Vance Patterson
He put money into Speedo, then walked its whole roster — including his own sons — out the door to start his own company
A Legend Bike Co chapter · Part of The History of BMX
Our Patterson Racing and Speedo chapters both tell this story from the brand side. This is the founder's-side chapter — what's known about the man himself.
The Speedo investment
Before there was Patterson Racing, there was Speedo. Vance Patterson put money into Speedo Racing Products, a Hayward, California BMX brand, sometime around 1977 or 1978 — the full story of the brand itself is on our Speedo chapter. The investment didn't produce the frame Patterson wanted, and rather than keep waiting, he pulled out.
Founding Patterson Racing, November 1977
When Vance Patterson left Speedo, he didn't leave alone. He took the company's entire roster with him — including his own two sons, Brent (born April 9, 1963) and Brian (born January 4, 1965), both from Hayward — and founded Patterson Racing Products in November 1977. It's a rare thing in BMX's early years: a company built specifically around a father's belief in his own kids, with the whole business named for the family.
Vance ran the company. Brent and Brian raced for it, and they were Patterson Racing's only senior pro-level sponsored riders — the full detail on their results and equipment lives on their own chapters. Early Patterson frames were built by fabricator Jerry Griffin out of Oakdale, California — Griffin also ran the Oakdale BMX track and did metalwork for motorcycle road racer Kenny Roberts. Trackmaster built the 1982 models, and GT Bicycles took over production from 1983 until the line wound down in 1985. Patterson Racing closed for good in the summer of 1986.
Andy "Mr. Bigfoot" Patterson is not related. Our own Patterson Racing chapter makes this point directly, and it's worth repeating here: "One correction worth making plainly: Andy 'Mr. Bigfoot' Patterson — the Southern California pro who rode for GT, Skyway, and JMC Racing in the same era — is not related to Brent and Brian Patterson. The record on Andy Patterson states this directly, because the mix-up has been common enough in BMX circles to need saying. All three Pattersons raced at a high level in overlapping years, all three wore GT-adjacent gear at different points, and none of it makes them family." Andy Patterson was born in the San Fernando Valley; Vance's sons were born in Hayward, in Northern California — different families, different regions, same last name.
What's known, and what isn't
The record on Vance Patterson himself is thin outside of what he built. Nothing documented tells us what he did before Speedo, whether he raced himself, or what became of him after the company closed. What's consistent across every source is the shape of the man as a businessman and a father: he saw an opportunity, moved fast when Speedo didn't deliver, and built a company with his sons' names on the roster from day one.
Where the public record runs thin. We found no documented occupation, birthdate, or biographical detail for Vance Patterson prior to the Speedo investment, and nothing confirmed about his life after Patterson Racing closed in 1986. One unconfirmed forum comment suggests he wasn't sure how to promote the company once Brent and Brian had retired from racing — we're not treating that as fact, just noting it exists. The Jerry Griffin / Trackmaster / GT manufacturing sequence above rests on a single community-forum source, not independently corroborated elsewhere, so treat those specific names and dates as reported rather than confirmed. oldschoolmags.com and bmxsociety.com were checked first per our standing research rule; both returned only script-rendered, unreadable pages on this topic at time of writing.
Where Vance Patterson fits in the bigger story
Patterson Racing is one of the wave of family-built BMX brands that came out of the late 1970s equipment boom — alongside dozens of others that launched between 1976 and 1980, when a father with a welder and two fast kids could genuinely start a company. Read the full brand history on our Patterson Racing chapter, and the fuller boom-years context in The History of BMX.
Frequently asked questions
Who founded Patterson Racing?
Vance Patterson, in November 1977, after pulling his investment and the full rider roster out of Speedo Racing Products in Hayward, California.
Is Vance Patterson related to Andy "Mr. Bigfoot" Patterson?
No. They share a last name only. Andy Patterson raced for GT, Skyway, and JMC Racing and was from the San Fernando Valley in Southern California; Vance's sons Brent and Brian were born in Hayward, Northern California.
What happened to Patterson Racing?
Production moved through several manufacturers — Jerry Griffin, then Trackmaster, then GT Bicycles — before the line wound down around 1985, and the company closed in the summer of 1986.
Sources
Wikipedia entries for Brent Patterson and Brian Patterson, citing period Bicycle Motocross Action and BMX Plus! coverage. A bmxmuseum.com community forum thread on Patterson Racing manufacturing history (surfaced via search; the page itself is script-rendered and could not be fully read). Wikipedia's entry for Andy Patterson, for the disambiguation details. Cross-referenced against Legend Bike Co's own Patterson Racing and Speedo chapters. oldschoolmags.com and bmxsociety.com were checked first per our standing research rule; neither returned readable content on this topic at time of writing.
Keep reading
Patterson Racing — the full brand story.
Speedo — the Hayward brand Vance invested in first.
Brent Patterson — his son and the company's lead pro.
Brian Patterson — his other son and factory rider.
The History of BMX — the full hub this chapter belongs to.