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Matthew T. Hoffman (born January 9, 1972 in Edmond, Oklahoma) is considered one of the best vert ramp riders in the history of the sport of BMX. Mat is Nicknamed 'The Condor' and owns Hoffman Bikes in Oklahoma (his pet name was "Matt" before he dropped one of the "t"s). He is the first one to pull the 900 in a competition and take the backflip to vert. Mat came out of retirement in 2002 to compete in the Summer X Games, where he landed a trick for the first time in competition and a trick that no rider has since made: the no-handed 900. Sidenote: Mat has said that on that particular attempt, if he had not gone no-hands, he would not have landed. He said that he began spinning too fast, and that by putting his arms out, it slowed him down just enough to land smoothly. It was crazy to do this because he had no brakes on the bike.
In 2002, Hoffman came out with an autobiography entitled The Ride of My Life.
Achievements
In 1985, Hoffman entered the freestyle BMX circuit as an amateur at the age of 13. At age 16, he was the youngest pro the sport had ever seen. An article in Ride magazine wrote, “What’s left to say about a guy who ignored all established limits and redefined vert riding - at age 15?”
Mat's resume includes taking his bike base-jumping off 3,500-foot Norwegian cliffs and, in 2002, setting the record for the highest assisted "air" on a bicycle, when he rose 26'6" above a 24' ramp, reaching 50'6" (approx. 16 metres) above the ground. This feat was listed in the 2004 Guinness Book of World Records and there have been no attempts to break the record since it was set.
Hoffman is a true innovator, defining the sport with the invention of more than 100 revolutionary tricks like the 900; Flip fakie (backflip which includes landing backwards); and Flair (backflip with a 180 degree turn).
Hoffman's unparalleled accomplishments as a rider are equaled by his success in the business world. By 1991, Hoffman had already surpassed amateur rank, seized the pro division and brought the sport to new heights never thought possible, inventing the majority of the Vert tricks today. Frustrated at having someone else in the driver’s seat of his career, Hoffman left his primary sponsor and began his own promotion company: Hoffman Promotions. He assembled a team of the best Freestyle bike riders and began organizing show tours such as the Sprocket Jockey Bicycle Stunt Team.
Hoffman pushed the limits on the design technology the bike industry offered at the time. He was going through bikes by the dozens. He needed a bike that could stand up to the rigorous pounding required in Freestyle riding and realized that he wasn't the only one. With ever-increasing ambition, Hoffman decided to design and build his own bike, thus creating his second business: Hoffman Bikes. Hoffman has been a key player in building the sport of BMX Freestyle. He developed the Bicycle Stunt (BS) Series to give riders a place to compete and showcase their talents. The enormous success of the BS Series inevitably attracted the attention of ESPN, which joined forces with Hoffman Promotions in 1995 to produce and televise the series each year.
The growth of Hoffman Promotions gave birth to the Hoffman Sports Association (H.S.A.), which is the organizing body for Freestyle BMX events worldwide, such as ESPN’s highly coveted X Games and all international X Games bicycle stunt events. Hoffman and his team were also selected to take part in the closing ceremonies of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Ga., in a production called “Sport as Art.” In 1999, H.S.A. developed Mat Hoffman's Crazy Freakin’ Bikers Series (CFB), which provides amateur and professional Freestyle bikers a venue in which they can compete. Not only does the H.S.A. promote, organize and host the series, but it also produces all the television programming for the CFB Series, which is aired on ESPN2.
The H.S.A. organizes BMX Freestyle portions of annual U.S. and international events, including the X Games and all international X Games qualifiers. The year 2005 marked the 14th consecutive year of competition production for Hoffman Promotions.
Hoffman has produced, directed and hosted several television series for ESPN including "Kids in the Way," "HBtv," “Mat’s World,” a nine-episode segment on X-2day and, most recently, the CFB Series. Hoffman also created “Mat Hoffman’s Crazy Freakin’ Stunt Show” for Universal Studios in Orlando, FL, which debuted in April 2003 and will continue with the next run in Spring 2005. Ratings for the show have been of the highest in Universal’s show history.
Hoffman partnered with Activision to produce Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX video game and Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2 video game - released in August 2002, in conjunction with the release of Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX2 Tour TV show. Hoffman also appeared in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4, a part of the same Activision Stable.
Recently he has been involved in a number of film projects: "Keep Your Eyes Open," produced by Tamra Davis and starring Spike Jonze; IMAX film "Ultimate X"; "Triple X," a Rob Cohen film, starring Vin Diesel; and "Jackass-The Movie." He also was the host of a series of behind-the-scenes segments for “Tomb Raider 2,” which was released in June 2003, and was on the cast of members for MTV’s Trippin’, hosted by Cameron Diaz, and MTV’s Wildboyz in the Spring 2005.
In September 2002, he released his autobiography "The Ride of My Life," which was released with Regan/Harper Collins Publishers. The paperback version was released in September 2003 and a screenplay adaptation is in progress.
Even in the world of BMX, where injuries are frequent, Hoffman is notorious for his toughness and unusually high tolerance for pain. In a 2005 interview with ESPN The Magazine, he described some of his experiences, including a failed landing in practice that ruptured his spleen and nearly killed him, and having ligament replacement surgery done on his knee with no anesthesia. Despite the numerous injuries and 16 total operations, he has never stopped challenging himself. In 2001, Hoffman competed at the X Games, earning the Bronze Medal. In 2002, he stunned the industry and fans, alike, when he set another record by successfully completing the first-ever No-handed 900 at the 2002 X Games, resulting in the Silver Medal.
Hoffman participated in the highly successful Tony Hawk's Boom Boom Huck Jam in 2002, 2003 and 2005 tours.
Hoffman also holds the "highest air" record. In fact, Hoffman was the first person to build an oversized ("Big") ramp in 1993 with his first High Air attempt off of a 24-foot quarter pipe. When Hoffman achieved 50.6 feet above the ground in March 2001, he had a team of four professional photographers, an elaborate scaffolding system to record the attempt at different angles and had an ABC Wide World of Sports camera crew on-site, as well.
In 2005, Hoffman was elected the President of the International BMX Freestyle Federation, the international governing body of BMX Freestyle - a partner with Union Cyclists International (UCI), the bicycle governing body for the International Olympic Committee.
External links
1972 births | Living people | American cyclists | BMX riders | People from Oklahoma | World record holders
"Mat Hoffman"