Taj Mihelich (born August 31, 1973 in
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...
) is a World Champion
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, p ...
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. He is widely considered one of the most influential BMX riders of the golden era of BMX.
Career
He first began riding at the age of 12 and was brought to the world of freestyle BMX by Ron Kilmer, who appeared with Taj in the celebrated "Road Fools" videos.
After years of riding for the company Hoffman Bikes, he started Terrible One with Joseph Rich, Paul Buchanan, and Robbie Morales in 1998. The company started by releasing the "Barcode" bike frame, largely based on Taj's signature bike design at Hoffman Bikes.
It was rumored that Taj was displeased with the way that his signature frame was holding up after Hoffman Bikes moved their manufacturing overseas, and that he didn't want his name attached to something that he felt was of substandard quality.
Taj was also sponsored by
Etnies
Etnies (stylized as etnies) is a French-American footwear brand based in Lake Forest, California, United States, and is owned by Sole Technology, Inc. The company sponsors professional skateboarders and BMX riders, LAB more and releases signa ...
, where he designed several signature shoes as well as appearing in the widely recognized "Forward" video featuring the Etnies BMX team.
In late March 2006, via the company's website, Taj announced that he would be leaving his half of Terrible One to Joe Rich. In an interview with The Albion BMX Magazine, Taj cited his decision for leaving as he was no longer friends with Joe Rich. He stated that he gave his share of the company to Joe and mentioned the two are no longer on speaking terms.
In early 2008, Taj announced that he would be riding for Giant bicycles. Not long after, a back injury and resulting surgery forced him to retire from an 18-year professional BMX career.
In 2010 with the help of Odyssey BMX, Taj launched an all-purpose road, commuter and town bicycle company called Fairdale Bicycles.
Taj has appeared in numerous BMX videos such as Etnies FORWARD, Etnies GROUNDED, Odyssey Electronical, UGP Face Value, Primo Made In Taiwan, ANTHEM, Road Fools 1 and 5, and Hoffman Bikes - Madd Mat.
See also
*
Macrobiotic diet
A macrobiotic diet (or macrobiotics) is an unconventional restrictive diet based on ideas about types of food drawn from Zen Buddhism. The diet tries to balance the supposed yin and yang elements of food and cookware. Major principles of macrobi ...
References
External links
Biography of Taj on the Etnies website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mihelich, Taj
1973 births
Living people
American BMX riders
American male cyclists
Sportspeople from Ann Arbor, Michigan
20th-century American sportsmen