Name: Stuart L. Thomsen
Birthday: May 20, 1958
Birthplace: Santa Ana California
Sport: Bicycle Motocross (BMX)
Nicknames: Stompin Stu
Weight: 200 lbs
Height: 6’1
BMX Babe Ruth
They called him the Babe Ruth of BMX. His was known as Stompin Stu Thomsen and he dominated the bicycle motocross events for the first 10 years of the sport and now he is one of the biggest legends to have ever ridden a BMX bike.
Podium Perfection
Cali King
Stu started BMX racing when the sport began in 1974. It only took Stu 3 years before he took over the sport. At the age of 16 years old, Stu became a professional BMX racer and never looked back. From 1977-1985, Stu has won so many races in so many different divisions, that it’s impossible to keep track of his records. Here’s a list of some of his greatest achievements:
- 1977 Grand National Champion of the National Bicycle Association (NBA)
- 1978 National No. 1 Pro (NBA)
- 1981, 1982 National No. 1 Pro of the National Bicycle League
- 1978 Pro Class Grandnational Champion of the American Bicycle Association (ABA)
- 1979 National No. 1 Pro ABA
- 1980 National No. 3 Pro
Making Money
Stompin Stu
In the beginning, you couldn’t make a living off just the prize money of the competitions. Stu only made about $1500 in 1977 (That would be like making about $5000 today)… so it was all about getting sponsored by big companies who paid the racers to ride their bikes and wear their logos. Stu ended up with a bunch of different companies sponsoring him. Here’s a list of all his sponsors:
- Flying Machine Factory - 1976
- SE Racing - !977-79
- Redline Engineering – 1980-84
- Huffy Corporation – 1984-86
- Motobecane - 1986
- Southridge Cycles - 1992
Not Ready to Retire
Keep On Truckin Stu!
Stu retired in 1986 and opened his own bicycle store called “Stu Thomsen’s Bicycle Center”. It didn’t work out for him so he’s come out of retirement and now BMX racing again at amateur events.
