The first 900 was pulled by Mat Hoffman on March 25, 1989. Five days later, Zack Warden was born. There might not be a direct relation between the two events, but it seems as though vert legend Mat Hoffman has had an influence on the lifestyle Zack has chosen to lead.
At the young age of 8, Zack Warden was introduced to vert via the X Games. Astonished by Mat Hoffman's ability to take first place in vert with a broken foot, Zack picked up a bike and started riding in and around the St. Louis, MO area. While still in high school, Zack moved (on his own) to Milheim, PA to be close to Woodward Camp. He finished high school in PA, riding Woodward as much as possible, quickly adapting his style and technique to the vert ramp. Along the way, he picked up a handful of sponsors, including Levi's®, Rockstar Energy Drink, Nike 6.0, Tree, Camp Woodward and appropriately, Hoffman Bikes.
Clearly, Zack's drive and all or nothing approach to BMX had to come from somewhere. And I'm going to have to chalk it up to a healthy serving of Hoffman-esque influence throughout the years. Zack's not jumping out of planes or base jumping his bike of cliffs, but he's got the skills and diehard motivation to take vert into the next generation. And just like Mat Hoffman before him, no one is going to be able to stop him.
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Contributors
Brian Tunney
This is Brian. He lives in Jersey City, rides BMX bikes often and somehow ended up in the X Games a few times. Facebook him if needed.
Cody York
From Cleveland, Ohio, Cody was raised on a steady diet of backyard jumps and skateparks and his photos have graced the pages of Ride BMX, BMX Plus!, Ride UK, and Dig magazines. Got something to share? cyorkphoto@me.com
Mark Noble
Mark is from the U.K., and has over 28+ years experience in BMX. He has launched, published, edited and written for more BMX mags than you can shake a bike at. He also runs Deluxe BMX.
Nick Ferreira
Nick Ferreira is a BMXer, photographer and zine maker from Taunton, MA. He has been extolling the merits of tucks and tabes in print and online for the better part of the past 10 years.
Pat Nugent
Born and raised on Long Island, the only outlet to BMX that Patrick grew up knowing was racing. For a while, he got into all those weird forms of BMX, but eventually returned to the race scene. He enjoys shooting races and snaking practice laps.
Steve Crandall
Hails from Ithaca, NY, created FBM in '93, paints pictures of eggs, soup and pigeons in his spare time, throws down a mean tabletop.
