Dave Mirra
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David Michael "Dave" Mirra[1] (born April 4, 1974 in Chittenango, New York) is an American BMX athlete and business owner. Mirra holds the record for most X-Games medals, standing (and gold medals) and has medaled in every X-Games since they started in 1995. His current medal count as of August 5, 2007 in the X-Games is 32. He is known primarily as a vert ramp and park (or skatepark) rider. He has 3 pegs on his BMX bike.
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[edit] Personal life
Dave Mirra was born in Chittenango, New York and as a child developed a love for riding his bike. Mirra practiced emulating the tricks of his hero, BMX veteran Dennis McCoy and by the age of sixteen was inventing new tricks by himself that eventually allowed him to become a professional athlete.
In February 2006, Mirra married Lauren Blackwell. The couple had their first child, Madison Michael Mirra, in September 2006.
In November 2007, Dave and Lauren welcomed their second baby girl- Mackenzie Mirra.
[edit] Making Protown
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Greenville, North Carolina in the BMX community is more commonly known as "Protown". This is due to the large amount of contest-riding BMX pros living there.[citation needed] In the 1990s, Mirra's brother, Tim Mirra, moved to Greenville where there was virtually no BMX scene.[citation needed] Mirra was looking to get out of New York, so he decided to move down to Greenville. Not long after, fellow professional BMX rider Ryan Nyquist moved in with him. Mirra and Nyquist became quick friends and would build ramps and ride them. Many pros moved to Greenville which is reportedly now home to over twenty professional BMX riders.[citation needed] In 2006, Mirra was unable to compete in all five rounds of the AST Dew Tour due to injuries. During the second stop of the 2006 Dew Tour, July’s Right Guard Open, Mirra lacerated his liver. This prevented him from competing in August’s X Games, ending his run of 12 consecutive appearances in the event.
[edit] Mass media
Dave Mirra's success has brought him to numerous outlets besides riding his bike. He is featured in the Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX video game series, has published a photo-biography titled "Mirra Images", has appeared on "The Late Show with David Letterman" and the "Today Show", was the host of MTV's Real World vs. Roadrules: The Inferno for 2 seasons, was Punk'd by Ashton Kutcher for IRS fraud, and was once one of People Magazine's "50 Hottest Bachelors". Dave also rode a $7500 gold plated bike in the 2006 X-games, but was not able to finish the competition because of a crash.
[edit] Sponsorship
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The tone or style of this article or section may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. Specific concerns may be found on the talk page. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions.(December 2007) |
Dave's first major sponsor in the BMX world was GT Bicycles. Hitting a slump, and reluctant to sign, Mirra's hero Dennis McCoy finally convinced GT to pay him a fair amount for sponsorship. GT wanted Mirra to move to California and tour the country doing stunt shows at bike shops to promote their bikes like the rest of their riders, but since Mirra felt at home on the East Coast his relationship with GT eventually faded. He has been sponsored by Haro bicycles for a number of years, in 2007 he started his own company called "mirrabike co".
Aside from bike sponsors, Mirra has had various secondary sponsors throughout the years. His current sponsors are: MirraCo, Monster Energy, OXY, Slim Jim, DC Shoes, Dragon Optics, Maxxis Tires, Bell Helmets, and SNAFU.
