Myles Richmond-- Pro Rider

Dressed as Zach Galifianakis’s character Alan from "The Hangover"-- complete with a beard and fake baby on his chest-- Myles Richmond proposed to his model girlfriend Michaelene Baldi at a Halloween party last October.  The party go-ers watched as Richmond delivered the infamous Alan speech-- “Except I changed Doug’s name to Michaelene’s name,” he adds with a hint of pride-- and pulled a ring out of the baby carrier to ask his girlfriend of four years to marry him. An unsuspecting Baldi cried her pretty tears and said yes.

Richmond knows how to live life and does so with excitement. The 25-year-old Beaumont native rides dirt bikes for a living and is sponsored by Answer Racing, Oakley, SRH, Shoei Helmets, Alpinestars, Dunlop, EVS, Pro-Taper, and Works Connection.  The circuit has been good to him;  he bought his first house in Banning at the tender age of 23.

Richmond started riding on a 1995 Yamaha PW80 when he was nine.  Naturally, he tried to copy everything his dad-- also a rider-- did on the two acres of trails in their backyard.  His sister would tag along, trying to keep up with her go-cart.

“She never left the backyard though,” Richmond laughs.

Going pro in 2002 and graduating Beaumont High School in 2003 kept him busy juggling studying, traveling, and competing.

“During my senior year, I flew out every Thursday to events, January thru April. I would take half days Thursday, and miss every Friday. My parents talked to my teachers. I was allowed to do it if my grades were still good,” he said.

Since going pro, he has competed and placed in events all over the world, including Australia, Poland, Ireland, and Hawaii.  He became the IFMA Rookie of the Year in 2003, and success has followed him. In July of last year, he placed third at the X-Games Step-Up Competition in Los Angeles, and a month later he won first prize in the Mountain Dew Tour Whip Competition in Portland.  He aims to get invited to the X-Games again this year, where he has competed five times in the last seven years.

It’s not just about competing for him.  He tours with the TNT Action Sports Show and enjoys doing charity events like the Snowball Express last month in downtown Dallas, where he and other pros rode for kids who had lost a parent in the war.  A four-year veteran of doing shows at Loma Linda Children’s Hospital motocross events, he explains how it makes him feel.

“It puts matters back in perspective," said Richmond. "If you think your life’s not going so well, just go to the hospital and hang out with all the kids that are in there. It makes you appreciate what you have, that’s for sure.”

This weekend he will be in Ocotillo Wells with the Red Bull Ronnie Renner Free Ride Tour, impressing fans with his freestyle runs and famous whips. The public is welcome to come and ride with the pro bikers. If you see him, throw out a couple "Hangover" references.  Maybe you’ll get invited to the wedding…