Tommy Clowers

Dirtydeeds 8/18/2022 4:49pm
8/18/2022 4:49pm
bonseff wrote:
I remember back in the late 80s at Lake Whitney I was prepping a gate for my buddy. I spent about 15mins sweeping the concrete clean...
I remember back in the late 80s at Lake Whitney I was prepping a gate for my buddy. I spent about 15mins sweeping the concrete clean and stomping the rut, had it all set nicely when Clowers rolled up and claimed the spot because he had the better 1st moto results so he had the pick. I hated him for it then, but looking back on it he was probably just chillin watching me do all the work and laughing. Smart as a fox. Dude was a very fast amateur.
Haha I’ve done that before just because. There was a dad already prepping a gate for his kid who was a few riders behind me for gate pick (arenacross). Guess I felt like bein a dick that day 🤷‍♂️
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stone881
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stone881 8/18/2022 5:06pm
8/18/2022 5:06pm Edited Date/Time 8/18/2022 5:06pm
Class act and amazing talent. Had he added the backflip, he would have won a lot more contests. Very time I think of Tommy, I also think of Jeff Tilton, another class act. Tilt and Tommy made a lot of hay doing TnT demos for years.
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davermz450
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davermz450 8/18/2022 8:18pm
8/18/2022 8:18pm
About 10 years ago when I lived in SD he would be at barona oaks ripping on a yz250. Super friendly. You all remember “the great ride open” series? He was so rad in that series.
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NorCalRedRyder 8/18/2022 9:38pm
8/18/2022 9:38pm
devindavisphoto wrote:
I miss the early days of FMX and step up. Clowers, Pastrana, Clifford Adaponte (spellcheck?), Faisst, Deegan, ahh the good ole days.
Did Pastrana ever do step up?

The Shop

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NorCalRedRyder 8/18/2022 9:42pm
8/18/2022 9:42pm
TheDennisSystem wrote:
Vital is so weird lol. Hey let’s just dox his entire family wtf. Maybe just reminisce about his moto career and leave it a that.
Chris_Buehler wrote:
Pretty sure we are just reminiscing about him? Did I miss the post asking for his phone number and address? Weird indeed
Ya super weird talking about a former amatuer prodigy turn top fmx guy for many a years. Super weird. Dork.
motoxxx599 8/19/2022 9:39am
8/19/2022 9:39am
I raced with him in AX in the late 90's when he was battling in out with Mike Mason during the jump contests. His speed was just an impressive as his tricks.
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Johnny Ringo
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Johnny Ringo 8/19/2022 9:53am
8/19/2022 9:53am
devindavisphoto wrote:
I miss the early days of FMX and step up. Clowers, Pastrana, Clifford Adaponte (spellcheck?), Faisst, Deegan, ahh the good ole days.
NorCalRedRyder wrote:
Did Pastrana ever do step up?
I think he did it in 00 and 01, blew his knee out doing it at Gravity Games 02

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thatswhathappens 8/19/2022 11:13am
8/19/2022 11:13am
devindavisphoto wrote:
I miss the early days of FMX and step up. Clowers, Pastrana, Clifford Adaponte (spellcheck?), Faisst, Deegan, ahh the good ole days.
NorCalRedRyder wrote:
Did Pastrana ever do step up?
Johnny Ringo wrote:
I think he did it in 00 and 01, blew his knee out doing it at Gravity Games 02 [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2022/08/19/564641/s1200_D9C440B5_ED8B_4334_848D_DDCD560A72F0.jpg[/img]
I think he did it in 00 and 01, blew his knee out doing it at Gravity Games 02

This must’ve been what Catanzaro was trying to replicate at Straight Rhythm a few years ago… full commitment to the role, AJ’s a real method actor.
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Rabbit Run 41 8/19/2022 11:33am
8/19/2022 11:33am
I believe the step up had evolved from the cliff jumps at Palm Ave. in south San Diego. I would watch Tommy and Co.
working the cliffs and doing some crazy turn backs in the mid 80's.
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MOTOXSTATION 8/19/2022 1:26pm
8/19/2022 1:26pm
2000 Philly X Games I shot with my Olympus E10. It was a 4 megapixel camera. Created a nice 8x10. They were slow to come out with DSLR so I bought Canon but really loved the Olympus.



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MOTOXSTATION 8/19/2022 3:30pm
8/19/2022 3:30pm
He’d be jumping with a lanyard and cut level 3 gloves!
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Fourth_Floor
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Fourth_Floor 8/21/2022 6:34am
8/21/2022 6:34am
Oh man I forgot all about Tommy Clowers! Good to hear he's doing well.

I wonder what happened to a few of those guys who were staples of early FMX. Clifford Adoptonte, Mike Jones, Kris Rourke?
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aeffertz
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aeffertz 8/21/2022 10:22am
8/21/2022 10:22am
decano51 wrote:
the first RedBull helmet i fell inlove with haha [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2022/08/17/564457/s1200_gettyimages_635261_612x612.jpg[/img]
the first RedBull helmet i fell inlove with haha



What’s funny is that even as a racer, I never really even realized the amount of time you need to spend in the air to pull off these tricks. I realized these tricks were crazy but it wasn’t I tried to do a heel clicker on one of the biggest jumps I was comfortable with to realize I am spending nowhere near the amount of time it takes to pull most of the tricks these guys are doing.

The biggest jump I’ve ever hit was probably enough time to pull off this type of trick but I literally can’t imagine letting the bike fly away from me, grabbing onto the rear fender and pulling myself back into the cockpit before landing. These dudes were even crazier than I even imagined as a kid watching them.
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4DAIVIPAI2K5
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4DAIVIPAI2K5 8/21/2022 11:31am
8/21/2022 11:31am
Fourth_Floor wrote:
Oh man I forgot all about Tommy Clowers! Good to hear he's doing well. I wonder what happened to a few of those guys who were...
Oh man I forgot all about Tommy Clowers! Good to hear he's doing well.

I wonder what happened to a few of those guys who were staples of early FMX. Clifford Adoptonte, Mike Jones, Kris Rourke?
Jones is in NW Pennsylvania running a training school with his son in law.
Trevor vines has a track in ne Ohio
DiddyDaddy
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DiddyDaddy 8/22/2022 7:11am
8/22/2022 7:11am
i was lucky enough to get a Tommy Clowers 112 jersey from him when he was racing a nation at Steel city back in the day. the ugliest/ heaviest white cotton SMP jersey. hahaha
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308
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308 8/22/2022 11:54am
8/22/2022 11:54am Edited Date/Time 8/22/2022 11:55am
I couldn't find the Clowers video I was searching for but I found some other great nostalgia clips.







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IanMac138
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IanMac138 8/22/2022 12:10pm
8/22/2022 12:10pm
I have a ton of footage of Clowers laying around somewhere from Barona Oaks circa 95-97 when he was decked out in SMP. Dude was fast at the local track and had style for days. I would also catch him out in Ocotillo Wells and the jumps he would find and hit were jaw dropping. I'll try and find some of that old footage and post it up.
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kapaa10
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kapaa10 8/22/2022 2:12pm
8/22/2022 2:12pm
Adoptante got caught driving a van way over the speed limit somewhere in the midwest loaded up w 110 pounds of weed and went to prison for a long time not too long after the freestyle scene dried up for that group of guys.
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Bauer
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Bauer 8/23/2022 6:09am
8/23/2022 6:09am
Tommy is a great guy and an FMX OG. He came out and did my Big Air Kid's Fair at least a half dozen times. He, Tilton and Renner always put on a great show for the kids, then spent the afternoon visiting every patient, handing out swag and signing autographs. Love that guy! BTW, 2022 Big Air Kid's Fair is coming up on September 14 at Loma Linda University Children's Hospital. 11 am and free to the public.








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NorCalRedRyder 8/29/2022 5:59am
8/29/2022 5:59am
kapaa10 wrote:
Adoptante got caught driving a van way over the speed limit somewhere in the midwest loaded up w 110 pounds of weed and went to prison...
Adoptante got caught driving a van way over the speed limit somewhere in the midwest loaded up w 110 pounds of weed and went to prison for a long time not too long after the freestyle scene dried up for that group of guys.
Ya never a good idea to drive with that much weight through the Bible Belt while speeding with Cali plates. Not to mention he probably got profiled for his hair and the way he looked. Bummer. It's pretty sad to see what happened a lot of these OG Freestyle pioneers. A lot of them have passed to horrible stuff. I was always a Tommy fan and his SMP gear, so it's great to hear he is doing good.
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NorCalRedRyder 8/29/2022 6:16am
8/29/2022 6:16am
Look at that dickhead J Law out volunteering his time to a good cause! Jk. Who is everyone else in this picture? I think it's great to give these kids a nice show and for them not to just have another typical day in the hospital. Props to everyone who was involved in putting this together.

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bite_the_curb 8/29/2022 6:23am
8/29/2022 6:23am
NorCalRedRyder wrote:
Ya never a good idea to drive with that much weight through the Bible Belt while speeding with Cali plates. Not to mention he probably got...
Ya never a good idea to drive with that much weight through the Bible Belt while speeding with Cali plates. Not to mention he probably got profiled for his hair and the way he looked. Bummer. It's pretty sad to see what happened a lot of these OG Freestyle pioneers. A lot of them have passed to horrible stuff. I was always a Tommy fan and his SMP gear, so it's great to hear he is doing good.
x2, alot of them went down the wrong path.

i used to look up to all these guys, thought they were badasses and still do.

some of them have actually done well for themselves (deegan for example, i think justin homan has a real job and a family as well, another former mulisha guy...)

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NorCalRedRyder 8/29/2022 6:40am
8/29/2022 6:40am Edited Date/Time 8/29/2022 6:47am
Ya but the list of guys who died or went to jail is much longer and no need to mention their names here. But I'm in the same boat as you I always liked and rode moto. But the first time I watch Crusty 1 and SMP ''Disturbing the Peace" I was hooked. My entire life became about the moto lifestyle for the next 10 years.......then some small ginger from Florida came and changed the sport completely! 😆 I love RC and he even accepts the blame.
hubbardmx50
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hubbardmx50 8/29/2022 3:42pm
8/29/2022 3:42pm Edited Date/Time 8/29/2022 3:43pm
NorCalRedRyder wrote:
Did Pastrana ever do step up?
Johnny Ringo wrote:
I think he did it in 00 and 01, blew his knee out doing it at Gravity Games 02 [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2022/08/19/564641/s1200_D9C440B5_ED8B_4334_848D_DDCD560A72F0.jpg[/img]
I think he did it in 00 and 01, blew his knee out doing it at Gravity Games 02

thatswhathappens wrote:
This must’ve been what Catanzaro was trying to replicate at Straight Rhythm a few years ago… full commitment to the role, AJ’s a real method actor.
I saw that happen in person. He was so high up in the air it was crazy. Still can't believe he saved that
sumdood
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sumdood 8/29/2022 10:49pm
8/29/2022 10:49pm
kapaa10 wrote:
Adoptante got caught driving a van way over the speed limit somewhere in the midwest loaded up w 110 pounds of weed and went to prison...
Adoptante got caught driving a van way over the speed limit somewhere in the midwest loaded up w 110 pounds of weed and went to prison for a long time not too long after the freestyle scene dried up for that group of guys.
We had a little formula that could have served him well. "Only do ONE illegal thing at a time"....
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