There has been a quiet invasion happening in the world of FMX. An invasion so insidious that few may have noticed it, but I fear that now it may be too late to avert.
A couple of years ago, my concern was that those pesky Euros were going to come storming into the Americas and that, once they figured out the big dirt courses here, they would be an unstoppable force. We had some notable visits from riders like France's Manu Troux and Germany's Busty Wolter. Troux executed what is still probably one of the most epic bike ejections of all time at an event in Colorado Springs and went home with a broken femur. Wolter also hit the eject button (I think in Wooster, Mass maybe) and lawn darted into the step up face that was already cut into the back of a landing.
So, we sent these guys home with new, shiny crutches and could never quite figure out why Europe's best at the time (Edgar Torronterras) would not come out to play?
Just about the same time, this new kid appeared on the scene. His name was Dayne Kinnaird and he was just a little bit easier to understand than the Frenchie and the German. Through sign language and some napkin drawings we began to understand that he was from an island nation in the far south called, Australia. Kinnaird also got a bit banged up, but was undaunted and made some calls home from the hospital, to a small phone box on the edge of Sydney Harbor, from where notes were written on the back of Victoria Bitter beer mats and then flown by bush plane to other young Aussie hopefuls.
That's where it all started. The blood in the water of the shark tank of Australian FMX. A few then ventured over, we got Urek and the Hall brothers and eventually Robbie Maddison. They came and settled and started slowly chipping away at their Inland Empire lifestyles, most of them eventually becoming adopted by the Metal Mulisha. Brian Deegan's Freestyle Crustycross exchange program has now created one of the most significant forces in the world of freestyle. This has never been more evident than in the past few weeks of competition.
March 27. A 17-year-old kid rides onto the big stage of the Red Bull X-Fighters kick-off event in Mexico City and crushes the competition. Competition that included X-Fighters Champion, Mat Rebeaud and the King of the Bullrings himself, Dany Torres. The kid was Levi Sherwood and he came from the "other" island nation in the far south; New Zealand.
April 18. A new Team FMX event is held in Rincon, just East of San Diego, in the heart of FMX country. There are two teams — one from Nevada, featuring standouts like Mike Mason and Matt Buyten and one from 'SoCal'. Of the four members on the 'SoCal' team, only ONE was actually from Southern California, Jeff 'Ox' Kargola. The other three riders were all from — you guessed it — Australia!
Team 'SoCal' crushed the competition with some amazing riding from the three Aussies, Blake "Bilko" Williams, Cameron Sinclair and another young breakout star called Robbie Adelberg. We have known about Bilko for some time, but Sinclair's first US event was last year at the LG FMX Champs, after which he gained notoriety by consistently double flipping his dirt bike during the Crusty Tour. Sinclair then went into the Mexico City event and took fourth place, even though he was unable to do a double flip in competition.
And where did Adelberg come from? Well, turns out that he is a protégé of another well-known Aussie Robbie — none other than Mr. Maddison, the 'fly longer, jump higher' star of ESPN's New Year's Eve celebrations. I decided to get together with my mate Maddo and ask him about things from an Australian perspective:
The Aussies seem really strong these days and it seems like every time we turn around there is another young kid ready to compete at an International level. How many of these kids are there Down Under?
There is a wealth of talent in Australia, every kid has the dream of coming to America to make it as a top pro. The thing that makes Aussies seem so bad-ass is that we understand that coming out here requires a high level of riding, so every time a kid gets on a motorcycle, it is to become the next Nate Adams, not just enjoy the passion or to get a new sponsor. The level of riding in Aus and NZ is the same as out here, but before a kid makes a move to America they make sure they have something to flaunt. They make sure that they have something up their sleeve, land here knowing that they are here to do a job, and confident they have the tools to do it...
Do you think that Australian riding style is different to American FMX ? style?
I would say the Aussie style is to go big. There is not a lot of money in our sport in Australia so there is a constant battle to one up each other at any time to try and be the number one guy. This creates a super competitive vibe on and off the bike, so kids get used to having to step it up. They get tunnel vision on where they want to take their riding level to.
So, how long 'til a kid from Oz or NZ wins an X Games Gold medal?
Well, Bilko and Myself have been here for a few years chasing this dream. The only problem with X Games is that the judging is so far behind the sport that it is unfair and not reflective of the true circumstances. I felt I was in with a chance of a gold medal last year but was beaten in a heat even though I did more tricks and gnarlier ones than the guy I went head to head with. As soon as the sport stops being judged off popularity and gets judged off what is happening on course, I think a foreigner may be in contention to steal the throne.
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