Forty years later, “Rad” is still doing exactly what it was built to do, getting people fired up, back on their bikes, and back in theaters. What started as a scrappy BMX film in 1986 has grown into something much bigger, a full-on movement fueled by nostalgia, community, and a fanbase that never let it fade away.
That momentum continues in a big way for 2026, as Utopia and Fathom Entertainment once again bring RAD DAY to theaters nationwide. For its milestone 40th anniversary, the celebration expands to two nights, March 22 and 24, giving fans even more chances to experience the film the way it was meant to be seen, on the big screen with a crowd that knows every beat!
Of course, the legacy of “Rad” goes far beyond Helltrack. It lives in the people who made it, the culture it helped elevate, and the fans who carried it forward for decades. This year’s event also offers a look toward that legacy with a preview of “Effortless: The Eddie Fiola Story,” a documentary that dives into the life of one of BMX’s true pioneers and the lasting impact of his career both on and off the screen.
To celebrate the moment, Icon Vs. Icon caught up with three individuals whose paths all lead back to “Rad,” but in very different ways. Bill Allen, the actor and musician who became Cru Jones. Eddie Fiola, the BMX legend and stuntman whose influence helped define the film’s authenticity. And Billy Henrickle, a lifelong fan who turned that passion into filmmaking with “Effortless.” Together, their stories highlight something that has always been at the core of “Rad.” It is not just about a race, it is about passion, persistence, and the unexpected ways a film can shape lives long after the credits roll.
Tickets for RAD 40th Anniversary are available now at Fathom Entertainment and participating theatre box offices (theatre locations subject to change).
It’s the 40th anniversary of “Rad” and it’s great to have you all here to celebrate RAD Day 2026. You all have such unique career paths and learning more about your respective journeys is another thing the “Rad” has brought my way as a fan. There is so much to love about the film and its fandom. “Rad” had a notoriously slow burn as an 80s classic, spreading through VHS rentals, cable airings, and word of mouth. At what point did you start seeing that “Rad” was becoming a phenomenon?
Bill Allen: Well, the first real inkling I had was when we did a screening at the Billy Wilder Theater at the Arm & Hammer Museum around the 20th anniversary. It was really well attended, and it was actually the first time I’d seen Eddie in probably a decade or more. You could feel that the film was starting to carry some real weight with audiences in a way it hadn’t before. Then we did the 25th anniversary in Calgary, which was incredible. It was part of a three-day film festival, and they were just showing “Rad” over and over again. That’s when it really hit me that something bigger was happening. From there, it just kept building. It really started to snowball!
Eddie Fiola: Yeah, Bill summed it up pretty well. The first time I saw the film when it was originally released, I went with seven friends, and we were the only people in the theater. Fast forward to 2026, and the theater I’m going to for RAD Day is completely sold out. They’ve even added another showing. So yeah, it’s going to be a great event.
You both have such a strong connection with your fans. Why do you think ‘Rad’ still resonates with audiences after all these years?
Bill Allen: I think it’s that lone wolf story, the kid who comes out of nowhere, backed by his community. At its core, it’s a classic David and Goliath story. T also that corporate angle, represented by Mongoose and that whole crew, and the way Cru and his friends basically push back and say, ‘We’re going to race our race the way we want to. We don’t need you.’ They’ve got Mr. Timmer in their corner, and that’s enough. So it really becomes this story of triumph over those bigger corporate forces that seem to be running everything.
Eddie Fiola: Yeah, and beyond that, it was our lifestyle back then. You went outside and rode your BMX bike for hours. You were just gone all day. And if you weren’t riding, you knew exactly which house everyone was at because there’d be ten or fifteen bikes piled up in the front yard. There was just this sense of freedom we had. And honestly, half the reason we were all at that one house was because someone’s mom was inside making bologna sandwiches for everybody.
One of the things I loved about RAD Day 2025 was the inclusion of the “Rad” documentary, and it was a real treat to see Hal Needham on the silver screen. What do you remember about crossing paths with this legend for the first time?
Bill Allen: Well, I was a young actor at the time, and I knew his work from ‘Smokey and the Bandit’ and ‘The Cannonball Run.’ Hal was a pretty big presence, tall, always wearing one of those rodeo belt buckles, a ten-gallon hat, creased blue jeans, and cowboy boots. He felt larger than life, like something straight out of the Texas State Fair. And of course, he was Burt Reynolds’ best friend, so there was already that level of legend around him.
Before ‘Rad,’ he had just done ‘Cannonball Run II’ with Shirley MacLaine and all those big stars, and he told me how chaotic that set could be, with everyone waiting in their Winnebagos for someone else to show up first. So the only thing he asked of me before we started shooting was, ‘Just be on time.’ That was easy. I’ve never been late to anything in my life, especially not a movie set. The only other thing he asked me to do was jump off that flume into a frozen river. [laughs] Other than that, I didn’t take too many lumps!
Eddie Fiola: My experience with Hal was a little different. He had that big Texan personality, but he didn’t really know BMX beyond the photos he had seen. So whenever he needed something, he’d come to us and ask what was possible. There’s actually a photo out there of him looking off into the distance while he’s asking me, ‘Can you come down this hill, hit that corner, and jump onto the track?’ And I told him, ‘I can try. We’ll see. If it’s doable, great. If not, maybe let me take a practice run first.’ And he just said, ‘Let’s shoot it. Let’s go.’ So we did it. That was the take where I ended up going over the bars and getting knocked out. [laughs] That was Hal, though. He filmed everything!
You were both fairly green at this point in your careers. Walking onto a set like Helltrack must have been an eye-opener.
Bill Allen: Helltrack was truly spectacular. Nobody had ever seen anything like it. The drop-in wall, the berms, the massive turns, it was completely unheard of at the time. Right, Eddie?
Eddie Fiola: Yeah. They brought in real BMX racers for that scene, and I know for a fact at least one of them took a look at it and said, ‘I’m not riding that thing. It’s dangerous.’ It was basically straight up and down in spots. The starting gate alone was something like a 72-degree angle, and it felt three stories high. They actually had to cut it down a bit just to make it safer, and it still wasn’t safe. Even today, you don’t see starting gates like that. It was massive. It was something none of us were really ready for.
Eddie, as someone who was immersed in the world of BMX, how long did it take to see the film’s impact on the sport?
Eddie Fiola: It took a long time. Back then, BMX really only lived in magazines. There weren’t many videos in the ’80s that showed both racing and freestyle the way ‘Rad’ did. That opening title sequence with us riding was something people watched over and over. The dance scene and the ending of the movie became iconic. Those were the moments that really stuck with people, and they wore those VHS tapes out.
I’m certainly guilty of that!
Bill Allen: You’re in good company!
Amazing segue, Bill. I know Billy Henrickle shares that same passion. RAD DAY 2026 will also include a sneak peek of ‘Effortless: The Eddie Fiola Story,’ a project that’s been years in the making. Billy, how did this journey begin?
Billy Henrickle: It all started about six or seven years ago when I first reached out to Eddie. I’m also a writer, and I ended up working on his book. From there, we just became friends. I’ve been riding my whole life, going back to when I was a kid, and like a lot of fans, I grew up with GTs and Mongoose bikes. I was just completely immersed in that world and it was always something I was passionate about. After the book, we started talking about doing a documentary. I had done a few projects before, so we decided to go for it! We were able to secure some funding for the project and just tried to tell the best story we could!
What do you consider the biggest challenge you faced in bringing the film to life?
Billy Henrickle: Honestly, the biggest challenge was ‘Rad’ itself, specifically getting the rights to use the clips since it’s such a huge part of Eddie’s story. We worked with Talia Shire and her family for about three years, and we finally secured those rights just a couple of months ago. That was definitely the biggest hurdle. Obviously, ‘Rad’ is a major part of Eddie’s life and career, but he’s done so much before and after that. We really wanted to show the full picture, from his early days to his stunt work in films and everything in between. I think it came out really well, and I think fans are going to love it. The full film will be available on Amazon starting April 7th, 2026!
That dance scene set to Real Life’s ‘Send Me an Angel’ has become iconic. For both of you, what were you listening to back when you were making ‘Rad’?
Eddie Fiola: I was listening to everything, really. Oingo Boingo, KISS, Bow Wow Wow, just all things ’80s. The only thing I really didn’t listen to was country or western. MTV was everything back then. It was what we listened to, what we rode to. We’d take our boom boxes out to a parking lot and just ride for hours, listening to bands like INXS and whatever else was on. I couldn’t really narrow it down to just one, but if I had to pick, Oingo Boingo was probably my favorite.
Bill Allen: My background is really as a musician. I’m a blues guy from Texas. I toured extensively with Lou Diamond Phillips through the ’80s and ’90s, playing everything from stadiums to nightclubs across Canada and beyond. That’s really where I cut my teeth, up on stage with a harmonica in my hand. [laughs] Since then, I’ve done a lot of work in music, producing and collaborating with artists like Steve Lukather from Toto and Melissa Etheridge. My latest project was with Robbie Krieger of The Doors. I produced a track for him that should be coming out soon!
Personally, I was born in 1962 and grew up with older brothers, so I was raised on The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. And growing up in Dallas, once I had a fake ID, I was right up front watching Stevie Ray Vaughan at 14 years old, just thinking, ‘What is happening right now?’ [laughs] I was exposed early on to some of the best, toughest blues musicians out there, and that really shaped my whole perspective on music.
You both have had the unique experience of telling your stories in book form. What was your biggest takeaway from putting your life experiences down on paper?
Bill Allen: My wife had been telling me for years, ‘You need to write your story down.’ So I finally did with “My Rad Career.” It took about six months, and I actually wrote the whole thing out by hand, and then she helped edit it. It really focuses on my early years in Hollywood, when I was surrounded by this incredible group of people. I’m talking about hanging out with Lou Diamond Phillips, Brandon Lee, a young George Clooney, a young Brad Pitt, and all these musicians I’ve mentioned. It was a real hotbed of creativity, and you didn’t have a choice but to rise to the occasion. I was surrounded by people who would go on to become some of the biggest names in the business, and you had to feel like you belonged in that room. That was my proving ground.
Eddie Fiola: The hardest part was that we were working on the book during COVID, so everything was back and forth, talking with Billy and staying in touch that way. I had thought about doing a book before, but I’m not a writer, and I didn’t really know how to put everything together. Then I get this message from Billy saying he’s a huge fan, that he used to ride, and that he wanted to work on something he really believed in. I said, ‘Sure, let’s do it.’
From there, he really had to dig into my head and help me remember things from way back. He’d write, send it to me, I’d read it, and we’d go back and forth making changes. I remember the first draft was written in the first person, all ‘I, I, I,’ and I didn’t want that. I wanted it to feel like Billy was telling my story, so we shifted it to ‘Eddie’ instead.
And what’s wild is Billy had actually been at one of my shows back in the early ’80s. We were throwing out stuff to the crowd, grips, shoes, things like that, and he caught one of the grips. Then, 30 years later, he reaches out and says, ‘Hey, I want to help tell your story.’ That’s how it all came together.
That’s awesome, and it really shows how many full-circle moments are waiting for fans when they dig into the story of ‘Rad.’
Bill Allen: Yeah!
Bill, you’ve got an incredible connection with the fans and the BMX world, and you’ve really helped drive RAD Day. Even at 40 years, it feels like you’re just getting warmed up!
Bill Allen: I feel like it. I really do. I love ‘Rad,’ and I love the legacy it’s built.
What does the future hold for you?
Bill Allen: Recently, I teamed up with producer Patrick Durham, who’s looking to make another BMX movie, and I’m all in. I’ll probably be the older guy passing things on to the next generation, showing them what to do and what not to do. There’ll be a lot of acting involved, but we’ve got people like Harry Leary, Jamie Clarke, and Mike Miranda coming on board, so there’s definitely going to be some connective tissue to the past.
At the same time, it’s going to stand on its own as a new BMX film, and I really think the fans deserve that. There hasn’t been a big-budget BMX movie since ‘Rad,’ which is kind of wild when you think about it. The sport deserves to be revisited and showcased for where it is today and what these riders are capable of now. We can all watch clips online, but when you put it into a narrative, when you give it context, that’s what we do in Hollywood. We take these incredible moments and turn them into a story!
That’s incredible news, so we look forward to hearing more as it develops. The future is looking very bright! Thank you so much for your time today. Congrats on 40 years of ‘Rad’ and everything you’ve built with RAD Day. It’s amazing to see this legacy still going strong!
Bill Allen: Thank you for being a fan!
For more on Bill Allen and Eddie Fiola, be sure to check out their social media platforms for the latest updates, appearances, and projects. Fans can also keep an eye out for Billy Henrickle’s documentary, “Effortless: The Eddie Fiola Story,” arriving on Amazon on April 7th, 2026.
Jason Price founded the mighty Icon Vs. Icon more than a decade ago. Along the way, he’s assembled an amazing group of like-minded individuals to spread the word on some of the most unique people and projects on the pop culture landscape.
