TANGZINE.com

If you've ever been to Tulsa, Oklahoma chances are you have driven on 71st street, the city's modern main street lined with restaurants and shopping malls. And if you've driven on 71st, chances are you have seen a guy riding his bike down the grass center median.

Spotted by thousands of people every day on his bike rides, what some folks may not realize is that Tulsa's most recognizable bike rider is in fact becoming one of the more recognizable characters on the web. That's right, in September of 2001 that same bike rider, Frank DeLarzelere, became Biker Fox when he registered a domain in order to promote his business and entertainment career. Now, the 42-year old Tulsa native has his own clothing line, a DVD in the works, and has been seen making appearances at local sporting events. Even the X-games have contacted the trickster, mainly because of his daring front flip, the Biker Fox flip as it now so affectionately called.

"I came up with the name as kind of a joke," DeLarzelere said, referring to his new identity in a recent interview at On the Border (one of hundreds of restaurants along 71st Street). "In my younger days I used to think I was quite the ladies man. Fox, I know, is usually used to describe women, but I just think it really fit as a catchy domain name."

Though he is quick to point out that he is a single hetersexual male, DeLarzelere said his site is not necessarily a vehicle to pick up women. "I really just want to encourage a positive outlook on life. The way I figured with the site was that I wanted to create something fun, something entertaining. Put out a positive message to people, to enjoy life, not let life's stresses get you down. It's an entertainment thing."

Spend five minutes with DeLarzelere and the entertainer side of him will no doubt shine through, but so too will his entrepenourial spirit. A dynamic and charming personality, he is the type of guy who virtually can go anywhere and strike up a conversation with anyone. Whether it's talking on the cell phone handling business in the middle of dinner - his business (Billions and Trillions, Inc.) is selling car parts through the mail - or talking to the people at the table next to him, he carries that same smile and positive outlook.

For Biker Fox, an energetic and dynamic personality, this outlook is something he does more than just preach. "I don't consider myself a Tony Robbins or a Richard Simmons," he said, "But I do want to encourage other people and help them to realize that they can make a better life for themselves. Heck, if I can do it, anybody can."

Four years ago the Monroe, Louisiana native who has lived in Tulsa most of his life, found himself caught in a bit of rut. "I decided one Sunday that I was tired of being overweight," he explained. "The first thing I had to do was cut way back on food. That's the only way to lose weight. You can't take any pills, or powder or potions like all the infomercials on TV may tell you. That's ridiculous. It's will power."

Cutting back on a diet that included frequent stops at restaurants along 71st, DeLarzelere started to exercise, doing stair steps every day. "I was up to over a thousand stair steps a day, but I was starting to get bored with it," he explained. To quell his boredom, he bought a mountain bike and started riding it every day in his neighborhood, but that too soon started to get boring. "My neighborhood has a loop so I would just ride around in circles, but that too started to get old."

With that he set off to find more interesting travel patterns and ended up starting a daily routine of riding a 25 mile stretch back and forth on 71st St. "I discovered that the median is the perfect place to ride," he said. One of the most well-traveled roads in all of Tulsa, it also provided him with an opportunity to "entertain" thousands of people on a daily basis. "People recognize me all the time. Thousands of people honk or wave at me each day and I like to think that I've done something, that I've brought a smile to their face."

The persona of the dare-devil bike rider, an Evil Kenieval on a mountain bike of sorts, has since grown into Biker Fox, thanks to the web domain and his front handlebar flip. "I looked around and as far as I know, I'm the only one doing a front flip," DeLarzelere said.

He discovered the trick almost by accident one day during one of his rides, a routine that has trimmed over 80 pounds from his frame. "I was just riding along and I started to think about doing a flip over the handlebars." Riding his bike was no longer enough, so he set out to practice and master the trick in his backyard. "I had to make sure I had some soft grass to practice on before I took it out on the asphalt," he said. Within a few weeks though, DeLarzelere had mastered the trick and Biker Fox was subsequently born. "I want kids to understand that you can't just go along and do a front flip. You have to have one hundred percent control of your bicycle."

When I met with him, he had just gotten back from Kinkos where he had pictures made up, him in mid-air, doing the now-infamous Biker Fox flip with the logo on the bottom corner. "I'm gonna sell these on the site," he said, proudly displaying the photographs, which prompted a skeptical gentlemen nearby to speak. "Do you have some kind of strings holding you up there," the guy said, showing signs of having had a couple drinks. DeLarzelere shook off the guy's skepticism with an honest pitch and handed him a card, explaining who he was and what he did with a gentle glow in his demeanor.

"I'm going to be performing the stunt this Friday at the Tulsa Oilers game," he went on to tell me. The local minor league hockey gig would be the boast the biggest crowd yet to witness the trick on ice in between periods. "Well, I won't be exactly doing it on the ice," he explained. "I'll have a carpet down. I did think about trying it on the ice though."

"I guess you could say I'm becoming a bit of a local celebrity here in town," he said. He may be right, especially considering the amount of people who have spotted him, but more than just a recognizable figure he is someone with enough brains and determination to market himself. "I remember selling Christmas cards door to door when I was eight," DeLarzelere said of his entrepeneurial spirit that developed at a young age. More business-minded than athletically inclined, he did have success with the high jump as a youngster, but had little interest in anything athletic before he started riding a few years ago.

"A lot of the things I do, I tend to break the mold," he goes on to say. "In order to survive independently you have to do things a little differently, find different ways to make money in order to compete with so many big corporations out there. I am always looking for something different, something that's never been done."

In the case of Biker Fox, the front flip and the persona of an energetic and enthusiastic bike rider bringing joy to the lives of folks in their everyday commute is what separates DeLarzelere from the average Joe. Even his DVD takes that same approach.

"There's going to be some wild life on there," DeLarzelere explains of the DVD which will showcase the Biker Fox flip among other tricks he's learned with his bike. He'll also be teaching some safety tips for riding and the wildlife is just something he feels should be on there. "My producer doesn't think it's a good idea, so we're going to put the wildlife at the end."

Encouraging people to get out, off their computers ironically enough, and into the world to enjoy life is after all what Biker Fox is all about. "This DVD is for people of all ages and all walks of life. I want people to see this and be inspired to enjoy life more, to come up with something new, bring excitement totheir life. Too many people seem to just kind of go through life doing the same thing, never realizing how many opportunities there are out there."

In the process, DeLarzelere has seen his own life completely transformed. Once unhappy with his own life and his weight, Biker Fox has, well, turned his life literally upside down.

"I'm dumbfounded by the reaction. Tens of thousands of people honk at me and I have little kids call me biker fox. It really feels good, because I really like to entertain people. Hopefully, they can just see me and be encouraged by the positive message I'm trying to portray."

Next time you are in Tulsa cruising 71st Street, be sure to honk and wave. Chances are, you'll probably see him.

posted 12.01.01