Dave Mirra

Early life

Mirra was born on April 4, 1974, in Chittenango, New York. He graduated from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona).

In the 1990s, Mirra's brother, Tim, moved to Greenville, North Carolina, to attend East Carolina University. Dave moved to Greenville soon after. This gave Greenville the nickname "Protown" in the BMX community.

Career

While still living in Chittenango, Mirra joined the Haro Bikes BMX team in 1987, at the age of 13. Video producers Plywood Hoods featured him in their videos in 1988. Mirra gained a sponsorship from Vision Street Wear in 1989. He was also sponsored by GT Bicycles through 1991, and then joined Hoffman Bikes in 1992 before re-signing with Haro in 1994.

Mirra turned professional in 1992. He won at least one medal at the X Games in every year from 1995 through 2009, with the exception of 2006, after being injured during a practice run. In 2005, Mirra won the Best Male Action Sports Athlete ESPY Award. He tied Tony Hawk and Joe Parsons as the fastest to reach 14 X Games medals, He retired from BMX riding in 2011.

From 2008 through 2013, Mirra competed in rallying and rallycross as a member of Subaru Rally Team USA. He had a career-best fourth-place finish during the 2013 Global RallyCross Championship. He qualified for the 2014 Ironman 70.3 World Championship.

Mirra's success took him to numerous outlets besides riding his bike, such as hosting two seasons of MTV's Real World/Road Rules Challenge. He is featured in the Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX video game series and more recently appeared in the 2009 video game Colin McRae: Dirt 2. He published a photo-biography titled Mirra Images, and was once one of People magazine's "50 Hottest Bachelors". In the mid-2000s, Mirra signed an endorsement deal with DC Shoes after leaving Adidas. With his friends in 2007, he started his own bike company called MirraCo.

Personal life and death

Mirra and his wife, Lauren, had two daughters. Mirra contracted bacterial meningitis in 2010. He recovered before resuming rally racing.

On February 4, 2016, Mirra died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head in Greenville, North Carolina at the age of 41. Authorities responded to a reported suicide and discovered his body inside his black Ford F-150 Raptor. He had reportedly been visiting friends in the area. Greenville mayor Allen M. Thomas called Mirra "a great friend and wonderful human being".

Mirra was posthumously diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). In addition to the "countless" concussions he suffered during his career, his skull was fractured when he was hit by a car at 19 years old, and he also competed in boxing as an amateur. He became the first action sports star to be diagnosed with the neurodegenerative disease.

Mirra's wife chose to support several charitable causes in her husband's memory, including CTE research, Road 2 Recovery Foundation, and More Than Sport.

City officials in Greenville, North Carolina planned to create an action sports park to honor Mirra's legacy. The first phase would include both skate and BMX facilities.

In 2024, Mirra's family dedicated a permanent statue of Dave Mirra at the Jaycee skatepark in Greenville, where Mirra rode BMX when he moved to the area in 1995. The memorial was created by his friends, including BMX rider Mike Laird who did the fabrication.

X Games competition history

Racing record

Complete FIA World Rallycross Championship results

Supercar

Complete Global RallyCross Championship results

Supercar

References

Bibliography

References

1. (2010). "Great Athletes". Salem Press.
2. "The Legends of the Road". raceacrossamerica.org.
3. (May 24, 2016). "The BMX Rider Dave Mirra, Who Died in a Suicide, Had C.T.E.".
4. (June 13, 2016). "Dave Mirra inducted into BMX Hall of Fame". Media General Communications Holdings, LLC.
5. [http://www.23mag.com/gens/mirra.htm DAVE MIRRA @ 23MAG BMX]. 23mag.com
6. [http://collegeprowler.com/cal-poly-pomona/alumni--and--post--grads/ Facts & Statistics] {{Webarchive. link. (September 19, 2010 . collegeprowler.com)
7. (August 14, 2013). "Recreation and Parks". Greenville.
8. "Ams Take Over Pro Town, USA for Gatorade Free Flow Tour".
9. Castleberry, Tony. (February 4, 2016). "Dave Mirra dead". The Daily Reflector.
10. (5 Feb 2016). "Dave Mirra's death leaves the action sports world looking for answers". [[Sports Illustrated]].
11. (July 15, 2005). "Dave Mirra Takes Home ESPY for Best Male Action Sports Athlete of the Year 07-15-05". Ride BMX.
12. "Most gold medals won X Games (summer)". [[Guinness World Records]].
13. (February 5, 2016). "X Games biker and BMX star Dave Mirra dies". BBC News.
14. Ryan Wallerson. (June 4, 2015). "Life after BMX: Dave Mirra's journey to the top of Ironman is underway".
15. Michael McWhertor. (February 4, 2016). "BMX athlete Dave Mirra dies at 41 of apparent suicide". Polygon.
16. Falcon, Mike. (January 6, 2004). "Dave Mirra 'goes big' for bicycle safety".
17. Alex Johnson. (February 5, 2016). "BMX Legend Dave Mirra Dead of Suspected Suicide". NBC News.
18. Zack. "The BMX Legend, Dave Mirra (41) Dies". 8c.co.za.
19. Slotnik, Daniel E.. (February 5, 2016). "David Mirra, BMX Bike Star, Dies in an Apparent Suicide". The New York Times.
20. (February 5, 2016). "X Games icon Dave Mirra, 41, dead of apparent self-inflicted gunshot". [[ESPN]].
21. Los Angeles Times. (February 4, 2016). "BMX and X Games star Dave Mirra dies at 41 in apparent suicide". [[Los Angeles Times]].
22. "Dave Mirra, BMX icon, found dead in North Carolina". ABC7 Los Angeles.
23. (May 24, 2016). "Doctors: Late BMX legend Mirra had CTE". [[ESPN.com]].
24. "Dave Mirra - Charities".
25. Gulledge, Seth Thomas. (September 24, 2018). "City begins process for Mirra-inspired action park - Daily Reflector".
26. Barnett, Gigi. (2024-08-26). "Statue dedicated to Greenville native and BMX legend Dave Mirra".
27. (August 28, 2024). "Greenville, NC hosts Dave Mirra memorial". [[The East Carolinian]].
28. "2015 FIA World Rallycross Championship World RX of Hockenheim". FIA Results and Statistics.
29. "Global Rallycross Championship - Supercars 2011 standings". DriverDB.
30. "Global Rallycross Championship - Supercars 2012 standings". DriverDB.
31. "Global Rallycross Supercars {{!}} Season: 2013". MyLaps Speedhive.