History Text Part 1

From its humble origins in the 1970s, the sport of motocross exploded into mainstream consciousness. Today's motocross races have network TV coverage, packed stadiums, superstar athletes, and a multi-billion-dollar aftermarket. The most visible segment of that aftermarket is the clothing industry, where brands like Fox, Answer, and several others compete for their share of a lucrative market. They may have started out small, but nearly all have risen to prominence despite their gritty roots.

There’s another brand, however, that started in those same golden years but has been almost entirely overlooked by the passage of time. This brand had the #1 position in the US market, all four Japanese brands were private label customers as were most of the European manufacturers. The sponsored talent was deep, including hall-of-fame athletes such as Hannah, Stackable, and Pomeroy, the clothing was made from a revolutionary new DuPont fabric, and the brand had a head start on other notable early powerhouses such as JT Racing. Featuring an iconic griffin logo, the name on this groundbreaking clothing was GRIFFS.