Eric Rupe

[58 delray]

[size=60]ERIC RUPE[/size]





1. Eric Rupe is a name synonymous with the Mongoose brand.  Do you think Mongoose played a part in your reported forced retirement after the ABA Grand Nationals in 1990 when you were just 27 years old?

 

To be honest, I wasn't forced and it had nothing to do with Mongoose.  It had to do with the jerkoff that was running Mongoose at the time and the two faced, backstabbing putz that was working under him.  They got a wild hair up their _ss and figured it would be a great idea to save a bunch of money by just cutting the salary of their highest paid rider.  Their lame explanation to me for doing so, was because my results were not good enough and not as good as the other team rider's results that they were going to resign.  When I handed them a list of my year long results that proved they were better than the other Mongoose rider's results, they came back to me saying that it's really because the Mongoose co-sponsors weren't happy with how I represented them.  ANYBODY who knows me, KNOWS that that's BS for sure.  I wasn't forced to retire, I just decided to do so, because I just figured if Mongoose didn't want me, than why would anyone else?  Silly I know, but that was where my mind was at the time.  Either way, the owners of Mongoose soon fired both those bone heads and strangely enough, years later the new owners of Mongoose hired me again and then I was making more money that ever before.  Crazy, huh?  LOL  We sometimes can never tell what plans God may have for us.  That's why we need to keep our chin up, so we can see when he opens a door for us to walk through.





2. You turned Pro at age 14.  Can you tell the readers who you were sponsored by, and if it changed regarding your thoughts at that time ?

 I was racing for Schwinn at the time in 1977.  Honestly, I had no illusions of setting the BMX Pro world on fire or anything, I just thought it would be cool to race the fast guys and see if I could hang with them or even beat them from time to time.  It was about a year later at the 1978 Jag World Championships in Indianapolis, IN that I started to think I might actually have a future as a BMX Pro.  I took second place in the pro main event behind Stu Thomsen and ahead of David Clinton.  Those were two of THEE fastest guys at the time and definitely two of my heroes.  At 15 years old, I was one happy kid.



3. You have had THEE longest racing career in BMX.  Can you explain your drive to ride successfully for such a long time?

 Yep, it’s been a long road and an even longer career.  I just started my 37th straight year of racing.  Oh my poor lower back.  LOL  I'd have to attribute two things as the reason for my continued drive to be a successful racer.  One is that I never felt I was the best… even during the time when many considered me to be just that… I always felt (and still do) I was the underdog with something to prove.  And two, I love to ride race and compete.  It’s been in my blood even since before I ever started racing and it’s in my blood today.  BMXer FOR LIFE.   





4. Your first win in the top level pro class came at the NBL War of the Stars National in Petersburg, IN on July 5, 1980.  Can you remember much about this race, and how it felt afterward to be classed as a national level winner?

 
I remember it like it was yesterday… kinda.   I remember it being part of a triple header weekend.  We'd race Friday at one track, then on Saturday at another track and then on Sunday at yet another.  Man, did those weekends take it out of you.  My win came at the Saturday round and the main was at night.  I never liked racing at night, even as a kid… still don’t.  I remember three things about that race.  Coming out of the last turn I remember thinking, “I’m about to win my first pro race and beat David Clinton, and his hot wife is watching”.  That’s real focus, huh?  HaHa  The other thing I remember when I hit the line was, “I hope my brother is proud of me.  After all, he told me I’d never be able to beat him and I just won a pro race before he did”.  Such a sweet victory!   And the third thing I remember was losing in the trophy dash to my Schwinn teammate Donny Atherton.  Back then, the trophy dash was where they took the expert winners from 14 on up and the two pro winners, money & trophy and it was a one lap race to decide the big trophy winner for the entire event.  To a pro it really didn’t mean much.  It’s tough to get motivated to beat a bunch of ams when you just won a pocket full of cash 10 minutes earlier.  If trophy dash trophies would have been cash, Donny Atherton would have retired RICH!  Seemed winning those was easy for him.   J



5. How did the sport feel in the early 90s compared to the stellar period in the mid 80s, and what had changed in this period?

Nothing compares to the early to mid 80’s.  The sport was taking off and I was just one of the fortunate guys riding the wave.  It was new, exciting, sweeping the globe and so many companies were just throwing money at it.  It was an awesome time to be a top pro.  I still feel very fortunate to have been one of the first guys in the pro class when the sport really started peaking.  Unfortunately, I was right there when it began to level off and start a down swing.  The only thing that really changed though was the sponsor money.  It just stopped flowing into the sport like it had before.  The racing was still as fun and the tracks were still fun.  The competition was still awesome and a true hearted racer/competitor could still go have fun.  He just couldn't do it making that kind of money we were making before.  Well, some could, but most could not.





6. In 82 you raced for Mongoose, then moved to Profile for the 83 season.  You stayed there until Dec 83 then moved back to Mongoose.  How far into the season with Profile did you realize this was not for you, and who made the move for you to return to Mongoose?

 1983 was an amazing year.  I didn't start riding for Profile until Feb.  Things just weren't working at Mongoose, as I was making a decent salary, but was not allowed to have any co-sponsors.  I talked with owner Skip Hess and he graciously allowed me to leave, as I told him I had an opportunity to make more money with Jim Alley (owner) and Frank Lopez (mgr) over at Profile.  There I'd earn a nice salary AND be able to get paid by as many co-sponsors as I could get.  Mongoose already had six pros at the time, so Skip didn't see a problem letting me go.  I started winning for Profile right away.  It was a great season.  I got married to Kathryn in June and won my first NBL pro title in Sep.  I finished third in the ESPN Series (congrats Greg) and was really stoked with my year.  It was now time to negotiate a contract for 1984 with Profile.  Well, as it turned out, Mongoose wanted me back… badly.  They were going to drop all their pros, hire me to be their only one and pay me three times what Profile was paying me, but this time they'd let me have all the co-sponsors I wanted.  I just couldn't say no to that.  I was really sad to leave Profile, as I just loved Jim, Nancy, Cory and Sissy.  They were like my family, but I had my real family to provide for and money helps do that…  And not just a little more money, but A LOT more money.


7. In 1989 Mongoose decided to massively cut your contract down from a reported $36,000 a year to $3,000.  How did you manage to hurdle that huge hit with your young Family, and keep on racing?

 Yep, it wasn't easy.  This is also part of question number one of this interview.  They (the two stooges I mentioned before) offered me that insulting contract, expecting I'd refuse it and just quit.  Rather than telling them to shove it, and just go race for someone else and beat every Mongoose rider that ever got on the track, I decided to take the contract and keep racing for them.  After all, I was Mongoose at the time.  I just spent the last six years winning for them.  How could I possibly go race for someone else?  It just didn't seem like a possibility to me.  It was a really bad move on my part looking back, but hey, I never claimed to be the sharpest knife in the drawer… back then anyway.  ;-)   I had to take a full time job and try racing at the same time.  Trust me, it’s NOT easy to do at the top level of pro BMX racing, as I'm sure many others can attest too, but I did it.  Not too well, but I did it.




8. In 1997 you re-sign with Mongoose.  You had proven up to that time, that you were still one of the most talented guys out there, so how was your return "home" treated by the in house Mongoose team, and what had changed from the team you left in 1990?

 Well, as this industry has shown time and time again, just cause the name is the same, doesn't mean it’s the same company.  By the time I returned to Mongoose in 1997, they were owned by another company and the guy in charge was Brad Hughes.  I knew Brad from my early days racing for Schwinn.  He and Richard Wittenberg hired me to race & manage the race team.  The team… hahaha  The team was me and Robert MacPherson.  That was the team.  Robert and I got along really well and we both did well at the races.  As far as the in house people at Mongoose, it was only Brad, Richard and one other girl working there.  I came into the office to help out if I wasn't on the road racing.  We all got along really well.



9. You still keep the cranks turning and are currently with the GT team.  How do you manage to keep on riding considering you have not taken time out from the sport in 30 years and what effect does it have on your body ?

I think the main reason I CAN keep riding and riding well is because I HAVE been steadily doing it all these years.  This is the start of race year 37 for me.  I stay in shape by going to gym several times a week, doing my sprints several times a week, going to the local track several times a week and loving every second of it.  I never get tired of it.  Ever.  When I do, I'll… who am I kiddin, I'm never gonna get tired of it.  Hahaha  Don't forget, this is all much more easily accomplished because I'm getting paid to do it this entire time.  I'm truly blessed.

10. What were your thoughts on European racing in the 80s Eric, was it seen as a challenge for you guys ?  What was your favorite memory from racing abroad in those days?
 
I had mad respect for the fast guys from overseas in the 80's.  They were heroes from where they were from and THAT is a big deal.  As far as them being a threat to us "on the track", they weren't.  They hadn't caught up to us yet, as far as on track speed.   I will say, without guys like Andy Ruffell, Tim March, Jamie Hales, Matthew Weeks, Claude Vialmont (sp), Xaviar Redois, BMX would have never witnessed the great's like Jamie Staff, Christophe Leveque, Thomas Allier, Dale Holmes, Wade Bootes and all the fast non-USA racers we have today.  It's a progression thing, just like the way it's been here in America.  Without Scot Breithaupt and Stu Thomsen, you don't get riders like Brent Patterson and Greg Hill, and without them, you don't get Gary Ellis and Pete Loncarevich and without them, you don't get John Purse, then Kyle Bennett, then Mike Day.  See how it works?  Before any great rider arrives, there was always a great rider leading the way.

11. In 1985 you won the BMX Plus Racer of the Year with 44% of the total vote.  What did these accolades mean to Eric Rupe at the time?

 I was quite honored to have been voted Racer of the Year for 1984.  I hadn't ever won anything like that before where people vote.  It was really special.  That’s when my wife knew she hooked up with a real star.  Hahaha  And the fact that it was a land slide victory was even better.   At that time, it was the largest margin of victory ever received for any BMX magazine award.   But as my dear friend Greg Hill told me, “It doesn't mean anything until you win it three times in a row”.  He won the NORA Cup three times in a row, so I guess he'd know.  Thanks for trying to rain on my parade Barb Wire!  hahaha





12. You had a relatively injury free career up until recently.  What part of this do the new style tracks play in it, and what part just comes down to age?

 I think I was able to remain injury free early on in my career because the tracks were much easier to ride for me.  I still think you could get hurt on an easy track if you are doin 90 and you plant your leg into the ground after you slipped a pedal.  Hey, _hit happens.  I've been lucky at times and I've been unlucky at times.  I've been seriously hurt 5 times in my career.  Two of those times were because I squirreled out and blew up.  The other three times have been during a race where once some chump had it in for me, and two times someone squirreled out and wrecked a few of us and I just ended up with the short end of the stick.  Hey, it’s all good.  It’s racin.  Rubbin’s racin!  36 full years of racing and practicing on the track and I can count on one hand the number of times I've been out with injury.  Not bad.  I'll take it.



13. How much input did you have in the Mongoose Eric Rupe Signature Edition frame/bike and what did it benefit more, your racing or your Bank balance at the time?

 I had a lot of input in the development of that bike.  I mean, I didn't cut the tubes, weld it, chrome it or sticker it up, but I sure helped a lot.  I sat down with Skip Hess Jr and designed it, helped the graphix guys come up with the stickers and I even played a small part in picking the components that came on the complete bikes.  It was a really fun yet tedious process.  I think it helped both my racing performance as well as my bank account.  Getting to race on a frame that you yourself pretty much designed can't hurt.  It also didn't hurt that they paid me decent money for every frame and bike sold.  Let’s just say… “I wish I had a dime for every dime I made off those bikes”.  ;-)   I actually still have an original ERSE frame and fork (with original stickers) in my bike storage unit out back.  It’s the only thing from back in the day that I still have.



14. Bit of personal info here Eric, outside of BMX what else gets you up in the morning?

 
I'm an avid golfer and a fan of MX.  I play golf about two times a week and practice about five days a week.  I'd like to tell you that I'm a scratch player, but I'd be lying.  On a good day, I'm a single digit handicap.  I used to spend most of my free time riding and racing MX.  I've actually been doing that LONGER than I've been BMXing.  Just not as consistently.  I have three fresh, clean 2002 Honda two strokes for sale if anyone is interested?  80cc – 125cc - & a 250cc.  I got em under a tarp in my garage.  J  But what really gets my up in the morning are my 9am conference calls with the “Olympic Selection Committee” that I'm on.  We have these calls to discuss all disciplines of cycling and who is doing what and who is making what National Team and what Worlds Team and ultimately, who will be on all the USA Olympic cycling teams.  Quite an honor to be part of it.  Very exciting.



15. So all that's left is to say thanks for taking the time to do this Rider interview Eric.  Is there anything you would like to add that has not been covered?

 

Thanks for taking the time to check in with me.  It’s been fun looking back and remembering the good times I've had in BMX.

Here’s wishing all your readers the best and remember… “Be kind”!

 

Thanks to:

My Lord & Savior Jesus Christ

My three sons Rocky, John & Kevin

My Mom & Dad’s (John & Bob)

My brother Rob & sisters Laura & Jonna

GT, Oakley, ODI, T.H.E., Sinz, Fly, Kenda, SNAP, Alienation, KMC, Epic, SDG, FSA, Shimano

Every teammate I’ve ever had.  You made traveling that much more fun.  Even you Ninty!  J

Tony & Joan at Sycamore BMX in Simi Valley, CA and everyone that rides there.

Every fan I've ever had.  I'll never get tired of you asking for my autograph or a photo with me.

 

Take Care Now… Bye Bye  ;-)

[20to26]

brilliant insights - one of my fave riders from BITD and I didn't ever own a 'goose...

[factory pilot]

Great stuff... Always had s soft spot for old Swoop Rupe! 

[billstup]

Raced against him a couple of times, and each time he became world champ !

[DIRTBIKER250F]

The best guy to interview out of them all

[pickle]

Top read 

[griff]

nice one for posting andy