Chad Degroot (born March 23, 1974) is a

freestyle BMX Freestyle BMX is bicycle motocross stunt riding on BMX bikes. It is an extreme sport descended from BMX racing that consists of four disciplines: street, park, trails, and flatland. The sport made its Olympic debut at the 2020 Summer Olympics. E ...

rider from Green Bay,

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. He's widely regarded as an influential rider because of his trick innovations that contributed to the development of

flatland BMX Flatland is a freestyle BMX riding style performed on smooth flat surfaces that do not include any ramps, jumps, or grindrails. It is sometimes described as a form of artistic cycling with a blend of breakdancing. Flatland occupies a position so ...

Career

Degroot started competing as a professional

flatland ''Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions'' is a satirical novella by the English schoolmaster Edwin Abbott Abbott, first published in 1884 by Seeley & Co. of London. Written pseudonymously by "A Square", the book used the fictional two-dime ...

rider in 1993. From 1990 to 2004, Chad and a few other riders from

created and distributed 10 independent

videos known as the ''Baco'' series, which showcased Chad's inventive flatland combinations. Chad won the NORA Cup, the Number One Rider's Award, in 2002, 2003, and 2004. He has been sponsored by

Standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object ...

Schwinn The Schwinn Bicycle Company is an American company that develops, manufactures and markets bicycles under the eponymous brand name. The company was founded by Ignaz Schwinn (1860–1948) in Chicago in 1895, and in the 20th century became the domi ...

Haro Bikes Haro Bikes Corporation is an American BMX and Mountain bicycle manufacturer which was founded in 1978 by Bob Haro. The Haro bikes were considered Freestyle BMX bikes. History Haro Bikes The first Haro bikes were manufactured by Torker. I ...

, and he currently owns and operates his bike company,

Deco Anderson Luís de Souza (born 27 August 1977), also known as Deco (), is a Brazilian-born Portuguese former professional footballer who primarily played as an attacking or central midfielder. Born and raised in Brazil, he acquired Portuguese ...

PowerBar PowerBar is an American brand of energy bars and other related products including sports drinks, gels, and the ''Pria'' bars targeted at women. The company was established in 1986, and was later acquired by Nestlé. History The PowerBar company ...

started sponsoring Chad in 2010.

Pro Flatland Contest History

;1993 :2nd BS Round 2 :3rd BS Round 3 :2nd BS Finals :1st KOC UK ;1994 :2nd BS Round 2 ;1995 :3rd BS Round 1 :3rd BS Round 3 ;1997 :3rd BS Round 1 :6th

X Games The X Games are a series of action sports events founded by ESPN Inc. and aired on ESPN networks and ABC. In late 2022, ESPN sold the long-running property to MSP Sports Capital, a private equity firm co-founded by Jahm Najafi and Jeff Mo ...

;1998 :1st BS Round 1 :2nd BS Round 2 :5th BS Round 2 :7th

;1999 :8th BS Round 1 :10th BS Round 2 :20th

;2000 :2nd CFB Round 1 ;2001 :8th BS Round 1 :13th BS Round 2 :6th

;2002 :4th CFB Round 1 :8th CFB Round 3 :4th Backyard Jam UK :5th EXPN Round 2

References

Sportspeople from Green Bay, Wisconsin American BMX riders Living people 1974 births {{US-cycling-bio-1970s-stub