Long before freestyle motocross was a live televised sport, a small group of racers had enough of the corporate racing scene and just wanted to have fun riding their dirt bikes. One of those riders was Carey Hart. Hart was no slouch on the racetrack, qualifying for numerous Supercross mains in the late 90's, but when the factory support dollars never showed, it was time for a change. This sparked the freestyle movement.
At the 2000 Gravity Games, Hart shocked the world by pulling the first-ever back flip on a full sized dirt bike. While he did not land it perfectly, he changed the sport of FMX forever. Since then, a lot has changed for the FMX icon turned celebrity. I recently caught up with Carey while shooting with him at his MX compound outside of Las Vegas.
You were an innovator for the sport of FMX by introducing the back flip. Since then, you have been in the spotlight for all different reasons, whether it be your club, tattoo shop, or relationship with Pink. What has Carey Hart been up to recently?
It's been a crazy year in general. I made the move from the Palms to the Hard Rock now. We have the Hart and Huntington tattoo shop at the Hard Rock and I also opened my nightclub there, Wasted Space. I've been doing the business thing a lot. It's kind of wearing on me a little bit, but I guess at some point we all have to grow up. That's why I think I am trying to get back on my freestyle bike a lot.
How was the transition from freestyler to full-time business man?
It was a lot more fun being a delinquent dirt bike rider, I can tell you that much. Nah, I am in a very fortunate situation where I am able to do life after motocross, where a lot of guys aren't so lucky. I'm trying to take full advantage of my opportunities and keep myself busy. I've been doing a lot of that.
Next month you are touring with Pink in Australia. How did the collaboration come about?
It's definitely going to be something new to say the least. We recently got back together and we wanted to come up with some ideas where we could build on our relationship and still be able to work. We both came up with this tour idea along with my manager, Steve Astephen. The idea is to do a seven-stop tour in Australia — everywhere from Melbourne to Sydney, to Gold Coast. The show will take place in the parking lot of the stadiums Pink performs at and will last around two to three hours and it's free to the public.
What riders will be jumping with you on tour?
We're trying to figure that out right now. It's going to be a majority of Australian riders, but if everything goes to plan, we are going to try to get Mason and Bilko for the last stop since it doesn't conflict with Crusty Tour. More than anything, it's not to go out and set the world on fire. There is a huge demographic there of people that might not know about FMX. Her [Pink] fans are die-hard fans and might know a little about what I do, but they might not know everything about it. This is a huge opportunity for them to come see what we do.
How long will you be touring down under?
The tour kicks off May 30th and is every weekend till June 20th. You can go on hartandhuntingtontattoo.com, hartandhuntington.com, or handhtour.com to see the tour schedule and details. It is going to be a good time.
Here comes the big question, Carey. Will the fans see you upside down?
You probably will see a back flip, but not from me [laughs]. My whole thing is I love riding, I still love to ride freestyle, and I really don't have anything to prove. I just want to get back out there, ride, and connect with my fan base. It is all for fun. I recently made the switch to the 450 4-stroke so it is a big learning curve, but at the same time it makes it fun again. I'm not trying to set the world on fire or make some big come back. I just want to have fun on my bike with my friends and reconnect with the fans.
One of the first things I noticed was that you are hitting ramps on the 450 4-stroke. How is it jumping the 4-stroke after riding 2-strokes for so many years?
It's been pretty gnarly, actually. I made the change because I still ride freestyle, but it's more on my time for fun or sponsors. I'm not trying to push it anymore like Mason or those guys are, but I wanted to get in a situation where I'm comfortable. With the Honda 250 2-stroke being outdated and so far behind in technology, I am going to go kicking and screaming at some point to make the switch. Everyone is going to have to because there won't be 2-strokes around 10 years from now. I might as well make the switch now, especially before this tour.
I've been hearing horror stories from Mason and Twitch about how they get roached-out 2-strokes overseas and it's getting dangerous. For me, if I make the transition and get comfortable on the 450, I can ride a brand new bike every time I go somewhere. For me it was more of a safety thing in the long run and I love coming out here to ride with my supercross team. With the way the tracks are built these days, it's difficult to ride a supercross track on a 2-stroke. They've changed a lot over the past few years. Between supermoto, supercross, and freestyle, it makes more sense for me to be on the 450 4-stroke all the time.
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