Lane 8 BMX Podcast

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Cam Bramer is a busy guy. Recently he was in Tulsa, Oklahoma for a month and some change. While there he and Anthony Bucardo helped out on a junior development camp. He then participated in a Team USA camp before the national champs. 

The Legacy nationals didn't go as well as Beamer hoped. He had nothing but outside gates the first day. Saturday he didn't race. He said he wanted to save his legs for Sunday. Sunday was good but he says he didn't have his best gates. Cam went for the win but sadly he ended up locking up with Spencer Cole. Brayden Kempel took home the Stars and Stripes. 

This year Bramer decided to leave Supercross for hi own individual sponsors. He says things weren't working out at Supercross and it was time for him to explore his options.

For the rest of the season Bramer plans to hit some world cups, race more nationals and simply have some fun.  

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George Costa is the man behind Rennen Design Group. Costa is devoted to the technological advancement of BMX racing. He's know for his chainrings, the Rollenlager, to decimal gearing. 

But did you know that Costa was a biker racers himself. He was pretty good at racing. He raced in the Northeast from Rhode Island to Massachusetts. Heck, he even went to worlds in Waterford Oaks, Michigan in 1994. 

His story though isn't just about BMX. Costa went to a technical high school then went to UMass Dartmouth and got his masters at MIT. Upon finishing his masters Costa worked for a defense contractor as an engineer. 

The pull of BMX and let's say a chance meeting with his future partner put him in the path to a return to his beloved BMX. Today Costa is known as innovator of bike parts recognized and used all over the world.  

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Jack Davis got into BMX through a friend and his dad. He says he was good right from the start. He says it was the speed and the jumps that got him hooked. 

Davis is originally from Tamworth, New South Wales. What is Tamworth famous for? Country music. 

In his career so far Jack has won two state titles and two national titles. When he was young Jack describes himself as a power rider. He says his dad had him in the weight room at quite a young age. He credits his family's move to Canada with helping him work on his skills. Since it snows 6 months out of the year he says his mom would take him to an indoor bike park in Toronto to ride. 

At the moment Jack is living in the Tampa, Florida area racing and training. He says he would be nowhere without the support and love of his family. 

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In this episode Tommy and I talk about winning the Kellogg's series in England, his world title, his retirement from racing, and what's life been like since he stopped racing. 

Brackens says his career didn't end the way he had hoped. He even believes he had a lot more in him to continue. He's thankful for the life long friends he's made from racing. He says being in the hall of fame is a blessing. 

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Tommy Brackens was born and raised in South Central LA. His first race was as a 16 and over novice at the Valley Youth Center in 1978. Tommy got second in his first race. 

Tommy says he got good quickly when it came to racing. Here's the thing...Tommy had a very short amateur career. His amateur career only last two and a half years and then he went pro. 

It was a fight for Brackens to turn pro. His sponsor at the time wanted him to stay amateur. Tommy's first pro race he got second. He raced A pro for a short time. He was winning so much they bumped him up to AA pro. 

In 1984 Brackens earned national number three as a pro with the NBL. IN 1986 he won the IBMXF World Championship and earned national number two in the pro class the same year. He would go on to earn the nickname the "Human Dragster" because of his speed. 

During his career Brackens would ride for some iconic teams like Powerlite, Torker to GT. He retired in 1990 and started Brackens Racing Products. 

Today Tommy Brackens is living his best life in Georgia. 

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Danny Caluag says he got started in BMX because of his neighbors. He. says coming from team sports he loved the individuality of BMX. Danny says clinics helped with his progression in BMX. He says BMX didn't come naturally to him. Danny is one of the few people I've interviewed to say local racing helped him make a seamless transition to racing nationals. 

In 1999 Danny got his first factory ride 13 years old. He says the offer came after he crashed at Grands and knocking himself out. Danny says the best advice he could give a kid about riding factory is believe in yourself. He says one his crowning achievements is  being Nag 1 in cruiser, in class, and NBL. 

In 2005 Danny turned pro. He turned pro at a time where the field was loaded. Think about it, Christophe Leveque,  Bubba Harris to Kyle Bennett. His first race as a pro was Phoenix. He didn't win. By the beginning 2006 Danny was AA pro. Danny actually went to school then quit and went back to school while racing as a pro. After nearly quitting BMX in 2011 the Philippines reached out to him to help with racing the Olympics and that's exactly what he did in 2012. 

Currently Danny is living in California with his wife and kids. He's working as a full time nurse and going to school for his masters. He's even planning to try and make the 2024 Olympics in Paris. 

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March 25th, 2023 Brandon Tehiko announced he was retiring from elite BMX racing. Tehiko says concussions played a big part in his decision. 
 
 He started racing at 8 years old in Melbourne, Australia. His mom took him to a track and he was hooked. Tehiko's dad was all in on seeing his son achieve his goals. By the time he was 13 Brandon won his first national title. He would go on to become a six time Australian national champion and multiple state champion. 
 
 Now that he's retired he's looking forward to his son being born, body building, coaching, and a life filled with Jesus Christ. 

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Taylor is back to racing. He took a four year break to explore life, build a career, and plan his future with his fiancé. 

Four months ago after getting the itch to race again he did just that. He dusted off his old Haro and hit the track. Taylor say the conditioning is the hardest part but when it comes to skill it's like he never left. He's been racing the "Fire and Ice Series," at Rum River Bmx in Minnesota. It's a super competitive season long series that actually draws talent from across the country. 

Taylor says he started racing in 2004 at the age of 6 at Rum River. He says it took him several years to move from novice to expert. His first big team was Mike's Bike's, then Shield Team Storm, and eventually on to Haro Promax and Factory WIAWIS. In 2017 he won a cruiser world title. 

The Cambridge, Minnesota native says he's back to racing strictly for the fun in the 21-25 expert class. And the possibility to mentor young riders while racing for "Black Widow Racing."

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Michigan native Chris Jeffrey started racing in 1976. He was 12 years old. The track he raced on was Waterford Oaks BMX track. He says the tracks back then were raw, lots of pedaling, flat turns and not a lot of jumps. Chris says the scene back then there was a  high moto count. 

Chris says he lived on his race bike. He wasn't always at a track but you find him riding his bike around town.

Chris' progression was quick in the sport. By 1981 he turned pro at 16 years old. His 1st race as a pro Chris raced Tommy Brackens. It was also Brackens' 1st race as a pro. He says he was more of a skill guy. By 1989 Chris was racing mountain bikes. His journey into mountain bikes would last 12 years. Several friends got him back out to a BMX track and by 2010 he was back racing. 

Chris is currently working on opening his own bike shop " Crank Cycle and Fitness" in his hometown. 

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#380 or better known as Anderson Souza from Brazil is in the process of recovering from a shoulder injury he suffered in Colombia last year. His recovery has been difficult with infection, 3 surgeries, and now rehab. Things have finally gotten on track for Anderson. He's back to lifting weights, doing sprints, and by the time you hear this he should be cleared to train on a track. 

Souza started racing at 7 years old. His dad planned for his son to race motocross but that didn't happen. Since his humble beginnings Anderson has won 6 national championship titles, 3 continental titles  and was world #3 in 2018. 

The Orlando, Florida area is where he calls home when he's int he states. 2023 is a big year for Souza because he's chasing Olympic points.