FreestyleMX

Stories from the Road – Hutchinson, Kansas

This was my first show in Hutchinson, Kansas for the Kansas State Fair since I was on another show last year, and let me say it was a great show.  The grounds were really not what I expected from such a small town and probably one of the nicest fairs I have been to.

The fans were pretty great too although a little quiet at times.  When the riders wanted to get the crowd pumped they just started doing what FMX is all about- riding and having fun.  I saw more Goonstyle tonight than I have all year and from riders who normally don’t goon in a show.  It was a good time watching them go and the fans really loved it.  In the Monster Energy Final, Niki Danielson and Jim McNeil did a team session against the other contenders to take the win on the night like ‘stars.  Captain Nick Dunne had a good day with his trick Captain Morgan and was getting the itch to flip the Boost Mobile ramp to ramp setup.  He’s been feeling it lately and is fun to gawk at on the bike.

Big Chong John Distler is feeling better and the ribs are less of an issue as he was able to ride the whole show.  He’ll be back to normal in no time and is talking flip too.  Speaking of Dis’s and flips; Lil Dis Robert got the flip to dirt.  He pulled about fifty in one day and even squeezed off some Heel Clicker Flips with no flip levers!  Nice work Robert, we can only hope learning new tricks means we will be seeing more of you next year.

Got to talk to Metal Mulisha member, Niki Danielson, at length yesterday about the AFMXA (www.afmxa.com ) which is a group founded to assist Professional freestyle motocross riders apply the trade while being safer, protected and better insured.  All of which can translate into a lot more green for a good rider.  They have medevac insurance which will fly you home in an air ambulance if necessary to see your doctor (there are few good Ortho’s out there that understand the sport, see a good one), protect you if you get surprised by a 1991 CR125 by a promoter as the loaner bike they would “provide” you to jump wooden ramps in a third world country (thanks Nik) you would still get paid if they signed the contract as well as many other benefits.  They plan to hold contests with real qualifying for anyone who wants to try and will have nice purses and safe courses.  If you are a pro or plan to be a pro someday you need to check them out.  It’s fully endorsed and includes as its members some of the top names in the sport.  I am against “unions” the whole way, but this is not a union and is more like a committee of members looking out for its brothers and sisters in the sport.  I really hope it works and doesn’t derail because this kind of thing can benefit not just the riders but the good promoters, sponsors, televised action sports and other media outlets much like ASR has done for surfing pros.  Good luck guys!

As I write this I am co-driving down the road with Thunder Love through north central Kansas into Nebraska and the amount of corn I see growing never stops blowing my mind.  Any back to the task here- we are heading for Spencer, Iowa for a ten rider contest for the first time.  These new venues get interesting sometimes because a lot of the new ones aren’t sure what to expect when we get there.  Most are okay and adjust quickly with a little massaging from Marc and I and it actually makes it a little more fun for me.

See you in Georgia!

Cory

From the road

Photos by: Lisa Denny Housman

AMS on Sat. Sept. 5, 2009

Photo By – Vicki Henderson Fan of freestyle motorcross

Stories from the Road – Blackfoot, Idaho

Blackfoot Idaho Gets the Meat with the Potatoes and Hebron’s First Time

A two day, non-stop drive in the buses put us in Blackfoot, Idaho after a great weekend in Atlanta, Georgia.  Thunder Love and Marc hot seated the bus and only stopped for fuel.  After the buses were washed (we met Black Knight and Little Fingers there) and gassed we pulled into the fairgrounds to get ready for the show.  Blackfoot is maybe one of the top five smallest towns we go to every year, but we get treated like big time royalty.  Six radio interviews, two television and both regional newspapers all meant more time spent by the crew, but the fans here really deserve it.  Once again we sold out the place and the fans were on top of their game with plenty of noise and enthusiasm.

All that energy from the crowd gets the riders “up” and that’s when they really look like they are having fun-and it shows in the contest.  The fans really had something to be excited about as the Boost Mobile Freestylemx.com Worldwide Tour presented by Monster Energy is the only crew that can bring riders like “Cowboy” Kenny Bartram, “The Real Deal” Jim McNeil, five time X-Games Gold Medalist Matt Buyten and a host of names regularly seen on videos and Fuel TV.

The show was great with the Best Whip contest going to Derek Burlew who used his smooth style to impress the fan judged event.  Best Trick was all McNeil’s who is really looking good on the bike and seems to have his full confidence back.  We held two qualifying rounds that took five riders to the final.  Those guys were Jim McNeil, Sean Nielson, Matt Buyten, Kenny Bartram and Derek Burlew.  The qualies saw Nick Dunne rip off his signature trick- the Captain Morgan.  If I can find a nice pic of it- I’ll put it up here, but the guy looks just like the Captain with moto-gear on when he does the trick!  The fan judged final was a good one that saw a battle between Buyten and McNeil who threw out every flip combo they knew.  The capacity crowd was on their feet and so loud I could barely hear myself on the loud speakers!  Jim nudged Matt for the win in the end but it was pretty close.

We finished up the night with Jimmy Blaze jumping his BRP snowmobile ramp to ramp with a dirt and carpet run up.  He was having some mechanical issues with the sled yet still went for a full back flip and with a lack of power to help bring it around he slammed hard onto the lander with the sled pile driving him near the bottom.  He got up on his own and was really sore but no broken bones luckily.  Talk about going for it!

After Idaho we loaded up one bus and high tailed it for a three day, 2500 mile drive to Hebron, Connecticut.  It was our first time at this fair so we wanted to show what we got.  The buses pulled in the night before and got to catch the end of the truck pulls.  The highlight was the Street/Stock class where a bunch of daily driver trucks got to show off.  The Boost Mobile Wrecking Crew got set up in the morning for a start time of noon on the bikes.  Three demo’s later we were done with Matt Buyten, Jim McNeil and James Carter wowing the fans and making the young girls sigh both on the bikes and in the autograph lines.  All the comments from the crowd were great and it seemed like they really enjoyed having us there.  The whole place was super friendly and the shows were awesome.  Some of The tricks the fans saw from the riders have probably never been done in CT before and I can bet you we will be asked to return.

Now we are on the road for two contests in two states in three days!  Hutchinson, KS and Spencer, IA should be fun and we are ready to go with top pro’s ready to ride.  Check us out at www.freestylemx.com for more show dates or to book us. You can also put up your stories and pics or even send in a question for the riders.  See you out there!

~Cory

Stories from the Road – HOTLANTA

Boost Mobile Takes on Hotlanta

The good folks from Boost Mobile brought in the Freestylemx.com Worldwide Tour presented by Monster Energy to entertain the NASCAR fans yet again.  This week we flew in Boost Mobile athlete Jeff “OX” Kargola of Metal Mulisha fame, the “Real Deal” Jim McNeil, Jack Rowe and young gun James Carter for two days and six demos.  It was hot and humid and even a little breezy but that didn’t stop us.

The crowds were huge, slightly drunk and lots of fun as always at NASCAR- I mean who would of known that NASCAR and FMX would go together like shoes and socks?  Well they do and everyone else promoting their companies in the vendor area knows it too.  Of the 10-20 vendors like the Army, pain relief and tobacco companies, most are completely empty when we take to the air- that is value for your advertising dollars!

Anyway- all the riders got the job done and then some pulling some of the gnarliest Backflip tricks in the book.  Super, Barhop, Ruler and Heel clicker flips used to be seen only on the X-Games but the Boost Mobile Freestylemx.com crew puts them out live!  The crowds went nuts and even got into the show by judging our Best Whip and Trick contests.  We also gave away a ton of free Boost Mobile t-shirts, tank tops, hats and toys and the riders signed over 4,000 Boost Mobile autograph cards by the end of the weekend.

We are off to Idaho next and are having a contest there yet again. Let’s see how the crowd does there!  Check us out on Freestylemx.com and read the stories, post a question or upload your own photos of the show!

~Cory