The Ride of My Life [Hardcover]

Mat Hoffman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 24, 2002

At only thirty years old, Mat "The Condor" Hoffman is the Tony Hawk of BMX biking. BMX, like skateboarding, is one of today's most popular extreme sports. Its popularity is enjoying the same resurgence as skateboarding, and now, thanks to BMX activists such as Mat Hoffman, BMX biking is here to stay. Mat is a 10-time BMX World Champion. Mat has brought BMX freestyle riding to a level many thought wasn't possible. He's an innovator who has accomplished amazing feats such as base-jumping his bike off 3,500-foot Norwegian cliffs and clearing 26.5 feet above a 24-foot-high vert quarter pipe-exceeding the world record of 15 feet. Since the early 1980s he has invented more than 50 tricks, many of which are being duplicated by today's riders-and a few that only he has been able to master. He began riding at the age of thirteen, and within three years was the youngest professional rider the sport had ever seen. In 1991 he started his own promotion company, Hoffman Promotions, which sponsored many riders in addition to him. He assembled a team of the best freestyle riders and began organizing tours. He started his own bike manufacturing company, Hoffman Bikes, when his riding skill surpassed what conventional BMX bikes were able to handle. And he did it all by the age of twenty. In the past 10 years, Mat has been a key player in building the sport. He's developed numerous competitions as a way for professional and amateur riders to showcase their abilities. He organized Hoffman Sports Association, which is the organizing body for the X Games. He and his riders were selected to take part in the closing ceremonies at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, GA. His action figure and finger bikes are top sellers in their field. His video game, which was released in May by Activision, is a bestseller. He has produced, directed, and hosted several television shows focused on alternative sports. Now at the age of 29 - after 14 operations, 50 broken bones, more than 50 concussions, and flatlining due to a BMX-related injury-he has retired from competition but continues to perform in demos worldwide. As he shares his stories, he unfurls the bumpy history of BMX riding.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School-It's no exaggeration to say that the sport of BMX freestyle couldn't exist as it does today without the efforts of Hoffman, the first rider to "pull a 900" (rotate the bike in the air two and a half times after escalating off the ramp). At age 17, he bought a semi truck and put together a touring team of trick riders. Two years later, he started Hoffman Bikes (it still exists) with a loan from the Small Business Administration, a few friends, and an immense amount of desire. He helped ESPN2 produce the early X Games. He's broken countless bones, had several concussions, and undergone an experimental ACL reconstruction without anesthesia. Hoffman tells his story from the time he dropped out of school to ride in BMX tournaments professionally until late 2002, when he was 30 and he, skateboarder Tony Hawk, and many other extreme sports superstars took the "Boom Boom Huck Jam" music and sports production on the road. Nearly every page of the book has at least one black-and-white photograph showing Hoffman in action; a few color photos are also included. An appendix defines the more complicated tricks. Though Hoffman's tale will be enjoyed mostly by extreme-sports enthusiasts, anyone could find inspiration from the success and pleasure he has gotten from hard work, passion, and desire.
Jamie Watson, Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

“The godfather of going big reveals all in this incredible autobiography.” (--Tony Hawk )

“Today I have a new American hero, and his name is Mat Hoffman. Read this book and you’ll know why.” (--Johnny Knoxville of Jackass )

“[T]he autobiography of an extremist--narrow, fierce, and in flat contradiction to most of the laws of nature.” (--James Parker, Boston Sunday Globe )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: HarperEntertainment; 1st edition (September 24, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006009415X
• ISBN-13: 978-0060094157
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,086,244 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Honest, humble, and heroic, November 10, 2002

By 

Dan Amrich (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ride of My Life (Hardcover)

Two things struck me about Mat's story: One, his commitment and utter refusal to take "that's impossible" for an answer (sometimes to the point of self-destruction), and two, the earnest, humble way in which it was related. Mat's book is a very human account of an unorthodox life in progress--he freely admits his faults, lovingly celebrates the friends and family (and doctors) who have helped him succeed, and gives the reader generous access to what goes on in his mind. Read it and you'll learn that Mat's not crazy (although he is pretty close), he's just amazingly driven to achieve his goals--from shattering vert records (and bones) to becoming a trucker. Yes, a trucker.

Amid discussions of career milestones, Mat reveals plenty of funny stories about life on the road, offers insight into his addiction to thrills, and almost too much gory detail about his brushes with death (they definitely come off as a deterrent to anyone wanting to follow in his treads). Lewman's presence is more or less invisible in the book, as it should be, but there's no doubt that he's helped turn Mat's raw recollections into the flowing prose that appears on the page. It's a compelling, smooth read.

In the end, it's an inspirational, only-in-America kind of tale, and you can't help but respect Mat for not only what he has achieved but how he achieved it--creativity, willpower, and sweat. If you're looking for the human embodiment of the phrase "work ethic," you'll find it in Mat Hoffman.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Never put the Book Down., October 15, 2002

By 

"langston_mark" (Azle, Texas United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ride of My Life (Hardcover)

I read this book in one sitting because I loved it so much. It was cool to read what Mat was doing behind the scenes back in the late Eighties and even up to the present. I've always hated team sports and I am so proud to see our sport flourish thanks to Mat. A cool trip down memory lane for old school riders and a history lesson for the next generation.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BROKEN BONES AND BROKEN RULES, September 27, 2002

By 

James Casperson (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ride of My Life (Hardcover)

I always knew he has fun video games and does super gnarly stuff on his bike...the no-handed 900 at the X Games was the latest proof.

This book was as fun to read as the games are to play, and it's also as insane as that 900 was to watch.

Awesome pictures, great story, from a guy who has done everything (im)possible on a bike.

My rating: Two thumbs up, ten stars, amazing, unreal, etc. etc.