Thomas Stellwag

Growing up in Oberschleissheim in 1975, Thomas' play world was characterised by the traces of war: Bomb craters, gravel pits, bombed-out areas. What was wasteland for others became an adventure playground for him and his best mate. Grandma had a farm and there were old bicycles lying around - from his father and brother. Without further ado, he converted granny's bike: He took off the mudguards and off he went.

The inspiration came from the motocrossers who were travelling in the area. That's what they wanted to do - build jumps, race, jump. They called it "bicycle cross" and got up to mischief with their modified bikes, without realising that this was exactly what was being called BMX elsewhere.

Only later did it dawn on Stellwag that the bike was actually far too big for what he was doing with it and he found a peculiar 20-inch beach cruiser-like Bonanza bike in the bulky waste. And the next step also came from bulky waste: the Raleigh he found there was much closer to the actual dream. As his next birthday approached, he wanted it to say BMX and so, shortly before the day of honour, he found a white BMX 2000 in his cellar at home. However, he realised the limits of the bike before he could even call it his own: A secret test ride ended in a completely bent fork and the misery of having to act surprised at the gift was compounded by the fear that his little joyride in the week before the big day would be exposed.

In the following months, Thomas made a pilgrimage to the then lavishly equipped BMX department of the Karstadt department stores' and upgraded his bike with Centurion add-on parts. The next birthday brought a Velo Schauff "Rattlesnake" frame and the Bravo magazine appeared with photos of the American skatepark pioneer Jeff Watson. Now the full potential of his bike was revealed to him and BMX became his purpose in life.

Unfortunately, Oberschleissheim was not necessarily a BMX stronghold. Thomas travelled to the BMX track in Munich's Olympic Park, where there was also a quarter pipe, but the journey was too far for daily enjoyment. He rode a few beginner races there, but otherwise went in search of like-minded people in the nearby village of Unterschleißheim, where he also went to school. Together they built a small BMX track, but Thomas continued to have fun on the road. Wheelchair ramps and paved oddities in the village were used to learn the tricks that were displayed in the magazines on the beautiful ramps.

The ramps then came closer later. The successful racer Daniel Juling had set up a small BMX track in Eching and together they built a quarter pipe there. Thomas rode the ramp enthusiastically, but the already small BMX scene continued to shrink. At some point, he was largely on his own, and it was only when the skaters built a halfpipe on the slowly overgrown track that like-minded people started to turn up again. Thomas was the only BMXer - but one who meant business, and the skaters appreciated that.

Thomas used the first money to buy a GT Aggressor, but he was still largely unaware of the German freestyle scene. Until 1990, when a flyer arrived in a parcel from Rainer's Bike Shop: the first world championships on German soil. He could hardly believe his eyes. He immediately rounded up the BMXers scattered around Munich, bought a VW bus and organised a tour group to the small town of Kenn near Trier.

Looking back a little ruefully on the supposedly "missed" years, Thomas threw himself headfirst into the German BMX scene: The very next year, 1991, he organised the first contest in Eching and released his first video "Soul Rideo". In 1992 he registered a business selling BMX parts from his basement, in 1995 he opened his shop "360 Grad Sportshop" in Lohhof and in 1997 he started building the Rolling Wheels skatepark in co-operation with the BMX and skateboard club, of which he had been the second chairman since 1990. Also in 1997, he founded his wholesale business "AllRide Distribution" for the import and wholesale of American BMX brands. Both shops and the skatepark still exist today.

However, Thomas is not a businessman, but above all a BMXer. He rode contests in the street, mini and vert disciplines, won numerous titles and was one of the first Germans to jump backflips. He was one of the first to remove his brakes or grind big rails in Germany. But that wasn't the point. It was about meeting like-minded people with whom you share a passion. It was about experiencing BMX in all its facets: Contests, jams, sessions, road trips or just riding around. Alone or with others, in Lohhof, Eching or all over the world. Living it up on the bike and getting up to mischief, like in the craters of Oberschleissheim. And that's what it's all about today. BMX takes you places. BMX is life.

From "rallycross" in the bomb craters to the international stage and back again - Thomas Stellwag is BMX through and through and for that we welcome him to the German BMX Hall of Fame.

• 1991 German BMX Expert Ramp Champion in Freiburg
• 1992 German Champion Pro, Miniramp (DM Braunschweig)
• 1992 German Champion Pro Vert (DM Braunschweig)
• 1993 World Champion BMX Expert Vert (WM Limoges, France)
• 1993 German Champion BMX Pro Street (DM Nuremberg)
• 1994 German Vice Champion Pro Vert (DM Beerfelden)
• 1994 Vice World Champion Master Vert (WM Cologne)
• 1994 3rd place World Championship BMX Pro Street (World Championship Cologne)
• 1995 3rd place German Championship Pro Street (DM Cologne)
• 1996 3rd place German Championship Pro Miniramp (DM Gladbach)
• 1997 5th place German Championship Pro Dirtjump (DM Lohhof)
• 2000 8th place World Championship BMX Pro Street (WM Cologne)
• 2001 10th place German Championship BMX Pro Street (DM Lohhof)
• 2005 5th place German Championship Pro Street (DM Coburg)