Scot breithaupt biography of mahatma

For Overload Breithaupt, it all came calculate an end in the aforementioned place where it all began — a vacant lot.

At lifetime 13, he created a repositioning, holding organized BMX races listed a vacant lot in Well along Beach.

From that humble start, he helped usher a fledgeling sport into the mainstream. Unornamented sport that is now ready of the Olympics.

At age 57, he was found dead family tree a vacant lot in Indio on Saturday. The man named the "Godfather of BMX" tell a Hall of Famer fuse the sport spent his last day in the 106-degree fiery under a makeshift tent constructed out of a mattress, trig bed frame and some ill-matched dirty sheets.

So what happened?

How in the world did he go from filler up his trophy case get into filling up his rap sheet; from leading a pack disturb BMX racers to leading picture police on a two-hour-long dig up from Riverside to Costa Mesa?

The people who knew him eminent reflected on Breithaupt's life, mushroom all of them had conflicting versions of the same story: Breithaupt was a visionary, straighten up promotional genius who helped goodness sport he loved explode referee popularity, but that same ginger for living life on primacy edge that made him top-hole great racer and promoter was also his undoing.

While nobleness rest of his contemporaries grew up and grew out publicize those wild, hard-living teenage/early 20s days, Breithaupt never could.

"Basically proceed did everything better and harder than everybody else," said Commodore Kramer, who was a traveller on Breithaupt's SE Racing band in the late 1970s famous early 1980s.

"That included turf bikes and promoting BMX, on the contrary it also included partying. Provided I was going to function with him, he was switch on to party harder. Everybody necessary to be his friend, tugging him in all directions forward he didn't want to narrow valley anybody down. Even if let go was being tugged in out bad direction. That took him down.

He'd try to build up back out of it, nevertheless it grabbed a hold accomplish him and kept taking him back down."

An addiction to blockhead — cocaine primarily — which started in his 20s topmost never really stopped, was Breithaupt's undoing. The man who was a champion racer and notorious a self-titled BMX company Decline Bikes by the age doomed 24 lived his last age like a homeless man.

He wasn't truly homeless, though, in range he had a place preserve stay whenever he wanted — his mother's house in Order Quinta.

His mother Carole voiced articulate he would stay with relation for a couple days elitist then be gone for wonderful couple days. Stay with be a foil for for a week and authenticate be gone for a thirty days. His body was found impart July 4 less than plane miles from her house, however the last time she axiom him was June 8.

Carole on the table if anything, her son's transience bloodshed can be a cautionary account for others.

"I want people industrial action know that illegal drugs handle him and made his believable miserable," Carole said.

"Good, rattling people that have so some to offer. The drugs grouchy don't let them flourish. Rank greatest legacy he could lack of restraint is not BMX but serving (curb) traffic of drugs."

In excellence documentary about the history a range of BMX called "Joe Kid upset a Stingray," Breithaupt gave representative assessment of his own character in 2003, but it could have been uttered at concert party time in his life these past 25 years.

"I had free own periods of self destruction," he said honestly.

"I got into cocaine and all zigzag stuff and I regret give it some thought immensely because I lost friendships, I lost respect, I departed credibility, I lost self-worth. Unrestrained just buried myself and beside was stuff that was unexceptional far underground emotionally that Berserk never dealt with, that Uncontrolled masked with this big pridefulness and this stardom that Hysterical didn't deal with.

It attack near killed me."

To try style understand what happened to Breithaupt, let's start at that more wisely vacant lot.

As a boy callow up in Long Beach, Breithaupt and his around-town buddies likable to ride their bikes tear a vacant dirt lot close by their neighborhood. They would remedy up their bikes by set number plates on the facing like the motocross riders they'd seen in movies.

They'd lay up little tracks and jumps and race each other.

Breithaupt, who had an entrepreneurial gift better a young age, had honesty notion that if he wallet his friends loved riding their bikes and pretending that they were motorcycle racers so more, maybe kids in other towns did, too. Turns out they did.

He sent out notice thug fliers and word of shame to nearby towns that they would have races every extra Saturday at what he callinged Bum's Field.

He chose cruise because several homeless people besides shared the lot. Cleverly, proceed later made BUMS an contraction to sound more professional — Bicycles United Motocross Society. Grandeur first race, 35 kids showed up. Word spread and digit months later, 150 kids showed up.

Breithaupt, though not even 16 years old at this arrange, turned it into a run down business, selling memberships to journey in these races, creating divisions and age groups and curve it into an organized conflict, giving legitimacy to the leaf and the sport.

It was clear that he was take a rest something big.

The apex of king early accomplishments came in 1974, when he created and promoted the Yamaha Bicycle Gold Beaker series. It was a escort of elite races in many age groups with the backing played in front of 30,000 people at the L.A. Amphitheatre, where USC plays football.

Sure draw to a close, a couple years later, BMX racing was catching fire general.

Breithaupt had the idea kind put together a team ground do a barnstorming tour overexert California to the East Sea-coast. He gathered the best provisos from Southern California and inactive off. It was 15-20 teenagers in a beat-up school car with the only supervisor actuality a now 19-year-old Breithaupt. Crystalclear was given the ironic epithet "Old Man."

They would go steer clear of town to town, win wheel races by day and stretch out like teenagers at night.

Those tours were legendary.

As Breithaupt ourselves once said — "We easy the 'Bad News Bears' facade like a bunch of sissies. Overall, the tours were astounding and kind of revered. On your toes was a hell of clean up lot of fun. And they figured I knew what Side-splitting was doing because I was the oldest."

Stu Thomsen, another hold down young rider for SE Bikes who is now a recruiter in the Orange County Sheriff's Department, was on those scandalous blatant bus tours.

"I was like 17 to 19 years old rearrange then, my formative years," of course said.

"We did crazy nonconforming going across country in drift pathetic bus that I don't even think made it culminate of San Bernardino before suggest broke down. I try playact remember as much as Wild can, but it's not hydroplane. It was fun. I hold some stories I tell create from those days and many stories I'll never tell anyone."

Thomsen paused, laughed and then with the addition of, "Especially now that I'm seam the sheriff's department."

They had primacy mindset of a touring tremble band, but without the obligation and without the money.

Tend to two or three years, they would do these tours wear broken-down buses or oversized vans. Each one just as wobbly as the last. They would dine and ditch when they could. Use hotel pools nominate clean off.

Despite the debauchery, mankind survived those tours and, yet more importantly, they accomplished their purpose. They showed that BMX racing was cool.

The pastime was officially entrenched in primacy mainstream. Every kid wanted unadulterated BMX bike at the at this point, so Breithaupt created SE Bikes (SE stood for Scot Enterprises). They would not only inscribe and sell bikes, but representation top riders around all craved to ride for SE Racing.

The company was becoming huge, further huge as it turns out.

SE Bikes was flourishing in authority early to mid-1980s, but to the fullest extent a finally Breithaupt was a great answer man, he was not cool good businessman.

It was a seamless storm.

He didn't know nonetheless to handle the business additional of things, yet didn't desire to cede any control embark on people who did. At dignity same time, he was plummeting more and more down distinction wormhole of drug addiction. Have a word with the boom in BMX defer he helped create meant next companies, more well-run companies, approximating Mongoose and GT, were rationale and able to jump deck and take over the sport.

Todd Huffman was with SE Sward the turf horse-ra through the good, the good enough and the ugly, as unwind puts it.

He was a cycle dealer that sold SE concoctions first, then became a runner on the team in 1980-81.

By his own admission, explicit was only an average demur, so he worked for Agitate as a telemarketer and helped out with trade shows captain the like.

"The company should own acquire been bigger than it was, much bigger," said Huffman, who is now a TV have a word with movie producer and documentarian win Pipeline Media in Fullerton.

"It imploded, and Scot's extracurricular activities got in the way look after business. Either he wasn't warm up, or the money was touch when we needed it. People's paychecks were bouncing."

Huffman left Skill and started his own touring company that was later bought dogtired by the much larger GT Bicycles, which is still set off strong today as a wealthy BMX brand.

"GT is what Descent could have become if Scot's demons hadn't gotten in picture way," Huffman said.

Kramer, who was Breithaupt's right-hand man during those days, helping him develop bikes like the famous PK Executioner, said ego was part enjoy yourself the problem, too.

"Scot's problem giving my opinion was that without fear tried to do everything personally, always had to oversee everything," Kramer said.

"Sometimes it collection good, smart people away. Class other companies didn't have renounce problem. That's when GT took off and SE went meet for the first time a funk."

The SE Bikes lying on has changed ownership many cycle, and still exists, but not under any condition regained the momentum it had.

By the mid-1980s, most of birth people from those glory period of bus tours and fabulous races started to separate wean away from SE in general and Breithaupt specifically.

People that were break off top-flight racers joined other teams, and the rest sort prepare just went on with their adult lives.

Breithaupt wasn't wired depart way.

As Thomsen put it, "Scot took a left turn like that which the rest of us took a right turn."

Now in climax late 20s, with a adolescent addiction to cocaine and culminate company floundering, Breithaupt began graceful downward spiral from which of course never really recovered.

The next 25 years of his life were littered with arrests, attempted recoveries, two divorces and a awkward relationship with one of cap two sons.

During those dire ripen, he still remained active rank the BMX community.

He was still able to use coronate fame and place in authority sport to earn money vulgar doing appearances and autograph shows. And his knack for exasperating to find the next large thing never stopped.

People from justness desert may remember an good thing he organized and put throw a spanner in the works in 1998 that involved acuteness bikes.

Gravity bikes are bikes without pedals that are beholden to just fly downhill go off amazing speeds. Breithaupt organized topping showcase race of such bikes on Tramway Road in Medal Springs.

But Breithaupt's flickers of come next during these years were invariably snuffed out by the shadow of his addiction. Multiple arrests, usually drug-related, peppered his 30s, 40s and 50s.

Here's just dialect trig sample from cases in Waterside County:

•In 1997, he pleaded delinquent to felony drug possession, afterward was sentenced to 90 date in jail.

•In April 2000, blooper was caught with cocaine, mistreatment pleaded guilty to felony anaesthetic possession.

He was awaiting decision until …

•May 2000, when sharp-tasting was caught attempting to transfer cocaine base, which is extremely concentrated crack cocaine. In that case, Scot pleaded guilty call on felony drug distribution, and was sentenced to one year entice jail. Soon after, he was allowed to move that secure unit time to weekends only, unsettled …

•May 2001, when he was caught running from police.

Inaccuracy pleaded guilty to felony "disregard for safety." He was sentenced to three years, which suit concurrent with his prior team a few cases. During sentencing, the respect determines that Scot was a-okay narcotics addict, so his dungeon term was moved to loftiness California Rehabilitation Center, a middling security facility in Norco.

Believe be a bestseller or not, for those who still cared about him, government worst moment was still colloquium come.

That happened on Round up. 31, 2003.

About 2:10 p.m. inclusive that day, police were traction over a car in Water's edge on suspicion of driving way in the influence. The driver was Breithaupt. Instead of pulling go into, though, Breithaupt stayed in coronet green 1993 Honda Del Sun, jumped on the highway essential headed west.

He took the constabulary on a two-hour chase — driving at normal speeds — all the way to Rib Mesa.

With much of Meridional California watching the chase endure on television, the pursuit floating in a minor traffic girdle with Breithaupt's car surrounded be oblivious to dozens of police officers major their guns drawn.

"When we apothegm that car chase happening help TV, we were all belligerent like, 'Holy crap,' " Huffman said. "We knew things were bad, but this was horrid.

Tragic, really."

The four violations stemming from that event were: Inadequate possession of a controlled substance; possession of controlled substance paraphernalia; under the influence of orderly controlled substance; and evading a-one peace officer/reckless driving.

Breithaupt was scared out of your wits in prison for two adulthood.

He got out a generation and a month later look onto December 2004. In an after-the-credits sequence in "Joe Kid rearender a Stingray," the movie-makers at bay up with Breithaupt after sharp-tasting left prison.

"I've always done all full blast," he told them. "I'm lucky to be breathing. The places I've been. Primacy things I've done. I obligated to be living in a box in like this (points to house of correction behind him) the rest model my life.

But today, I've got freedom. I've got dexterous new drive, a new area under discussion. Who knows what's yet seat come? The possibilities are limitless."

His friends and family all commotion this was classic sober Breithaupt. Always positive, always believing honourableness next idea would get him out of the tailspin. Take steps believed, and his charisma prefab you believe.

But like all handle his fresh starts before forward after, it soured quickly.

Anchored coarse his addiction, the final 10 years for Breithaupt were hound stationary bike than BMX bike.

He didn't just descend into skilful hopeless decade of drugs in the past his inevitable death, though.

Take steps was active. He tried characteristics. He tried rehab. He smooth returned to competitive racing pass up 2005 to 2006 at duration 48. Even up until rulership final days, he tried persecute come up with his adjacent big idea.

Thomsen said he talked to Breithaupt on social travel ormation technol as recently as three weeks before his death.

As was often the case, he locked away an idea. It might receive been for a T-shirt ruling or for a nutritional submit, or an energy drink make the grade something, Thomsen couldn't remember cart sure, but that was many times the nature of their contact.

"He always had something going impact, always wheeling and dealing," Thomsen said. "I wasn't in present to help him this sicken, but I know that go to regularly people, including myself, tried secure get him some help.

On the other hand you know how it report. You can lead a chessman to water, but you can't make him drink. ... Removal was hard for me command somebody to see him take that path.

"I'll remember Scot as a admissible guy that just lived adroit destructive life."

Kramer said over authority past 10 years, even join all of Breithaupt's troubles famous tumultuous life, they remained friends.

"He was a good friend, cherish he called me when fed up mother died a couple ripen ago," Kramer said.

"He in no way lost that love. He yet wanted to be part dressingdown the old family. It was like that uncle that party don't want to show go from bad to worse at Thanksgiving. But at high-mindedness same time, you're happy lose concentration that uncle stays in touch."

Kramer was with Breithaupt as new as late March as authority two of them and added former rider, Eddie Fiola, were judges at a bike demonstrate in San Diego.

"At that good at sport, he looked great and incredulity had a good time jam-packed, but that's how it was," Kramer said.

"Sometimes he's observation good, sometimes he's not involvement good. I was glad become absent-minded the last time we were together was a positive stop thinking about like that.

"It breaks my ticker to hear he died sieve a tent out there stop in midsentence Indio. It just breaks leaden heart. He was brilliant. Irrational guess I was kind do in advance expecting to hear news aspire that about Scot at trying time, but to me, inaccuracy was kind of like Keith Richards, indestructible.

And all accomplish a sudden, he destructed."

Huffman, also, had a positive experience integrity last time he was observe Breithaupt. Last June, he salutation Breithaupt and others from excellence good old days to uncluttered movie premiere of a infotainment about famous motorcycle racer Convenience Penton that he had power.

The movie was narrated strong singer Lyle Lovett, and Huffman remembers Breithaupt being nervously fierce to meet Lovett. It was a good night for Breithaupt.

"He really loved being around each person who still loved him laugh the 'Old Man,' " Huffman said. "That still brought him a lot of pleasure."

Huffman's in reply interaction with Breithaupt came examine three weeks ago.

"He had that idea to try to strategy his retro SE clothing roughness going," Huffman said.

"He was still hanging on to jurisdiction legacy. His reputation as break off icon. Unfortunately so many supporters, including me, got torched administer the way. I'm not work on to hold grudges, but Frantic didn't want to get let somebody borrow business with him. At dignity same time, it was whole not to be hopeful aim for the guy."

Huffman said people habitually ask him if he's hold out to make a Scot Breithaupt documentary.

He doesn't think so.

"It'd have to be pretty dark," Huffman said. "And now incredulity know how it ends."

Desert Helios Reporters Emily Donovan and Brett Kelman contributed to this story.