Woody Itson: The Move from Hutch to Diamond Back
I’m part of an unofficial Freestylin’ Magazine Group on Facebook. The manager, a kindly person named Tom Tom, often posts old pages from the magazine, photos of bikes and links to videos from the ’80s. It’s a great daily reminder that the first wave of BMX freestyle and both the memories and legends that it spawned, are still with at least a few hundred people in their late 40s to early 60s around the globe. And even though that last sentence makes me feel immensely old, occasionally there are some gems that emerge from this group that are just too good to go on living as a Facebook photo caption.
Yesterday, admin Tom Tom posted a photo of a 1988 Diamond Back Woody Itson Strike Zone, instantly recognizable from the raised seat stays, and asked people to identify the bike. Soon enough, Woody Itson himself chimed in after Tom Tom prodded him with a few questions.
Tom Tom: Do you have any stories on how DB lured you from Hutch, and to what degree did you have with input on the Strike Zone design?
Woody Itson: DB had initially approached me not long after they signed Mike [Dominguez] to the team. I thanked them for the offer but respectfully turned them down because of my relationship with Hutch, I told them I was very happy there. It wasn’t until word got out about the BK at Hutch that I realized I might have to make a change. After talking to Hutch about it, he told me it would be in my best interest to look at what the others had to offer. I was approached by Schwinn and DB and of course I talked to Mike about it as well. After talking to both companies, I went with DB. Part of my switch to DB involved me designing a new frame for them. As for the Strike Zone posted above, I designed that bike. It was very similar to my Trick Star and that was by design. After Mike saw the design concept he was good with it.
Tom Tom: What’s the BK?
Woody Itson: Bankruptcy
I was 14 at the time, with no concept of what bankruptcy was. But that was happening to Hutch, and the primary reason why they lost Woody Itson to a competing brand. Not only that, Woody took the design of the Trick Star and largely applied it to the design of his new Strike Zone, which probably helped push his riding forward into the rolling years of 1988–1989 (the Trick Star was very ahead of its time.) And finally, I like that Mike Dominguez, long rumored to only ride a few times a year, had to approve the design concept.
Woody would stay on Diamond Back another year, then took a year off to ride for himself before going to college. Within a few years, he would start working at GT juggling duties such as team manager, marketing, demo organizer and driving Trevor Meyer around. What stood to me as a basic sponsor change on paper in the pages of a BMX magazine 35 years ago had bigger ramifications in the world of BMX business and sponsored professionals.
And this is why I remain on Facebook. I still think the Woody Itson Strike Zone was a pretty awesome bike by the way.
