Many consider him, in some ways, a founder of "Old School BMX"—an era from roughly 1969 to 1987 or 1988, from its very beginnings to just after its first major slump in popularity from 1985 to 1988.
He first organized what was called Pedal-Cross at the time on November 14, 1970., and established a track in a vacant lot in Long Beach, California.
Breithaupt adapted these structures from motocross sanctioning bodies such as the AMA, CMC and AME, as would other pioneers like Ernie Alexander, [founder of the National Bicycle Association (NBA)] and George Esser [(founder of the National Bicycle League(NBL)]—both of whom, like Breithaupt, had roots in motorcycle motocross as racers or promoters.
His nickname was and is "OM" for "Old Man," in part because he was older at a time when BMX was seen as a pre-teen and early teen activity.
the Bicycle Motocross Championship of California State), which Breithaupt conceptualized, promoted, and built a custom track for, has him listed as 17 years old.
[3] At 17, his age hadn't become a running gag yet, although he could not participate in the Yamaha Bicycle Gold Cup series finals-ironically since he was the race promoter-because he was disqualified after a win in the Expert Class in the first qualifying race at Birmingham High School in Van Nuys, California, with Brian Ramocinski declared the winner.
[7] In later years, Breithaupt designed and built Narler Park in Long Beach, California, the first track with a separate pro section.
He was brought on as their National Public Relations Director in 1975 and announced many of their major events, including the 1975 Shimano Grandnationals, which he sat out due to injuries.
Breithaupt had a hand in virtually every aspect of BMX: racing, promoting, announcing, designing tracks, manufacturing, sponsoring and managing teams.
In 1978 at the track in Carson, California, called the Runway because it was next to the skateboard park, Breithaupt ran NBS-sanctioned races.
He held the first Pro race at the Runway sanctioned by the NBA, which Harry Leary won, riding for factory JMC.
The first National held at Saddleback in 1979 was won by Stompin' Stu Thomsen fresh on the SE Racing team.
[citation needed] He may not have been the very first to put on a BMX race, but it would be very difficult to come up with any other single person who has left a bigger mark on the sport.
He was a drug addict, primarily cocaine, who started in his early 20s and aside from brief periods of sobriety he never stopped; it was Breithaupt's downfall.
1988 Calendar has it allegedly happening on October 23, 1974 **This publication is not to be confused with BMX Action, which began publishing in late 1976 Note: In the early days of professional racing, 1976 and prior, many tracks offered small purse prize money to the older racers of an event, even before the official sanctioning bodies offered prize money in formal divisions themselves.
Hence, some early "professionals" like Stu Thomsen turning "pro" in 1975 at 16 years old—racing for small amounts of money at track events.
For the sake of consistency and standardization noted professional first are for the first pro races for prize money offered by official BMX sanctioning bodies and not independent track events.
BMX First sponsor: Trickray (for BMX) Yamaha (for motorcycles) First national win: Yamaha Bicycle Gold Cup series "proto national" on July 20, 1974, at Birmingham High School in Van Nuys, California, but he was disqualified for being over aged at 17 years old.
Due largely to the lack of training time incurred because of his responsibilities of running a company and his promotions, he retired altogether from pro racing in May 1983.
It was joked in the August 1983 issue of BMX Action that they could start figuring out his age by the cruiser class he raced.
*Riders often put slogans on the seat of their pants instead of their surname or nickname as a small psychological ploy against their competitors behind them to read.