Even Maverick Needs a Wingman
MX Mug: 'I taught Radical Rick everything he nose! Wait... knows!'
We’re back, rad fans!
This summer, record-slashing heat’s got nothing on the coolest wingman of all time… and by ‘coolest,’ we mean the gangliest, scrappiest, most self-promotional sidekick we’ve ever seen.
In a tribute to those jealous rivals who turn into best buds, we’re celebrating MX Mug’s legacy with Flite BMX.com… and with pads, plates, and one sweet grab bag of official, Rad-certified bike gear.
We’re also going back to Mug’s roots with some old Radical Rick gems, and a few thoughts why every rad champion need a wingman.
But first up, we went right to source.
Question:
How would you summarize MX and Mug and Radical Rick’s relationship in a few sentences?
Damian’s reply:
“While you could say they started as rivals, Rick never considered MX Mug a threat. And while Mug took Rick's brilliance as his driving force, the thorn in his side, his great white whale… slowly, something switched.
Eventually, MX Mug realized it was more satisfying to ride Rick's sizable coat tails than to try and compete with him. Since then, and whenever they’re riding around Crushed Crank Canyon on their bikes, hitting the local skate park, or going to school and snarfing down Whammo burgers, they ride together. They’re just having fun. Today they are inseparable; two parts of a symbiotic support system.”
On Sidekicks
While not every sidekick gets the distinct honor of having his pebble eyes and carrot nose on pads, stickers and tee-shirts everywhere, to our way of thinking more of them should.
For every fanciful delusion, and for all the times he gets himself and Radical Rick caught, Mug reminds us that behind every hero there’s a supporting pal—a wingman who goes the distance, lends a hand, and suffers whatever the hero suffers.
For every Batman there’s a Robin; for every Frodo Baggins there’s a Samwise.
And for every rad champ there’s a coach, a trainer, a devout filmer or even a best man who’s man enough to haul the kicking, screaming groom back from Vegas for the big day.
If iron sharpens iron, then it’s no accident that MX Mug’s dedication, devotion, and even his endless thirst for self-promotion polish Radical Rick to that fine, heroic gleam.
Sniff.
*Brushes a tear away* Or is it a bead of sweat?
MX Mug Gear from Flite BMX… Going Fast!
MX Mug was always along for the ride, and this limited edition MX Mug box set features original artwork from Damian Fulton in classic racing livery.
All action, and with a chaotic, comic touch, the MX Mug box set comes with pads, a plate, buttons, a certificate, a commemorative coin, and collector box to hold it all. Less we forget, and unlike other rad stuff Damian’s dropped, this one’s 100 percent carrot-nose certified.
With scrapes, scribbles, and stickers included, that plate’s one for the bad boys.
Rad Fact Number Five:
MX Mug is the first regular supporting character.
No surprise here.
The fact is, MX Mug’s presence—and jealousy— goes right back to the start.
That’s right, even before Purin Flashin, Thrasher Bones, or even Miss Wristwac came on the scene, MX Mug was there, next to Radical Rick on the starting line. He’s right there in the first episodes of ‘Radical Rick’ from the 1979 - 1980 issues of BMX Plus Magazine. In race after race, carrot nose guns for the finish line… and blows his top when Radical Rick comes in first.
In fact, and long before he’s kidnapped, taken in by a glowing rock that makes his limbs rubbery, or tied up by Mean Inc. as bait, MX Mug’s journey from crazy shortcut to disastrous result is one we know too well:
Still, and even where he gets the Rad Squad into serious trouble by falling to the temptations Radical Rick always zigs around, Mug always comes back to the light.
And with that light being the 500,000 lumen glow of Radical Rick’s prowess, there’s no place Mug would rather be.
How about a few MX Mug moments to go?
Got ‘em.
Here’s MX Mug underground…
Mug in a glowing Gumby impression…
Mug gone Picasso…
And less we forget, Mug on one occasion when he wouldn’t pass a drug test… or the test of telling the difference between trusted chromoly and his porcelain throne.
Here’s to you MX Mug. Your comedic style is one of a kind.
Have a rad summer!
Hop on instagram or hit the comment section to let us know what your favorite MX Mug memory is!
Stay rad… and plenty hydrated.
