A legend of mountain biking, Tom Ritchey built some of the very first frames for Gary Fisher’s original mountain bike company and was one of the first ten people inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame.

Now, Ritchey has his own eponymous company and still makes frames, along with a huge line of components.

In this video, Ritchey talks about how he got into cycling, riding with his father and discovering while very young that he was quick enough on the bike to drop his dad. He quickly got into racing and into building his own bikes while still in high school.

When Gary Fisher needed custom frames for those early bikes, Ritchey was perfectly positioned to supply them. Not only was he adept with a brazing torch, but he had mastered the lugless brazing techniques needed for over-sized tubes, and he was able to turn the job around quickly.

The rest is history, and here it is in Ritchey’s own words.