RACING
THROUGH
INNOVATION

Toby Henderson (AKA Hollywood Henderson) is President of Box and cut his teeth as a professional BMX Racer from 1979 to 1988. He then got his second wind as professional MTB racer from 1988 to 1998. All in all, Toby spent two decades in competition. Lets’ explore the journey that Toby took to arrive at Box. And for good measure, we’ve thrown in some industry context and current affairs of the day.

Toby signed a Lucrative deal with helmet maker “Bell” and became the first Bell Helmet BMX rider.

• NASA launched the very first Space Shuttle STS-1 "Columbia".
• Specialized revolutionized the bike industry by introducing mountain bikes to the general public.

Toby won his first Grand National Championships - “A” Pro.

• Hurricane Alicia slammed into the southeast Texas coast. This was one of the worst hurricanes in the region’s history.
• Avocet released the first bike computer

Toby won the National Bicycle League (NBL): National No.1 - Pro Cruiser.

• Indira Gandhi, the prime minister of India, was assassinated in New Delhi by two of her own bodyguards.
• Inaugural year of World Unicycling Convention and Championships (UNICON).

Toby developed his first product, known as the ‘Henderson Hauler’.

• Steve Jobs unveiled the first Apple Macintosh computer, with its nine-inch screen and $2,500 price tag.
• On a Memorial Day weekend, The Redlands Bicycle Classic starts its journey as the longest continuously running invitational, professional stage race in American bike racing.

Toby became JT Racing's Poster child and traveled the world to remote and exotic places promoting BMX and JT Racing gear.

• The Oprah Winfrey Show debuted nationally.
• The rationing system that made bicycles more attainable was finally abolished, marking the end of explicit central planning of the bicycle market.

Toby started his Mountain Bike Career.

• The Soviet-Afghan war ended and signaled warming relations between America and the USSR.
• The mountain bike Hall of Fame was created.

Toby created the first real MTB downhill leg and arm protection with JT Racing.

• The Soviet Union dissolved.
• The Bridgestone MB zip was one of the best mountain bikes available.

Toby won his first DH Mountain Bike Race at Mammoth Mountain and went on to be 5x USA team member.

• Bill Clinton won the presidential election and became the 42nd President of the United States.
• The world's largest bicycle ride, "Tour de L'Ile de Montreal" was introduced.

Toby was one of 12 figurines in Shimano's Action Heroes ad campaign. His characteristic head-swelling action figure was sold to a Swiss fan at "Rails for Trails," a non profit auction held the following year.

• Terrorists carried out their first attack on the World Trade Center.
• Earthquake Jake Watson dominated Big Bear's bonkers 4-up Downhill Mania and dual slalom events.

Toby was inducted into USA BMX Hall of Fame by the American Bicycle Association.

• The channel tunnel linking England and France officially opened.
• After undergoing several revivals, the League of American Wheelmen changed its name to the League of American Bicyclists.

Toby developed his first mountain bike and his second replica bike.

• Timothy McVeigh drove a Ryder truck stuffed with explosives into downtown Oklahoma City federal office building.
• Cervelo was founded, focused on high-end racing and production of the fastest bicycles possible.

Toby was the Downhill Mania Champion.

• Nintendo released their newest gaming system, the Nintendo 64 or N64 in Japan.
• The Atlanta Summer Olympics hosted the first mountain biking event.

Toby received a Bronze medal in Dual MTB Speed with Top Speed 90MPH at Snow Summit Winter X Games.

• Princess Diana Died.
• The Giant MCR carbon aero Retro bike was introduced.

Toby’s racing career came to an end after 20 full racing seasons.

• Baby One More Time was debuted by American pop singer , Britney Spears.
• SRAM introduced the Grip Shift gear-change method and technology to the road market.

Toby founded Toby Henderson Enterprises and launched the iconic THE Mountain Bike Fenders and ubiquitous 3D BMX number plates.

• NATO bombed Yugoslavia in The Kosovo War.
• Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France for the first time.

Toby was inducted into the US Bicycling Hall of Fame for off road competitors.

• Bill Gates stepped aside as chief executive of Microsoft and promoted Steve Ballmer to the position.
• The Rohloff Speedhub 14-speed internal hub gearing system was created, with no overlapping ratios and a gear range as wide as a 27-speed derailleur system.

Under license from Intense, Toby created Intense BMX which won 5 consecutive “USA BMX Bike of the Year” awards.

• Space shuttle Columbia broke up as it returned to Earth, killing all seven astronauts on board.
• The storied British brand Raleigh assembled its last bicycle in the UK.

Toby received the coveted “Men’s Journal Product of the Year” award for his THE “Vegas” helmet.

• Apple announced a special edition iPod Nano, with a red exterior and 4 GB of storage.
• SRAM launched road bikes at the Sea Otter Classic with the global release of two complete road groupsets — Force® and Rival®.

Toby got his first patent for the Brake Lever Grip Combo.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 777.68 points in intra-day trading which made it he largest point drop in history.
• BMX Race was introduced as an Olympic sport in Beijing.

Toby founded Box Components.

• Facebook held its initial public offering (IPO) — the biggest in technology history.
• SRAM introduced wide range 1x11 mountain bike shifting with its XX1 groupset.

Box Components became the leader in BMX Race components.

• President Obama was inaugurated for his second term.
• Both K2 and Cannondale produced computer-controlled suspension forks.

Box received the Interbike award for innovation product of the year for the 31.8mm handlebar.

• Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 Disappeared.
• Cycling industry employed more people than mining.

Box Components launched its first Box One 11 speed mountain bike shifting systems.

• Donald Trump became President of America.
• The year of the e-bike: The number of USA electric bike importers jumps 340% year-on-year.

Toby stepped into the future racing his E-Bike, using the company’s Box Two 9 speed ultra wide-range e-bike drivetrain.

• Trump Triggers a Trade War and leaves the Iran nuclear deal.
• The long awaited XTR 1x12 speed is finally released allowing Shimano to catch up lost ground to SRAM.

Learning from its 9 speed e-bike experience, Box goes back to the future with Prime 9 Technology: A drivetrain philosophy that borrows its simple architecture from the past and drenches it in modern characteristics. The result is a Durable, Simple and High Performing shifting system that catches the industry by surprise.

• The United States wins the FIFA Women's World Cup held in France.
• German brand Bulls launches an e-bike with ABS front brakes.

After acquiring the hub brand from True Precision Components in 2017, Box finally launches the revamped Stealth line for BMX.

• A World-wide pandemic followed by lockdowns occurred due to Covid-19.
• After an initial nosedive, the bike industry surges due to Covid-19 with bike demand exceeding 2019 by 280%

Toby takes 80’s and 90’s iconic media brand “Bicycle Motocross Action” (BMXA) and transforms it into a Non-Profit 501(c)(3) corporation. With the blessing of BMXA’s founder “OZ,” the mission is broadened to include preservation to the brand's long-standing traditions of promoting, and developing all things BMX.

• Despite the miraculous development of effective COVID-19 vaccines, the virus continued to spread and mutate throughout the year.
• The cycling industry swelled to a whopping $8.3 billion in U.S. sales, representing a 4% decline from 2020, but still 45% higher than it was in 2019.

Developed one of the fastest BMX tires on the track.

• Russia invaded Ukraine.
• Electric bikes continued to experience shortages due to the COVID-19 pandemic.