Hmm.. Jim-Bob are you saying that SF mechanics are the root of this crazy fixed gear craze? I would rather agree with the poster who gave street cred to NY messengers.

My brother split NY with his track bike in early 1994 and was considered muy loco by just about everyone he came across in Frisco for working there on his fixed/no brakes.

When I went to LA to messenger the winter of 95/96 the kids thought my fix had a coaster brake!
The Cycle Messenger World Champs 95 in Toronto and 96 in Frisco spread the style quite a bit. There was even a fixed/no brakes street race at the SF Worlds.

European messengers were pointing and laughing at the first skid competition to take place at a CMWC (Barcelona/97). Just three years later at CMWC in Copenhagen close to half of the 400 competitors were rocking fixed/no brake!

Then there is the picture by Alice Austin from 1896 that is titled 'Messenger by Wheel' and has a western union messenger kid posing with his fixed/no brakes(!) on 30th St. and Broadway.

So, that's my 2 cents on the topic