'The Godfather of the BMX' is found dead in a homeless camp: Body of tragic star is discovered in a makeshift tent after he 'lost his business to addiction'
- Scot Breithaupt found dead in tent at a vacant lot in Indio, California
- Police said the BMX rider had been dead for an unknown period of time
- There were no signs of foul play surrounding 57-year-old's death
- His brother Jeffrey Breithaupt said Scot had battled a crack cocaine addiction and lost his business SE Racing to drugs
- Breithaupt is credited with helping to turn BMX into an Olympic sport
In this 1976 photo Scot Breithaupt races in a BMX bicycle race in Las Vegas
Scot Breithaupt, who helped to turn BMX into an Olympic sport, has been found dead in a homeless camp.
The grim discovery of the 57-year-old's body was made by police inside a tent in a vacant lot on the corner of 7th Street and Bellflower Boulevard in Long Beach, Indio, California, on Saturday.
It is not known how long Breithaupt, who was among the first to organize bicycle races on dirt motorcycle courses in the early 1970s, had lain dead before he was discovered.
A cause of death has yet to be established, but officers said there were no obvious signs of foul play.
The BMX star was known to have battled a crack cocaine addiction.
WTOC.com reported that about eight homeless people live in the lot and that Breithaupt was living in a makeshift tent.
His brother Jeffrey Breithaupt told the LA Times: 'He was a remarkable guy.
'Drugs were his torment.'
Jeffrey said that in the 1980s Scot had become addicted to crack cocaine.
He lost control of his business SE Racing, and in a 2012 posting on the website, fatBMX, he described a recent set of problems that included treatment for cancer as well as claims against the state corrections agency.
BMX legend was found dead in a homeless camp on Saturday at the age of 57. The cause of his death has not yet been determined
About eight homeless people live in the lot where Breithaupt was found. He had been living in a makeshift tent
Today a host of current BMX stars paid tribute to the sport's former champion.
'Scot was one of the key figures in making BMX become what it is today, said Craig Barrette spokesman for USA BMX, which runs the sport's Hall of Fame, where Breithaupt is enshrined.
'He would say he was the key figure, because that was the kind of guy he was.
'He was involved in every aspect of BMX.'
Jamie Bestwick, a 13-time X Games BMX gold medalist, was part of a social media outpouring in the action sports world for Breithaupt.
'Sad to read about the passing of one of the all-time greats,' Bestwick said on his Twitter and Facebook pages.
'Scot Breithaupt thank you for your amazing contributions and dedication to BMX.'
In his prime: Scot Breithaupt, pictured, is enshrined in the sport's Hall of Fame run by USA BMX
Breithaupt was among the first to organize bicycle races on dirt motorcycle courses in the early 1970s and the founder of BMX. Pictured in 1976 leading the pack during a race in Las Vegas
Scot Breithaupt's brother Jeffrey told the LA Times that his sibling had battled an addiction with crack cocaine
Another BMX Hall-of-Famer, Mike King, tweeted that it's a 'very sad day in the BMX world.'
As a teenager Breithaupt was a competitive motorcross rider and became inspired after seeing a group of children riding their bicycles in a dirt lot near his home in Long Beach, California.
This led to him organizing bicycle races on a dirt track similar to those used by motocross riders.
'Those were some of the first BMX races ever,' Barrette said.
Breithaupt became a BMX rider, winning several championships.
He also became an early voice for the sport, introducing it to the nation as a color commentator in the early 1980s when it was televised on ESPN at a time when the network itself was new and specialized in novelties.
Later, he started manufacturing bikes, founding the company SE Racing and creating several innovative frame designs, Barrette said.
After retiring from active racing, he sold SE and started LM Productions, producing BMX and extreme-sport shows for ESPN and Fox.
The camp in Indio, California where Breithaupt's body was found. It is not clear how long he had been dead for
The homeless camp is strewn with rubbish and reportedly known for being a site for drug and alcohol use
Speaking in the 2005 film Joe Kid on a Stingray: The History of BMX, Scot said: 'I failed miserably in a lot of things, but I had a lot of successes.'
Speaking about Scot's early career, John Swarr, co-director and co-writer of Joe Kid on a Stingray said: 'He was a kid - all of us were kids who were doing the sport at the time.
'He was the one who was able to bring it out and bring it up and really grow it faster.'
WTOC.com added that the coroner's and toxicology report could take weeks to come through. It said the vacant lot is known locally for being a place for drug and alcohol use.
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