Flippin' Gnarly
X Games gold medalist Chuck Carothers plans to flip a Harley Davidson this weekend at the Gladiator Games in Prague, Czech Rebublic.
November 23, 2009, 9:52 PM
By: Ryan Leyba
Last week I hit up Chuck Carothers on Instant Messenger to see what was poppin'. As usual, he informed me that he was working on something big and proceeded to ask me if I can keep a secret. What am I supposed to say to a question like that? "Of course I can keep a secret Chuck!" He then sent me a photo of a Harley Davidson. I just figured it was his new Sunday cruiser. Then he sent me a photo of him flipping it into a foam pit and to top it off, he then sent me a low-resolution cell phone video of it, which was absolutely mind-boggling.
"I'm going to be flipping a Harley Davidson XR1200 to dirt at the Gladiator Games!"
What would possess Chuck to do such a thing is beyond me, but it's going down this weekend at the Gladiator Games in Czech Republic and I'll be in attendance to witness it with my own eyes. Since Chuck is currently in Prague working out the final bugs, I caught up with him via IM to find out more about the — do I dare say — "insane stunt?"
ESPN/Shazam
Chuck's no stranger when it comes to successfully stomping a far-fetched trick fantasy.
OK, so tell me where the hell the idea of flipping a Harley Davidson came from.
Event promoter Marek Rejman just hit me up on Instant Messenger one day and asked if I wanted to flip a Harley. He then told me if I accepted, I would be jumping the Harley XR1200 for the finale of his 10th anniversary of the Gladiator Games.
Is there any specific reason why he asked you to flip a Harley?
Well, he always tries to have something new at his show, and this is what he thought of.
What was your reaction when you got the offer?
It sounded exciting! I was excited! After seeing the bike online I told him that I wanted to feel one out before I committed. I went to the local Harley shop and was standing on the same model bike in the middle of the showroom. I was going through all the motions of a what a flip with my body. I'm sure people were looking at me funny, but I got off it and felt I could do it.
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Super Mega Nitro Jump
Travis Pastrana offers a new way to kill time
November 23, 2009, 5:12 PM
By: Ryan Leyba
travispastrana.com
Do you have what it takes?
Looking for some time to kill? Of course you are, otherwise you wouldn't be perusing around our site. I just got an email from my Red Bull homey Jordan Miller, letting me know that
Travis Pastrana has a new web-based game on his website called "Super Mega Nitro Jump." I gave the game a quick play and it takes a bit getting used to, but once you figure it out, it's freakin' addicting. It's actually going to get me in trouble — every time my boss walks by my cubical I have to change the screen to the
FMX homepage, so it looks like I'm being productive.
Anyway, give the game a shot at
travispastrana.com and see if you can beat
TP's best jump of 743-feet. My best score so far? Let's just say I have yet to beat Pastrana.
Sibling Rivalry
Red Bull pays a visit to the Pagès brothers in France
November 23, 2009, 4:37 PM
By: Ryan Leyba
Brotherhood is a part of FMX, but as it turns out, there are quite a few blood-related duo's as well. We've got the Distler's (John and Robert), the Izzo's (Brice and Romain), the Pagès' brothers (Charles and Thomas) and the Clowers' bros (Tommy Clowers and Jeff Tilton.) Ok, that last one was a joke, but anyway the Pagès bros are some of the most innovative riders in Europe and they're definitely some of my favorites to watch ride. Red Bull Europe hooked up with the bros to do a sweet little profile and I was able to get my grubby hands on it. Check it out.
At Random...
With whip, step up, and break dancing master Ronnie Renner
November 23, 2009, 3:51 PM
By: Ryan Leyba
It's been a little while since we've seen something huge from Ronnie Renner. But, just because he's not breaking quarterpipe records in downtown Chicago or schooling Ricky Carmichael on Step Up, it doesn't mean he's not a busy dude. In fact, Renner is busier than ever. With his new 1onWon MX training, his new bundle of joy Chloe and everything else he's got cooking, Renner stays moving. Luckily I was able to get him to slow down for a few minutes to answer a few random questions I like to call, "At Random." And yes, I stole the idea from our BMX guru Brian Tunney.
Garth Milan/Red Bull Photofiles
Whether on or off the bike, Renner is always somewhere, doing something, with someone important. Here Rendawg watches the Red Bull Soapbox race in downtown LA with Ponch, some dude, some chick and Sal Masekala.
Your favorite trick is?
Double Nac Indy or Whip
The last person you called was?
My Father in law
List one word to describe yourself:
Overwhelmed
What's one thing you regret?
Not focusing enough on racing back in the day.
The last thing you listened to was:
String Tribute to Avenged Sevenfold.
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Don't Call it a Comeback
From cubical to dirt bike, ESPN.com/Action's Ryan Leyba attempts to ride again
November 20, 2009, 6:43 PM
By: Ryan Leyba
Dude, I so don't want to post my so-called "FMX comeback" video because I look like a kook and barely pull a half-assed tweak air, but there's no way you guys would let me get away with not sharing it. So, after seven years of not riding, I was able to hit the 75-foot ramp and pull a trick after four intense days at the Red Bull Compound — but I'm not satisfied with the result.
Not that you care, but I have a new mission in life — I'm freakin' losing 20 pounds, getting a bike and moving to the Red Bull Compound for a month or so. This is just the beginning of my fat, has been FMX comeback. All you new jacks better watch out! Oh, and does anyone know of any good diet plans that work extra quick and don't require much exercise?
Photo of the Day
Montana's Keith Sayers throws down at the Red Bull Compound in SoCal
November 20, 2009, 3:26 PM
By: Ryan Leyba
Keith Sayers is a really down to earth dude and one heck of a rider, but living up in Montana, he rarely has the opportunity to shoot with sick photographers like the one and only Garth Milan. After placing third at the AFMXA Pro Am comp in Pala, Keith and his girl traveled north to take part in the Red Bull Ammo Camp, which I had the privilege of riding as well. While there, Keith blew my mind with sick tricks like this whipped out flip nac, so I tracked down Garth to attain a shot for today's Photo of the Day. Chiggidy check it out! Photos of Lance Coury from the same session can be found on redbull.com. Peep them too ... they're really dope.
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Rider:Keith Sayers | Photo: Garth Milan | Location: Red Bull Compound, California
Kickin' It with Faisst
Ronnie Faisst throws fills us in on his busy life.
November 20, 2009, 11:39 AM
By: Cliff Talley
It's been a while since we caught up with FMX Zen Master Ronnie Faisst. After a disappointing no-show by Nixie Danielson at the Metal Mulisha compound, I rolled over to Pala Raceway and caught Faisst doing laps on his new 2010 Honda CRF450. Faisst is up to some cool stuff these days, but the biggest thing he's got poppin' is Feld Entertainment's Nuclear Cowboys Tour, which he'll be riding along with FMX's best. More on that later, now check out the Faisst vid.
Practice Makes Perfect
Pastrana gears up for his New Year's Eve jump -- onto a floating barge
November 19, 2009, 5:59 PM
By: Alyssa Roenigk
Garth Milan/Red Bull
Normally a drive through the desert conjures up images of Hunter S. Thompson. Not anymore. From now on, when we see sand and cars, we'll think Pastrana.
For three days this week, in a secret location in the SoCal desert, a guy is jumping a car farther than anyone else has jumped a car. And that's after three testing sessions. Imagine what he'll do on New Year's Eve.
Even without context, that paragraph is dang intriguing. It becomes must-see TV when you replace "guy" with "motocross/rally car/MTV star Travis Pastrana" and, for context, add that Pastrana's jump is the latest in a line of stunts staged by Red Bull and ESPN to celebrate the New Year and that the current record of 171 feet is held by Pastrana's friend, rally competitor and sponsor Ken Block, the owner of DC Shoes.
The context also explains why I was pretty excited to be on the sideline Wednesday for the first day of ramp-to-dirt testing.
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FMX Archives
Peep this old footage of shredder Beau Bamburg before he made it big
November 19, 2009, 4:58 PM
By: Ryan Leyba
Man, I love dropping a new FMX Archives video on you guys, and this latest one is no exception. The most obvious reason why watching these old videos of current pros is because it's cool to see how far they've come to get to where they are today. But Beau Bamburg's vid is extra badass because not only does he pull about fifty different heelclicker combos in the beginning, but somewhere around the 1:57 mark, a segment of a pre-recorded talk show pops up between clips. It's freakin' awesome! Beau probably filmed over his mom's recorded episode of Oprah ... old school TiVo steeze.
Crusty Swagger
Who wants a gang of Crusty Mags and Crusty Demons videos?
November 19, 2009, 2:07 PM
By: Ryan Leyba
Ryan Leyba
One lucky winner will have plenty of magazines and DVD's to keep them busy this winter.
One of the many perks of running an awesome site like ESPN.com/Action, is that the staff and I are constantly getting the latest and greatest products thrown our direction. Whether the companies want press and reviews in return, or they just want to stoke us out, it doesn't get much better than receiving a box of goodies unexpectedly. But me? I'm not a selfish dude and I feel that sharing is caring, so I like to spread the wealth.
Just a few days ago Crusty Owner/Creator
Jon Freeman sent me a box filled with all the latest
Crusty Mags (Australia) and a few new Crusty flicks including
Thirst 4 Destruction, which is a collection of Crusty's gnarliest crashes, and
Night of World Records 2. So, if you want to get hooked up with a box of goodies, just comment below and the first twenty peeps to comment will get their name thrown in a hat and a winner will be picked at random. There is one major stipulation though ... to be considered for the win, you
MUST have a profile photo for your ESPN account. I wanna see what you guys look like! Oh, and of course, you must be over 18 and live in the United States of Awesomeness. Good luck and hurry up!
For more on
Crusty Mag, check out their website at
crustymag.com and you can subscribe by
clicking here. And to cop any of the new Crusty films including
Thirst 4 Destruction DVD, cruise over to
fleshwoundfilms.com. Oh, and
check out the teaser from
Thirst 4 Destruction ... it's pretty damn gnar!
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