Ted Emmer’s been called a freestyle pioneer (by me and this blog at least) ever since he made his imprint on the world of freestyle and skatepark riding with his iconic picture in the first issue of Freestylin’ back in the day.
For me, that picture really stood out…for many reasons.
First off, he’s competing in a skatepark competition on a 24″ cruiser…and we’re not talking a new school 24…he’s essentially on a converted race cruiser.
Second, those wheels! Custom 71(!) spoke Z-rims….48-spoke wheels hadn’t even become a thing yet at this point and ol’ Ted Emmer is jumping all the way up to 71 spokes (the 72nd spoke wouldn’t work because of the valve stem being in the way, if memory serves).
But what happened to Ted Emmer since that iconic photo?
Sure, we gave him some love with the occasional ThursdayThrowback or FridayFlashback ….but I always wondered what became of this trailblazer.
Imagine my surprise, when I got a message from Mr. Emmer himself earlier this week that simply said,
“I restored a bike you might be interested in”
(In my head) <Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?>
(Me)”The bike….from bitd?”
“Indeed”
Then the pictures came.
Sure enough, there was the iconic 24, along with the OG riding gear.
Pretty awesome….but I had to ask…what happened to the custom Z-rims?
Turns out they got stolen out of a storage locker….which is heartbreaking from a historical/BMX Nerd perspective. (However, Ted says he’ll whip up another set if he can get a hold of another set of 24″ Z-rims.). So the mags are on there now.
So what’s Ted been up to?
Ted’s is a drummer and rocked out in Hollywood during the hair metal years.
Fast forward to the (almost) present and a series of events led him to getting the bike back together and riding.
He lost his wife a few years ago which got him thinking about reconnecting with biking. Then, a designer he was working with learning about his BMX roots and together they started digging through storage and decided to bring some of his stuff back to life. (The Wall to Wall Freestyle book was a nudge too). Then the restoration began and you can see the final results.
Ted’s now 54 and says “he’s starting from scratch again” with his riding. He’s been riding a small skatepark near his place to get his feet wet.
He’s already got some war wounds to show for his efforts. (see above)
Next on the agenda, a new helmet and a bigger park.
And after that?
Ted’s says his goal is “A sick photo with me, a bike, and sky.”
I like where this is going.
cruiser revolution 