How would you describe your job?
I ride a little kid's bike for a living. I am doing my best to not get a real nine-to-five job since I love what I do. I've been riding BMX freestyle professionally for 13 years.
How is riding BMX like riding a motorcycle?
Riding BMX is very precise so your skills have to be fine tuned to the point that even an inch can mean the difference from winning or waking up in the hospital. Motorcycles require good coordination skills like that. Body position is a huge difference between BMX and motorcycles due to the weight of the bike. I don't usually get to drag my knee on the ground riding BMX unless the rest of my body is about to drag on the ground too.
What is scarier, going wide open on a sportbike or dropping in on a big air ramp?
Both are easy to do up till the point where the skills need to kick in and then they're both scary. I guess it all depends on what's coming next after you hit wide open or crest the edge to drop in on big air. I'm going to put my vote in with Casey Stoner that the Mega Ramp roll-in is scarier after I took him up to the top and he didn't want to walk out onto the perch for a photo.
Is there anything that directly crosses over between motorcycles and BMX?
The main thing for me that crosses over is the state of mind to be confident in what I'm doing as well as telling my body what to do and making it all happen.
Why do you think motorcycle racing has yet to gain the widespread TV exposure like BMX?
BMX has a lot of popularity with the action sports events like X Games and Dew Tour with the younger crowds. America is odd when it comes to motorsports, and for some reason turning left in a car is way more popular than motorcycle roadracing.
Stupid people will hold back any sport from its full potential though, and the guy weaving in and out of traffic at 130 mph makes it hard to prove to families that it's a fun sport and not as dangerous as they think.
Describe the feeling of winning your first X Games gold.
In 2006, I had pushed myself to learn new tricks in an attempt to make it to the top of the podium. I had envisioned in my mind to come out on top at the X Games. When it happened I was in awe. It took a while to set in that I had just won.
My favorite person in the universe is:
My son, Tanner.
The greatest lesson life has taught me is:
Learn from all failures to not repeat mistakes and appreciate the successes with the understanding that there is always room for improvement.