Gregory Alan Hill (born October 27, 1963, in Santa Ana, California) is a former professional bicycle motocross (BMX) racer from America whose prime competitive years were from 1977 to 1989. After the 1988 season in the top competitive "AA" pro circuit, he retired. He was known to be very outspoken, a rider who had a bit of a temper on the track, and his nicknames were "The Machine" and "The Businessman", for his very serious and focused attitude toward racing, even as a 14-year-old amateur, and also his willingness to speak his mind, including being critical of sanctioning bodies and their policies and rules. "The Businessman" moniker in particular was coined by Bob Osborn, owner and editor of Bicycle Motocross Action magazine. Greg personally boycotted the ABA for almost a full season in 1980 beginning with the Winternationals and ending with the Vans 5000 Pro Spectacular. He later led an informal pro boycott with numerous respected top pros against the ABA in 1983 over the method of how the ABA national number one was decided. Hill was also involved in a number of business ventures, such as motivational and how to books and video tapes; running a short lived BMX bicycle company, Greg Hill Products (GHP) during the 1980s which he later revived in the early 1990s and is still going strong, and teaching seminars instructing children on how to race. These are but a few examples of the drive to promote himself and BMX in the public eye. He is the brother in law of Stu Thomsen, who married Hill's sister, Tanya, in 1979. Greg Hill's first son, Gregory Jonathan Hill, was born five hours after his father won the ESPN Pro Spectacular Series.

Racing career milestones

Career factory and large bicycle shop sponsors

This listing only denotes the racer's primary sponsors. At any given time a racer could have numerous co-sponsors. Primary sponsorships can be verified by BMX press coverage and sponsor's advertisements at the time in question. When possible exact dates are used.

Amateur

Professional

*****GT would be a co-sponsor when he raced with Shimano. The frame fork and handlebars were of GT manufacture while Shimano provided the major components such as the caliper brakes pedals, cranks, chainwheels, sprockets etc. *****Pros could race with the Expert amateurs at the time, there was a separate Pro class but not a separate Pro No.1 title. ‡Last known date of sponsorship but not necessarily the actual last date.

Career bicycle motocross titles

Note: Listed are District, State/Provincial/Department, Regional, National, and International titles in italics. "Defunct" refers to the fact of that sanctioning body in question no longer existing at the start of the racer's career or at that stage of his/her career. Depending on point totals of individual racers, winners of Grand Nationals do not necessarily win National titles. Series and one off Championships are also listed in block.

Amateur

National Bicycle Association (NBA) National Bicycle League (NBL) United Bicycle Racers (UBR) American Bicycle Association (ABA) *****Pros could and did race in the 16 Expert and other amateur classes during this era in the NBA and UBR even if there was a separate pro class and earn amateur titles as well. This was allowed because the professional class was still relatively small at the time.

Professional

1979 NBA National # 1 Champion National Bicycle Association (NBA) *****This was not a national no.1 plate title but a special series of races. National Bicycle League (NBL) United Bicycle Racers (UBR) American Bicycle Association (ABA) United States Bicycle Motocross Association (USBA) International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)

BMX product lines

In the summer of 1983 Greg Hill started his own BMX bicycle company, Greg Hill Products (GHP) that made frames and forks and later complete Bicycles. In the early days, Cycle Pro manufactured the Hill designed components and were distributed by them. Later on, GHP products were built by VDC. Hill was quoted in the November 1983 issue of Super BMX magazine as to why he made the switch from GT Racing said that he wanted "...to move on, do my own thing." The company would last in its original incarnation from 1983 to 1986 with a second life from 1991 to 1993 and presently from 2005 to the present.

Other rider-owned bicycle companies

Scot Breithaupt: SE Racing (1976–1999) SE Racing was sold to a Taiwanese firm. Jeff Utterback: GJS Racing (with his father George and his brother Scott). Bob Haro: (freestyler), 1979–present, Haro was sold to West Coast Cycles (Cycle Pro) in December 1986 Billy Farrell: Hyper Bicycles, 1983–1985 (Farrell was killed in an automobile accident in the Fall of 1985 and the company shut down soon after) Chris Moeller: S&M (Scott & Moeller) Bicycles (racer/dirt jumper) with Greg Scott, mid-1987 – present Tommy Brackens: Brackens Racing Products, 1988 – late 1994, Tommy sold his company to Power Source/Roost in Late 1994 Rick Moliternio: Standard Bykes (racer/freestyler) with fellow freestylers William Nitschke and Kurt Schmidt, 1991–present. Mat Hoffman: Hoffman Bikes (freestyler) Craig Reynolds: Reynolds Racing, mid-1993 – September 1998 Harry Leary: Dirtwerx

Notable accolades

He is a four-time BMX Action Number One Racer Award (NORA) Cup winner: *****In the March 1983 issue of BMX Action he is listed as the 1982 winner. The next year, 1984, the date of the winner was changed from the year the votes were cast and actually counted to when the winner was presented to the public, by this time in the March issue. This Wikipedia listing of Greg Hill's string of NORA wins reflects that, including his first win under the old system. Therefore, under new system Greg Hill won his first NORA Cup in 1983, when his win was officially made to the public in the March 1983 BMX Action, not when the votes were counted in 1982. ******Tallied from the total votes the top ten Pros received.

Significant injuries

Racing habits and traits

Miscellaneous

*****Riders often put slogans on the seat of their pants instead of their surname as a small psychological ploy against their competitors behind them to read.

Post BMX career

After a four-year hiatus Greg Hill began racing in the Veteran's Pro class of the ABA in 2004. He owned his own BMX bicycle company, Greg Hill Products, which closed in 2017. He is still involved with teaching BMX racing at Pro clinics he runs.