Dave was unconventional to say the least. Freestyle really wasn't ready for him yet in 1984 and Skyway definitely had their hands full. I can't think of one specific event that caused them to part ways but it was really unfortunate. On the surface it would seem that Skyway had secured a very visible presence in BMX Freestyle with Dave Vanderspek. Nonetheless, Dave and Skyway parted ways. Dave was a little bitter that Robert Peterson got the Team Captain roll. After all, Dave had made the initial contact with Skyway, practically picked all of their riders, competed in everything that came his way, setup contests and got a lot of coverage. Nobody else on the team had done nearly as much. But, Dave was not corporate enough for Skyway or, Skyway was not loose enough for him. Either way, the sport itself would eventually catch up.

After Skyway, Dave hopped around with bike sponsors going through Dyno, GHP, Patterson, Kuwahara and finally Boss. Boss was a local company and probably would have been the best for him. They actually made a Curb Dogs frame that was not mass produced. It seems that Boss may have been his longest running bike sponsor.



Freestylin' regularly reported on Vander's latest sponsor change and it actually became sort of a running gag. Changing sponsors was referred to as "The Vander Syndrome".















Best as I can count, Vander's sponsors (at various times) were: A'Me, Avocet, Boss, Dyno, GHP, Hank and Frank Bicycles, Haro, Kuwahara, M&J Cyclery, Off Shore, R&S Racing, Rector, Schmitt Stix, Skyway, Tiger Cycle/Nighthawk BMX, Vision, and a gym who's name I can't remember...