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Maybe RL was working on his bike in the living room and noticed he got some grease on the carpet, then cleaned it so well he decided it was fate????

I am the owl... wrote:

He wants nothing to do with nostalgia.

Didn't read the thread. Don't have to.

77stroker2 wrote:

Please don't johnnnny as RL and I just Smoked A Fatty and were on the floor laughing at this

Seriously?  You just smoked a Doobie with El Cid ...... ?

XJguy wrote:

Interesting article I just found on RL:

http://espn.go.com/action/bmx/blog/_/post/5923046

Interesting article.  Sounds like he did well and was able to ride ....  So why do people say he's bitter?  Or doesn't like nostagia?  He lived the dream and life anyone would love.  But then again, there is the dark side that comes many times with that position.....

glenn1011 wrote:

ChrisHunt wrote:

monkee363 wrote:

http://www.rlosborn.com/

Why would you call your carpet cleaning business rlosborn ????   Weird

People never name their companies after themselves (Hutch, GT, Haro, Robinson,Brackens, Gary Fisher, Hoffman, Ford, Dodge, Chrysler, Dell, McDoanlds, Bell, Colt, Mars, Dupont, Eddie Bauer, Ferrari, Gillette, Haliburton, IKEA, Jack Daniel, Kohls, Louis Vuitton, On and on......)

Hi, I clean toilets and the name of my business is Glenn.   

Guess you don't get it.  The names you wrote down...   "make something"....  completely missed the point

Last edited by ChrisHunt (2012-07-29 9:15am)

I'm curious, not arguing, but where do you get that he was the highest paid pro of all time as a fact? I ask because I was under the impression Dave Mirra made over a million dollars som years. I can't find anything to say so I could be wrong about that, but I'm curious if there's confirmation on the highest paid BMX rider of all time.

http://www.forbes.com/2009/02/17/shaun- … de_10.html

Jon1971 wrote:

I'm curious, not arguing, but where do you get that he was the highest paid pro of all time as a fact? I ask because I was under the impression Dave Mirra made over a million dollars som years. I can't find anything to say so I could be wrong about that, but I'm curious if there's confirmation on the highest paid BMX rider of all time.

Adjust for inflation.....RL might still have made more.

$350,000 in 1989 has the same buying power as $647,720 in 2008 according to http://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm/

It's still nothing at all to sneeze at and I wouldn't be surprised at all if R.L. was the highest paid pro up to the time he retired, the man was ambitious, motivated and his face sold a lot of products which meant sponsors were willing to pony up.

As a side note, I think in 2012 or 13 I'll crack 650k in lifetime earnings to date, let alone any one year.

leiper204 wrote:

If RL Osborne would come out with a new line of bikes,like Haro is doing,he would make a killing!!I think he done more for BMX than anybody,and he was a rich kid having fun!! Come out of hiding RL and talk to all of your old school fans..

I really Don't think so.

The Bully brand under R.L. did much damage to his credibility. Pretty much went the total opposite route that Hoffman did with his brand. Quality was total shlt and there was little invested back into the bmx community.

FreeEnterprise wrote:

Mirra made a TON of money ... Way more than RL made back in the day.

Wrong. Add today's inflation, all the bonus sh*t and X Games accolades, etc and RL would be well over what Mirra Made. And FWIW, many believe RL was the Godfather of Freestyle and not Bob Haro. Haro applied for a job at Wizard ... If Bob OZ Osborn never hired Bob, then Bob might still be an undergound Cartoonist / Rider never to make it big .... Some say Bob had the talent without needing any help, but I disagree. BMX Action and Freestylin Magazines made the careers of many Guys today, that are making good money from their exposure in Bob's publications. That's a FACT.

And, a lot of guys, in FLORIDA were pulling the same tricks as Fiola, RL and Buff but we had zero coverage.

A lot of it was LUCK and where you resided ....

Last edited by oldschoolray (2012-07-30 8:00pm)

oldschoolray wrote:

unfit4society wrote:

The Bully brand under R.L. did much damage to his credibility. Pretty much went the total opposite route that Hoffman did with his brand. Quality was total shlt and there was little invested back into the bmx community.

That's because the Sport of BMX died in 1998.  I was there - I should know !!!!

That doesn't even make sense. R.L./Bully was already a joke of a memory by that time.

oldschoolray wrote:

Hoffman was grass roots, and a complete different deal, and Matt did make money. Matt was smart enough to stay in the industry and ride it out knowing full well the tide would turn. Matt also had a viable financial backing. From what I recall, I think his Old Man or extended family helped him build those big ramps, the trucks, travel expenses, etc.

Not sure what your point is here either, I never said Mat didn't make money, I'm saying the difference was he truly loved & lived bikes, he always put back as much as he was getting out, in product, promotion, contests with organization, progression & helping many many others pave their way as well. Even if Mat didn't have help from his dad he would have gotten it from somewhere I guarantee you that. That kind of fire & drive can't go unanswered & does not take no or failure as an answer. The reason he succeeded is because he was driven by his passion not a plan to make a ton of money.

Like it or not, R.L. at least by the time Bully happened did not have that fire in him. If he made what you feel was the equivalent of Mirra's salary he obviously was a colossal waster of money or a very poor businessman. Either way it did not go into making a decent product or doing something to sustain the sport.
R.L. was smart enough to know the sport was going to the riders & the new "street" mentality but he dicked up trying to exploit it by stitching some rebellious extensions in his hair & chucking out garbage bikes that looked cool with skulls & barbed wire. It was a sad sight for things to go down the way they ultimately did.

I am full aware of what R.L., Buff, Haro & all the rest did for BMX. In fact R.L. was my favorite flat rider from 84-88 so don't think I hate the dude or something I'm just not gonna let the fact that he was a hero of mine as a kid blind me from the facts.
For the record I have been involved with BMX/Freestyle since 1982, during the 90's I was friends or friendly with many of the people who kept the sport alive,(not just pro riders but many 'zine creators.) I'm not getting this from a book or here say I saw it with my own eyes.
Sorry if this was wordy hopfully someone found it interesting.

Last edited by unfit4society (2012-07-30 8:47pm)