FreestyleMX

2010 NASCAR Phoenix

Boost Mobile-Monster Energy Freestylemx.com Goes to the Races

The Boost Mobile Monster Energy Freestylemx.com  Worldwide Tour loaded up for the first big show of the 2010 season and headed out to Phoenix International Raceway.  We were invited by Boost Mobile who wanted us to promote the hot new phones and deals for the pre-paid group of Sprint. 

Did you know that you can get unlimited text, talk and web AND a cool phone that takes pictures, video, holds lots of MP3 music with removable storage, and access the internet on Sprints nationwide 3G network (oh- and apparently, you can talk with it too) for just $50 a month?  Seriously!  No contracts- No hidden fees- No Bulls#!%.   And for 2010 you can get a Blackberry curve with all the business and fun features for just $60 a month.  Pretty incredible.  Take your no coverage piece of crap pay by month phone, break it in half and experience some of the best national coverage of any pre paid plan- it runs on Sprint’s network- so you are never left with a power sucking brick in your pocket.

Okay- onto the show.  Freestylemx.com came to town with Jeff “Ox” Kargola from the Metal Mulisha, Jim “the Real Deal” McNeil riding in his hometown, future Best Whip champ Beau Bamburg and five time X Games gold medalist- Matt Buyten and was ready to shred the NASCAR fans into compliance.  Two days of riding the Boost Mobile Monster Energy set up saw  flip tricks just like you see on TV and once again- we dominated the pits.  Beau brought out his CRF450 and threw down some of the sickest twisted whips I have ever seen done across the 75 foot jump landing on steel landing ramps.  Mr. Awesome, Matt Buyten, showed he is not just a step up rider and can kick out the jams in freestyle too.  Jim has made the switch to blue- Yamaha blue- and got up to speed on his YZ250.  He is loving the crispy goodness of a brand new bike since his discontinued Suzuki’s were getting kind of worked.  Ox- besides wooing all the ladies by suntanning on the lander, showed that he lost nothing after a serious crash saw him airlifted out of Mexico just a couple months ago. 

We have a new sponsor on tour too- WAR Clothing.  WAR stands for We All Ride and I will have more info on what is popping over there when I get it.  Meanwhile check them out at  www.thisiswarmx.com  I  can’t wait to get a goodie box of their gear- it looks good and we are happy to have the best supporting the best! 

So what is coming up? April 24-25 will have us doing a demo with Boost Mobile at Talladega for the NASCAR race.  The vendor area is free to get into- so come and dcheck us out even if you  don’t go in the race.   April 28^th keeps us rocking out with Monster Energy in Louisville, KY for the Derby Fest.  We will be right down town on fourth.  It’s a long drive but we stocked up on plenty of Monster Energy Nitrous to keep us going.  A short hop to Hampton, VA for a show on the first of May for Monster Energy- location when I get it!  After that we visit Joe Gibbs Racing in Charlotte, NC and hang for a week while we get ready for the Nascar Speed Street Festival in downtown Charlotte.  Check us out there, follow us on FaceBook  (freestylemx.com) and keep coming here to see where we will be next and to read the behind the scenes dish on my blog on www.freestylemx.com  Later!

-Cory Stem

Nitro Circus

MTV’s Nitro Circus is a television show featuring highly skilled, adrenaline-fueled mad men. Some would say this motley group has a death wish.. maybe. This week’s episode will feature Roland and the Nitro Crew thrashing the RSD stable of bikes in the LA River. Watch Roland and Andy Bell attempt to jump the LA river on Big V Twins! Take a peek at this week’s all-new episode, airing Thursday at 10PM ET/PT on MTV.

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

Stories from the Road – The Pacific Northwest

All I gotta say is “Whoa!” when it comes to the last week or so on tour with the Boost Mobile Freestylemx.com Worldwide Tour presented by Monster Energy.  I took three days off and went home to the family while the a couple riders and drivers from tour spent the time in Medford, OR where Jesse and Tommy Thunder grew up.  We all had great times but it was time to get back to business when we met back up in Eugene for the Lane County Fair. 

 On tap were three demos a day for six days straight and for a first time event it went pretty well.  It was windy everyday and if I said it once, I said it a billion times- the Freestylemx.com tour does not hire woosies.  John Distler, Jim McNeil, Niki Danielson and James Carter all showed up every day ready to work and pulled off some amazing tricks in 15 mph winds between gusts. Smaller tours with lesser riders would not have gotten two demos in all week- we missed one of eighteen!  James really stepped up and learned a lot getting to session daily with the three pros.  His Shaolin Bar Hops are huge and his Holy Grabs are even bigger.  The “Big Sexy” John Distler had a great week going until he threw a Kiss of Death too far and hit the deck hard.  Picture a guy falling about 30 feet to the ground at 35 mph and stopping pretty much cold!  John got up and walked away with some scrapes from the pavement and four broken ribs.  We got the big guy through the ER and set him up in the Hilton for the next day and a half until he felt decent enough to fly home.  He’ll be back by Blackfoot on the ninth of September.  All you reading this should bear witness to the work John’s safety gear did for him.  Buy good gear and wear it all the time!  $500 in gear is way better than a few weeks off the bike due to injury. 

 Jim McNeil got rad on the ramps with huge flip tricks and a nice under flip he is working on for ramp to ramp jumping. It was great to spend some time with him because Jim is one funny dude.  Not a clown or anything like that- he just drops a one liner (almost by accident) and drops you to the floor laughing- good stuff on the road.  Niki Danielson got his groove on too riding with ease and confidence.  He even pulled a new trick during one of the demos- the Heel Clicker to Can Can flip.  His words, “I did the Clicker and thought ‘I have more time’ so I did the Can too.”  I tell everyone who doesn’t know that these guys are wired a little different than most of us and what they do doesn’t always make sense when they ride.  Nice work from all the guys and big thanks to KVAL 13, the local TV station that sponsored us and gave us weather updates. They shot some video that is on the way- keep checking the site for pics too.  Also big thanks to the people who ran the fair like Rick, Rachel and Cory for all their help- we look forward to coming back.

After six days in Eugene it was time to meet up with the other Boost Bus and truck on up to Washington via the Columbia River Gorge.  What a nice drive and the scenery is like almost nothing else in the country (and trust us- we have seen ALL of it) and I really wish I had figured out my new camera and its settings so I could snap some nice ones. 

 We pulled into the fairgrounds in Kennewick, WA for the Benton Franklin County Fair around 11am and started getting ready for the nights contest.  Ten riders would join us on the dirt arena floor for a night of mayhem and machine that night.  Nick Dunne- the new kid on tour- got the crowd flowing with his signature Captain Morgan trick.  Nick is definitely a part of the crew now and is waiting for the next new guy to join up so he isn’t so “new”.  Young Gun James Carter (who has the love and adoration of every woman from 18 to 88) has started to get his whips dialed on the ramps.  Ramp whips are a lot harder for most riders than natural terrain ones- and the price for failure is pretty high.  Keith Sayers filled in last minute for Distler (thanks a ton and congrats to you and Danielle on your marriage!)  and though he felt a little at odds with the ramps he put on a great show for so little practice- watch for him in the future, he has a great chance of going big soon.  Derek Burlew ran smooth as always and almost won Best Whip.  He was beat by the “Cowboy” Kenny Bartram who was riding with a sore wrist tweaked in practice.   Brody Wilson came out firing in the qualifier and made his way pretty easily into the final alongside McNeil, Danielson, Matt Buyten and JJ Romans.

 JJ made the finals by being the most entertaining in addition to putting out a solid run and did it again for the fans during the final.  He was followed in the final by Matt Buyten who is newly single and on the prowl-GRRRRRR tiger!  His run was fun as he attacked our new layout we tried with crisscross ramps.  Brody was in good form but is eager to get home to test out his new foam pit. He sits third in the Euro series and wants to move up the ladder with some more flip tricks.  Jim McNeil threw out a sweet Under Flip (another tricky ramp to ramp move as you come in sideways and don’t have dirt to help you bring it back on the lander) to try for the win but was bested by Niki Danielson who came out missing most of practice with a flat tire.  Niki once again showed his confidence and won the show outright according to the fans who judged the show.  The after party was off the chain and although I would love to provide all the details- this is a family oriented site right?- I will just say that of all the pro athletes I have seen let loose- FMX riders take the cake, eat it, puke it up and do it again.  Work hard, play hard is their motto and they all earned their play in Kennewick. 

Well- I get another five days off before the next and last leg of ‘The Slog’ for me which may be a long one!  We kick it off in Essex Junction, VT on 9-1 and then it’s Groveton, NH and a Boost Mobile demo for NASCAR fans in Atlanta all in six days.  The drivers got their work cut out for them and I am looking forward to meeting all the fans in some familiar places from last year.  Keep checking us out here and you can follow us on Facebook too.  I’m under Cory Stem and many of the riders are my electronic friends and you could be too!  See you at the next show!

 -Cory Stem

iPhone Freestyle

Coffeyville Motocross

Coffeyville Motocross

Photos by:

Gary Yates