Slaw
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Coming out with 782 straight weeks of Power Rankings is tough business, kids. Sometimes you have it, sometimes you don’t. This week, I did not have it. I was stumped.
Then, thanks to the Gods of Power Rankings, I was scrolling the Gram earlier today, and bang it hit me. I saw one of the best ads in the history of ads (Side rant: I really miss magazine ads. They were so awesome). The Fox Racing ’89 Image Racewear ad with Damon Bradshaw.
Anyone under the age of 30 may not remember the ad, but know this: it changed lives. Okay, maybe that’s a little dramatic. But there was a time when motocross gear wasn’t just something you wore because a company sent it to you. The right rider, on the right bike, in the right set of gear could create an entire generation of kids begging their parents for a new set they absolutely HAD TO HAVE.
And Fox Racing in the 1980s had this shit figured out. The ads were wild, the gear got progressively louder and, by the end of the decade, Fox had become one of the brands defining what “cool” looked like in motocross.
Which brings us here.
Sit down. Clear your schedule. Maybe fire up a VHS tape for proper ambiance. It’s time for another completely scientific, absolutely indisputable edition of GUTS Power Rankings, where I’m ranking my Top Three Fox Racing Rider/Gear Combos of the 1980s.
If you have a list, please fold up the piece of paper it is on, and throw it in the trash. This is the only list that matters.
3: Rick Johnson 1986 Carlsbad USGP
Most people don’t remember USGP’s, but they were massive. The Euros would come over, red, white and blue would be ringing out everywhere, and it was amazing. Truth be told, I was too young to experience these in person or through magazines, but if you’ve ever spent some late nights at races, you have heard about the USGP’s and all their glory.
Anyway, RJ, a freaking ICON at the time, rocking the red, white and blue on the Honda at the Carlsbad 500 USGP was ALL freaking time, man.
2: RJ’s 1985 All White Look
This was the first year RJ ran Fox and they hit a massive home run with the all white look. Pete Fox signed the young star away from Sinisalo and sold RJ on a vision to move away from traditional, plain team looks and inject high-energy fashion into the sport and this was the result. Pure bliss.
1: Damon Bradshaw 1989
This was the best gear ever. Hands down. Don’t at me. This gear, paired with Damon Bradshaw, the coolest dude ever, was the high water mark of the 1980s and to this day, one of the best gear/rider combos in history.
Photos: RX Archives
