Mike Poulson

Michael Poulson (born January 4, 1965 in Ogden, Utah U.S., later raised in Layton, Utah) is an American "Old School" former professional Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were from 1981-1987.
Racing career milestones.
Note: Professional first are for the national level of competition unless otherwise indicated.
Started racing: Early 1978. As it often happens, a friend got him interested in racing.
Sanctioning body:
First race result: First place at a Layton, Utah track in 12-year-old class. He was actually 13 years old but according to the rules of that track you raced the age class of the age you where on October 1 during the season, therefore he was 12 on October 1, 1977 and raced in the 12-year-old class accordingly even after turning thirteen on January 4, 1978
First win (local): See above.
Home sanctioning body district(s): National Bicycle Association (NBA) District "P" (Colorado, Wyoming and Utah);
First sponsor: Bingham Schwinn Cyclery
First national race result: The 1979 Corona Mini-National. Finished near the bottom of the 14 Open main with a sixth place. Signed up for Expert event though he was a novice. Did not make Expert main.
First national win: The February 10, 1980 American Bicycle Association (ABA) Winter Nationals at Chandler, Arizona in 15 Expert.
Turned professional: September 1983 Age 17.
First Professional race result: First in "B" Pro at the National Bicycle League (NBL) Celebrity Race For Childhelp USA/International in Azusa, California on January 22, 1984. He also got a second place in Pro Open. This was a charity event. The purse was only US$40 (US$79.19 in 2007 Cost of Living Calculator) and 100% payback for the top pro finishers.
Note: This race is not to be confused with the NBL Azuza National held on March 3, 1984 at the same facility which counted in the pros standings toward the National No.1 Plate.
First Professional win: See above
First Senior Pro* race result: Fourth in "AA" pro at the ABA Spring National in San Francisco, California on March 11, 1984. He won US$160 the equivalent to US$316.77 in 2007.
First Senior Pro win: In "A" pro at the NBL National in Brookville, Ohio on May 26, 1984 He won US$800, or US$1,583.83 in 2007.
Retired: 1988. After many injuries and the grind of racing on every weekend for over a decade and just not having a winning attitude he quietly quit after a stint as a teaching pro at the Woodward BMX camp in Woodward, Pennsylvania.
Height &amp; weight at height of career (1985): Ht:5'11" Wt:~175 lbs.
Career factory and major bike shop sponsors.
Note: This listing only denotes the racer's primary sponsors. At any given time a racer could have numerous ever-changing co-sponsors. Primary sponsorships can be verified by BMX press coverage and sponsor's advertisements at the time in question. When possible exact dates are given.
Career bicycle motocross titles.
Note: Listed are District, State/Provincial, Regional, National, and International titles in "italics". "Defunct" refers to the fact of that sanctioning body in question no longer existing at the start of the racer's career or at that stage of his/her career. Depending on point totals of individual racers, winners of Grand Nationals do not necessarily win National titles.
Amateur.
National Bicycle Association (NBA)
National Bicycle League (NBL)
American Bicycle Association (ABA)
United States Bicycle Motocross Association (USBA)
International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)
Professional.
National Bicycle Association (NBA)
National Bicycle League (NBL)
American Bicycle Association (ABA)
United States Bicycle Motocross Association (USBA)
International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)
Due to the dearth of professional participation in general and American involvement in the competition in particular there was no Professional class in the IBMXF World Championships held in Suzuka, Japan. Indeed, Mike Poulson was the only pro of any nation to participate. Instead a select number of older amateur experts from numerous nations were slated to race him. He won.
Pro Series Championships
Post BMX career.
He was offered a sales job by the Schwinn Bicycle Co. with a position in California but he did not take it. He did not want to move from his home state. He had potions with Bingham's Cyclery a local department store and eventually went into his father's lawn sprinkler business.
BMX magazine covers.
Bicycle Motocross News:
Minicycle/BMX Action &amp; Super BMX:
Bicycle Motocross Action &amp; Go:
BMX Plus!:
Bicycles and Dirt:
Total BMX:
NBA World &amp; NBmxA World (The official NBA/NBmxA membership publication):
Bicycles Today &amp; BMX Today (The official NBL membership publication under two names):
ABA Action, American BMXer, BMXer (The official ABA membership publication under three names):
USBA Racer (The official USBA membership publication):