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*** Donny Robinson BMX Bike Line ***

Napa, CA -- 04/14/2010
Olympian Donny Robinson has his own line of BMX bikes.


Photo - Joe Shavlik, Dixon Walmart store manager, chats with
Olympic bronze medalist Donny Robinson of Napa, right, in Dixon.
Robinson stopped by with one of his replica bicycles, which is being
sold at the store. The bike is the Hyper Donny Robinson replica BMX
racing bike, below. Taking photos for Robinson’s sponsors is his wife
Tiffany Robinson.

An Olympic bronze medal in BMX racing is one thing, but you
know you’ve made it big when your bike is on sale at Walmart.

Napa’s Donny Robinson, who won the bronze in the sport’s Olympic
debut in Beijing two summers ago, has added another sponsorship
to his expanding portfolio.

His signature replica Hyper racer was recently on sale
— briefly — in 314 Walmart stores across the country.

Those stores were selected to market between four and seven bikes
each because they are the mega chain’s top overall bicycle sellers.

“Dixon got four, and they’re sold out,” said Robinson on Monday.
“San Leandro got four, and they’re sold out. Every store within
two and a half hours of here is sold out.”

The two Walmarts in Napa County, one on Lincoln Avenue in Napa
and the other in American Canyon, haven’t received any of the
Robinson racers — yet.

“This is a test to see if it is successful,” said Robinson. “If it is,
we should be able to grow the store numbers, hopefully in time
for Christmas.”

However, the Robinson Hyper bikes are now available online at
www.walmart.com/ip/20-Hyper-dR-Pro-Team-BMX-Bicycle/13969572

Aside from bearing ties to Robinson and his on-track success,
he said the bike is attractive to aspiring young racers for three
main reasons — starting with the retail price of $99.97.

“It surprised a lot of people that it released at that price point,
because they thought that meant it wasn’t a very good bike,”
said Robinson.

Not so, Robinson said — the bike is solidly built.

“Graphics-wise, it’s exactly like the bike I ride (in competition).
It’s got an aluminum frame, so it’s only 25 pounds. Most bikes
are about 35 pounds, so the kids will be able to jump higher
on the track.”

Robinson said he tried out one of the models at Napa’s Kennedy
Park, as the operators of the Kennedy BMX complex had already
purchased a couple of bikes for the track.

“I’m confident that if I stripped down some of the parts,
I can race on it,” he said. “It felt like my bike.”

The third main selling point is that the American Bicycle
Association — Robinson’s parent racing body — got involved
by placing a “hang tag” on the bike.

The tag contains information on how to redeem a free 30-day
ABA membership at hyperbicycles.com, meaning that if a kid
buys a bike he can ride it for free on any of the ABA tracks —
such as the one at Kennedy Park.

The Hyper site also has a store locator.

‘Rad’ career move

Robinson is a tireless promoter of his sport, and even though
he said it’s “rad” to have his bike in a mega store like Walmart,
he’s more excited about moving forward with his career.

“It’s hard for me to take a step back (and enjoy this), because
basically my whole life I’ve been proving people wrong, people
who say, ‘You can’t grow the sport, you can’t make a living riding
your bike.’ It’s about being successful with my goals.”

Robinson, among the unofficial world record holders for most
autographs signed and photos taken with kids, said the Hyper
replica bike is another way to get the word out about his chosen
field.

“If I want to be the biggest name in BMX, if I want to bring BMX
to the masses, it’s ‘What do I have to do to do that?’ The Olympics
did a few things, but if I want to be that rock star, and put in all these
hours, leave some kind of legacy, this is a piece of that puzzle.”


Photo - Olympic bronze medalist Donny Robinson of Napa, left, wheels
a replica bicycle into the Dixon Walmart store, accompanied by his wife
Tiffany. The bike, a Hyper Donny Robinson replica BMX racing bike, is
being sold at a limited number of stores.

Robinson is also humbled by his latest opportunity.

“I always wanted it to happen, but I didn’t necessarily think it would
happen,” he added. “I do have to be marketable and I do have to be
successful on the track, but this is another example of other people
taking chances on me.”

On the home front, Robinson is trying to recuperate
from a serious crash he recently suffered in Spain.

He was knocked unconscious for a couple of minutes and
eventually was diagnosed with a collapsed lung.

He still feels the effect of the crash in his ribs, arm and shoulder,
making training and working out difficult chores.

Taking the rest of this month off, Robinson is scheduled to race in
the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup in Copenhagen, Denmark,
May 7-8.

His best finish in his recent races was a
third-place effort in Phoenix on March 6.

As he heals, Robinson says he is going to stay on top of
developments at Walmart just as he does with any and
all opportunities to promote his craft.

“It’s the way I am, to not be content with where I am.”

ACC - Gene`s BMX Reviews,
( Hyper Donny DR Robison BMX Bicycle At Wal-Mart )
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