Who Is Dave Mirra, How Did He Die, Who Is The Wife? Here are Facts

Quick Facts

Bicycle motocross (BMX) also known as bike motocross is an interesting off-road sport which is mostly done for either recreational purposes or competitive racing. The major equipment for this sport is, of course, the BMX bike notably manufactured by Haro Bikes. When you talk of Haro Bikes, one BMX rider always stands out – Dave Mirra. He basically made the brand a hit again in the 1990s and all through his career, a Haro bike was present in all his accomplishments.

Who Is Dave Mirra?

In the small village of Chittenango located in Madison County, New York, a little boy was born on the 4th of April 1974 to Linda Mirra and Michael Mirra. He was named David Michael Mirra. Five-year-old Dave had to go through the motions of his parents’ divorce with his dad gaining custody of him and his only sibling, a brother named Tim. Luckily, their mum lived close-by and they also had quality time with her while growing up.

Boys at the time were hung on bike riding and Dave, Tim, and friends were in no way left out. Soon, bike riding turned into BMX and the boys substituted whatever they could lay hold of as jumps. Dave earned the nickname “Miracle Boy” when he began doing some serious stunts that seemed to defy gravity much to the awe of his buddies. By age 13, he knew this was meant to be more than recreation to him.

Coincidentally, he went for a show organized by General Bikes in Syracuse and was spotted by a man while he idly did the supposedly difficult “double decade”. The man helped Dave to land his first deal, he was just 13 at the time. Not long after, he clinched a better offer from Haro but this wasn’t long-lived due to financial setbacks in the industry.

At age 14, Dave Mirra ventured into ramp riding, met with older bikers, Mark Eaton and Kevin Jones and in time, got an invitation to join the Plywood Hoods. He was part of their instructional video, Dorkin’ in York 2. Eventually, Dave became a professional at age 17 with a lot of sponsors and of course media features. At 18, he was the Biker behind Mat Hoffman’s first loss in three years in a half-pipe race.

The young rider was definitely on a victory streak but this was cut short by an accident which nearly took his life in December 1993. It took him nearly a year to recover and bounce back. Dave had to move in with Tim at Greenville whose college apartment was located just across a BMX park. That same year, Haro took him back and paid him $30,000 annually. He also competed in ESPN’s debut X games and came second. This was just the beginning of success for him.

Dave Mirra made a record of winning 8 consecutive X games from 1997 to 2000. He would go on to win 15 more in BMX and 1 in rallycross. He launched a bubble gum line as well as a cereal production and a PlayStation game called Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX video game. A sequel of the game was also made following the huge success of the first. Dave also won the NORA cup for 3 years (2001 – 2003) and went on to win so many other prestigious awards till 2011, including being recognized as a sports icon.

MirraCo, a bike company, and Mirra Images, a photobook biography are also some of his achievements. Dave Mirra retired from BMX in 2011. After this, he picked interest in other things like rallycross, rallying, and Ironman competitions. He became a skilled and known Subaru team driver.

Who Is The Wife?

Dave got married to his longtime bae, Lauren Blackwell in 2006 in a ceremony at Napa, California. Lauren is a registered Yoga instructor and has her own practice – Inspired Yoga with Lauren Mirra – which she began in 2015. She is a devout Christian who aims to use her practice to strengthen people’s relationship with Christ.

Lauren Blackwell supported her husband all through his active BMX days from the time of their meeting. The couple welcomed their first daughter, Madison, in September 2006 and their second (and last), Mackenzie in 2007. They are also known as co-founders of the #beadadnotafad movement. Dave was actively involved in his kids’ lives and showed them off on his social media accounts until his death in 2016.

How Did He Die?

Dave Mirra reportedly committed suicide, he died from a gunshot wound. His body was found in his Ford in an area where he allegedly was visiting friends. The man died at age 41 and upon his death, was diagnosed with CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy), a neurodegenerative disease condition.

The BMX rider left the sports world, his friends, and family bereaved. He had also suffered a number of concussions in the course of his career.

In 2017, Haro Bikes made a tribute self-named bike and donated a large part of the sales to his family. His family and friends also opened the davemirra.com site as a way of preserving his legacy.

Also Read: Top 10 Richest People in the world with full biography and details.