# Bob Haro

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American bicycle motocross racer

Bob Haro Personal information Full name Bob Haro Nickname The Godfather of freestyle Born (1958-06-29) June 29, 1958 (age 68) Pasadena, California, U.S. Team information Discipline BMX freestyle Role Professional BMX rider/company owner Rider type Skatepark, Flatland, Vert, Ramp Professional team – Haro Bikes

**Bob Haro** (born June 29, 1958) is an American former (retired from active competition) professional [freestyle BMX](/source/BMX#Freestyle) rider turned artist and business executive. He is the founder of [Haro Bikes](/source/Haro_Bikes) and was one of the most important early innovators of [BMX freestyle](/source/BMX_freestyle).[1]

## Early life

Haro was born in [Pasadena](/source/Pasadena) but raised in [San Diego](/source/San_Diego), California.[2] He is the oldest of four with sister Janice, brothers Scott and Ron raised by their father Robert Haro with [Mexican](/source/Mexico) roots and an American mother. Haro stated in an interview that his surname comes from the town of [Haro](/source/Haro%2C_La_Rioja) in Spain.[3] He began biking in his high school sophomore year when he ran out of money riding dirt bikes. His father bought him a Honda 100 and he stripped the bike down to compete in [motorcycle](/source/Motorcycle) races. He won over 50 motocross trophies by 1975.

Around 1976, he got into BMX biking by racing his brother's bike out behind a bike shop in San Diego. After moving to [Stockton, California](/source/Stockton%2C_California) as a result of his parents' divorce, Bob really got started racing and riding for a sponsor for Molina's Bike Shop. He was one of a small group of BMX'ers in that town to perform many of the common tricks.

## Career

In 1978, Haro teamed up with [R. L. Osborn](/source/R._L._Osborn) to form the very first freestyle BMX team, which made its debut at ABA's Winternationals in [Chandler, Arizona](/source/Chandler%2C_Arizona).

In 1981 Bob Haro and [Bob Morales](/source/Bob_Morales) traveled on tour together performing shows all over the Midwest, Eastern United States, and parts of Canada to enthusiastic crowds. Also, in 1981, Haro was involved in the [Steven Spielberg](/source/Steven_Spielberg) production of *[E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial](/source/E.T._the_Extra-Terrestrial)* as a stunt rider.

In 1981 Bob Haro designed the first frame and fork tailored to freestyle BMX. The frameset was manufactured by the bicycle company Torker and became commercially available in 1982 and was marketed as the Haro Freestyler.

He stopped riding in 1984 after four knee surgeries and, in 1987, he was inducted into the American Bicycle Association Hall Of Fame. In 1993 he founded his own company, Haro Design, Inc., a design and marketing company in Cardiff, California.

In 2012, as part of the London Olympic Games, Bob Haro choreographed the Dove bike sequence in the Opening ceremony.

## See also

- [List of BMX bicycle manufacturers](/source/List_of_BMX_bicycle_manufacturers)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Simon_1-0)** Baker, Andy (2001). [*Freestylin'*](http://oldschoolmags.com/mags/Freestylin_Gen_F_Book.pdf) (PDF). Freestylin Magazine. p. 10. Retrieved December 10, 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Bob Haro"](http://www.23mag.com/gens/haro.htm). Retrieved June 21, 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["TALK TALES - BOB HARO - HARO BMX"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=kIfAUFPr1lrzRJrM&v=K_Ac2me_otI). Retrieved June 21, 2025.

## External links

- [Illustrated biography on 23mag](http://23mag.com/gens/haro.htm)

- [Haro Design Group](http://www.harodesigngroup.com) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20140103123211/http://harodesigngroup.com/) 2014-01-03 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine)

- [Haro Bikes](http://www.harobikes.com)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bob Haro](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Haro) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Haro?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.