RIP Dave Mirra

American BMX athlete and X Games star Dave Mirra was found dead yesterday in Greenville, North Carolina. According to the L.A. Times the police department found Mirra in a truck – he appears to have shot himself. Mirra was 41, married and had two daughters.

Mirra started his career as a BMX rider with GT Bicycles but was recently taking part in endurance cycling events. He was later sponsored by Haro Bikes. In 2006 he started his starting his own bike brand, MirraCo of Southern California. This was distributed to bike shops by Trek Bicycles. In 2014 the brand moved online and through big-box retailers via Dynacraft.

Mirra was sponsored by Monster Energy, Puma, Maxxis, Nike, Bell Helmets, and Snafu.

A statement from X Games broadcaster ESPN said:

"Dave Mirra, your courage, determination and natural skill in everything you pursued pushed the world of action sports to become a better place. From all of us at X Games and ESPN, we salute your contributions.

"Our sincere condolences go out to Dave’s wife, Lauren, his daughters Mackenzie and Madison, the BMX community and friends of Dave Mirra."

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Goodbye Dave Mirra, a true pioneer, icon and legend. Thank you for the memories… we are heartbroken. pic.twitter.com/RHpTe7Qzwi

Goodbye Dave Mirra, a true pioneer, icon and legend. Thank you for the memories… we are heartbroken. pic.twitter.com/RHpTe7Qzwi

— Tony Hawk (@tonyhawk) February 5, 2016