot music. Sorry.
