In the summer of 1985, a Mountain Dew commercial began airing that featured pro California riders Eddie Fiola, Ron Wilkerson and R.L.

A few days later we set up our ramp in the Pepsi distributorship parking lot and did a show in full uniform for a couple of executives from the plant.

We painted a big Mountain Dew logo on our ramp, got jerseys and stickers, and they set us up with a sponsorship through Edmond Bike Shop to keep us flush with parts and inner tubes.

Today, I understand how silly it must have sounded when he phoned in his request: "Hey, I found some random fourteen-year-old kid in Oklahoma who rules.

"[5] Mat Hoffman first came to the attention of people outside of Edmond, Oklahoma when a letter and photo appeared in the Street Talk section of Freestylin' Magazine's August 1986 issue.

In the letter he mentions being sponsored by Mountain Dew and the image shows him pulling off a one footer over a nine foot quarter pipe.

"[6] Hoffman entered his second national competition on June 29, 1986, at the General Bicycles/AFA Freestyle Championships at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

In the November 1986 issue of Freestylin' Magazine coverage of the event, Hoffman received a two page photo spread because of his performance.

"[4] After healing his collarbone, Hoffman made his Skyway debut in August at the IBMXF World Freestyle Championships in Vancouver.

Skyway, Mongoose and Kuwahara sent full squads of combatants, and while most of the other major factory teams had a couple of riders in attendance, there were some serious absentees.

On December 13, 1986, Hoffman rode in his first 2-Hip King of Vert contest at Ron Wilkerson's The Enchanted Ramp in Encinitas, California.

There were six pros (Wilkerson, Todd Anderson, Mike Dominguez, Eddie Fiola, Brian Blyther and Josh White and the expert division had riders such as Tim Rogers, Steve Broderson, Marc McGlynn and Hoffman.

"[7] While only 15 years old, Hoffman began construction on an indoor half pipe in his father's medical supply distribution warehouse.

Hoffman said, "For years, I'd wanted to ride for Haro – the first company to create a freestyle bike – run by the guy who invented the sport.

Adding to the appeal, Haro's roster of sponsored riders was the coolest in the world: Ron Wilkerson, Brian Blyther, Dave Nourie, Joe Johnson, Dennis McCoy... it was the dream team.

It was unsettling to see two of the best riders in the sport paying their own way to contests, wearing Adidas track suits and doing demos at Chrysler dealerships, just to make a little extra money until that bazillion dollar Pepsi/Huffy deal kicked in (which, of course, never did).

But Dennis and Joe's lapse in judgment was my gain-I made a phone call to Rhino and secured a spot on the Haro team.

I would remain classified as an am for at least the rest of the year, but I got a pay increase and was making about $50,000 in annual salary -approximately ten times what I earned with Skyway.

Linn Kasten the founder and engineer of Redline Bicycles helped Hoffman develop a frame and fork and made him five prototype Condor sets in his shop in California.

I wanted top quality, which meant using American made 4130 aircraft grade chrome-moly tubing, the best money can buy.

A couple of weeks later Linn's machine shop had built me five prototype Condor frames, one for Steve Swope, Rick Thorne, Dave Mirra, Davin Hallford, and me.

The bike held up to flatbottom landings, rooftop drops, handrails, gaps, dirt, street, ditches, extreme weather conditions, name-calling, and giant ramps.

Hoffman said, "Precision materials and craftsmanship came with a steep price tag, and I found out I couldn't afford to have Linn Kastan's shop do production.

Hoffman has produced, directed and hosted several TV series for ESPN including Kids in the Way, HBtv, and Mat's World.

[8] Hoffman is responsible for building the sport for decades, providing support to the biggest names in the industry, including Dave Mirra, Jay Miron, Kevin Robinson, Chad Kagy, Seth Kimbrough, Taj Mihelich, Brad Simms, Anthony Napolitan, Mike Escamilla, Rick Thorne, Kevin Jones, Chase Gouin, Pete Augustin, Day Smith, and Art Thomason, among others.

Hoffman and his team were selected to take part in the closing ceremonies of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta in a production called "Sport as Art".

He stunned the industry and fans, alike, when he set another record by successfully completing the first-ever No-handed 900 at the 2002 X Games, resulting in the silver medal.

When Hoffman achieved 26.6 feet above the ramp in March 1999 to 2001, he had a team of four professional photographers, an elaborate scaffolding system to record the attempt at different angles and had an ABC Wide World of Sports camera crew on-site.

Hoffman is also credited with being the first person to perform a double peg grind down a handrail, as documented in the video Head First, released in 1991.

[10] An ESPN 30 for 30 documentary entitled The Birth of Big Air, directed and produced by Jeff Tremaine, Johnny Knoxville, Spike Jonze and Hoffman himself, was released in July 2010.