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Non Moto - Got to travel as a photographer with the World Champion NY State Little League team on their trips to Yankee Stadium, the World Trade Center and Citi Field in NYC - those kids were treated like gold!
I have never lost a limbo contest.
Moto related:
Pretty sure I am the 1st to race a Husaberg at Loretta's- 1999 in the 4stk class against 41 Yamaha YZ400s. A few others isted as Unk earlier in the 90s so hard to confirm.
Carey Hart came up in our RV to pet my dog at the 2006 Detroit SM national - wife loves sharing that one with our non-moto friends.
2006 Nashville SM National: Standing at the riders meeting, I look to my right: Mickey Dymond and Doug Henry. To my left: Jeff Ward and Yamaha team manager Keith McCarty. I nearly peed myself!
The Shop
When I was 14 I used to go to Rio Bravo on Mondays with the guys from my local shop and ride with all the other local racers who worked at bike shops (which were all closed Mondays). We were all sitting around with this older guy with funny looking hair as they talked about how hot this older guys wife was. The older guy with funny hair was Lyle Lovett and his wife was Julia Roberts.
Was racing the PJ1 AX Series in 99' and crashed hard in a 125 heat race in Hampton, VA. Rick Johnson was commentating for TV that night and they showed my crash in regular speed and then slow motion. It was on the commercial for AX for the next 5 years or so.
Was racing 250 SX series in 03' and Daytona was going to be the first ever live SX round. My grandparents were watching from home and I got lapped by RC in the heat race. In the next corner he fell over and I went back around him. They got to see me on TV and that was cool because it was the only time they ever saw me race.
I got fully hammered with weege and emig at the lobby bar at the phoenix airport marriott after the PHX SX one year when it was still down town... i was already mostly hammered and decided that one more beer would be a good idea when i arrived at the hotel and there they were! I introduced myself to emig hyperventilating like a 14 year old girl would if she saw justin beiber and sat down and had a few more with them just talking(mostly slurring) about riding and racing... that was a good night!
I went to the Vegas SX finals in the late 90’s (living in So Cal at the time, I seldom attended that SX). My friends and I snuck into the press box (that hasn’t happened often either…twice in 100+ SX’s attended). While we were enjoying the free food, my buddy walked past David Baily and heard his wife Gina say out of the blue, “Who’s Fitz-G?” My buddy instinctively turned to them and interrupted them by saying, “That’s my friend, he’s sitting over there!” as he pointed to me. David and Gina laughed, ”No!...we’re looking at old pictures of David from years ago…unless…did your Fitz-G friend race SX’s with David back in the day?” David and Gina were looking at a stack of 20+ old pictures that a fan of his had taken throughout his career. That fan had been trying to track down David for years to give him all these pictures. Later that night, in the press box David and Gina started flipping through the pictures. They happened to be looking at this exact picture while my friend was walking by them in the crowded press box. It was a picture taken during the track walk for the ’85 Rosebowl SX (think Wardy going backwards). I was CMC #4 that year and I was doing the track walk with my CMC jersey on. Gina knew all the top guys from the day but didn’t recognize “#4 Fitz-G,” that’s when she said out loud, “Who’s Fitz-G!” After they laughed for a few seconds David showed my friend the pic and jokingly said something like, “Is this your friend?” He looked at it and said, “Yup…he’s sitting over there!”
David – “Seriously?! You think that’s your friend in the picture? Go get him!”
My friend to me – “David Baily is sitting over there holding a picture of you and he wants to meet you!”
Me – “WTF? You’re messing with me!...Really? No way!
Friend – “Go over there and introduce yourself as Fitz-G and see what happens!”
Holy shit, he wasn't messing with me!!!
The odds of me ending up with this picture are phenomenal!!! 1)I hardly ever go to Vegas. 2)I rarely have a chance to sneak into the press box...and do it. 2)DB’s fan that took the picture just happened to catch up with him that night. 3)The stack of pictures was an inch thick…and at that moment DB just happened to be looking at this one when my friend was within earshot of him and his wife Gina. 4) The fact that Gina could even make out “Fitz-G” in this tiny picture, looking over DB’s shoulder, while he was flipping through the stack of pics…and then say it out loud enough for my passing friend to hear…
Needless to say we had a good laugh and David signed the picture and gave it to me. I still don’t know who took the picture, but I’m stoked to have it.
In the picture David is talking to his dad, “The Professor.” They were probably breaking down the track…and it appears DB is pointing in my direction. Me on the other hand…I was probably looking at the track in a daze thinking, “WTF have I got myself into?!”
Pit Row
Pulled some holeshots with this 1978 Rocketship rotary-valved Can-Am 250 MX-4.
Luved that bike.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/39-strung-out-transmission-alpha-…
Note, Josh Freese has played drums in the studio on some of the biggest albums you've heard, currently has been playing with Sting for the past few years. One of the most sought after studio drummers.
DRUM! Magazine - 2015:
1st. Brooks Wackerman - Bad Religion
2nd. Jordan Burns - Strung Out
3rd. Brandon Barnes - Rise Against
4th. Jorma Vik - The Bronx
5th. Brandon Pertzborn - Black Flag
DRUM! Magazine - 2012:
1st. Jordan Burns - Strung Out
2nd. Brooks Wackerman - Bad Religion
3rd. Jonathan Diener - The Swellers
4th. Chris Thatcher - Streetlight Manifesto
5th. Dave Raun - Lagwagon
DRUM! -2010:
1st. Travis Barker - Blink-182
2nd. Tre Cool - Green Day
3rd. Josh Freese - The Vandals
4th. Brooks Wackerman - Bad Religion
5th. Jordan Burns - Strung Out
Modern Drummer Magazine - 2005:
1st. Travis Barker - Blink-182
2nd. Tre Cool - Green Day
3rd. Josh Freese - The Vandals
4th. Darren Pfeiffer - Gold Finger
5th. Jordan Burns - Strung Out
DRUM! Magazine - 2004:
1st. Travis Barker - Blink-182
2nd. Josh Freese - The Vandals
3rd. Jordan Burns - Strung Out
4th. Tre Cool - Green Day
DRUM! Magazine - 2003:
1st. Travis Barker - Blink-182
2nd. Jordan Burns - Strung Out
3rd. Byron McMackin - Pennywise
4th. Josh Freese - The Vandals
Moto Wise...Starting Moto XXX and still being current with the brand and finally having it back solely to myself with no partners!!! It's insane looking back at where we came from..the list of riders that rode for our team and all that Moto XXX accomplished..SX win, Nationals win, Multiple Top Privateer awards, etc...yup, im quite proud of it and quite proud that so many people still remember and are supporting the brand, especially the younger MX riders that are repping!
www.motoxxx.com
www.instagram.com/motoxxxofficial
My brother-in-law’s phone beeps when he was at our house on Christmas Day a few years ago. He starts chuckling. He shows me this:
As you might know, if you signed up for Viber it automatically messages everyone else in your phone to tell them.
I say, “Who’s that?”
“Madonna”, he says.
“Yeah, but who is it really”, I reply.
“No, it really is the real Madonna”, he says.
My brother-in-law works in sound and lighting and did concerts, exhibitions etc. He was the stage manager at the ‘Live 8’ gig in London some years ago. So he had all the performers’ personal numbers in case he needed to get hold of them.
He’s met pretty much everyone.
He was mainly chuckling because a) why was Madonna signing up to a free call service when she’s worth millions, and b) she was signing up to it ON CHRISTMAS DAY!
Another true story from the Robgvx archives.
And yes that is the turn right after by the exit at Saddleback.
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