And you thought the Hell's Angels were rowdy? Then steer clear of the streetfighter fans that flock to Matzig Showfighter Days in Germany each summer
Countless rear radial tires have been sentenced to death, and it's looking likely that many of the bike engines won't live to see another day either. In other words, it's situation normal at Mtzig Showfighter Days, held in Altenberge, Germany (near Mnster), one of the most notorious streetfighter gatherings in all of Europe. Now in its eighth year of existence, this time around almost 5000 hooligans ,,descended on Altenberge for the weekend and did their best to block out the sun with clouds of tire and exhaust smoke, not to mention just about anything else they could set fire to or blow to smithereens. Looking for all the world like a gang of paramilitary thugs who got lost on the way to a Halloween party, these guys (and the random brave girl) do themselves up in face paint, body armor and all manner of other antisocial-looking outfits and torture their ratted-out sportbikes with no intention of riding them home at the end of the weekend. Of course, there is the occasional "showfighter" that does make the scene, but the real attraction to an event like this is the hooliganism fuelled by plenty of German brau and testosterone. That's about all there is to say about this event-we'll let the pictures explain the rest.
CubanStreet-Bike Warriors
Filmmaker Drew Stone and the rest of his Urban Street-Bike Warriors crew return to the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to support the troops with a stunt show
Building on the success of last year's historic stunt show held Memorial Day weekend at Guantanamo Bay (the first-ever motorcycle stunt show held on communist soil), the Urban Street-Bike Warriors returned to the base again this year to shock and awe servicemen and women with another street-stunt spectacular. A mix of familiar faces and new blood brought the chaos back to the base this time, including featured performers from 2005 like Chris "Teach" McNeil, Jeff "Pretty Boy" Howlett and Ray Ray Zalneraitis, plus new blood Kyle Woods, Korno and XFR riders Ill Bill Knight and Joe Yerardi. "Collectively, this was without exception the most talented group of riders I've ever assembled in one place," Stone told us. "Woods and Teach are simply the best in the world-and I've seen stunt shows around the world-and Ill Bill and Pretty Boys' acrobatics are unbelievable. The crowd got a very good show."
As good as it was, the show almost didn't happen this year. The 2006 trip was originally slated to take place again over Memorial Day weekend, but a ballistic missile test launch by the North Korean government created an unanticipated security situation with Cuba, and the trip had to be cancelled at the last minute. The event wasn't going to be rescheduled until the new Commanding Officer (CO) of the Gitmo base, a Worcester, Massachusetts, native, it turns out, found out about the "Wooster" connection of many of the stunt riders (it's XFR's hometown too) and took a personal interest in the event and made it happen. Urban Street-Bike Warriors' Cuban invasion was promptly rescheduled for Labor Day weekend, in conjunction with a long-running jazz fest held annually on base.Stone says the convergence of the two events was a good thing. For starters, the jazz fest is one of the most popular functions on base all year, with many of the military officers' families traveling to there to enjoy it. So the site was packed, and the crowd at the stunt show was almost twice as big as the last year, Stone says. The other entertainment also took some of the pressure off the riders, he says. They weren't the only show in town, which allowedthem to relax a bit and ultimately put on an even better display.
Stone says the crowd was more enthusiastic than last year too, even if the boys had to tone things down a bit following the antics of the '05 trip. For instance, when base officers saw the footage from last year's trip as documented in Stone's latest film Urban Street-Bike Warriors: World Wide Live (including plenty of wheelies and other chaos leveled on the base's public roads), the possibility of doing a street ride around the base as part of the '06 trip was quickly scrapped. "There were certainly less shenanigans this year," Stone says, simply. Instead the guys filled their off time surfing in the Caribbean Sea off Windmill Beach and partying with the jazz musicians at the CO's house. They rocked the base in the end, though, and are looking forward to going back if the Navy will have them again in '07.
X-Treem Grand OpeningOG stunter Todd Colbert settles down and opens up a bike shop, inviting all his freestyle friends over to celebrate the occasion
Stuntwars founder and Team X-treem stunt rider Todd Colbert and business partners Joshua Fuller and Kenneth Greer have set out to expand the X-treem brand by opening a shop called X-treem Motorsports (www.X treemMotorsports.com) in Port Richey, Florida (near Tampa Bay). A full-service cycle shop with a special emphasis on gear for sportbike and stunt riders, the X-treem Motorsports crew underlined this commitment by inviting some of the best stunt riders in the South to set off the shop's grand opening celebration with a six-hour-long stunt session.
Featured riders at the event (in addition to Colbert) included X31 (a team from Tampa, Florida, that co-owner Greer rides with), Slow Wheely Freestyle, Geared Up, Bill Dixon and Uncle Hucklebuck himself, Patrick Stephens, who drove in all the way from Dallas, Texas, to be a part of the show. More than 500 guests showed up that day to check out the stunt show and also tour the shop, which offers a relaxed lounge area with couches, tables and vending, Wi-Fi, and TVs playing the latest stunt DVDs.
"I was amazed at the crowd we had," said Colbert, who serves as the shop's marketing manager. "I think that we will definitely be able to attribute the success of our shop to the grand opening; we couldn't have asked for a better turnout." General Manger Greer agreed: "What was my favorite part of the opening?" Greer asked. "Riding side by side with some of the biggest names in the stunt industry while promoting the store Todd, Josh and I have worked so hard to create at the same time. You can't beat that."