Place of birth : New Orleans, LA., USA.
First show
Ron : Rich and I were co-sponsored by a bike shop for racing and since we were trying tricks a lot, the owner asked us if we wanted to do a show. I mean this is back when freestyle first started. Mike Buff and R.L. Osborn were the only team out. Anyway, we said yeah, and he booked us a show at the county fair. We built our first quarterpipe a month before the show. It was only six feet tall and it didn't even have a deck but the first day we rode it, we were getting about a foot out. So, a month later we did a weekend full of shows at the fair. All kinds of people asked us if we could do shows for them and stuff. Forming 2-Hip just kind of happened after that. From that time on we had shows booked solid for months. I was kind of the team manager. I called up people to get shows and I called up the magazines and sponsors. GT was our first big ride, and then I got on Haro. Rich ended up losing interest in riding. I think he was too bogged down with school.
Ron :I met her at my first show.
2-Hip
Ron : Rich and I were pretty much unknown. We started doing shows as 2-Hip and gettin' coverage around town (Novato, California), slowly getting dialed. We picked up co-sponsors, like Vans, Dyno, and Skyway - one seemed to lead to another. We sent a LOT of resumes out. We did this one show at Sears Point Raceway, and one of the owners of Skyway saw us, took pictures back to Skyway and told Ken Coster he should get some product to us. We had already sent a resume to them so Ken wrote us a reply and sent us some stuff. We were really pumped.
No footers
Ron :When I did the firsts no footers, I went to the Venice Beach contest (back in '84) and did no footers, and people were just blown away. No one had ever done anything like that.
GT
Ron : Then we heard GT was coming out with a freestyle frame and we were TOTALLY stoked because that was a BIG thing - another company besides Haro making a freestyle bike. We were working with Bob Morales at the time because we were wearing Dyno stuff, and he recommended us to GT.
Very first show tour around the U.S. for GT.
Ron : That was just our first tour and experience it was awesome. Just the beginning...
Ron Wilkerson is on the cover of Freestylin' #1 summer 1984.
Ron Wilkerson is the business man of the Northern California freestylers. Wilkerson's the team manager and one of the tricksters for the 2-hip trick team along with Rich Avella. Both of them are factory GT mounted.
Ron : Once we got on GT, things started moving. FREESTYLIN' came out and I got on the first cover - that was REALLY cool. My mom ordered about 40 of 'em and I skipped a class and drove home to get one. I remember I was so stoked, I was drivin' 60 miles an hour down this little street tryin' to get back to school to show my friends. It was fun, 'cause we used to do shows at our school and they all knew we rode freestyle.
Interview : BMX Action august 1984
Ron : Haro lost Dominguez, and they needed someone to take his place. It was a great spot for me 'cause they needed someone to do the tours and stuff. That was when Haro bought my contract from GT.
Haro rachete le contrat de Ron chez GT pour un bon paquet de dollars.
Wilkerwhip. (?)
Cover of BMX Plus! july 1985.
Ron Wilkerson switchsided one-footed, one-handed in his final winning routine in the Frosties on the cover of BMX Action Bike july 1985.
Interview in Freestylin september 1985.
Aggressive might be one word to describe Ron Wilkerson. Some might even say pushy. Be what he may, Ron is also one of the top freestylers in the country. And his aggressiveness has helped get him there. It's his style, his personality. Wilkerson is fairly new to the game of professional freestyle, but in some ways he's a seasoned vet. His determination to be the best and to put on a good show, along with his genuine excitement for the sport, are almost unparalleled. When talking about new tricks or just something he's been working on, he can hardly keep from going out of control with enthusiasm.
Couverture et interview dans Bicross Magazine #38 novembre 1985.
Participation à Bercy 2
Cover : Super BMX&Freestyle december 1985
Jeff Carroll, Fred Blood, Ron Wilkerson (bottom left) and Woody Itson are on the first issue of Freestyle Spectacular, april 1986.
Brian Blyther over Ron Wilkerson on the april 1986 issue of BMX Plus!
Sunset cover : BMX Plus! august 1986.
LIVIN' LARGE riding, riding, riding, traveling, living VERY large...!
Birth of the Enchanted Ramp
Ron : This was my first official vert half pipe ramp and was looking for a house that would accommodate that. I found the house and BAM! We started to build the ramp even before we moved in.
Interview in Freestylin #32 december 1987.
Interview : American Freestyler december 1987
About a week before the AFA Finals at the Velodrome, Ron became a dad! Ron and Stacy are the parents of a baby girl, Tiffany Anne Wilkerson, born november 14, and weighing in at six pounds, nine ounces.
Pedal picker drop-in at the KOV round 4 in Washington, DC., october 1987.
Interview in American Freestyler april 1988
Ron is one of the few pros who owns a house. He moved into his two-bedroom wonder, in Leucadia, California, shortly after Haro sponsored him. The Haro offices are only about five miles away, so the location is super practical. The house sits on a secluded one-acre-lot. In the wilderness of "Wild"ersons' land lies a long driveway (about dragstrip length), a garage packed with things too good to throw away, and the famous "Enchanted Tree?" Yes, there's a ramp to go with that tree, and guess what it's called? Well, the "Enchanted Ramp" doesn't really need an introduction. It's hosted two big King of Vert contests, endless photo sessions, and is called the local practice spot by many. It's also Ron's personal toy. This ultimate ramp is 24 feet wide, 9-1/2 feet tall, and has 18 feet of flat bottom. With a dialed layout like that, it's no wonder you can find Ron blasting airs on it four to five hours a day. Since Ron is an overall pro, he also has to get in some flatland riding every day. That's no problem, though, especially with the killer spot he's got on the side of his house. A cemented area puts the possibility of endless ground sessions right outside his bedroom window. Inside his pad he's got all the luxuries of a normal home. A kitchen, living room, bedrooms, walls and windows all exist. The comfortable atmosphere of Ron's house isn't the only thing that stands out. A Banganolson TV and stereo combo imported from Denmark pumps out a few hundred watts of power. Four whomping speakers easily over ride the noise of the nearby freeway, but don't come close to bothering the neighbors, since they're too far away.
Cover : FAT issue 05.
The readers of BMX Plus! have voted Ron the freestyle rider of the year in 1988.
Yearly earnings : $100,000
Ron Wilkerson was the first to pull a nothing back in 1988.
Ron : I was on tour when I tried it for the first time and I pulled it on the second try. It was the next step from the no footer air to the no hander air. After that, I learned nothings on dirt, and I kept doing them on vert until my vicious 1989 nothing hang up to face.
Ron flying-out in Camarillo on the cover of BMX Plus! november 1988.
Nothing hang up to face put Ron in a week long coma in Wichita, Kansas.
Ron : It was the last contest of the year and I was all stoked. I was leading the points for the ramps and everything. So there I was, ripping through my run, and for my last trick I did a nothing. Something went wrong and I hung up, flew to the bottom of the ramp and slammed my face on the ground. I didn't even get my hands out in front of me. For two weeks after that, I was in the hospital. I had blood clots on my brain that for some reason didn't require surgery. I totally lucked out. I couldn't stop riding. As soon as I was better I just jumped on my bike again. The weird thing was that I had to relearn every single trick I knew before the crash. I tell everyone to wear full-face helmets now.
Mat Hoffman, The Ride of my Life, 2002 : Ron Wilkerson slammed on his trademark nothing air (no-hander no-footer) on an AFA quarterpipe and was laid up in a Wichita hospital with a bad head injury for two weeks. After Ron's condition stabilized my dad converted his plane into an air ambulance, hired a paramedic, and flew to get Ron and bring him home to San Diego. The whole time, plenty of people in the sport were holding their breath, hoping against hope that Ron would recover. He did. But it underlined the severe consequences of ramp riding, and most of the sport switched to full-face helmets just after that terrible crash.
Ron, Tiffany, Stacy.
1956 Mercedes 190 SL
Nothing on the cover of BMX Plus! april 1989.
After five years of riding for Haro, Ron Wilkerson quit the team and started his own bike company.
Ron : I went over to the Haro offices and I called a meeting. I told Bob Haro and Jim Ford that I was going to quit to manufacture my own line of bikes -Wilkerson Airlines. They probably expected that I wasn't going to re-sign for '90 because I've been complaining about things for so long. I guess freestyle's slow for all the companies this year and everyone's cutting back. The business end of the industry just isn't as psyched on freestyle as it used to be. The recession of the sport did them in -the money isn't there anymore. I want to be on my own so that I won't have to deal with all the pessimistic attitudes. I can do what I want now. That's about it.
Wilkerson Airlines.
Ron : It's my own bike company. I've designed a couple of bikes that were exactly the way I wanted them. The prototypes need a little refining, but production models should be available a little after this mag gets out, I guess. Yeah, that should be long enough. It'll be a totally separate company from 2-Hip-that is, the King of Vert and Meet the Street contests. Next year will be a big change for the better. I'll have a lot going on for the sport.
Ron Wilkerson's Enchanted ramp is becoming endangered. The city of Leucadia made Ron get his 20 closest neighbors signatures saying they don't have a problem with Ron's ramp.
Interview : FAT #9
Ron Wilkerson wins the NORA Cup.
Ron Wilkerson has sold the Enchanted House. Ron will still be living in San Diego. He purchased a new house in the vicinity and plans on building a monster ramp in the backyard.
In may, the long hair wich once covered Ron Wilkerson's head has now been removed.
Ron Wilkerson finished building his new halfpipe at his house in Lemon Grove, CA. He's connected two giant halves back to back with a one foot wide spine.
Ron Wilkerson fence-riding his way over a ditch in San Diego on the cover of BMX Plus! april 1991.
Moved to downtown San Francisco.
30th birthday.
Ron had a knack for pulling off the impossible. Whether it was inventing the Nothing air (during a show, nonetheless) or winging together a competition series on halfpipes that were usually screwed together just hours before the actual events. Ron flew by the seat of his pants and made you want to join him because if looked so fun. This interview is the definition of what it means to be deeply connected and committed to BMX. To read more of his insights into life, liberty, and the pursuit of funanus, look for his forthcoming book, If You Don't Crash, You're Not Trying Hard Enough.
How did BMX affect your life?
Ron Wilkerson: It's really hard to separate it from my life, because I was growing up as BMX was growing up, and it was kind of like the same thing. BMX was brand new, people making fun of you for riding those little bikes, which no one could even comprehend now. I was a pro rider getting paid to travel the world and do what I loved. It gave me opportunities and set my standards really high. That was my benchmark right there. From then on I couldn't do anything less than that.
What was your favorite photo from an issue of Freestylin'?
Ron Wilkerson: Of course it would be the cover of the first one. I don't think there was ever a photo that impacted me as much as that I won't ever forget when I saw that, getting it in the mail and freaking out. Not to mention that it was the first issue of the first magazine devoted to freestyle. And I was on the cover. Back in the day, every pro was different from every other pro. and Freestylin' covered everyone. and you covered them all as if they were equally cool.
Describe the bond that you share with Brian Blyther and Dave Nourie.
Ron Wilkerson: Those guys are brothers to me. It's interesting that some of my best memories are around the relationships I had from touring with those two. When you're touring with someone, you're with them more than the person you're married to. You work together, eat together, you do everything together. For three months or six months you're with these people all the time. We were three new pros hanging out traveling the world and living it. There's never gonna be another first generation of BMX pros.
What's the most noticeable way that BMX has changed since then?
Ron Wilkerson: Attitudes. It's a whole different thing nowadays. The easiest way to explain it is like, before, people got into it because it was unique and different. Not everyone did it. It was something special, almost like misfits. You were a BMXer. And nowadays people get into it because it's the cool thing to do. And that's very different but if I just go riding, it reconnects me back to what it was for me. I can forget about all the things I don't like or that have changed. Although, nowadays, the level of riding. holy shit! The stuff guys are doing is unbelievable.
How did you learn to push yourself and progress?
Ron Wilkerson: Freestyle wasn't really something you learned. You either want to or you don't. And I live my life the same way that I ride or have ever ridden BMX, which is pushing myself as far as I can go all the time. There's a quote. "If you're comfortable then you're doing something wrong." That's my quote for life, I was always doing as much as I possibly could. There was never anything I wished I tried because I was always trying everything I knew. Going for new things is about desire, just going for it. That's really a personality, not something you can learn or not learn. That's one of the biggest things I've learned in life, about energy. One day I got on my bike to go riding and this thought popped in my head: what would you be the most proud doing? And I was like, "I'll keep doing my bike company." I stuck with it. I've taken out loans from family members and friends and banks. Borrowing money from friends that's the worst. Not only are you putting yourself on the line, but friendship too, and someone's trust. I have some amazing people who've helped me in my life just by giving me leans when I really needed it. Some of them I'm still paying back. It's remarkable what I've done with bad credit and a bad divorce. I was able to get loans from banks unsecured just strictly by conveying the energy that we're going to do this! And that alone makes me strive to do better.
Describe what a ramp being built smells like.
Ron Wilkerson: Every time I smell plywood, it reminds me of building ramps, It's never going to go away. It's the best smell, it gives you this energy. I don't know if new school kids have that experience. Everything's already set up and made.
Pick one of your favorite contest pulling-it-off-by-the-skin-of-your-teeth stories.
Ron Wilkerson: I can't separate them because they all run into each other. But probably the biggest would be when we decided to do a vert contest on the barge in Austin There's an example of new frontiers we were forging, and we pulled it off, which was miraculous. It wasn't the best event, contest wise, but wow, what an experience that was. Someone would roll in and the whole ramp would move. Setting tip for that was just unbelievable. We'd just bought a brand new dually and a brand new ten foot tall trailer to bring the ramp from San Diego to Austin, and half way there the truck engine blew, and we had to have a new engine put in. We ended up getting there the night before the contest and stayed up all night building this ramp on a barge. Kevin Martin was the man, the one driving it out.
Do you have any disappointments or regrets?
Ron Wilkerson: No way. I don't believe in regrets Do things you want to do, and you can't have any regrets. You can have lessons and learn things and grow front that. But it's about taking risks. That's what life is about in my book: taking risks and just going for it. BMX gave me the opportunity to do something that I was so into and passionate about that I'd kill myself doing it, and then get better, and keep doing it Most people don't get to have the experience of breaking their legs or having concussions and wanting to get up and do it again I was that passionate about something that when I'd recover! I'd want to ride I was in a coma for five days once. Holy crap.
Spike, Andy, and I were all sitting around trying to pinpoint the exact nay that freestyle started to really change and slow down. The day we picked that freestyle got changed, was the day you crashed in Wichita, Kansas.
Ron Wilkerson: Yeah, now that I think about it, that was the beginning of the end And the beginning of the beginning for other people.
Was that the last AFA contest they ever did?
Ron Wilkerson: I think it was The quarterpipe was definitely done. It was done way before that I was trying to get Bob Morales to do halfpipe contests, and he, was like, "No, it's going alright, it's going good how it is. And so I started the King of Vert.
You crashed on a Nothing, right? You didn't get your hands back on?
Ron Wilkerson: Yeah. I got one hand back on the handlebars and then I hung up It was like 20 feet to face.
What memories do you have from your recovery?
Ron Wilkerson: Eddie Roman was sitting in my living room when one of those commercials for some college came on, you know, make a living, blah blah blah, And I asked Eddie, "What do I do? What's my job"" And he was blown away. He said. ''You're a pro bike rider, you travel around the world getting paid to do shows,,'' and I was just like. "I get paid to ride my bike? Whoa!'' A week or two later was the first time I rode again. It was totally scary lust going down the roll in on the Enchanted ramp I had As to completely relearn everything,
How long did that take?
Ron Wilkerson: It happened pretty quickly, because with I'i ring tricks it's all about inner confidence and knowing you can do something. That's probably the biggest part of all of it. So it took a couple months to feel comfortable, but it came pretty fast, ocean, I heard that I already did it Even tricks I'd invented, like I had to relearn the abubaca I wasn't allowed to drive for a little while, It was pretty crazy.
Did you have gnarly medical bills?
Ron Wilkerson: I don't even remember any medical bills. I guess insurance paid for it But actually it was the best crash I ever had. I crashed and I don't even remember feeling anything. It was like I was starting out again as a kid, but then progressing rapidly fast It was probably about the best thing that's ever happened to me.
How so?
Ron Wilkerson: You go through something like that and you really appreciate life. You can't ever not really appreciate it again. It lust shows you the bigger things, it shows you what's important. I was all religious beforehand, and of course that was dwindling even before the accident, but I was still in it. I still called myself a Mormon. But then after that accident t was lust like, belle, here are the things that are important, here are the things that are not important
What was the scariest part of that crash?
Ron Wilkerson: Right at that time, the whole bike business is crumbling. and I'm looking at my future I had family. kids, a life. I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to do. And I can't even really ride all the way yet. For me the crash was without a question the end of my competitive riding, because to be competitive you gotta have the eye of the tiger, that edge. After the accident, that edge was gone. I'd stilt ride for fun, and I loved riding, but the whole time I'm considering, you know, what should I do? All my sponsors arc dropping off they get no money, what am I going to do, how am I going to live? And so I made a smart decision [laughter] I started a company. I started Wi Ikerson Airlines
What do you think you've given of yourself to freestyle?
Ron Wilkerson: Even when I was making a let of money as a pro. I knew it wouldn't last We didn't know hew long we could ride. There was no one before us to look at. At 19 or 20 I was thinking I wouldn't get to ride past 25 or 26. We had no idea when we could stop And of course there are things you give up, like the style of living. But I was happy, Trying to run a bike company with ridiculously little amounts of money, that's been my life There's been times, and I'm not even that far from it now, where it's like, "How am I going to pay rent this month?" Id sit there with a stack of bills and not knew hew to pay them and I just kept working, figuring things would work out But it's not really a matter of what I gave up for freestyle, it's lust what I choose. I didn't give up anything. I put all of myself into it. It was me, it was my life, and you can't separate it.
What was your shining moment - the best thing you ever did?
Ron Wilkerson: I like to live in the present. My shining moment was last Thursday when I was riding my BMX bike from my home to the office in downtown Santa Cruz and the sun was out and it was a beautiful day. I've experienced so many astounding things in my life that I couldn't even pick one to highlight There were so many times we'd be doing demos with screaming girls. walking around being stars and people wanting to meet us. Getting 20 thousand dollar chocks in the mail. There was all that But I think my smiting moment was last week riding my bike to work. The fact I can still ride my bike, even after all the injuries, and I'm just pedaling the whole way and smiling, and no one else knows what's going on in my heart.
