Eddie Fiola

Filed under Hall Of Fame on April 23, 2012 | Comment(s)

Eddie is a true legend in BMX and arguably the best rider to EVER ride a skatepark. Eddie is credited with being the first rider to do a 540 in a pipe.  Eddie won four " BMX Action Nora Cup" awards and five "King Of The Skatepark" titles. At the time, the " King Of The Skatepark" competitions were as big in the freestyle world as the X-Games and Dew Tour are today. In the early days, Eddie was sponsored by Bottema Forks, SE Racing, Haro, and Premier Helmets. At the end of 1982, Eddie was hired by Kuwahara to design, ride, and promote the E.T. Freestyle bike. Eddie was also the man behind one of the most famous freestyle bike designs to this day, the GT PRO Performer. It had a very unique design for it`s time and is a stand-out among collectors. He also brought the Potts mod to the table by working extensively with Steve Potts. Eddie is credited for taking his idea to Steve who designed the technical end of things. Eddie applied it in the skatepark and the Potts mod is still in use to this day! Eddie was known for running many "different" things than the norm in his day. He ran 1 3/8th wheels in the skatepark when no one else was. He would show up with either an all white, all black, or all yellow bike and uniform with his trademark, an upside down #1, on his back. Eddie toured all over the world and brought freestyle to the masses, performing at BMX tracks, BMX nationals, bike shops, arena`s, and even performed at Anaheim Stadium at the Superbowl of Motocross. You name it, Eddie performed for the fans. But before all that, Eddie was a racer. He was an Orange Y and Ascot local and has a great history in the BMX racing scene. Even in his heyday, the "KING of skateparks" would show up unannounced and incognito to race at local races. He was known for getting out front and busting out some tricks, which were HUGE for that time, like a 360 over a double jump, to impress the fans. It is rumored that the character of Cru Jones in the movie "RAD" was loosely based on the life story of Eddie Fiola. Although Eddie did not play the main character, he was a stunt double in the movie. Today, Eddie works in the movie industry as a stunt man and is credited with working on such great movies as The Italian Job, Indian Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and The Dukes of Hazard, just to name a few.