Denny Stephenson

Denny Stephenson opened the decade by winning the 1990 125 East Supercross Championship. He wasn’t merely the funny guy at the party, Denny had the aggression, talent and confidence to run at the front.

Then he joined the Moto Rat Pack and discovered his other championship discipline: going out.

“Debo” was all personality, loud, fearless, endlessly quotable and capable of turning a quiet night into a story nobody could completely remember. When the young racers migrated toward Southern California, Denny became part of the crew that trained together, battled on weekends and treated every gap in the schedule as an opportunity.

His role grew as the sport changed. Motocross was escaping the stadiums, underground videos were turning riders into personalities and freestyle was colliding with punk rock, hip-hop and youth culture. Denny could race, perform and sell the insanity without pretending it was respectable.

In MOTO NINETIES, Debo rode the wave of ’90s fun at full volume: champion, instigator and living proof that the decade’s biggest personalities were often just as important as its lap times.