dB44.com | HARO BIKES AA PRO DEREK BETCHER

gOrk proven guilty for ignorance...

2008-07-23T02:09:05Z

Yesterday July 21, 2008, the Jury came to a close and found gOrk guilty for ignorance and sentenced to 2 life sentences full of bad marketing and/or business decisions which will eventually lead to .....

]]> something hideous.

Lets get real here for just a minute, Over the last 2 seasons maybe Bubba hasn't lived up to the bar that he set himself and everyone else in years prior. But afterall, He won the UCI Worlds after finishing 3rd the year before at the Worlds and managed 3 ABA AA Pro titles to boot. Gork what happened to "Redline's Super Hero?" - I guess I don't have to ask but do you kick everyone while they're down? You dropped Purse due to the injury clause and now you've done the same to Bubba. What a show of class on your part.

I don't even have to go out on a limb in saying that Bubba has more fans than any other BMX Pro has EVER had in history. His dad has done well with him over the years with the Supercamp deal and really got his name out there for him to close on said World Championship title and ABA Pro Titles to gain a legit fan base. When I was with Bubba just months ago in North Carolina I saw him sign about 50 autographs and as we would cool down after a moto, kids were following him around. We all know that Redline bikes are coming up short, so I would say that gOrks "Thank you" for keeping these wack race bikes moving over the years would not be a mid season contract termination. What a slap in the face. Gork, wouldn't you say it's time that your contract expires as well? You've just exceeded your industry capacity for jack ass decisions.

Unbelieveable.
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NateB making waves in BMX dirt

2008-07-18T15:39:56Z

Nate qualified 2nd in the Prelims yesterday in Cleveland at the Dew Tour. Insane. I'm pumped for him. While the rest of us been at the track and gym he's been at the trails and it's paying off. Here is the e-mail I got this morning from Nate with attached photo.....]]>

I didnt have to do the open qualifier this time. I went straight to prelims. I put together 2 solid runs and after it was all over. I qualified 2nd and im in the finals. Once again im the only rider to flip down the roll in to start my runs. Check the website for tv times. www.ast.com and go to TV. -Nate

Goodluck in Finals son!

A few things..

2008-07-16T19:43:25Z

First off can I just say a few things about the Olympics. American team is well justified obviously, which is a relief cause we could be coming up short like the UK, or potentially Canada... . .. Incase you haven't been paying attention, Kelvin Batey qualified the UK an Olympic Berth with qualifying to the 1/4 final at the Worlds, while the UK's golden boy Liam Phillips went ahead and filled motos. KELVIN earned the Olympic Berth for the country, yet the UK goes on to have a Trials race where Kelvin won the time trial, and then a crash first moto put him out of competition. I knew there would be politics to come along with the Olympics but this is politics at it's finest. Liams dad basically paid Liams way to the Olympics and that is the reason they had the trial to begin with. So unfortuneate because Liam is just an A-pro duck that is going to get smoked. I didn't know A-pro was an Olympic sport or I would have just started this Haro job years ago and quit training only to win an A-Pro Olympic Gold. I'm pretty bummed for Kelvin because this has been his focus for a while and he did all he could, and with out him, the country wouldn't have qualified a Berth. I'm pretty sure last place in every moto at the Worlds doesn't qualify a spot Liam. Oh well last place every moto is going to repeat it self once again in China next month as Liam is UK's Olympic Hopeful. Such a shame.

Nice that after Scot Erwood qualified Canada an Olympic Berth, and Jim Brown stepped up and tried to challenge him for it at an Olympic Trial in Chula Vista. In this case, Erwood showed him who is most deserving and Scot will be going to the games as he's the one who earned the Berth. Congrats.

Out for now... Taiwan trip in just under 2 weeks so there WILL be photos here of weird stuff.

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RM59 the geek.

2008-07-12T05:30:01Z

So RM59 has been anticipating the release of the new iPhone for months. Every day I come home and he's got some new gadget on his phone. The new iPhone released today and he was on ebay last night selling his current iPhone...... Today after his 12 hour work day, he spent 3 hours in line out side of an Apple store waiting for his turn to waste money on an iPhone with GPS which is apparently way better than his iPhone without GPS since he isn't a Huntington Beach local and all he may need it incase he gets lost. Semi-normal cats like myself just have an indash nav set up in their car. RM59 is in the other room right now setting up his and Meesh59's iPhones only to go to bed for 5 hours and wake up tomorrow at the butt crack of dawn to bang out another 12 hour work blow out. RM knows how to do everything on an iPhone so he might as well be LiL Wayne "Signin multi million dolla dealz from my iPhone".

This update is pretty much pointless, but tomorrow is going to be fun. Meesh 59 is having a B-day party for our pool guy and there is going to be a ton of pregnant chicks over here all day so I'm doing a 85 mile road bike ride. Out to bed. If you see RM ask him about the new iPhone he'll give you the run down.

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first week of work.

2008-07-11T03:42:51Z

Just been burning the candle at both ends with 6am wake up calls but I've pulled it off pretty good and have to say I like working at Haro. Just getting into the swing of things and it's going to be awesome when I don't commute to work 65 miles each way. It costs $25 a day in gas which suckkks....... The office has been fun. I'm catching on pretty quick to everything and been spending some time out back training for the Olympics on this special Haro Olympic model bike (click on the thumb nail). I'm sure to win gold. I'm skipping Roseville this weekend, thankfully. Going to be 150 degrees and dusty as hell. In the next month I'll be going to China and Taiwan. A bit bummed about the China gig but I've dodged 2 trips already with the Olympic test event last year and the Worlds this year. At least I won't be riding my bike while enhaling carbon monoxide. I managed the gym on tuesday this week and Orange BMX on Wednesday. Growing up sucks but had to do it some day! I'm getting ready for bed so I'm going to cut short today but can I just say that Kelvin Batey better get that Olympic Spot for England. He qualified the spot. I've never even heard of the other 3 ducks. BMX politics at their best!]]>

Career time.

2008-07-03T04:43:51Z

Got some pretty crazy news but I'm psyched to announce that I'm officially going to be pro career as of this coming monday! This came up just a few weeks ago and after some thinking I've decided to start working towards having a future after BMX racing, while still being able to race a limited schedule in 09.....]]> TonyD hired me at Haro starting Monday as the Parts and Accessories Manager. I'm basically going to be in charge of coming up with new ideas for bike parts and helping Tony and Chris out with whatever else they need BMX related. I will travel overseas 4 to 5 times a year so I will be 1k baller on United like Pete D, and the job has tons of other perks I'm psyched on. It's a desk job so I'll still be able to train and go to races when I'm not out of town or busy with work. I'm going to be moving down to the Carlsbad area in the near future I think. I love living with RM59 in HB but I'd be driving 70 miles each way to work which would burn me out pretty fast especially with gas prices. I turn 27 on Friday and I don't want to get caught up racing into my 30's with no college degree to fall back on so I'm super greatful to continue building at a brand I've already been involved with for the last 3 years. I think for the rest of this year I will be hitting up Nashville, NBL Grands and ABA Grands. I think there is going to be an ABA Pro race in So-cal so if so I will be hitting that as well.

I'm out in Vegas now for the week visiting family and friends and for my birthday. It was 109 degrees today and 112 tomorrow. It is miserable in this heat and I don't think I'll ever care to live here again although I love visiting. Photos today are from Southpark last weekend. That race was so much fun and Jack McDaniel is an awesome photographer check out his work @ www.gromfiles.com Out. -dB

Rain out.

2008-06-29T16:05:31Z

Today (Sunday) the rain played us out on the BMX here in Pittsburgh. So that means Pohlcamp gets two 1st place finishes and a bunch of cash. Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. I get two 8th place finishes and well, not so much cash but I'm not complaining! Racing in the rain would have been shady. Out to the airport!

Weekend update.

2008-06-25T04:58:05Z

Weekend was pretty chill. Drove up to Prunedale and was retarded thinking the 101 would be a chill drive. Ended up taking some 7 hours which I could have cut shorter to about 6. I felt pretty good. I had issues with the gate falling slow but other than that the track was pretty cool.....

]]> The step up into the second turn could have been smaller. It was about 3 feet long and we think it would have been better if it was reduced to a spine. I ended up getting 7th on Saturday and falling 2nd moto with DR on Sunday so I didn't make the cut. Kyle looked like himself on the weekend. Marc Willers riding good to two consistant 3rds in AA. Good job ya dirty carnt. Speaking of Marc and Dirty, check out his interview on Dirty BMX. There are also some good voice interviews as well. Funny site for sure.

Rode tonight with DannyC at Whittier. This weekend is South Park which I'm looking forward to. It's been a couple years since I've been to South Park and haven't been to NBL Grands since 2005 so I think I'll hit that up this year and go back to my NBL roots for a second although I do love me some slingshot gate and the ABA crew. out for now.

Olympic Trials.

2008-06-15T23:51:26Z

Went to Olympic Trials yesterday and it was such a crazy race to watch. Just being there was making me nervous like I was about to race myself. The pressure to perform for these guys was something else. With it all on the line for the 7 guys in the gate, aside from dR who will be the coaches pick regardless, it was do or die.....]]>

Mikey has been working hard since becoming resident athlete at the training center and he is flawless on that track. He sacrificed a lot to come through on yesterdays victory. He missed the Worlds and has based everything around this one race. When I started reading on message boards that people were doubting his ability, saying he will only be a threat in time trials, I was dumb struck! Mike was so confident (sorry Mike don't mean to put you on blast) that he called me and said something to the affect of, "Yo DB you're coming Saturday right? Bring some dress shoes, I got a hotel at the Hardrock and a table at this club called Ivy so you might need nice shoes. Don't tell Coach G I booked this stuff in advance though cause he'll be pissed!" Hahahah! That's when I knew for sure that Mikey was going to hold it down. Some times you just know when its your time to shine. Watching the award ceremony and seeing Mikey on cloud 9 was such an awesome feeling. To see your friend work so hard for something and finally achieve it is nearly as good as being in his shoes. Congrats Mike Jones. In proving that your fast time trial would only be icing on the cake, you showed that you will be a big threat in August as well.

Cisar looked really good but had an unfortunate crash in his first moto and was a bit shook up after. He still showed a lot of heart and came out and was still riding strong. When you take a head slam like he did it's pretty hard to perform at full capacity. Donny was on point and showed while he will be the coaches pick with a strong 2^nd place finish. Herman ended up 3^rd which is cool. He put his bid in for coaches pick as well. My guess will be Cisar and/or Herman for the alternate spot.

The Ivy party was pretty cool. Mikey was getting his celebration on and it was cool to step out on the town with Coach G. Officer Bennett was on the scene but I don't think he made it through the line outside the club. I think Mikey forgot to call Kyle for the official club "bring your dress shoes" invite. I think Kyle had his Vans on but the bouncer said they look like sneakers so off he went. Unlucky.

I'm back up in Orange County now and Mikey is continuing celebration of his Olympic Berth, pool side at the Hard Rock SD. The life of a player.

Photo attached, although bad quality because I forgot my camera and only had my sidekick (phone), Mikey at Dicks Last Resort downtown San Diego with some goofy hat that they made him. He was pumped!

Next up. Prunedale.

What's good.

2008-06-10T06:17:17Z

As you can see by the image to the left, Malus is already doing big things with the lead singer of As I Lay Dying rocking it... as well as members of Escape the Fate and Destroy The Runner. Malus will be available in every Hot Topic store in just a few days....... check check it out.

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Not much going on otherwise. I got a new track bike which is pretty cool. Me and RM59 rode our fixies down to the peir today and neither of us crashed which is dope. I even got RM out to Bellflower for gate practice tonight. He didn't do any gates though and only rode for 15 mins.

So what's the deal with gas prices ? That photo pretty much resembles how I feel about paying $4.49 the other day. When I got my Scion it was $26 to fill now it's $46 but I'm still not complaining there are people paying in the hundreds which is ridiculous. Rob59 has been riding his bike to work every day and his truck (The Burrito) just stays parked along the street in front of our house so the asian family across the street doesn't park any of their 17 cars in front of our house. Seriously is it me or do Asians in California have a 4 bedroom house with 17 to 20 occupants?

On the weekend I went out to the Valley and drank some PBR with my friends Jason, Kelly & GBum. Can I just comment that PBR is pretty foul. We went wondering the streets and ended up at a dive bar. Highlights of the night were me getting pushed down the street in a shopping cart and eventually tipping over and body slamming. Then later on that night I was running full speed ahead through wet grass and as soon as my wet shoes touched the wet concrete I was airborne to another body slam which resulted in sore leg the next day and still today. Here is a photo acting fools as usual. is Jason, self and G-bum. Jason is the man behind Malus and we're both wearing Malus T's even though you can't really tell, while G-bum sports a gay V-neck joint. and this is just a normal wednesday at Orange Y Bmx. Photo by Phil West. I'll update after Olympic Trials this weekend.

Oh and speaking of Olympics, I just saw that Canada qualified an Olympic Berth for the men because someone finished 6th place in the 1/8th final at the Worlds. This can't be serious. The 1/4 final is pushing it but 1/8th? Commmmmeee onnnnnnnn!

Malus Clothing

2008-06-02T22:06:38Z

My friends Jason and Lawrence came out with Malus Clothing in 2006 and had a pretty good run for what it was. It was popular in Vegas and they both had other things going on and not enough time or money to make a real push at having a legit clothing company. Fast forward to 2008 and Jason lives in LA now. He partnered up with his boss from Art Impressions Inc. and now the brand is about to blow up.......]]> www.buymalus.com - I also just did an interview for the site so peep it. Check Malus out at your local Hot Topic, June 14th!

UCI Worlds update in detail.

2008-05-31T09:17:36Z

Watching the live broadcast of the UCI Worlds as I'm writing this update. I've heard from everyone else that their broadcast is terrible but I'm watching it on RM59's MAC and it's like watching TV. Super good connection....

]]> As I type this, round #3 of Junior men just started. Sam Willoughby from Austrailia is making waste of Junior men as is Denzel. I think that is going to be a good main event between those two. Hopefully my team mate Logan has something to say about it as well. I got him a new skid lid so he's looking fresh to death. I'm hoping Travis comes through on Junior as well.

I figured I'd start writing my update early since it's taking about 1:05 per round so I'm going to be watching until like 1:30am Cali time. All of Elite Men is impressive this year. Allier looks super good, Sifiso is impressive, Strombergs is on point. Cisar, Danny C and KB in the same moto is going to make for an interesting 1/8. Kyle got 5^th first moto but came through second round. I think Cisar got him at the line which is a 2^nd and 1^st for Steven. Steven is on Haro now if you didn't know, welcome to the team. Danny C looks great he won the first moto. Jrich crashed in the rhythm second moto. The rhythm looks shady. Hopefully J is ok and comes through with a main event spot.

Can I just tell you how ANNOYING all the Chinese fans are? Every time a Chinese rider is on the track they are SCREAMING so loud I take my ear phones out every time. This is understandable to cheer for your country mates but they are in DEAD LAST every time by FAR! They scream the same thing every time which sounds something like Fousha Faydal. I don't know. Coincidentally [but not really], not one Chinese rider is going to advance out of the motos so the annoying cheering section will be taking an early out today. Thankfully. Fortune Cookie: Better luck next time. Foushal Faydal.

Crazy, right after I said that I see a Chinese Elite Women get 4^th in a moto. The fans went INSANE!!!

Elite Women, I am sorry but our girls [aside from Arielle and Jill] are so off the back. I can't understand how they have the opportunity to train at the Olympic Training Center but still are getting lit on fire by their competition. Arielle looks impressive. She has stepped it up a lot over the last year. Her and Jill are def. our only hope at Olympics. I hear Pacman playing in the background and Foushal Faydal is still ringing in my ears. Jing Jing just raced. Did I read that right, Jing Jing?

I wonder if the Ying Yang Twins are signed up?

Round 3 of Elite men just started. KB won, Steven in 2^nd again in their moto. Those two are killing it. Something tells me my update is going to be in more detail than Bmxmania. UCI is for sure sending me next year instead of Jerry. Can I borrow someone's digital camera? Kiddddding. Cristian is winning his qualifiers, I want to see him in the final as well. He's always the fastest dude who gets bad luck at the Worlds. Ivo Lacucs is looking good, hopefully he passes his drug test this time.... Just sayin'. Mosquito is winning his qualifiers as well, riding strong. Donny got handled twice by some Aussie I've never heard of named Alexander. Everyone is going so fast in Elite this year it's crazy. Carlos Oquendo from Columbia looks to be riding the track better than anyone, really fast down the 3^rd straight. Luke Madill also looks to be riding strong. Allier looks like himself today, I predict he will make the final this year. Augusto Castro out in the motos, crazy. He made the main last year. Martin Scherpen looks good. He stopped for an interview after winning all 3 motos. Just feeling the lactic burn up in his legs, "Id like to thank Redline g0rk and Bass Bever, I'm the fastest Elite with Wooden shoes, See you in the main."

I believe it's on to the 1/8^th finals now. Cristian 5^th in the first one. Bummer for sure. Cisar, Danny C and Kyle all qualified out of the first one. Stumpy moves on to the ¼. Donny moves on, Pohlcamp out. Kelvin Batey moves on to ¼ final which could mean an Olympic Berth for Great Britain. Awesome for him!

STACKED first ¼ final. Steven looked to unclip down the first straight but got it back in the last turn. Steven in, Danny C, KB and Stumpy out. Gnarly! Herman is out as well.

On to Semis; Donny Robinson and Cisar are the only Americans left in Elite. Jill is the only Elite women left and she comes through with a 4^th in the semi! I hear if she finishes top 6 in the main she's the American Olympian! Denzel and Travis advance to the final. Sam from AUS is killing it... Cisar saves America with a second in the semi and throws up a hang loose at the finish line. Donny qualifies out of his as well. Good job boys!

Main events ready to go. I'm going to watch this main about 30 seconds after the fans watching it live, and sleep in my own bed in about 15 minutes. Carnt wait! I must say that this freecaster live broadcast was awesome. I've been sitting here for almost 6 hours so I'm glad it was at least a clear program. Anyway, Sam and Denzel had a good race in the main. Sam holeshotted and won to the line. Denzel ended up 3rd with a bonk on the 3rd straight. Elite women Jill gets 6th. Congrats to her, it looks like an Olympic Berth for Jill and her being the only finalist for US, she will be the lone American female at Olympics!

Elite men, Cisar on point. 2nd in the final, lead American. Donny 4th. Strombergs wins. Safiso 3rd. What a program! Congrats again to Jill and Steven. It's 2:30am. Goodnight!

P.S - I smoked Mania on the update!!

New Mex

2008-05-26T20:41:21Z

Back from New Mexico. Pretty decent weekend finally. I'm mostly stoked that I stayed off the ground cause I've been doing way too much crashing lately..... Saturday was good. KY and Barry were going the fastest so I was going to get on the podium regardless ;). I ended up getting 2nd overall, KY 3rd and Barry got his first win. Congrats to him he's going super fast right now. Saturday night we went and watched the UFC fight at a local hot spot with NateB, KY, Philly D, and Moeller. I had a pretty gross pizza and a beer. All and all a fun night for sure. I woke up feeling like crap on Sunday. Stomach was blown out so I wasn't feeling breakfast. I made my main but wasn't feeling it so took off early. I think the pizza was bogus. Can't complain though because I didn't crash at all on the weekend and finally feeling pretty solid again for some good results in the future. My room mates went to Las Vegas to get their party on. This is their 2nd Vegas trip this month so I'm dog sitting. Rob and Meesh have a gambling problem ;).

Add Malus Clothing on Myspace, some new stuff is coming soon to all Hot Topic stores so be on the look out!

More updates soon. <3

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slackin'

2008-05-18T00:14:11Z

Sorry about no updates over the last few weeks. I've been in Vegas visiting friends and family. Had a great time out there and am back in California getting ready for New Mexico next weekend...... Vegas is always such a great time catching up with friends and family. I got there just in time for Supercross finals which was awesome. Dungee just got Vilapoto on the last lap of 125 main and Chad Reed came through on the 450 win. It's 200 degrees inside this house right now thanks to the heat wave in Cali but the pool is 85 degrees so I'll leave you with a few photos from Vegas, in order:

Phil Tinstman, myself, and Nate B
My buddy Chad, friend Quera and self
Nate, his girlfriend ash and self
Self and my ex from 2005, Lisa
Lawrence, Chad and self.

Verdict: I need a tan, bad!

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Weekend.

2008-04-21T08:27:14Z

Pretty chill weekend for me. My back is getting better day by day which I can't be more thankful for. My first few days back on the bike I was pedaling with even a stiffer core than normally. Injuries like this that are just minor setbacks are reminders of how fortunate we are to have good health......]]> Speaking of good health, I know more of you BMXers are willing to help out the Bullock family. Even if it's just $10. Join together and show your support to your BMX family. http://www.active.com/donate/BullockSupport

Friday I was up in Hermosa Beach hanging with my boy Greg (G-Bum) and we met up with Christophe, Fredric and their buddy Maxime at an Irish bar/nightclub type deal on the Hermosa Beach pier. It was pretty classic cause when we showed up, all of them were drinking some chick drinks, and the girl that was with them was drinking wine. She ordered up a round of gold schlagger (spell check on that one), and it did a number on C-Dog he looked to be in bad shape for a second. So as an attempt to get my French buddies to harden up, we ordered a round of 151 shots. They had never had them and it's pretty much not something to drink for fun. My dad said he used to poor it in the carburetor and start up dragsters with. Haha. The girl ran to the bath room and I didn't see her the rest of the night and C-dog was in pretty bad shape himself after that one. Pretty funny night.

Saturday I went out to Tonyd's in Temecula and did work on Dance Dance Revolution. My buddy Chris' wife Tawni swore that she was going to kill me at DDR but come to find out she couldn't even hang. Yeah, I feel pretty gay playing that game but Danny Caluag is the master of the game and he recommends to help with focus and reaction time. Haha.

I'm going to sell my old Intense Tazer hard tail MTB if anyone is interested. I've had it since I was co-sponsored by Intense Cycles back in the day but just never rode it. I'm not a big MTB guy... It's pretty gucci set up. Answer Black fork, Saint cranks, Profile rear hub, Answer bars, SDG ti-railed seat, Thompson post, etc. E-mail me for more details or questions.

Photo of the day is from Whittier. Jack McDaniel photo.