As a part-time stunt rider and full-time emcee at one of Atlanta's more notorious strip clubs, former radio personality and hip-hop producer Evan Bradshaw is well-versed in the crazier side of life. It's no surprise that Bradshaw's latest endeavor-a weekly radio program broadcast over the internet at www.riotradio.com-is a buck-wild cocktail of adrenaline, sex and danger. Mixing the anything-goes atmosphere of the strip club with the candid thrash talk he enjoys with his bros from the freestyle world (and taking full advantage of the FCC-can't-touch-me freedom of internet broadcasting), the radio network Bradshaw and three friends created is fast becoming a cult favorite in the extreme sports world-as evidenced by Bradshaw's ability to attract A-list guests such as freestyle motocross icons Mike Metzger and Seth Enslow and pro street stunters from Las Vegas Extremes, Geared Up and Pure Bred Riders.
Launched in October 2002 by Bradshaw and cohorts Ronny McHenry, Trevor Alger and Sabrina Stern, Bradshaw describes a typical Riot Radio broadcast as a cross between an "uncensored Howard Stern Show, an X Games telecast and a porn convention." Motorcycles are a central part of the Riot Radio program, as all four hosts avidly enjoy streetbikes and dirtbikes. While this insider's knowledge of extreme motorsports has been key to luring guest spots by such superstars as Metzger and Patrick Stephens, it's mostly the anything-goes attitude that drives a rapidly growing fan base to click Riot Radio's "listen now" icon every Thursday night at 9 p.m. Eastern time, when the show drops live.
Bradshaw tells us the improvised, uncensored atmosphere is something the Riot Radio crew insists on maintaining-which is why the network has avoided advertising dollars or corporate sponsors and remains absolutely committed to its underground, D.I.Y. roots. "We pay for everything out-of-pocket because we don't want anybody able to come in here and change what we do in any way," Bradshaw says. "We're a lot like the early freestyle dirt guys who bucked the system and were told they'd never get anywhere. They did things their own way and now FMX is practically the biggest thing in biking. I think if we stick to our guns, that's something that could happen to us here on the internet."
Each Riot Radio broadcast is completely unscripted, which results in refreshingly candid conversations with the personalities-the opposite of what you get from mainstream media. "Instead of asking garbage questions like, 'What main jets do you use?' we're more likely to ask somebody what's the most money they've ever dumped in a strip club or what was the nastiest crash they ever got themselves into," Bradshaw says. The idea for the hyper-casual format came to Bradshaw during his years as an MX racer, where downtime between motos was spent in the back of somebody's pickup truck talking trash. "That's where you really get to know somebody and get an insight into their real life," Bradshaw says.
Motorcycles are just part of the story-spend any time with the Riot Radio crew and the subject inevitably turns toward sex. This is partly due to the way the group came together, with a shared history in the land of pole dances and lost wages. Stern, the show's titanium-tough female host who is known (among her many other talents) for breaking beer bottles over her head, is a part-time exotic dancer who regularly brings co-workers into the studio during broadcasts. Bradshaw tells us the girls' presence cranks up the energy level of the broadcasts. The flesh-peddling segment of Riot Radio has proven so popular the crew is in the process of adding a dancer's pole to the studio for the new season.