An engineer by trade and an amateur motocross racer on weekends, Bob realized that the big-travel suspension movement of the 1970s presented an opportunity for someone who could build a better mousetrap. In an interview, Bob said, “The need was created by broken shocks and disappointed racers. I thought they need better shocks, and maybe I can do it. I started designing with pencil and paper and manufactured my first shocks in a friend’s garage…you don’t know any better when you are young. They were called Fox Airshox, and racers started using them.”
Within three years, FOX had helped motocross icons Kent Howerton, Brad Lackey, and Marty Smith win AMA Motocross Championships and the Motocross Grand Prix, and sales went from 200 to 10,000 units that year. Bob continued, “The long-travel revolution of the 70s is really what made FOX the company it is today.”
During the 1980s, the company expanded its product lines to include shocks for four-wheeled vehicles, snowmobiles, and a new craze called mountain biking. Partnering with top-tier athletes, FOX added numerous victories and championships to its resumé.
The following decades found FOX developing damping devices for OEM offerings, such as the Ford Raptor, as well as prosthetic limbs for water and snow skiers, and, of course, motocross riders. Whether it has been King of the Hammers rock racing, SCORE Baja events, Indy 500, CART World Series, or AMA Championships, Bob’s grassroots upstart from the 70s has worked hand-in-hand to help teams achieve not only their dreams, but top rungs on the podium. Bob said, “When you do what you love doing, you do it well.”
ORMHOF inductee and racing legend Roger Mears said, “I’ve had the privilege of knowing Bob for decades, and few individuals have had as significant or lasting impact on the evolution of off-road racing as he has. His relentless drive to improve performance made a direct impact on my success on the track. Beyond the hardware, Bob has always embodied the spirit of off-road. He’s a racer at heart, an engineer by trade, and a pioneer by nature. His fingerprints can be found on nearly every major advancement in off-road suspensions over the past 40 years.”
