It started back in a garage in the peace, love and freedom era of the 60's and 70's. I was four years old and had just found my first love, dirt bikes. Mty dad was a desert racer and a member of the Viewfinders Motorccyle Club. I spent practically every weekend at a local Grand Prix or a desert race. I was about seven when I got my first bike, a Briggs and Stratton mini bike. My uncle Dave, a helicopter pilot in Viet Nam, got it for me (he also got me my first Playboy, but that's another story).

In 1970 mini bike racing really started to take hold with the introduction of the mini Yamaha Enduro 60. It was also the year my dad, Ernie, along with Walt James started a local motocross park called Indian Dunes. It was dirt bike heaven and my home away from home. My buddies and I, guys like Brian Conrad, Chad McQueen, Bam and Willie Simons, Reid Rondell, Bobby Jones, Flying Mike Brown, Lance Sloane, the Tarantino Brothers, Matt and AJ Whiting, Tom Harper, the Moran Brothers, Lance King and Little Jerry Shore were tearing it up at the Dunes.

I lived just down the road in Newhall, California, which had become a hotbed of activity for racing, stock cars, motorcycles and of course mini bikes. In one square mile you could find Dick Allen’s, Trig Engineering , Allied Cycles, and a guy named Red that made our bikes haul ass.

Back in those early days they didn’t make cool vests and jerseys for us kids to wear, so my grandma sat out in her garage and stitched us up some. The first one was tagged “Elrod”, that’s what my grandpa called me. If you sported one of those you were cool, some had stars and stripes, others had peace signs or zodiac symbols. They were definitely a sign of the times — wild and free. For the next few years I raced everywhere, from California to Florida and even a couple trips to Canada.

At the very first World Mini Bike Grand Prix I took first in the 9-11 division. In that same year I earned the AMRA’s, the American Mini-Bike Racing Association’s, #1 plate. But by the time I was 13, I had broken so many bones that my mom had had enough, and made me quit racing. So, I took up skateboarding and surfing, the “getting off” wasn’t so damaging. You might say I was laying the ground work for my future profession. I’m a stuntman.

But racing gets in your blood, it’s like an addiction, it stays with you forever. So, in ‘98 a stunt buddy, Jimmy Roberts, and I decided to throw an event called A Day in the Dirt to try to bring back some of the the soul of those great races from long ago. It was an incredible day, not just the racing but the camaraderie and joy of meeting and competing with old friends. The day ended with “see ya next year!” and so it began. Over a decade later I’m still producing the event along with good friend Troy Lee who came on board as Presenter in ‘99. It’s still rocking.

Along the way I’ve met and worked with some cool, creative guys who share my passion for racing. One of them is Tim Schmidt, who has partnered up with me to bring Elrod Racing Style and the Fasthouse to life. The inspiration is drawn from the calm confidence of our heroes and legends, the extra ordinary places and great races of the past, and the knowledge that all things are possible if you believe in yourself, work hard and have one hell of a badass attitude.

Fasthouse is a place to hangout and learn about the extraordinary people and places that got us here today. - Ken ny Alexander.