Eddie Fiola
Fiola at Coasters Arena, 1985
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Edward Lynn Fiola |
| Nickname | The Flying Banana The King of the Skateparks |
| Born |
September 28, 1964 Bellflower, California, U.S. |
| Height | 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) |
| Team information | |
| Discipline | BMX freestyle |
| Role | Professional BMX rider |
| Rider type | Skatepark, Flatland, Vert, Ramp |
| Professional team(s) | |
| - | Premier Helmets |
| - | Bottema forks |
| - | Torker |
| - | SE Racing |
| - | Haro Bikes |
| - | Kuwahara (bicycle company) |
| - | GT Bicycles |
| - | Citicat |
| - | Faction Bike Co |
Edward Lynn "Eddie" Fiola (born September 28, 1964) is an American former professional freestyle BMX rider, and a film stuntman.
In 1982 Bob Morales started up the ASPA (Amateur Skatepark Association which would later become the AFA or American Freestyle Association) and began the legendary king of the skateparks competitions in the USA. Eddie Fiola would go on to win it a total of 5 times along with 4 freestyle Nora (Number One Rider Award) cups including the first one ever to be awarded in 1985 and with having the idea for the potts modification or hollow stem bolt. This led to him becoming one of the most famous and highly paid freestyle BMX riders of his time reputedly earning around $100,000 dollars in a year and appearing on the cover of countless magazines. Later he became a stuntman in films such as The Dukes of Hazzard, The Italian Job and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
In the spring of 1981 I was hearing occasional rumors of a guy in Lakewood who rode skateparks and was really hot. So I tracked him down. In my opinion, in my time, NOBODY was better in skateparks than Eddie. He and I came to be good friends, NOBODY was a better guy.
My first sponsor was Premier helmets, then Torker (they just gave us bikes)
In 1982 Haro Bikes rider Bob Morales helped with a deal to get Fiola on the team, however determined to go it alone they both leave Haro and sign for Kuwahara to help design and promote the E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial BMX bike at the end of the year. Fiola wins the first 16+ expert class in the King of the Skateparks.
In 1983 after leaving Kuwahara (bicycle company) he signs for GT Bicycles alongside Bob Morales and then goes on to co design with Morales one of the most iconic BMX freestyle frames, the GT Performer. He performs a show with Bob Morales at the Super Bowl of motorcross in the Anaheim Stadium in front of 40,000 people. He is a judge for the World Amateur Championship of BMX and wins the 17+ expert class King of the Skateparks series.
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