Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126019
DAY ONE ou 're late ," said Mike Go odwin as Diane, Mike's girlfriend, led me into their living room . And I truly was . this habit of I have overs leeping, no m atter what ti me the alarm clock t ells me to wake up. When I finally bro ke through and made it to m y destinat ion, I discovered t h at the sun truly sh ines on the rich (o r those that pretend to be). As I snaked up a narrow strip o f asphalt that switchbacked up a hill above the main highway I though t, su ch houses ! All perched on th e sid e of th e hill o n st ilts that gave their occu pants an expen sive view of the Pac ific Ocean at $ 10 0 a wave. And there were th e hau s uo itu res of t he rich : Porsch es, J agu ar E·1 2s, Mar k IV s p ar ked in th eir concre te stalls or ou t in t he narrow street, m aking it already narrower still, and more likel y to make a very ex pens ive acciden t p os sible. At Mike's house, wh ich w as near th e t o p of th e hill, there was a very big , very new, very white Cadillac waiting for its master to ride off and conquer the world. The house is a cedarwood and white stucco mixture of Spanish and Malibu styling, all hung out on th e side of th e hill. On th e to p level a garage occu pies the fro nt , and the living room is in bac k overl oo king th e o cean . The middle level is th e " nerve ce n ter" with Mik e 's office, bathroom an d bedroo m. The third and bottom-most level is th e o ffice for Mike 's secretari es and asso ciates . Medi a Max , Inc. operates inco nspicuously in a neigh borhood of th e affl ue n t who sleep peace fu lly o n this hill. It is 8 :30 a.rn, Diane, Mike 's girlfriend of seven years (" I keep him warm in b ody an d soul" ) answered the do orbell. I followed her into the living ro om where I fo und Mike wor kin g o ut in a com er, wearing only tennis shoes, te e shirt, an d shorts. He wa s using an exerc ise wh eel t ha t you roll o n the gro un d (pile carpeting hel ps). He co m me nted o n m y tardin ess, t he n said, "W ant to go on a run?" I said no than ks. He hopped to his feet a nd tr o tted out of the house with his two d ogs Po o and Lisa fo llo wing behind . Dian e served me brea kfast (I never refuse an ything fre e) and I had some time to check things out. When I had first entered the house, I noticed several plaques and pictures that Mike had co llected over the years. There were resolutions presented to him by the L.A. ci ty council for bringing MX to the Coliseum and making it a b ig-time sport. There were a couple of pictures from some magazines that had featured his SuperBowl events. There was also a laminated and mounted page from Amusement Business with a picture of a younger Goodwin sporting mutton chop whiskers that were the style back in 1970. The page contained an article about his phenomenal success as a rock concert promoter. At the top of the page in big letters it said: "3 22G in 5 mos.; Goodwin's doing something rightl" On the other side of the hallway and scattered through the rest o f the house: were underwater pictures that he had taken on a Hawaiian holiday. Y C'J l-< IlJ .c a IlJ u IlJ c 12 The living room is decked with various sporting tr ophies and pictures. An elk's head dominates one wall ; a set of Weber carburetors on their manifold hang on another. Beneath those, some hunting rifles lean casually against the wall as if they were to be used at any moment. One wall is all picture windows while another is a huge bookcase that contains titles from sharks to science fiction, from Business Week to Playboy. In a comer nearest the ocean is Mike's easy chair where he reads his paper and contemplates the world. At the other end of the room, by the bookcase, is the dining table where I eat my breakfast. I see a small driftwood table by the windows with a 12 line phone resting on it . In the kitchen Mike keeps a booze cab ine t with enough stuff to put an army under the table. The refrigerator PROFILE OF A PROMOTER MICHAEL GOODWIN BY REX REESE contains the regular refriger ator stuff, including Eskimo Pies, lots of Olympia beer (" We like to take care of our sponsors"), and a lot of diet soft drinks. Elk meat was in th e free zer. Mik e had sho t it himself, presumably with one of the guns leaning against the wall. The elk meat would be for ta cos later tonight. Mike returned from his run and fill ed me on the part of his day th at I missed. At abo u t 6:30 a. m , he had made his daily back East calls to get the day rolling. Then he went downstairs to take a shower. Mike returned dressed up in his official office uniform co nsist ing of only a tee shirt and shorts, then proce ded to work. His office too has a view of the ocean and is deeply carpe ted like everywhere else , Another 12 lin e phone sits on his desk as Mike sifts through a st ack of papers and notes. A set of shelves and a closet contain files on his operations. A bulletin board hangs in one of the windows with lots of notes and little homilies of business ta cked on it . One slogan dominates the board: " Time is th e ene m y. .. That 's the theme to Mike's philosophy, am o ngst other things. Ranged above him are pictures of the ro ck stars th at he had promoted