Pro Pasts - Brian Lopes

The saying goes that champions aren't born, they are bred. In the case of Brian Lopes, it was the support of his parents and raw, unadulterated determination that turned this small kid from Mission Viejo, California into a Champion BMXer and one of the most legendary gravity mountain bikers of all time.

Learn more about Brian's early days inside,Born in 1971, in Mission Viejo, California, Lopes was never the biggest or the most attentive. At 2, his parents once had to tie him to a tree while camping so that they could get the gear unloaded without Brian underfoot. At 10, his dad took him hunting. He lasted 5 minutes before he started throwing rocks and walked back to the truck, over it. His parents tried everything to keep him out of trouble, including signing him up for Soccer and then T- Ball and Baseball for 5 years, where he played pitcher.


To outsiders, Brian may sometimes appear cold and impersonal, but he is always willing to say hi and sign an autograph. To his friends, Brian has a heart of gold and would give you the shirt off of his back. One of his closest friends in the world is another legendary BMXer and Downhiller, Leigh Donovan.


Leigh met Brian in October, 1982 when Brian was riding for a local bike shop out of Irvine, California. "Brian was the ultimate show off, nothing has changed" says Donovan, "but he wasn't the fastest...that changed when he started making money as a pro. Brian became like a brother to me, always looking out for me and pretty much has always been my mentor and teacher when it came to learning anything new on a bike. Brian was little, so most people always looked at him as a loud mouth kid that was good, but always over looked for the major sponsorships."

That would soon change. For 3 years Brian raced for SE bikes, until 15 or 16 years old. He wasn't winning many races, but he was a hotshot and in every BMX magazine out there. Everyone knew who he was because of his attitude, not his riding. He turned pro at 17, and he wasn't even that great of an Expert rider at the time, and everyone thought he was crazy, but Brian didn't care. In 1989, Brian won the first race of the ABA Grands in AA pro, the highest level of BMX racing. He won the opening night event, beating much bigger, faster guys. "His cockiness and drive to make money was all he needed to become a strong BMX racer" says Donovan.

Besides having the drive to push his athletic successes, Brian has also been a shrewd business man, starting at a very young age. While racing for a smaller BMX team, Brian and his teammates had tickets to the pro AA race which they were not attending. Our young entrepreneur collected them all and resold them... for a profit. The team owner and his teammates hassled him and eventually made Brian use the funds collected to buy the entire team dinner. Of course, not happy that he had done all the work and everyone would reap the rewards, instead of a nice dinner, Brian took everyone to Taco Bell. As a kid he also sold off his extra stickers and even ran a lemonade stand. He has always been a big saver, largely due to his parents instilling the value of money into him as a child, and owes them a large amount of credit for his financial success.



After winning that first AA race, Lopes never looked back. The 4x and BMX dominator the bike world has come to know was born that night. After SE shuttered their team, Lopes moved to the Pedal Power Shop team out of Orange, and worked at another local shop to help pay for a condo that he bought at 18. He has worked hard for everything he has earned, not letting his ego get in the way. His success in AA pro BMX was stunning, partially due to the fact that some of the veterans he was racing against had 80 lbs on him and years of experience. The legendary snap of his 4X days was already in full effect. He would pop them out of the gate and pull them down the straight, leaving the rest of the field far behind. His love for the sport of BMX never waned, and Brian was always trying to contribute. Always the trend setter, word has it that he was the first AA pro to ever use SPD pedals in a race.

In 1992, Lopes and Donovan headed up to Big Bear to try out mountain bike racing. "Brian won his race, I sucked," Donovan recalls. That year they both discovered downhill and new careers were launched. 18 years later, Lopes has amassed 18 titles including 9 NORBA championships, 6 World Cup wins and 4 World championships. His rainbow stripes, amazingly include every gated discipline the UCI has ever offered them in. Dual Slalom, Duel & finally 4 Cross. His national titles include downhill and dual championships as well as multiple podiums. His first title came only 3 years after starting to ride mountain bikes, winning the US National Downhill championship in 1993.


As his best friend, Donovan should have the last word. "Brian is a really emotional guy with a lot of heart... most people won't ever see that side because like most guys he has a tough shell that doesn't break with just anyone. Brian is a great person with an amazing heart and I wish more people could know that side to him, but he is who he is and that is what makes him successful, talented and more than anything Brian Lopes... an Original!"

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