Background
Mirra was born on April 4, 1974 in Chittenango, New New York
Mirra was born on April 4, 1974 in Chittenango, New New York
He graduated from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona).
Mirra held the record for most X Games medals until being passed by Bob Burnquist in 2013, and medalled in every X Games from when they started in 1995 up to 2009. As a BMX rider, he was known primarily as a vert ramp and park rider. He had also competed for several years with the Subaru Rally Team United States of America as a rallycross driver.
He rode and was sponsored by Haro Bikes from the mid 1990s until starting his own bike company.
Mirra died by suicide on February 4th, 2016. In the 1990s, Mirra"s brother, Tim, moved to Greenville, North Carolina, to attend East Carolina University.
Dave moved to Greenville soon after. Fellow professional BMX rider Ryan Nyquist moved in with Tim.
Mirra and Nyquist became quick friends and would build and ride ramps together.
Greenville is now home to over twenty professional BMX riders. This gave Greenville the nickname "Protown" in the BMX community. While still living in Chittenango, Mirra joined the Haro Bikes BMX team in 1987, at the age of 13.
Video producers Plywood Hoods featured him in their videos in 1988.
Mirra gained a sponsorship from Vision Street Wear in 1989. He was also sponsored by GT Bicycles through 1991, and then joined Hoffman Bikes in 1992.
Mirra turned professional in 1992. He tied Tony Hawk and Joe Parsons as the fastest to reach 14 X Games medals.
His 14 gold medals are second-most to Shaun White.
He retired from BMX racing in 2011. He had a career-best fourth place finish during the 2013 Global RallyCross Championship. Mirra became interested in Ironman competitions, competing in his first triathlon in March 2013.
He qualified for the 2014 Ironman 70.3 World Championship.
Mirra"s success took him to numerous outlets besides riding his bike, such as hosting two seasons of Music Television"s Real World/Road Rules Challenge. He is featured in the Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX video game series and more recently appeared in the 2009 video game Colin McRae: Dirt 2.
He has published a photo-biography titled "Mirra Images", and was once one of People Magazine"s "50 Hottest Bachelors". In the mid 2000s, Mirra signed an endorsement deal with District of Columbia Shoes.
In 2007, Mirra started his own bike company, called MirraCo.
Mirra contracted bacterial meningitis in 2010. He recovered before resuming rallying. On February 4, 2016, Mirra died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in Greenville, North Carolina.
Authorities responded to a reported suicide and discovered his body in a truck.
He had reportedly been visiting friends in the area. Allen Thomas, the mayor of Greenville, called Mirra "a great friend and wonderful human being".
Mirra was 41 years old. Complete Global RallyCross Championship results
= Supercar =.
From 2008 through 2013, Mirra competed in rallying and rallycross as a member of Subaru Rally Team United States of America.