Mike Dominguez BLASTING airs in 1988

I've been going through old video clips for research on my book, and I saw this one pop up on the side on You Tube.  Had to watch it.  I was at this contest watching this.  The ramps are both 8 foot high quarters with no vert, I know, I've helped set these ramps up.  This is Mike Dominguez at his peak.  Before Simon Tabron and Jamie Bestwick and Kevin Robinson and Dave Mirra and when Mat Hoffman was just a hot up and coming (though already full factory) amateur, was Mike Dominguez.  The railing on these ramps are exactly four feet high.  His first air is a solid 12, maybe 13 feet out.  His 540 is AT LEAST 8 to 9 feet out if you count by lowest point of the bike, like many did at the time.  If you go by sprocket height, it's 10, maybe 11 feet out.  I think this is the highest 540 I've ever seen done live.  EVER.  This isn't footage I shot, but I'm sure glad somebody shot it.  These are some of the highest airs ever, by anyone, on the AFA era 8 foot quarterpipes.  Austin, Texas AFA Masters 1988.  Enjoy.

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Mike Dominguez's Best Public 900 Attempt

In 1988, the 2-Hip King of Vert Finals was literally a backyard affair.  Technically, I guess Ron Wilkerson's Enchanted Ramp was in the front yard, so it was a front yard affair.  I'm pretty sure I was a judge for this contest. I was there for two or three Enchanted Ramp contests, and judged at least two of them.

All that aside, this is about the 900.  There was a battle on for this trick.  Back in 1987, I think, Mike Dominguez told people he had landed a couple of 900's on his own ramp.  As crazy as it sounds to kids today, back then, we just rode.  We rarely shot video.  VHS camcorders and the new 8mm ones were expensive, and not many people had them.  So there was no video to prove Mike's claim.  But he WAS Mike Dominguez, the highest flying pro at the time, and the craziest vert rider around.  So even as early as the AFA finals in 1987, people were hoping to see him land a 900 in a contest.

Mike was the first person to claim to have landed one.  But all of us in the freestyle scene and industry had bets on who would land it first in a contest.  Personally, I was always betting on Brian Blyther.  Brian had the most consistent and smoothest 540's, so I figured he'd win the 900 race.  What I didn't understand then was that the 900 was really a "Fuck it and huck it" trick.  Brian went high and smooth, but hucking crazy tricks wasn't his style.  He tried some 900's, but wasn't too close.  Dave Voelker tried some, but didn't land it first.  Dennis McCoy was still struggling to land smooth 540's then.  I can't remember if he hucked any 900 attempts in '87 or '88.  He did land his first in Indianapolis in 1990, and many more after that.  As weird as it sounds, Mat Hoffman was still an amateur rider, and just coming up in '87 and '88, so most of us figured someone else would land the first contest 900.

To be brutally honest, a lot of us in the industry weren't really sure if Dominguez really had landed the trick.  He said he had.  And he was Mike Dominguez, but it seemed like he would have had somebody shoot video at some point.  And then came this final 2-Hip King of Vert in 1988.  Expectations were high that Mike would try the 900.  Sure enough, in his last run, at 4:57 in the clip above, Mike went for it.  As you can see, he made the rotation, he landed on his tires, and just had his weight a little too far off to roll away from it.  Everyone around that ramp that day was blown away.  First, it was so close, that us doubters truly believed he had landed the trick at some point.  Second, he damn near did it in front of us.  We joked that he was so close, if he had even farted mid-900 we would have finished the rotation more solid and ridden away from it.  But, it wasn't to be.  It was, however, on the table.  We all knew it was possible.  Sure enough, about six months later, in Canada, Mat Hoffman landed the first 900 in a contest.  That was a changing of the guards.  Mike faded from the contest scene, and Mat became the new daredevil trying the craziest of tricks.  Mike Dominguez opened the door on the 900 and landed the first couple on his own ramp.  Mat Hoffman brought it to the public.  But man, it would have been soooooo cooool if Mike had ridden away from this one.

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