I had the privilege of watching him in the early 90s. I was one of the only and few black drivers in this sport sponsored by Team Losi and multiple other RC businesses. I was one of the people he would give advice and set up tips to. With his guidance and others I was one of the best stock drivers in the nation and the early to late 1990s. Never a bad word to say about Brian. With his advice at some races he helped me become the only black Team Losi driver to accomplish what I accomplished in the mid-to-late 90s. Multiple state championships lots of national appearances and an invite to the worlds championships in 98 got a chance to see that world championship victory that he won what's special too participate in that event that he won.
Nobody gives a shit or even notices that black people are black other than black people. You want a world without color and racism then stop talking about it.
@@williamwesse6114 it's not about racism it's about just telling my story as being a black driver at the beginning of the sport in the early 90s. There was no other black drivers I've sponsored as me. Other black kids were interested in getting into this Hobby and they couldn't afford it and I did whatever I could to get kids to come to the track or their parents and get them into the sport. Now you you see all kinds of ethnicities in this hobby because now it is a global hobby thanks to people like Brian and myself. I'm just telling story from that era at the beginning it would be very very hard for a person of color to be able to even afford to sport or even compete at the level that I competed in.
@@Sunbear415 yeah there were no black good drivers in the early to mid-90s. I kind of represented what a lot of kids that were minority at the time that they wanted to be in this Hobby. I retired in late 1999 but as I look at the landscape in radio-controlled racing I don't see any good black drivers I see it very good Europeans and very good people from France and whatever also Latino but not anybody black which is really surprising.
Wow, Him and Masami were my favorite drivers when I was about 8-12 years old. I always read about them in RC car Action back then, I had RC cars but not hobby grade type, they were toys but I loved driving them. I got my first RC grade car when I was 19. My dad's aquaintance had an RC10. I got my first Car action Magazine a couple years later, that is when I started seeing him. What a suprise to find out about his passing.
It was a privilege to watch Mesabi hirasaka and Brian kinwald do battle especially since Masami had to come from Japan and went on his home turf meaning Brian.
I've been out a racing RC car since we had to cut our own commentators on the armatures of our Motors and soldered together our own match battery packs really saddens me to hear he passed away brings back so many feelings of nostalgia waiting for the mailman to bring the next issue of RC car action magazine
Exactly I remember back in the day when we started in this industry when Gil Losi Junior was still racing. I remember my first car was a jrx2. That's the first car that seamlessly ever put out. It sounds like we go way way way back
Raced against him several times in the 90's. Great guy and was a huge fan. I had no idea he passed. I just got a wild hair up my butt to get back into racing now at the age of 39 again after stopping in 2009. Doing research on the hot cars of 4wd buggy today and came across this. Man, Brought back so many great memories watching videos featured here and to hear he passed really stings. Were getting old. RIP Dirtinator.
Some of the comments are spot-on, back in 90's I couldn't open an RC car action magazine, without seeing Brian Kinwalds face or name in it. I remember it was always him, with some of the other big names from that era. Although I never competed professionally in RC racing, I always aspired to follow the likes of Brian Kinwald. Sad to hear of his passing. I am sure many racers and hobbyist today would agree, he will be missed. He put our hobby on the radar of many other people. R.I.P Brian.
Absolutely I raced and the mid-to-late 90s for about five or six years and he was pretty much the man in that time span. I remember getting setup tips from him and driving his car every once in awhile in practice and it was Unreal. The guy knew this Sport and his work ethic is the reason why he is a top 5 RC race Hof in this sport.
I saw him so much from when he raced at the ranch pit Shop in Pomona. The guy was at the track all the time setting up his cars and that's why he's one of the best. Some of those setups that he came up with just our amazing he would just make certain things out of certain material and his car was the fastest car on the track by far! Brian was 7 years older than me but he basically put RC racing on the map. We both started in the early 90s but he was way better than I ever would have been and we raced at the same track. Not only at mnm Raceway but also the ranch pit shop. Team Losi did most if not all their testing at that track back in the 90s and Brian was at the Forefront of all that. I mean he goes back when we were running Sanyo batteries in modified struggling just to get four and a half minutes on the track without dying LOL. But everybody knew in the early nineties that Brian was going to be something special we didn't know he was going to be this good but wow unbelievable what he's done.
I didn't even know about it until I RU-vid his name. I know he had some kind of spinal disease or something. I used to race against him in the mid-to-late 90s. He was this Sports God in the 90s. He was almost unbeatable I never beat him at anything. The only time I ever beat this guy I know straight up race cuz if he broke his car LOL.
I raced against him he was beyond fast. The only time I would ever beat him as if he broke LOL. There was nobody in the late 90s or early 90s that can beat this guy straight up. He real he rarely ever lost and I was a privilege to race and get advice from him.
What!! Wow. I remember bumping into Brian at several races. I raced xxx-nt and xxx-t back 2003-2006. Great racer. I really didn't stand a chance against these guys but Brian stood out.
Yeah he was the man! His work ethic was legendary. I had the privilege of racing against him on a weekly basis in the late 90s. He was the king of setups and deadly on indoor tracks. He helped Young sponsored Racers like by self achieve maximum achievements because of his advice.
Yeah it was great to race against the guy. I never got a chance to race against Masami hirasaka he was way out of my league and he was also from Japan. I would race and Brian Ken wolds regular race division every once in awhile he whooped my ass but it was nice to learn stuff from him. Every once in awhile he would drop down to the stock buggy class and race me and kick my butt in my own division which I ran for years lol.
That's amazing I wish I had kept all my cars I have like five or six I regret getting rid of them but I did keep some of the memorabilia like the shells
RIP, Brian Kinwald (1973 - 2019) way to young. I’m the same age as BK. But I’ll need three life times, to do half of what he has done. The face of RC for so many years.
Absolutely his work ethic alone is legendary. First to the track at the last to leave. He helped out young sponsored and unsponsored guys all the time with setups. He was a killer the only time I could ever beat this guy is if he broke his car in the heat LOL. We used to travel around going to the same races and I learned a lot from him. What a lot of people don't know is he was battling a spinal disease so long life expectancy wasn't in the plans. But what he did for the support and Young black sponsored Racers like myself I achieved a lot of success because of guys like him.
This video isn't long enough to show Brian's work ethic. He was always the first to the track and always one of the last to leave. He knew setups like nobody's business. As a young black Team Losi sponsored kid in the late 90s I got many setup advice from him. I got to race him on a pretty consistent basis and there was no way I could ever beat this guy. If there was an RC Hall of Fame he would be top five ever. Not too many drivers that would take time out of their day to answer general questions like he did. Because of drivers like him I was able to achieve my maximum Talent being a young black kid from La having multiple sponsorships and maximizing my talent cuz of guys like this. Ifmar World Championship invite multiple national title appearances and state championships to my name because of guys like this.
*Justin Morrison* You got setup advise from him because you were black, or how is the color of your skin or ethnicity relevant? Just wondering why you felt the need to tell people the color of your skin and why that's important to your story.
I got to race with him at one event , we were in same heat . How he would sit an inch behind your trk and wait for you to make just one mistake and then pass you like you were standing still on track , and it was always last 2 laps . Racing at RCHR in Costa mesa was the best , i learned so much from bk on how to race just from watching him . Rip BK.
This kid was so popular back then I remember every kid wondering how to get rc’s set up as good as these racers set it up saddens me to hear his passing
Oh man I wish I could have been longer. There's so much more to add to that. How much he helped kids like myself at the time who were sponsored but wasn't at the level that he was. I remember watching him in the 90s if a kid didn't have a motor he would get the kid a motor. I learned giving back to RC racing like he would helping out other Racers who didn't have as much stuff as we did at the time. He also was the king of setups first to get to the track and last to leave. I was one of a handful of black racers and he didn't care who you were you always got treated well with him. He was actually a pretty funny guy if you got to know him he would joke around but still a quiet guy.
Sad times I worked at a grocery store in Lincoln city in the 90s and rc car action had the pic of him holding an rc10 and a trophy, I loved the magazines. Rip dirtinator
I know he was really consistent and pretty much unbeatable on indoor tracks. I got so many set up tips from this guy when I ran for Team Losi he was the guy to go to. Being a black young kid from LA always help me out when I needed something.
It really would have been nice to see some old videos of his work ethic. First to the track and one of the last people to leave the track. I witness this for years but obviously I don't have video at that time. Out of everybody that have made comments on this video I was probably the only other sponsored Losi driver. He's a good guy though.
Yeah but I'm sure that had nothing to do with him. He didn't design the car he just raced it. Same thing when we were both at Team Losi in those late 90s he just raced the car not designed it.
When I was a kid I Dreamed of beating him. I never hadthe level of his cars and probably talent. He inspired me to build my own track and time my driving. This breaks my heart for a number of reasons. I'll never be able to race him. More important I'll never get to experience the Awesome person I'm sure he was! God bless the family and God Bless B.K..
He's one of the reasons why I kept racing through the 90s. We went to the same track Ranch pit shop in Pomona I was probably 14 or 15. We were both sponsored by Team Losi but he was in the modified Division and I was in the stock division. I really didn't get to know the guy until about 97 and that's when I got set up advice from him for the indoor tracks. I would always see him at different races that I would go to around the country because that was Our obligation for being sponsored to go to all these races and place. I've really never seen anybody else faster than him. Nobody I knew could beat him multiple times. Sometimes he would even tell me to go up to modified and I'd be like hell no LOL. Every time I went up a class he would whoop my ass then I would just stay in the stock division LOL. But that was just how competitive he was. His work ethic was legendary first person to the track and one of the last to leave.
Even this he passed in April its still crazy to see.i started racing about the same time and I'm 48, he was my reason Have Tons of his losi and associated stuff...was such a nice person the times I met him.talent comes in diffrent shapes and sizes ..race in peace B.K
What this video couldn't show is he was battling a disease since I met him in the 90s. He had some kind of spinal disease. I'm glad that he was able to continue his racing through the early 2000s well into the next decade.
Yeah once Horizon Hobbies took over it pretty much ran most of the sponsor drivers out of their including myself. But you know what though I was pretty much done with RC racing at that time so I guess it might have been for the better.
@@justinmorrison3219 I was wanted to get in the RC racing but, it was always too expensive for my parents and by the time I got old enough to work, the community in Maryland just evaporated. What made you get out of the hobby?
Funny story time when I started racing it was at SoCal around 1994 me and another guy from the office. Well I was terrible at driving but not anywhere near as terrible as romson was and we gave him shit every time he hit the track boom broken car....boom broken car ya get the picture. Well one day romson wants to race and it on but I start thinking about it and nope somethings up. Lol the little shit head talked Brian into driving for him while I wouldn’t know man I’m glad I caught on it would have destroyed me to think I lost to romson.