What’s up with Poor Boy?

You’re probably wondering about this history of Poor Boy BMX, aren’t you? After all, it’s been a while! Well, let me tell you a story. . .

Waaaay back in the 1980’s, a guy named Steev Inge was a pretty hardcore freestyler. He loved the works of bmx art he saw in the magazines. People like Bob Haro, Andy Jenkins and Damian (from Radical Rick fame) were his artistic idols and he was always doodling and drawing bmx-inspired art. This went on for years. Since he didn’t have much money, he had earned the nickname “Poor Boy Steev.” Now, he still wanted to travel to contests and ride with whoever he could. But since he didn’t have much cash, he had to figure out how to make some. Being an artist, he decided to try his hand at screen printing. So he put some of his drawings onto shirts, stuck his nickname on them, and went off to peddle his wares. Wherever he went, there were Poor Boy BMX t-shirts in the trunk of his car. He sold a few, and people liked them! So he made more. And more. And more. You see where this is going.

Let’s fast-forward to where I come in. My name is T.J. and I’ve also been a freestyler/bmxer since the mid 1980’s. I wore Poor Boy BMX clothing and ran Poor Boy BMX pads on my bike in the early 1990s. I wore the shinguards. I loved the brand! I had gone to college for graphic design and photography, and during that time, I published a BMX-oriented ‘zine called NEW BRAND for several years. You might have even got one in your mail order shipment from the big bmx mail order shops. Steev and I had mutual friends in the BMX world and finally met each other at one of the Hal Brindley’s (of PLAY clothing fame) contests at SCRAP skatepark in Chicago in early 1996. We stayed in touch through friends, and in late 1996, due to my abilities and dedication to the sport, Steev hired me to work for Poor Boy BMX to help with photography and design duties! I was stoked to be working for a company I loved so much!

Time passed and in a few years (1999 to be exact) Steev approached me about buying him out. He had several companies going at the time, namely PB, Allied Clothing and Sandbox Distributing, but had also just started a fledgling company called Muntiy Bikes. Steev really wanted to put all of his focus on Mutiny, and knowing that I loved all of the other brands so much, he offered to sell me PB, Allied and Sandbox. I gladly accepted and have been the owners of those companies ever since! I sold Allied and PB products all over the world! You probably bought them through Albe’s, Trend Bike Source or Dan’s Competition mail order here in the USA, or through one of your local bike shops. Somewhere around the mid 2000s, BMX business slowed WAY down again. It was like it was 1992 again! I was working as a designer and photographer for a local college, and it just seemed a good time to cease production. It was the end of an era that began for me more than a decade earlier.

About five years ago, I became interested in collecting 80’s vintage BMX and freestyle bikes as a way to enjoy my youth. I got familiar with the BMX MUSEUM and starting scouring all over for old BMX parts and building bikes. Some of the BMX collector friends I had made kept expressing an interest in me reissuing old Poor Boy BMX products. They wanted them as period accessories for their bikes and wanted to wear Poor Boy BMX t-shirts again! I thought about this for a few years. I was pretty busy with my own photography business, rebuilding old VWs, teaching college design classes and who knows what else but eventually Steev and I reconnected. We talked about the “old days” of PB and what fun it was. He expressed an interest in rekindling his love of old BMX bikes and started riding again. I decided it was time to reissue some old classics and Steev liked the idea. Steev, however, wanted to create his own artwork (painting) and possibly some new/old hybrid designs under his new moniker, Poorbooysteev.com. We thought, “Let’s do this!” So we did!

So where does that leave us? First, let’s not confuse anything. Poor Boy BMX and Poorboysteev are NOT the same people or companies. Steev was the creator/originator of Poor Boy BMX, but he sold PB BMX to me back in 1999. However, we’re still friends, we will continue to collaborate and I’m excited to have him involved as part of Poor Boy BMX! He does do some similar style designs for Poorboysteev now and you should totally check those out! He and I are still friends to this day. We do plan to partner up, on occasion, to offer some really cool new oldschool-style goodies in joint Poor Boy BMX/Poorboysteev efforts! Keep an eye out for both of us and see what we’re up to!