In freestyle motocross circles, Mike Metzger is known as "The Godfather," and for good reason. In the early 1990s Metzger was the ringleader of a motley crew of refugee motocross riders who spent their days "free riding" in Southern California deserts, abandoning the rigid structure of organized motocross competition for the unmatched freedom of jumping huge dunes and reaching big speeds on the wide-open sands. What started as friendly get-togethers with fellow riders soon burgeoned into serious games of one-upmanship as everyone tried to see who could jump the highest or farthest, or do the craziest tricks midair before touching back to terra firma. Little did these MX outcasts know they would become the pioneering generation in what has since become the premier extreme sport: freestyle motocross.
Freestyle motocross (FMX) has made huge strides in the decade since those first desert sessions, shifting from the desolate sands at Glamis to jam-packed urban coliseums in the biggest American cities. And Metz has ridden the extreme sports revolution right to the top, transitioning from a struggling racer/tattoo artist busting moves in front of a handful of friends to becoming the biggest name in the motorcycling world, headlining the X Games and Gravity Games and performing in front of thousands of screaming fans--millions, if you consider the massive television audience. Money, fame, endorsement deals--Metz has it all. The man has injected his unconventional personality--tattoos and all--straight to the heart of the mainstream entertainment world. It's a life millions of aspiring dirt jumpers--not to mention nearly every last street freestyle practitioner who wants to one day work it on TV--can only dream of.
Metz deserves every bit of recognition he receives. Widely regarded as one of the most aggressive and daring innovators in FMX, Metzger has always been among the first to attempt--and perfect--some of the sport's most insane tricks. We're talking gravity-defying stunts such as his famous backflip, a move most thought was impossible to nail consistently and smoothly--until Metzger added it to his repertoire. Along with riders such as Travis Pastrana, Metz has revolutionized the way people look at FMX. Although there is still an undeniable Evel Knievel-like element of danger, Metzger has transformed the ragged-edge, go-for-broke sport into something more technical, even introducing the word "finesse" to the freestyle dictionary. "Godfather" doesn't even begin to describe his impact.
So where do you go once you've reached the pinnacle of your sport? In Metz's case, you hit the pavement running--he recently cut back on his FMX riding to make a both-barrels-blazing attack on the new AMA Supermoto Championship, racing a converted Honda CRF450R in the hybrid pavement/dirt racing series. We caught up with Metz at his home in Menifee, California (just five minutes from King of Supercross Jeremy McGrath's castle), to find out a bit more about his rise to the top of the extreme sports crop and see how the man they call the Godfather really lives.
Metz calls his home "Paradise Ranch," a perfect title if by "paradise" he means "motorcycle mayhem." His five acres are devoted strictly to fun on bikes. Wanna ramp jump an 80-foot gap? You can do that in his backyard all day long. Want to pound laps on a Supercross track? He and Tyler Evans did that on his property earlier this year. How about toying around on 50s with the kids? Yes, Metzger even has a small oval strictly for 50s next to his garage. Kids? That's right--unlike the crazed daredevil of the '90s, the new-edition Metz (now 28 years old) is a dedicated family man who seems nothing if not completely content with life. He and his wife, Mandi, have two children, Michaela and Myrie Fritz, and the rewards of the freestyle life have been very good, allowing him to avoid the 9-to-5 grind.
"I am pretty fortunate that my sponsors just hook me up, whether it's a salary deal or a bonus program," Metzger tells us. "Zoo York is my biggest sponsor, followed by Oakley, DVS Shoes, Renthal, VP Racing Fuel, Michelin, Bell Helmets, Alpinestars, and many more. Everyone pretty much lets me do my own thing. Last year Giant RV helped me get into a motor home to travel with my family, but Mandi and I realized it was too hard traveling around with the babies. I'm the type of guy who drives eight to 12 hours to get place to place, and it's not fair for the little kids to stay in a car seat for that long."
Metz says nearly everything he does nowadays centers around his family. "I leave for the race at the last minute so I can spend as much time with Mandi and the kids as possible. So I race to get to the actual race, then I race the event, and then I race home to be with them! I'll tell you what, it's all worth it because they are the coolest people in my world." A normal day for Metz begins somewhere between 7 and 8 a.m., when he wakes up, grabs some coffee and breakfast, and then goes to "the shop" to take care of the day's business. "The shop" is Metzger Action Sports, located 12 miles from his doorstep. Housed in an 8800-square-foot industrial building, Metzger Action Sports goes beyond bikes and includes Metzger's race shop, a retail store and a gallery space where Metz displays his original artwork for sale. Call it his retirement plan.
Like all things in his life nowadays, Metzger Action Sports is a family affair. His sister Shelly manages the retail shop, organizes Metzger's schedule and takes care of other business, too. His other sister, Megan, also plays a key role in managing the business that is his life.
"I pretty much hang out with my family and myself," Metzger says. "To be honest with you, trying to run my shop and keep everything tight with Supermoto racing, it's kind of hard to find the time to hang out with anyone. I've always got a lot of running around to do. There isn't a lot of time to bro down with friends anymore--it's all business."
Like Metzger says, he tries to keep his motard program "tight"--so tight he doesn't even have a team mechanic and he's left doing all his wrenching (and most of the traveling) himself. Occasionally, he will hit events with Steve Drew and Gary Trachy, who Metz calls "real good local Supermoto guys," but for the most part he's out there on his own. Not that he's complaining: Metzger loves Supermoto, a cross between roadracing and motocross, so much he was the one who went to ESPN and pushed the idea of adding it to the X Games lineup this year.
Metz's dedication to the emergent race form and the instrumental role he played in getting it broadcast on the X Games have had a profound effect on the sport. Current AMA Supercross champion Chad Reed made his Supermoto debut at the X Games, as did Kevin Windham, all because of the opportunity for TV time. "The value that the X Games holds for television coverage is huge," says Metzger. "The factories like Honda and Yamaha brought in those guys because they know they can't miss out on that TV coverage. The X Games is the Olympics of extreme sports. I think everyone in the industry is pretty pumped to have a Supermoto race at the X Games. You can't pass up something that great." Perhaps in another 10 years we'll look back at Metz as the Godfather of Supermoto as well.Even though his primary focus has shifted to pavement racing, hardcore fans shouldn't worry--Metz still makes time in his busy schedule for busting freestyle moves. "Every once in a while I still cruise around and do some riding with Nate Adams, Jimmy McGuire, Chuck Carothers, Dustin Nowak, Tyler King, Julian D'Usseau--that's the freestyle crew I like to hang out with and do jump shows and demos with.
"I still love freestyle, but I don't like sports that are judged," says Metzger. "I prefer competitions with a finish line. And freestyle is just getting more and more technical. Guys who want to compete for gold medals now have to have a foam pit at home for training, and you have to do more than just a backflip to place well. It's pretty ridiculously dangerous--I'm going to leave it up to the young kids who think they can just bounce off the ground," Metz says, laughing. Long nights in the ICU just don't sound like too much fun to the new, family friendly Metzger. And this thinking is based in sound reasoning. At the X Games earlier this year Travis Pastrana attempted a 360 rotation over a 50-foot gap and ended up tucking the front and suffering a severe concussion, knocking himself out in the process. "It has come to a point where it is just super-dangerous," Metz says. "To pull off a 360 you are talking about some serious risk--broken bones, knocking yourself silly, or possibly death [laughs]." It almost makes Supermoto racing--banging bars and sliding both wheels sideways at 75 mph over unforgiving asphalt--sound safe by comparison. Almost.
But just because Metz is changing directions doesn't mean he's slowing down--not by any means. "Just about any weekend I have three or four events I have to pick from," says Metzger. "Whether it's going to Europe for a freestyle event, a Supermoto race somewhere in the U.S. or an FMX demo. It's hard to turn it down, especially when there is good money. I definitely have more than one thing on my table right now. I guess that's the way I like it!"