Rad recently caught up with the UK freestyle legend Craig Campbell...read on and enjoy..feel free to post any comments, links to videos and pics that are relevant to the article Craig Campbell !! A big welcome from radbmx how are you!!!? Thanks, I'm good !
Can you tell the readers about your first BMX Bikes and early development in freestyle? My first bike in 1981 was a chrome Mongoose with yellow Tuffs, I spent most of my time doing wheelies and jumping ditches in the woods.
My next bike was a super light alloy framed Race Inc which I did a bit of racing on, it drove me nuts, because the frame used to flex and make a really irritating creaking noise.
Then I got a PK Ripper which was the bike that I started tearing up Romford Skatepark on.
When you first got into BMX which riders inspired you and why? Brian Blyther, Eddie Fiola and Mike Dominguez because they were doing some big stuff in way gnarlier skateparks than what we had in England.
You got your first sponsorship deal from Bob Haro in 83 can you tell RAD how this came about and what did the deal entail and do you have any pics of the factory bike from that era? Bob came to Harrow Skatepark in 1983, saw me ride and I got the deal which was a frame and fork, some clothing, a number plate and some stickers.
Your next sponsor was Skyway can you tell us about your time as a factory rider with them which was every young lads dream back in the day? It was great to travel around doing shows and competitions but the team manager was a nightmare!
Did you keep any mementos and parts etc from BITD? I've still got Bob Haro's number plate from 1983
and a pair or Red Line Flight Cranks
You rode as Benny Hills stunt double on the Benny Hill show in a BMX scene can you tell us about that? That was the best days work I ever did, getting chased around by a bunch of sexy nurses and getting paid for it, I still got royalties up until to a few years ago, I did it in 1985.
Later you rode for prolite,how many years did you ride with them and was the Craig Campbell signature frameset good to ride? I read somewhere they outsold both Skyway and Haro back in the day? I rode for Prolite for a few years, it was a great bike at the time but I think it would be a bit short now.
Maybe in the U.K they outsold Skyway and Haro.
I must give a big thanks to M Zone for selling more than anyone else.
Do you have any components that you have kept or other memorabilia?I've still got a Skyway Factory Team T shirt.
Looking back to those iconic images from your days riding for skyway do any moments stick in your mind that you would like to share with the readers?Riding with the U.S Skyway team in the U.K and then touring the states with the U.S team a few years later.
You rode in King of the Skateparks in the USA can you tell the readers about that? PIPELINE LINK />
The Pipeline!
I had three day's practice to ride the gnarliest thing I had ever ridden against the best skatepark riders in the world on their home turf. I was'nt used to full pipes and blasting airs out of a bowl with two feet of vert, I had been riding the performance bowl at Romford Skatepark which has no vert at all. The day before the contest I finally started to get my head around it and I managed a 4th place behind Fiola, Blyther and Dominguez but maybe that was only because Hugo Gonzales did an endo drop in to headplant on his first trick which put him out of the game.
During your time in BMX which bikes and parts stood out for you and delivered the goods technically and which ones didn’t live upto your expectations? The Shimano DX pedal was a revolution, I was so sick of trashing pedals, slipping off them and battering my shins, they were indestructable and nonslip, a genius design that is still copied to this day.
I thought ACS Z rims were a bit of a joke, they even used to advertise the fact that you could flex the hell out of em and they would bend back and if they didn't you could always stick em in the fridge, did anybody actually do that?, I had a pair when I first rode for Haro.
Do you still keep in touch with any of the riders you hung out with back in the 80's? Yeah loads of people since I got on facebook!
Has the massive interest in oldskool BMX surprised you? Not really, most things come back into fashion after twenty years but I must say I am enjoying it, I've even got myself a new bike!
What are your thoughts on modern BMX, the look and style of the riding and the sports progression? The look has become more grungey, there were a lot of bright colours happening back in the eighties.
The style of riding has become more acrobatic!
The whole thing has progressed to levels I never would have dreamed of back in the day.
Craig it has been a pleasure chatting to you,
Many thanks for your time,All the best from RADBMX and good luck for the future. Thanks for having me.......Craig
Many thanks for your time Craig.
Pictures used with the Kind Permission of Craig Campbell.LINKS:Craig and Neil
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