2015, I snuck into X Games and I did a seven 20 front flip. Crazy. Never broken a bone before and like, no way. No, no, sir. You kidding? Kidding me. Ryan Williams is currently one of the best action sports athletes in the world. The Australian exploded onto the Nitro Circus World Tour as a scooter rider before adding in BMX to the mix.

What's he gotta tap? What? What? He's just gonna let go of the bike it, catch it. Perfect. Stop it. Over the last decade, he has won countless gold medals at X Games and landed at least 20 worlds first tricks. The best trick I've ever landed was having my son. I had a drink of alcohol for a year and three, for like three weeks.

I went through school, I got accepted into university, and to be a civil engineer, where do we go from here? And then you came along and the BMX started to my. Stuff. People were like, what? Even, what do we call that? Would you be on any fans? Would you sign for any fan if the offer was there?

Sweet. Ryan Williams. Dude, uh, first firstly, congrats on, uh, becoming a Dad, man. I know. Best trick I've learned ever landed. How, uh, what's it been like? Uh, adjusting to, yeah, having a, having a little, a mini U in the world? Um, I think it's just, it's just kind of like more scheduled days. You just have to kind of schedule everything a lot better.

You're not as free. You kind of, uh, you know, you wake up real obviously earlier and, uh, and you can't just like, leave and do your own thing. You kind of got to get a little human ready to go as well. So it's kind of a, just, it's, it's honestly like a good thing and like gets you more scheduled, more focused, more motivated, and then you have this, the best just little, oh, I have a boy, so the best little boy ever.

Just that I just get to see him, like start to understand the world and it's kind of like you get to live again with that, that person. It's cool. And, uh, do you, I mean, I'm assuming they can't travel with you or are they're able to come with you for like, some of your events and things like that? Um, so he's only two months old, so I can't bring him really overseas.

I mean, I could bring him overseas, but the problem was the flight I just did was 16 hours. Like, it's like literally one of the longest flights you could do. So I didn't wanna bring him on that flight like the first time 'cause I'm not sure how he's gonna react, how he's gonna be on the flight. So we want to kind of do like a little practice first on a shorter flight before we chuck him on a 60 hour flight and then go across the world and be in a complete different time zone.

So, but I can bring him with me, I will bring him to X Games and, uh, and that and the big ones, but for this one it's just too quick. Yeah. Yeah. Not rad. I'm sure that'll be also nice for you, you know, not having to, I'm sure you're thinking about him back home and sort of, uh, split your mindset a bit, um, being at the event.

Um, has that Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm probably more worried when he is at the event, but he'll be right and, uh, has. I mean, obviously I haven't had a child yet, so I, I can't speak to this, but, you know, doing what you're doing. Has having a kid had any impact on your sort of mindset, like going into events or, or taking certain risks?

I feel like I was worried about that happening, but it's been like the opposite. I, I think I've always been super calculated and that's why I've never broken a bone before and like never had surgery. No way surgery in my life. No, no surgery. You kidding me? No. I swear I've never had a surgery in my whole life.

I've fractured bones and I smashed my teeth out, but that, I haven't had a cast on my body for about 12 years. I reckon you got some, somebody watching over you, man. That's insane. Yeah, right. So I just feel like I'm super calculated and then like obviously I've had this, uh, the trial now and like I have my son, but it's like.

It just made me more calculated, but I was worried it would make me like second guess myself. But it just makes me more motivated and more calculated and it's done well. So far. I've won, like I've, I mean, I won the first two contests I did after having my son, so It's all right, dude. I, I mean, that's insane.

I can't believe you've never broken a bone. That's, yeah, I, I had no idea. I mean, with doing, with amount of crashes and, and things that you must have had over the years and like, that's incredible. Yeah. Do you think it's just like, do you think it's just luck or do you think it's, you, you kind of know how to crash or?

Um, probably a bit of both. It's probably a bit of both because you can always know how to crash and still break something. 'cause it's like there's a reach, a certain limit where like you're doing something so gnarly that it's like if you fall, it's kind of hard not to. But I feel like I've just gotten lucky and I've, uh, I just kind of know how to crash and, yeah, I don't know.

I guess I just. I calculate my tricks so much that I always have a bail point. It's like I'm a professional crasher as well as actual sports or writer, whatever, whatever I do.

And like when you are, I mean, because when people watch you from the outside, you think like, this dude is nuts. Like, you know, um, with the, you've landed so many worlds first, for example. I mean, what does that, do you have fear for, first of all? And second of all, what is that process like? Like when you're about to drop in to try something that no one else has ever landed or sometimes never even attempted?

Um, yeah, I think I, I definitely always feel fear. I think fear is something that is natural and is like, it's because you're smart, your brain's smart. It, it knows to feel fear to make you more calculated. I feel like the fear is what makes you think about what you're doing. More and then you calculate more, okay, this is what, like is gonna happen, but it's obviously sometimes it's like just full send note at like X Games or something like that.

That's when it's kind of, I break the wall of like being as calculated and I kind of step into the realm of more dangerous and risk taking. And that's because the risk is worth the reward. So, but I feel like just doing a new world's first trick, I don't, I kind of just go into it thinking like I have a simulation in my head of how this is gonna go and then like, I feel like 90% of the time it plays out how I think it will.

And then the other 10% is where I need to like, be ready to bail or like be ready to crash. Do you know, like, what's your feeling like when you're trying something that's, that you haven't landed? Like have you, what's the percentage like in your head that, that you feel like you're gonna land it versus not landed?

Okay, so there's different percentages definitely like so outta skate park say there's probably like a 5% chance or like even a 1% chance, sometimes or less because it, sometimes it takes me tricks like takes me 500 attempts to land a trick at the skate park. And then, and that's like for the more technical tricks and then the kind of, you can kind of like, I'll, I'll do an example.

So triple flip 360 on BMX. So I've only done two triple back flips still. I've only done two triple back flips on my BMX. So basically I kind of have done it to my airbag a lot of times. So that's obviously a, a huge help. So I've already done the trick to my airbag a bunch of times. Let's say 20 times.

And it's worked 18 out of those 20 times. So I know that the risk is okay, maybe there's a chance that this is gonna happen and if it does, then I'm probably gonna be knocked out. But as long as I can take off the ramp like this and it feels. A certain way that I remember, that's when I know it's working properly.

So that, but that truth, like a triple foot 360, I got that second try and I knew that on the first attempt it was going wrong as soon as I took it off the lip. But I definitely didn't anticipate that. I thought, yeah, it's gonna be perfect, but it definitely wasn't. But luckily I could kind of maneuver myself out of it.

But I don't know, it's just like, it depends what kind of trick you're talking about. 'cause on a triple flip 360, I obviously like, yeah, I'm definitely gonna land it. But then let's say like a front flip, I don't know, uh, triple tower whip or something that's like a lot of combos. It's like, okay, I'm just gonna give myself like a five or 10% chance of landing this, but I can feel it out like on the first one.

Whereas on a bigger trick, like a triple flip 360, it's kind of like you don't have the opportunity to. Like just chill on that. It's kind of like all or nothing. Chill. Chill on a, that's ridiculous. But on my ramp you can do so like a front, front flip combos, you can kind of chill. 'cause I can always like bail to my butt.

And even at like the X Games dirt, I know at least on a single flip variation, you can kind of get out of it as long as you know what's going wrong. Like the only time it really stings you is when you're like, yes, I'm landing it. And then all of a sudden, like, you're landing and you're not landing and that's when you really get hurt.

Yeah. Yeah. Do you, do you know, like, can you judge where you are in the air? Because like, so I've done a flip to do it, but one, and that was like, I, I, I can't imagine doing like a triple flip. Like how the hell and nevermind they're throwing in. If you're doing like combos, like how do you know where's what's happening?

Like there's just so much going on. So the more like it feel, it's kind of like I try to, it's hard to explain sitting down, but basically, you know, like you could spin around in circles with your arms out. Right? This is how I try to explain it to people that don't even do action sports is like, you can spin around circles with your arms out and the faster you spinning, the harder it is to pull your arms closer to you, right?

Yeah. So it's the same feeling, but I just like high tuned my senses to calculate, okay, if the bike's getting pulled away from me this hard, like I know, okay, this is probably how fast I'm spinning, and then you kind of use your eyes. But I feel like it's 20% eyes, 80% feel crazy. Okay. I think it's, you make it sound a lot more simple than, than I think it really is.

But um, maybe we can, uh, yeah, like switch gears a little bit. Just going back to what made you, you, I mean talk maybe a little bit about your childhood, like. How did you become you, you know, were you, was this something that you wanted to do since you were like five years old or, you know, where did actual sports come about?

Yeah, true. I, I don't know. I can't, I honestly couldn't even remember the back that, that far, so like when it actually clicked. But I remember there was a movie called The Ultimate X. Yeah. And I had this PVD. Right. And I would, I think that's all I really had. 'cause I didn't have internet when I was young.

Like, I didn't have internet till I was about 13 years old, I reckon. So, uh, I, all I had was like what I had. Maybe sometimes I'd go to my nan's and she'd have internet and then I'd download like 30 videos onto my iPod and then I'd be able to watch those videos. But there's just certain videos that I just had.

And obviously at the start I had this Ultimate X movie and it had guys like Travis and Matt Hoffman and the songs are like, burnt into my brain. I remember that. I love listen. Yeah. I love listening to the, the songs now like, takes me back in time, but. I know I had that video that, that, that, that movie.

And I was like, I didn't care what I was kind of doing. Like obviously I watched the motorbike guys, but I'd never been on a motorbike. I had like a skateboard, but it was from like Kmart, like a cheap Kmart skateboard. And then, I don't know, I had role blades. That's actually what I started on. So I end up, and obviously when I first started, these are roll waves that you go around in circles at the roller drum on, so, yeah.

Yeah. But that was all I had, so it was like, let's, let's go to the skate park and like see what I can do. 'cause this is so cool. Like, I love the idea of action sports. I don't think back when I started, obviously it wasn't as much as like, I didn't realize why I liked it so much, but I think as. It grew on me like it was, it's more of an art.

Like there's no right way to, to do action sports. That's my favorite part about it. I feel like all the other sports, it was like football. It's like, take the ball, cross the line. I know there's, there's art to it. 'cause you can kind of like step this step, step this way, step that way. But I feel like just the rules, there is no rules.

That's the one thing. It's not like from point A to point B who's the fastest, it's kind of like what's cool? Like how like it's like dancing. It's like there's so many different ways to do it and I think that's what I loved most about it. But anyway, I, yeah, just had roller blades, went down the skate park.

No one else was rollerblading, but I didn't care 'cause I could still jump the jumps that the BMXs were jumping. Or I could still try to grind a rail that the skateboarders were grinding. And then I kind of just picked up whatever I had. Like I feel like I bought everything. I feel like I ended up, I.

Obviously starting on roller blades 'cause that's all I had. But then I bought a skateboard, then I bought a, a scooter, I bought a BMX park. And then I just kind of had it all. And then I would just do whatever everyone else was doing. 'cause I feel like that's the best thing about the skate park is like doing, like, having like learning tricks with your friends is kind of like the, the the best thing you can do in actual sports I feel.

And uh, I mean you started, your main thing was scooters right? Before you switched to BMX? My, well technically when I was eight years old, my main thing was rollerblading and then I did that till I was about 12. But I was doing it by myself like, 'cause no one rollerbladed where I lived, but I would just do front flips and back flips and five forties and jump the spines.

'cause that's what all the BMXs did and all the scoot rows did. And then eventually, like I went to a contest and all the rollerbladers were like grinding rails and they were like grinding like 20 feet. And I was like, I do gr I could barely grind three feet. And I was just doing flips and then I'm like, oh wait a minute.

Maybe like, maybe I'm not rollerblading properly. You know, like I was like, maybe I'm not rollerblading properly. But then I think I eventually kind of just was borrowing people's scooter because I found so much fun in like learning tricks with people. So then eventually like I would be the escape park on my rollerblades, but then I would borrow people's scooter and their shoes so I could ride their scooter.

'cause I didn't reach shoes to escape park. I was on my rollerblades. So then I, I would end up borrowing people's shoes to ride scooter and then eventually I just bought a scooter and that was what I stuck with. 'cause it was like the cheapest thing I could buy after roll loads. And, and then when, like, how long was it before you sort of dabbled?

Dabbled in BMX? I th well, I ra, I raced BMX, so my mom was a professional BMX racer, so I did race Oh really? Wow. Around the track, like, you know, like BMX racing and then I would kind of like go over to the skate park on my race bike, but my mom would always get angry at me because it's not built to go at the skate park.

Like the rims are like this thin. Yeah. So she would be pissed off and like, and then I had my scooter and like I knew I could kind of do BMX, but I think that I'd kind of just gotta A BMX after maybe a year or two of riding a scooter, mainly at the skate park. And that was just because then I could afford it, like I bought my first complete BMX bike and then I would bring my scooter and my BMX and my roller blades to the skate park.

Nice. That is a wild combination. Um, I I feel like you almost like made scooters cool. Um, like, again, because, I don't know, maybe it's just me, but I felt like scooter's got a lot of hate. No, yeah, they did. A hundred percent. I mean, but when you're a 12-year-old kid, you don't really care what people are like.

People are like used to tell me, oh, you're not gonna get anywhere on a scooter. And I was like, I'm not trying to get anywhere. I'm trying to just have fun. You know? So like, didn't ever really bother me. And obviously they'd, they'd say, oh well these scooter tricks are easy 'cause it's on a scooter. And, uh, and I feel like that didn't really, I didn't really care about that until I was in Nitro and like actually a professional scooter like doing Nitro.

'cause I then I started to feel like, well I could do these tricks on A BMX bike if I really tried. I think because I was doing both, but I was only a professional scooter rider at the time. Yeah. And, and what was speaking of Nitro like, so what was the. What was your relationship with your parents like?

And like how did that conversation go down when you were like, I want to be a, you know, a professional action sports athlete and, and, you know, well, I was already, I was already doing like tours with, with scooters. Like I'd already traveled overseas and done a, a tour in America on just my scooter being a professional scooter rider.

But I feel like Nitro took it kind of to the next level. 'cause Nitro Circus was obviously such a, like, they were doing live shows in front of thousands and thousands of people. So that became like, it's, I guess my mom's seened me do YouTube videos and the YouTube videos, like my web edit's got, uh, I mean I guess they got millions of views eventually, but I guess doing the show in front of thousands of people, kind of, and getting paid like per show, and it was like a decent amount for a 17-year-old kid.

It was like, I. Yeah, it was cool, but I feel like at first my mum was always worried, but then I, she just kind of got more confident as I, uh, as I was confident, you know, and like obviously not breaking any bones and, and like sometimes I'd hurt myself a little bit, but she could see that like I was getting good and I was calculated.

I wasn't just being stupid and like, hurting myself or like going above my abilities. I'd kind of just push my abilities to a new level and stick within them. And then, yeah, I don't know. Nitro I guess, was a huge thing. She was stoked. My mom's crazy, by the way. My mom's like crazier than me. So I guess, yeah, I mean, the fact that she was a BMX racer is not your typical, typical mom.

So, uh, yeah, I guess she was pretty, pretty stoked to have a son as like a Yeah. Action sports athlete. Yeah. Um, and ni so like the Nitro Circus thing, I mean, I remember I saw before they even started, obviously all the world tour and stuff, I saw those first Nicho Circus movies with Travis and stuff like, I don't know, it was not that long after they'd brought out that X Games movie Oh.

Ultimate X or whatever it was called. Yeah. Um, how did like, you know, how did that come about? Like how did you, you know, get hooked up with them and, uh, get on that journey? Yeah. It's kind of funny, I guess they did have a, they had an OG scooter rider. Um, I. They called him Scoots, but it was Andrew Pade and he's actually the owner of like a really, um, old scooter company that's still around.

It's called Proto Scooters. And, uh, he lived in California and I guess when they did the testing for Nitro Circus Live, he was the one they, they found. And uh, he ended up going out there and doing the, the practice. And then he did the show. And then, um, they, they knew that there was like, because the scootering was quite LA like getting quite big, then they knew there was a lot of noise around it.

And uh, so they, they had the one scooter rider, Andrew Pade, but uh, he was a, I don't know how old he was back then, but he was quite like an older rider and he was doing back flips and he'd try a front flip here and there. I think he even tried to like double back flip. But I think that they, they knew that maybe, oh well, like, let's see what some other rider could do.

'cause they knew that I. Like Andrew's a good rider, but he was, his main thing was like making scooters and he was like an og. Mm-hmm. So they're like, oh, let's see, like get some new blood into this and see like what they can do. So they came to Australia and then this company called Scooter Heart sponsored, like they paid for a shop out the front.

And um, then I guess Nitro talked to them. They said, Hey, like you just know three Australian scooter riders that would like to come out and try practice. And I was just like the first person they thought of, even though I wasn't a part, I wasn't even sponsored by Scooter heart or anything, they just knew straight away, like I was the top person.

They, they like the first person they asked. And then there was a guy called Mitch Baldry and n Peters. And so we were three pros, good rides from Australia and they flew us to Aubrey. And uh, we basically, they were like, here's the rant, here's a waiver. Like if you just want to go, go and, yeah. That, that's kind of how it went.

It was, it was wild. What were, when was that exactly? Which year? So I was 17 years old. Or May, yeah, I would've been 17 years old. Um, so 13 years ago. Crazy, crazy. Yeah. 2012. Crazy. And, and how did things sort of escalate from that point, uh, of actually like doing your first, you know, your first one to, to now.

Yeah, so I did, obviously we did practice and I literally just front flipped the ram. I didn't even bother with like straight jump jumper 'cause it jumps like 40 feet and I feel like sometimes it's easier to like, set in motion. Like Yeah. Especially on a scooter. Scooter's kinda like, a little bit like less stable, so just, it's hard to keep it like flat through the air.

But anyway, I, um, front did practice and then I actually tried to do the first ever double front flip on scooter in practice. I tried it two times. And then they were like, Hey, like you did this. You're gonna get, you can do jump in the show, but you're only gonna get two jumps. And I'm like, yeah. Oh, okay.

And then like, we're in the contraption segment. So it's funny 'cause they're like, they obviously have the BMX best tricks skateboard. And they like, that's one segment. And then we were like in the contraption segment, so with like the tris at the lounge chair, a Barbie car, like, and then they're like, yeah, these scooter rows, we, they're in our skate park and we want, we want 'em kicked out.

So here they are on the ramp. Let's hope they crash. That's literally what they said when I dropped in. Perfect. Geez. A lot of, lot of faith given to you guys there. Yeah. Right. And then I actually landed the double front flip in the show. Like my first show landed the double, uh, world's first double front flip.

And I remember like, I landed it and then I'm walking back and everyone's like there and like cheering. And then Travis was like, that was like the sickest thing I've seen on scooter and online. Oh, like this is the, this is the craziest moment ever. And then, uh, yeah, pretty much from then on I was like, on tour.

So from then I was literally on every show. And, uh, I mean, you mentioned Travis there and I'm pretty sure, um, I've heard a, I've interview or the podcast with Travis not too long ago, and he said that in his opinion, you were one of the best action, if not the best action sports athlete at the moment in the world.

And so, yeah, it's, I mean obviously that's, that means a lot coming from someone like him. And so what, what do you think about him and, and uh, and his career? Yeah, I feel like Travis is a huge inspiration to me. I feel like, uh. I don't know. I obviously, I, he was a legend. I seen him on DVDs. I seen him on the Ultimate XI knew he was like this motorbike guy.

I knew he was like the greatest of all time at freestyle motocross, right. And so I didn't ride freestyle motocross, but I absolutely loved just everything in action sports. So I always held him like to this pedestal, upper pedestal. I was like, this guy is like the greatest one of the great, the one of the greatest in action sports ever.

So like, he was like held at this. So when I first met him, I'm like, wow. Like, he's like a god, you know? And then, and then, but he is like the most levelheaded guy. Like when I was with him, I, like, I held him to here, but he held me to like level, you know, like he was everyone's best friends. He was always down to like, uh, sign autographs of fans, get photos.

Like he is always just, he is like everyone's best friend is the best way to explain it. And to me, seeing that. Uh, and after holding him to like such a high pedestal, like it became a really big inspiration to me to like always kind of, you know, give time and day to everyone that I meet and try to like be a positive role model to everyone and like always try to give people time when I meet him.

Um, so that was a huge, he's always been a huge inspiration to me and he still is, but, uh, yeah, it's just crazy now, like to be his friend and it's just like, I don't know. I've got a, I've actually got a tattoo on his leg. Like he did a tattoo of No way. Yeah. On his leg. I'm sure people see it. I'm sure if you could search online that people talking about it.

But yeah, he literally has like 40 different tattoos on his upper thigh and it's like all different people that he meet, like he's all his best friends or whatever. And I actually have a tattoo and it's Sid Sloth on a scooter. 'cause he thinks I've looked like sed sloth. So it's kind of a mean tattoo, but that's all right.

Yeah. Yeah. It's, it's pretty cool. Well, it's pretty cool to hear that. 'cause like, I mean, for me growing up, like I, I wouldn't say I ever had like an idol, but if I had to pick someone that was really inspirational for me, and not that I was doing freestyle motocross, but I always, the way that he was able to, you know, pick himself up after having some gnarly injuries and just like, never quit, like, and just keep going.

Not just one sport, but like every sport. And always was like, no matter what happened, like he was like, we're going again. Like, have to just duct tape it. And um, and, and also you, he seems on camera like always. Such a nice guy and like down to earth, but obviously you don't, some people are like that on camera and not like that in real life.

Um, so it's, it is cool to hear that that's your experience with him as well. Yeah, no, he's literally the, the one of the greatest human beings I've ever met. And yeah, I don't even, I didn't take him to what, what, how many broken bones. I, if you've seen like, dude, I know Xray, but it's like, but then he feels like breaking a bone like, like two years ago or something.

Like brace his pelvis and he bleeds out. Like it's just, he needs to settle down, to be honest. Dude, I, that was actually my next question. I mean, you, you obviously, I mean, you're friends with him. I mean, how does he sort of let on how he's doing? I mean, how is he doing these days after all the off the surgeries?

I know he had a hip replacement or knee replacement, or maybe both. Yeah, I think he's doing a lot better. I think that he finally, like after doing a double back foot 360 on a motorbike, he's kind of like. Okay. Like it, it, I think that, but it, the thing is like he did that and then he's like, oh, I'm kind of like retired.

And then he went and did like a back flip to like front flip on a motorcycle. Yeah, I saw that. I don't know if you've seen that, but it's just like, it, you can't like stop him, but then you just need to like steer him to like something that's not as dangerous but still gives us thrill seeking like, 'cause I feel like he's just a thrill seeker, but he does get it through other people, which is the same as me.

Like he has Thea land and like if something cool's happened in there, I feel like he feels pretty satisfied. So that's why I think he's building right now, he is building like a new half pipe for his wife, Lindsay. And I'm sure that's just the way that he can like live through her. Like if she can learn new tricks all the time, then he'll kind of feel like, like he's like still, I don't know, achieving something because yeah.

Dude. Yeah, it's uh, it's wild. Um, uh, I know I even saw, was it, I think, I can't remember when it was maybe 2015. He, he actually did some down, he did a downer race. He went to, to Whistler, I think it was. And he did like the a DH. Um, and he, I think he back flipped in his run as well. I mean, I don't even know, like if he'd ever been on a mountain bike before and just like rocks up like Travis Pastrana on a mountain bike and like sends it.

Yeah. That's crazy. Yeah, it's just like built into him. I don't know. He is just like a, he's just that dude. But, uh, I know he's, he's good on everything he touches I think. But like obviously, uh, he's done, he's done like doll back foot three sixties on now. Mike, I just feel like when he is around, he just tries anything.

So it's just, he's really good a buck hunter too. He is just really competitive too. So even if you have a game of beer pong with him. He'll, like, he'll be 110% in that beer pong game. Um, and well to mention the Darnell stuff and the crank work stuff, I mean, is that something, have you ever like been on a mountain bike at any point in your career or, or ever planned to be?

Yeah, I've, I've actually, I've done some world first at home though, uh, on, on the mountain bike. But I feel like, I think I have so much respect for it that I almost know that it's not something you can just jump on and just do. Like, I could jump on and do a best trick. I feel like I could definitely come and win a best trick, but it's not something like, crank Works is kind of something where you need to like, do at least a year work of just, you know, riding a mountain bike and actually putting in the work.

I, I hold, I have too much respect to say that, oh, I could just jump on and do crank Works. Like a lot of people always tell me, why don't you do it? But it's like, well it's because these guys dedicate, like they dedicated two mountain biking and doing crank works. So how am I meant to compete with the guys that are like fully committed?

You know, it's like I could, if I had fully committed, but I'd have to put in like the work. It's not just something you can just do. Like I don't think, not many sports, there's not many sports right now anymore that you can just like, oh, I'm so skilled or so like that. I can just jump on it and, and win.

It's not like that at all anymore. I'd, I would love to see that, to be honest. I mean, I know, um, Ryan Quist obviously did it a bit a few years ago, but, um, yeah, it would be pretty cool to have someone like yourself, uh, like, I mean obviously dunno. Yeah, and I feel like I'm thinking even Ryan Ris is a great example.

Like he was, he, he was, when he, I think when he was, did the switch, he was probably like still on top in BMX, like, and really one of the best BMX riders and he switched a mountain bike. I'm not sure how he did, but I'm sure it was super hard for him to even like to get like on the podium, you know, so it's.

And, and, and this comes back to like, to calculated risk. It's like, yeah, maybe I could, uh, I could hail Mary and land it, but then it's like, there's also a great good, really good chance that I'll break myself off. 'cause the crank works. Yeah. Isn't small. It's not small jumps. It's not soft jumps. Like it's, it's full on.

And I mean you obviously, you an action sport athlete. I'm assuming you kind of follow a lot of. That sort of discipline? Yes. I mean, what's, what other sides you follow? I mean, have you seen any, for example, of the downhill stuff, like, um, what's your, I mean, what's your sort of thoughts on that? Is that something that, that you've ever tried or thought like you Like racing?

Racing? Yeah. I mean, not racing, but like, just, just like doing some riding, like downhill riding, for example. Oh, oh yeah. Yeah. I mean the one time I did, I did something in New Zealand with Nitro Circus and I just fucking went straight off a burn. Like, 'cause you have to like lean so far into, I don't know, maybe it was 'cause I'm like on a mountain bike and I just felt different.

I was like, yeah, I can take this turn at this speed. And I like got 80% around, like, I got 80% around the corner and then all of a sudden I like was going off the corner and I, I, I rode off a cliff. Oh. And then I hit a tree thumb. I hit it. I, I was, I did this, like, I did this hit, I don't know if you've seen this cliff, but I was with Nitro and they're like, we we're doing this pr like for Nitro World games in Brisbane.

They like, we're doing this. We've gotta go like promote Brisbane and the amazing mountain bike trails. And I'm like, yeah, I'll do it. And then anyway, I jumped this like hip and then I went whitey and I hit a tree stump and I like hit, I front flipped and I snapped the downhill and clean in half the, the frame.

Like I don't have the best, I don't have the best track record on downhill, like not doing trips like Sure. On a, on a, on a hard tail or a dual suspension. Doing trips on my rant. Yeah, we're good. We've got a good track record. But downhill racing, not a good track record. It's funny because like, I think when someone watches you like, it's so impressive because if they're watching someone like jumping high in the air and they're spinning and flipping and it looks like, it's like a acrobatic trick in front of their eyes.

And when someone watches like a down array, especially if you watch on tv, it's like cool, like. I mean, they're still like, oh, it's cool, they're going fast, but like, like it doesn't look so, it doesn't look so dramatic, you know? It's like, oh, it doesn't look that steep. It doesn't look, you know, and the funny thing is like from what the sounds of it, you said you haven't even broken a bone and I don't know any down rider that hasn't broken a bone because like Yeah, because you've gone so fast and you, you got trees to hit, you got cliffs to go off the side of.

I just feel like when you're trying to, like, I'm not trying to do my tricks as fast as I can. Yeah. It's like if I was, it's like if I was riding an 80 foot jump and like, okay, I'm gonna try my world's first. Like, I'm gonna try this trick for the first time and it's on a 80 foot jump. Like, uh, then you would see me in hospital, you would see me in, so, but like, because I have the jump that's always the same.

Yeah. It's built to be perfect. And then at X Games, like the jumps are built to be four tricks, then I'm not going 300 miles an hour. Like, I dunno, it's kind of, I just feel like when you are pushing the limit, you, when you're doing a downhill race or you're just doing downhill, you're like pushing the limits of, and you are like, I don't know, obviously I'm pushing the limits, like I'm gonna land on my neck.

It's not like, yeah, it's not like no one's hurt riding the next bike, but I just feel like when there's different levels to it, it's like, it's just you, when you crash, you probably don't crash as much as I do, but when you do crash, it's, it's so fast or all of a sudden you're falling. Like, whereas I kind of anticipate the fall.

Yeah. I mean, as a, like, so I only, I did a, my first flip when I was 30 years old and um, and I'd already had some big injuries, broken both my hips already. Like, and I remember my, like people at the time were like, what the hell? Like, why would you do something like that? Uh, you know, after the injuries? And I was like, well, to be honest, in my opinion.

I think there's probably less risk, you know, doing something like that than racing at 70 ks an hour with trees next to you. You know, like you're right. That's a hundred percent right. Um, and and you mentioned X Games there, so you did things kind of, I wouldn't say opposite, but most athletes go first the competition route and then into like the performing show route.

And you kind of did things the other way around. Well that's 'cause you need an X Games invite. You, it's like an invitation. So, and I was trying to ride the mega ran, like I wasn't trying to do dirt or street or skate park because that's just not what I, I didn't think I like, obviously I didn't, I didn't know I'd be so good at dirt, but, 'cause I didn't think about how big the jumps were and if I could translate my tricks to, to that like smaller jump, which is kind of funny 'cause the dirt jumps aren't small to other people.

But to me the dirt jumps are small. Yeah. Um, and it's about fitting the tricks. So then it was like, I wanna get in the mega ran and the mega rans, like, I don't know. Obviously it's a dangerous contest. And the thing about X Games is like, I'm sure there's contests in your world that's the same, but like if you get an invite, you are taking away someone else's Yeah.

Invitation. So it's like, even though I could do all these tricks on a jump, like the jump, they didn't think I could do anything on the quarter pipe. Okay. And then they wanted proof, but then there's only, like at the time there was only like one or two mega amps in the USA. So it's like, how do you prove you can do the mega ramp unless you fly to America and specifically film a video on it?

And then like now you have to go risk your life on a mega ramp just to try. Get an invite, you know, like it's just, it was hard to make the decision to do it. But then I did it and I got an invite, but there was a good like three or four years where I was begging X Games to do the, the mega ramp contest and they just, I just never got an invitation.

It's insane. Like, it's insane. With all the stuff that you were doing on like the Nitro tour and you still re you still like, well, resi doesn't count to them. They felt, they thought I could only do my tricks to the resi. That was the argument. And then I obviously they said I couldn't do the quarter pipe, but I'm crazy.

I, I could do it. I knew I could do it. It's funny 'cause the run that won me my first gold medal is a run that I could have done four years before. That's what, what year was that your first, the first gold you remember? Good question. Uh, nah, uh, because that must have been, uh, I'd be guessing. I'd be guessing, but I think it was like 2018.

That must have been a, a, a big, like f you to like all the guys that didn't want you to come into X Games. I don't know if there was people that didn't want me to come in, but I think there was people that, like the, the guys that were in the X Games, the guys that actually wrote it, they, they didn't, they wouldn't mind if I was in it because I actually in two, I know in 2017 or maybe early 2015, I snuck into X Games and I did a seven 20 front slip.

I think used, call it Twister, but I started, did a seven 20 front flip and yeah, 2015 after sneaking into X Games. 'cause I like what, they usually just have a wristband. But I had a, um, I had a full body suit and it went over my wrist. So I just walked in with everyone else and then I just did a seven 20 front flip over the gap.

Yeah. So. I literally broke into X Games in 2000 'cause, 'cause we were there doing a demo for scooters. But all we were doing, we were on a three foot mini in like the merchandise segment and they were like letting us do demos on a three foot mini. And then, anyway, I brought my bike 'cause I knew like maybe I could get in and then, yeah, I literally just put my full body suit on and walked over with my full face helmet bike and I looked apart and I just went up and I did it.

That is wild. And like did no one notice or like did, I mean, surely someone must have seen you after the fact, but I made sure like I kind of got in, I think it took me, it took me three tries I think. Yeah. So the first two tries I like kind of fell over and then I was like, oh gosh. Like, because the last thing you wanna do is like sneak on, get hurt.

And then I've never been in X Games, you know? So I just like. Snuff on, I got like two, I think two or three jumps. I landed my seven 20 front flip, which was like no one like that. So technically it was the world's first because it was the first time, like in people's world to wood. But I did it and then I was like, I got the footage, you know?

And then I just got outta there before, before they like realized. They did realize, like probably after the fact. But I, I was all, I was, I was healthy. I didn't hurt myself. No one got hurt, no one got frustrated or angry. And I was outta there with my, well, my seven 20 Friday. That's so funny. And that was on hang two years.

That's insane. Like, what the hell? Like you think like, what am I gonna do? Um, what, it's because I only aired the quarter, I didn't do any tricks on the quarter pipe after that. I feel like that was the dangerous part. So I didn't wanna push it and like hurt myself and then everyone would be in trouble.

What, what's, I mean, most of the people from the outside, what's X Games? Like what is the vibe? Like, what is it actually like being there as an athlete? Like, because I think, I mean, obviously and, and what's the situation? 'cause I know I felt like they, maybe I'm wrong, but I felt like over some years they maybe lost a little bit of the hype.

Like at some back in the day, like 10 years ago when it was like at the LA Coliseum and stuff, it was like there was one event and now there's multiple events around the world. Um, yeah. What, I mean, what's your take on like sort of where X Games is at the moment? Oh yeah. Um, I think X Games is definitely back, but I, I, I agree with you that like, it was kind of, there was a few X Games like all over the place and then maybe it dilutes how like crazy it is.

But I feel like the American X game is always insane and it always gets a lot of like, like if you do, if you do something crazy at the American X Games, it usually goes very viral. Like I feel like that's where I got a lot of. Eyes on me. And, and like, I think, 'cause even when I did my first X Games, I didn't even win, but I did the, the nothing front bike flip.

And it was like ESPN top like two moment or something of the week. And it like went, it went everywhere. And I remember that was like a huge thing that I didn't even, I, I, like, I just landed a trick in, in my run and it went super viral. So I feel like it obviously has a lot of hype behind it still. But I think that, well the, the vibe ATX games is incredible.

Like everyone is watching everyone's events. The skateboarders watched the motocross, the motocross watch the BMX, like the BMX watched the skateboarding. And I think that, it's funny because I was like a scooter rider still, but then everyone was like riding my scooter 'cause I brought it to the, to the X Games.

And like in the rider lounge, everyone's like riding my scooter, trying like tail whips on flat or like just cruising around on it. And it's funny because people's perception is like. Oh, they wouldn't, like, they wouldn't even like wanna talk to me. 'cause I'm a scooter rider. Like, when I first did X Games, that was like the stereotypical idea that everyone had, but it was like the opposite.

Everyone was like super nice. The skateboarders were like, nice talk to me. Like, everyone's like a cool like little family and everyone's like, got everyone's back. I think it's because it's action sports. It's like, I think that something about action sports where it's like, you can't not root for everyone because them, someone not doing good is like them going to the hospital.

So it's like, not like, it's not like another sport where it's like, I hope he drops the ball. It's like, no, I hope no one drops the ball. Like, I hope we all go out there and do our best and then whoever wins wins on the day. But I feel like in action sports it's a different vibe. It's like, it's like no one wants anyone to crash.

'cause it's just the, the re the, um, repercussions are so bad and. I mean, I think maybe also what, at least from what my experience was, was that like the level, like if you take it back like 15 years, you know, when they were first landing backflips, you know, to, or longer now almost 20 years, when when Trav did his, Travis did his double back flip.

And like, at that point, like it was so much progression in all areas of action sports and like yeah, whether it's BMX or Moto or whatever. But then I felt like there was this maybe like a bit of a plateau where like people had pushed the limit so much, um, and it was like, where, where do we go from here kind of thing.

Um, well, and then you came along and the BMX started and started doing like stuff. People were like, what? Even, what do we call that? Like what, what, you know? Yeah. I think it's hard. I think like in everything, it's, it's kind of hard, like, because you don't wanna, I've always, like, I, I've always strived to do things that.

Just stand out. Like I, I know, like I, but I do the tricks where it's like an add, add, add, an extra whip. Like I did, obviously I did the other day, I did back flip quint, like five tail whips. But to me, like that is cool and like, but I suck at tail whips, so that's a different story. But I just knew I could do it and it took me four hours, but I just knew I could do that.

But I feel like the, the really great tricks are the ones that I just totally knew that kind of people go, I didn't even think that was possible. And I feel like back then there was so many tricks that were still available that were like, they were like the mind melting tricks. Like obviously the dull back flip, people are like, what?

Like one back flip's the craziest thing ever. There's no way, should do two. You know? And then for me it's like. The nothing front bike flip where I throw my bike, it does a front flip while I'm like just floating in the air. To me, that was like, that's like a, that was, that's cooler to me than doing a back flip Quin tower.

Like even though back flip Quin Tower is way harder, the, when I first did that, nothing front bike flip. I feel like that was like, that was like a a, an amazing moment, you know? And I feel like it's, it, it, going back to like the plateau, it's like these tricks, like the basic tricks, the double whips like were crazy on dmx.

Then somebody did a triple whip and then it gets to quad whip and it's like what? Like quad whips so hard, but now it's like, it's just another tail. Whereas then you just need to find these new tricks or this new way of writing that. Kind of brings back the, brings back the spark. You know, it's a good, a great example is more people watch, probably watch the Knuckle huk, you know, uh, X Games winter, like the Aspen or whatever, you know, like so many more people now probably like watching the Knuckle Huk.

Whereas big air, the big air tricks kind of, they're just, there's, there's so many spins that people, like, it's almost lost in the, in the average Joe's mind. Like they don't even contemplate like a 2340. It's like was, but then they see the knuckle hawk and it's like, it just looks different and it like kind of captures their attention again.

So I think, yeah, I don't know. I'm kind of on a tangent, but I feel like you just gotta kind of capture, I feel like I had a cheat code when I came into BMX, because I just did tricks that stood out. But they were like scooter tricks, you know? And that's why they stood out because, but no one thought to just.

Do them because they're like, no, that's a scooter trick. Maybe they thought like, that's not even possible. Or I, I feel like most of them just thought like, oh no, that's a scooter trick. Like, I'm not gonna do that. Whereas I was like, I'll do any trick. But even now, I mean, is anyone doing what you're doing?

I mean, is there anyone that's trying any of your tricks? I am. I haven't people now there, there's a few people, there's a few people that do try and like, obviously the nothing from Barlett. Um, Logan Martin won the first ever Olympic gold medal, and he did that in his run. So it's crazy in hindsight, like, like, I don't know how many years after I did it, right.

He, he went to the Olympics and he won a gold medal at the Olympics doing that trick. And it's like, that makes me like proud. Like that's one of, that's something that I love to see because I feel like that's what I'm doing is kind of just like opening people's mind to new tricks. And I feel like the next generation belt.

They'll adopt it, you know? And then they'll say then, then people will be winning comps in 10 years doing tricks that I created. And I'll be like, yeah, that's, there's a reason why you're doing those tricks. And then that, that is, that is so dope to me. Um, and is that ever something that crossed your mind, like the whole Olympics thing and doing Park?

Is that Yeah. Ever been on the co for me, for me to do that? No, that's a, that I mean, people, so many people ask me that and it's the same thing as like mountain biking. It's like, yeah, I could hail Mary and like maybe do well, but you ha these guys dedicate their life. Like I see Logan Martin and Logan Martin's like up there with Travis Ana to me.

'cause he, uh, he lives like two hours down the road. But I see like what he puts in, you know, he puts in 110% and it's just to do. BMX park at the Olympics for four years. He trained just to do the Olympics, you know, and then look, he went and he went to the Olympics recently and he, and he like crashed both runs.

And it's like he dedicated four years of his life for these two sec, like for literally a minute and 20 seconds. 'cause two 60 seconds runs and like, and then he'd come off. But he won the first ever Olympic gold. But I know what it took him to do that. And for me, I feel like it's disrespectful for me to say I could go and win gold medals without putting in the same work, you know, that he did.

'cause he, he has the same amount of skill, if not more as me, like natural skill, but he dedicated his life to, to like park 62nd Park, run. Yeah. You know, and I, I, I just, I'm happy to commentate it, but if I was to do it, I'd have to put in four years of work, or at least like two years of work, you know, just doing that, not.

Having the most fun I can on my ramp and doing world's first tricks. 'cause that's, that doesn't, that doesn't like work in a, at a skate park. And I mean, I'm sure that must have the fact that you came into dirt as well and like pretty quickly started, started winning. Like if they have, why don't they put dirt in the Olympics?

Then we good. You know, I beat, I beat Logan Martin in a dirt contest. So if the Olympics do dirt, then I feel like I then Australia can put me up. What was the, the sort of reaction from like the riders and stuff, like when you sort of went over to Dirt to X Games and just started winning? Like, all these guys have been there for years and then you just rock up and just like, sweet, like, I'm gonna just take this call, David.

I know, I know. I don't know. I, I think, no, they were, they, they like, by this time I think that the mega ramp was more of a surprise to people because. They kind of counted me out on the quarter and then all of a sudden I came in and I literally, I think, so what happened was, I, on my first event, I did the front flare and I didn't land my quarter trip, but I, I like went to the moon and people were like, what is going on?

Like, they couldn't believe it. Right. And then literally, I, the, the second mega event I won and then I never lost, I won every single mega event contest after that. And that was when, yeah, I guess that's when they were like, yeah, no, this is, this is something going on here. But I think by the time I got to the dirt contest, like I, I had already, I won some other dirt contests that kind of got me into the dirt, like into the dirt event.

So by that time they were like expecting, okay, this is, this could happen. Like, it wasn't like out of the nowhere. Yeah. That must have been Yeah. Quite a, quite a cool feeling to just like, I honestly, I surprised myself because. I don't know, like I'm not a, I'm not a naturally a dirt rider, but I feel like out of anything can be, other than the mega ram, like that was my best chance.

So you're not gonna see me win a street BM accident ever. Like that would, that would be the one that people would like, what the fuck? If I, like, if I won, won a gold, it won, won, won a medal in a street, that would be really surprising. Out of all the things that you've done, um, what's been the, what's been the moment that's been the, like, if you could pick one that's been the best sort of feeling, whether it's landing a new trick or winning a contest or, yeah.

The best trick I've ever landed was having my son legit. No, I feel like, I feel like, uh, having my son has been like the best trick I landed, but if I had to pick, like, in action sports, I feel like that first, the double front foot that I did at Nitro Circus. In my first ever show, I was 17 years old in front of Travis Shine in front of multiple, like X Games medalists that were in the show.

And just like capitalizing on that opportunity was probably the most important part, like time of my like moment in my life. Because if I don't do well in that nitro circus, then I don't get to ride the Nitro Circus ramp and learn like new tricks on scooter and then eventually doing the world's first on BMX.

And then it never, like, it never reaches that point of, it's always just skate park, you know, from then from that point. But the Nitro Circus was like a trajectory, like it just, it just like kickstarted this crazy career, I think because without that I'm at the skate park. Like it's kind of, I'm on that.

That same hard road that everyone else is on, you know that it's like, it's so hard to stand out the skate park. Obviously I was doing it on scooter, but to stand out on BMX, I would've had to like probably stop scooting and just focus on BMX. And then it's like, am I really the same person in action sports?

If I don't have that scooter background and like where people are giving me shit, but then I'm proving 'em wrong. I feel like it's all just, it all has worked with each other. I like the fact that people were giving me shit for riding a scooter because it made me ride a scooter better and harder to prove them wrong, like to make it cool.

And then I had this like, fire in me that, that that was born from, from the animosity that I got riding scooters, that when I got on A BMX bike and then they gave me the same kind of like, oh, it's lame. He's doing scooter tricks. Or it's only like to resi so it doesn't count. Like it's easy. And then it like, it like lights a fire in my ass to go, okay, well then I'll just do even better.

Or I'll just go to X cans and I'll land it on wood, or I'll do this trick to dirt. So it like proves them wrong. And I've always loved that. It's almost like, uh, it's almost like the what drives the driving force of my career. So taken aback all the way that double front flip man. Like if I didn't land that or it didn't gimme the opportunity to go on, I, so then I wouldn't have got as much shit for riding a scooter.

'cause I would've just been in the background riding scooters. Not in the forefront. And I don't know. Yeah. So that moment to me is the, probably the most important of my actress sports career. And it's funny 'cause not people will probably even know about it. Like, it's not like to me like, uh, the, the average Joe probably thinks like win a next games gold medals, like the most important.

But I wouldn't have get, I wouldn't have got to that gold medal or the invite may, maybe without that moment. You know, what's the earning potential like and like prize money and what's the state of the sport like? Because I can tell you from a mountain biking perspective, it is shocking, uh, is really, really bad.

Um, and obviously guys rely on sponsorships and stuff. Um, I mean, what is it, obviously you've done it like X Games, nitro, I have no idea like how that even works. Like, you know, you just see the guys win a medal, but you dunno what sort of goes on behind the scenes, so. Mm-hmm. Well, it's simply like a good, like it's definitely, you're definitely stoked to win an X Game's goal because I think it's like, I, I'd always say this, I don't know if it's like a secret thing, but I like $23,000 for first, like for a gold medal in, in like dirt or park or street.

But then the best trick is like, it's less, it's 10,000 for first. Um, but then you still get like your bonuses from your sponsors. Like monsters are huge sponsor for me because they're like one of the really good. Bonuses. Like they, if you get on the podium at Next games, then it's a great bonus. Um, so like if you have the right sponsors and then, um, and then win the next game's goal, like you're pretty much almost win.

Like, uh, I, I guess the wages have gone up, but you win like a lot, so you win enough to be happy. Let's just say if like I won two, if I got two gold medals in one year, like I'm probably pretty sweet. Like, but then I got sponsors and then there's more than just X Games contests. So, yeah, no, I, I, I mean it's good, but obviously don't just rely, don't, I don't know, you just, when you grow, when if you are like a amateur and you are wanting to be a pro and like, um, be rather being extra a living, then I feel like it's very important to focus on other avenues as well.

Like obviously my social media, like doing YouTube, doing social media well, is. Is a, a way to not worry too much about if you are, if you are relying on winning these contests and that's your income, then that's not the right way to be going about, but it's definitely like a great bonus if you can, if you can win it.

And like something like the, the Nitro Tour, how does, how, how does that work? Well, that's, I mean, I mean, you don't have, obviously you don't have to like, so that's where you want to be. Oh really? Okay. Yeah. That's where you want to be. 'cause that's like, obviously you're not winning the prize money. You're like, it's not the same as the prize money.

But guess what, mate? You land on your head at Nitrous Circus, you get paid, you land a new world first. You get paid the same. You, if you'd fall in the first half that you do the rest of the show injured, like you get paid. It's not, that's why I feel like that's, that's my favorite, that's my like favorite thing.

And it's always been like, my main source of income is just Nitro Circus because. It's like, I'll choose, I'll choose nitrous circus over doing a, a, a contest because it's guaranteed like, hey, no matter what, what you do, where, how you land, it's all about entertainment. And I feel like, like when it, it's, it's so much funner and it's so much better to do like nitrous circus in a contest, but the contest gets you the cloud, let's just say that.

And then RA Circus is where I make is my job. Yeah, I mean maybe on that topic we were talking about like sponsors, stuff like that. Like I wanted to get your opinion. As you can see my cap, I'm actually sponsored by OnlyFans. Yeah. Um, uh, I dunno, what's your thoughts today? If NA made a big push, um, they're a sponsor of mine, but they've got like 300 athletes now across the world.

Um, what's your sort of thoughts on like, 'cause obviously we are not doing football, rugby, like things that bring in huge money, um mm-hmm. Yeah. What's your opinion on sponsors like that coming into, into action sports? Mate, it's happy. I think it's, I think it's brilliant. Um, actually, I don't subscribe to your OnlyFans.

I'm sorry, I don't have OnlyFans because, uh, I've got a fiance, but maybe I could get it just to get maybe Mighty Mouse. I think he, he's a UFC fighter. He has, so maybe I'll download it, but I think my, my misses might get a bit curious to, of what I'm subscribed to, but no, there's a, there's actually a good, uh, BMX writer, um, uh, oh, I don't, oh, Garrett Reynolds.

Garrett Reynolds I think is sponsored by OnlyFans and like, he's the, the best in the world and he's probably the greatest BMX writer in the world. But, um, I think any sponsor's coming to BMX is a great thing. I think it's smart. I think that, obviously even scooter riding, like if you're sponsoring scooter rides, I think it's a great idea because there's a, I don't know about the community in, in mountain biking and, or, or I don't know the community in a hole in BMX, but I feel like scooters is like a tight knit community.

So any kind of. Sponsored that we got back in the day, everyone was like, whoa, this is the best thing ever. And like when I got sponsored by Monster, that was actually one of the things why I didn't get sponsored for a while was 'cause of the scooter thing. And then they were worried about like, is Scootering gonna like affect They, I think they thought that it was gonna affect their other monster athletes, like they're gonna care.

But then I got sponsored and no one cares. So it's like, and, and in Scootering it's a huge thing. Like I'm sure more people in scootering drink monsters. 'cause I, I'm sponsored by a monster. So I think, uh, yeah, anything like that is, is great. I, I mean, I don't know, I don't even know what the problem would be with only OnlyFans sponsoring action sports.

Obviously if you don't like how tos, it's, if it's a great platform, which it probably is, it's like a well established platform. And if you have how toss or you have exclusive, um. You know, footage or videos that you want to be able to give to people that want to like, for a fee, then it's like probably a great app to use as, uh, sponsor the only fans.

So, honest question. Uh, so would you, would you, would you be on any fans? Would you, would you sign Bernie fans if, if the Apple was there? Oh, yeah. Me and fiance, we were thinking about getting on it.

Okay. Uh, I'll put it out de definitely, I would, I actually, 'cause I always wanted to do like how tos I feel like I have a, a really interesting way of like, going about tricks and I feel like I have a pretty good way of teaching tricks. I, 'cause I've done a few camps with kids and like yeah. Teaching them how to learn tricks and I feel like I, in my mind I can simulate like tricks.

So it's like I can kind of speak people through it. So. I've always been pretty good at that. So if that was like a, a thing that I could work out, I feel like there's some, some how-tos I could definitely make with them. I'll, uh, I'll put in a good word, um, me, I'll leave some space in my helmet. Yeah. Yeah.

And, um, on that topic as well, uh, obviously OnlyFans, like wild side, I'm sure there must have been some pretty epic, uh, parties after, after winning, um, some contests. Is there, is there one that uh, yeah, that comes to mind? Like what's like the craziest story that you can think of? Um, from over the years?

That's a good one. Um, I actually, I'm only a year and like three weeks sober now. Oh, wow. Yeah. I haven't had a, I haven't had a drink of alcohol for a year and three, so like three weeks. So, but that's because, that's because I went to the UFC in Anaheim. Like I went to this UFC and at the time I was like only drinking beers because I'd like black out on any hard alcohol.

I don't know, it's probably the head knots. But, uh, so I would like, so I was just like, yeah, I'll just drink beer. Like I can, I can drink and not forget anything if I just drink beer. Anyway, I went to the USD Anaheim and I had like 14 beers 'cause they're free. So I had like 14 beers fully blacked out. And then, but this was like, I was good all the way up until the first and la uh, this, the main event and Kobe main event and it was like Australian fighters.

So I'm in like the front row at the UFC, right? And I wasn't that like, I was just obnoxious. Like I was just yelling, like I was really excited 'cause it was the Australian fighters verse. It was UL Kovski versus someone else. And then it was like po uh, Robert Whitaker, verse P Costa. And what I do remember is like Polar Costa, I don't know if you're familiar with the U ffc, but anyway, if anyone is.

The polar coaster looks like Ricky Martin, you know the guy that's living the Vida Lo, like, he kind of looks like that guy. So I'm like, I'm like, fuck you, Ricky Martin, like living the Vida logo, like just being an absolute idiot. And, but, and it's be fine. It'd be fine if I wasn't like in the front row, you know, but I'm in the front row, like in front of important people and they're like, look at this dumbass, like being obnoxious.

Uh, and then so, but I didn't remember it. I woke up the next day, I'm like, oh, how good was that? Was so good. And, and my fiance's like, oh, you don't remember, do you? And I'm like, what do you mean? And she showed me this video and to this day, if she ever, like, I, if I ever thought about having a drink and she showed me this video, like I'm on my chair, like, nah.

I'm like, nah, I, I'm, I'm, I can't get to that state again. So anyway, I was like, I'll do a hundred days sober. 'cause sometimes I do that, like before important contest. And then my fiance got pregnant and then she couldn't drink. So then I was like, I won't drink with you. And then by the time I had my son, it was only two months until a year.

So then I ended up a year sober and here I am, like a year and three weeks. But yeah, I'm probably gonna have a drink, but it's good to do a year. 'cause I feel like if you're an Australian, you probably haven't had a year off drinking since you were like 14 years old. 'cause that's me, like since I was 14 years old.

I don't think I've had a year off drinking until now. That's that's wild man. That's impressive. Um, yeah, that was a massive story. That was a long story. But yeah, there's, I'm sure there's some, some great moments I could think of. But anyway, uh, I was actually one question I was gonna ask you is you got any regrets the, from your career so far?

I'm assuming that that evening might be one of them. I, I, I don't regret it 'cause it led into everything leads, everything me is, happens for a raisin. Right. Well, because, you know, I might've not, like, maybe I didn't make a fool of myself then, and then I, I made a fool of myself another time. You know, like, and then when I was, maybe I wouldn't have stopped myself from drinking and made a worse mistake.

Like, well, even though I wasn't a mistake, maybe I would've made a bigger fool of myself down the road. So I, I count everything as like, just a little blessing. You gotta think about stuff like that. But, um, maybe, I don't know. I wish, in my first X Games I didn't get so excited and, uh, and crashed. 'cause I feel like I could have won my first X Games.

But in saying that, it just gave me more driving force in my second X Games. And then I, you know, I, I never lost the mega end contest after that. So. Ah. Regret. Regret. Regret. Just, you know, you can always regret the injuries, but then I always tell myself that if I didn't separate my shoulder, which isn't even that bad, like maybe then the next week I would've broken my first bone.

You know, it sometimes it's just, you gotta always see things as a blessing in disguise. Even if you think something good didn't come out of it, it might've helped prevented you from something worse happening in your life. Yeah, a hundred percent. I, uh, you know, I've, I've come to realize that as well as like, even when things are bad at the time, and you think like, why is this happening most of the time there's always something after the fact that comes out and you're like, okay, well maybe that's why that happened.

Or, you know, uh, there's a, there's a silver lining to, to things. And, um, you know, even myself, I've had some, I've got a hip replacement on the one side as well. Um, and yeah, yeah, but like through all, through all the, the injuries as well, like, there's been so much positive and in a way, even though it's sucked, like I'm kind of not glad it happened, but I think I wouldn't be who I am today if that didn't happen.

So it's kind of hard to like, yeah. Be like, oh, I regret it because then maybe we wouldn't be having this conversation today. So, um, yeah, a hundred percent. And it's like. Is, there's just so, like if I didn't get teased for riding a scooter like that, maybe I wouldn't have had this fire that drove me through my life.

I don't even, it's hard for me to pinpoint like the drive where I got my drive from, but I feel like it must've been from back then when people were just giving me crap and like I wanted to prove them wrong. And then I had this like fire and motivation that I could just dive into myself and like I didn't, I could just motivate myself just automatically, somehow with that.

And then now it's like, I don't even know people like ask me, oh, what's like, what motivates you now? Like if I'm four hours into a trick, like what picks me up the ground and makes me try again? And it's almost, it's almost hard to, I don't even, it's almost hard to pinpoint because it's just automatic.

It's become automatic within me and without like the struggles that I had growing up and riding the scooter or whatever, doing whatever, or even getting teased at school, it's like. Without that, I wouldn't have what I have today. So it's like important to to, to just push on and know that in five years time you'll look back and you'll probably be grateful for the struggle that you, you're having.

Talk to me talking about the struggles. Talk to me about the double back flip to fakey. Oh shit. My regret is not, my biggest regret is not just landing that already. It's so annoying because like you only get these op, you only get like, I've had nine opportunities to land it now. And like in the hindsight, like that trick should take a lot more than nine tries to even, like if I was to just go to the skate park today and do it like it, yeah, I would expect it.

That is a trick that I would expect to take. Maybe nine more than nine tries, you know? So it's kind of a hard, it's hard to. It is hard to capture it in a bottle. Like it's hard to, you know, capture the magic in, in the jar, um, when the, when there's so much pressure to do it. But I just know that, I know it's right there, so it's like I'm never gonna give up on it.

And it's just like any other trick. Like I've been bo I've bought, been born with this curse blessing and curse of not being able to give up. And, uh, luckily like at, at the skate park, you have unlimited time, almost like, until it gets dark or your phone dies, you can't film it. But, um, I've just, yeah, I just, I'm ready to, I'm ready to land it and third time's charm.

I think it's gonna be in Japan, so as long as there's a, as long as there's a ramp to get it done, then I'll, I'll, I'll, I'll send it. And the probably with that trick, sorry, is that there's no way to practice it even to the easiest, the best way I've found to practice it is I have a, a, a 10 foot quarter at our Erland and I put like a flat bag next to it.

And I kind of have to double flip and like guess like, okay, I have like a, I have someone film on the side and I just film them from the side. And I just hope that like I'm coming down in the correct position. But then the real practice is when I'm actually trying it to the quarter. 'cause it's different.

'cause even just going to the side, like even just going to the side a little bit makes you not pop out as much. It makes you kind of come forward. So then it's like it's, you can never really simulate it that much, but I've had enough practice now straight to the quarter that I, the next, the next try you need to, you need to have someone to like, you need to hit the ramp, start flipping and while you, someone like slides a bag underneath.

Could you imagine? Imagine that like that would be terrifying. But Yeah. Or like some sort of airbag system that just. It's like a, uh, you know, like a, when you run into the wall, an airbag, like the car airbag, you know how they're just in place. Like, so it's, it just, I go past it and it fills up, but nah, I'll just try, I'll just try this.

It'd be all right. And, uh, you know, as you mentioned earlier, if it's, if you, if your phone dies, like I feel like these days, if it's not on, if it's not recorded in your phone, like it didn't happen. Like, yeah. What, like, you started with social media obviously long ago, and you mentioned how important that is.

Like what, like how, how do you feel about social media? Is that, you know, something? 'cause I mean, obviously you clearly doing something right, but at the same time, I know for me, like that also can bring like a lot of pressure and stuff to like get constantly be getting content out. Like yeah. What's your, you know, feeling about the social media side is Yeah.

My, I feel like my opinion on it actually has probably gotten a bit worse because I just feel like it's so hard now to. To like get something that goes viral or get something that people will click on. I feel like it's become so diluted, like there's so much content that it's hard to stand out in the crowd.

Whereas I feel like it used to be like when I was young, I almost didn't realize the opportunity that I had in front of me and I was kind of a little bit lazy. Whereas now I'm like, whoa, if I had that opportunity now, like I would be grinding so hard because back in the day, like I'd get a hundred thousand views, like easy, like doing just a video that's not even that great.

And like everyone was about it and, and then to me now to get a hundred thousand views, it's like, it's like a great video on YouTube, you know? Whereas back, I would've been upset if my video got a hundred thousand views back in the day. And it's just like, perspective is crazy. But then that's when I feel more, I feel sorry for people today trying to stand out because there's so many people like, you know, doing it and trying to.

Work their way up. Whereas back in the day it wasn't so prevalent and like it wasn't, and people didn't even worry about it. Like it wasn't such a big deal, you know? And now it's a huge deal and, but then everyone's trying to do it now, so it's even harder to stand out. So, I don't know. It's, but it is a, at the end of the day, it is a great thing and it, but it brings a lot of, like, it allows people, a lot of what it does allow is a lot of negativity to flow into your, what you're doing and maybe affect you more than what it used to.

But I don't know, because there's a lot more negativity I feel like back in the day, especially for me on Scooter, like obviously there was negative comments. I can't say there wasn't negative comments, but I feel like I didn't worry about those people 'cause it was the outsiders. But in, in Scootering, like everyone was just positive.

It was like, yeah, this is the best thing ever. This is incredible. Like, this is so cool. Tank is making these videos. Whereas, uh, now everyone's making the videos so people aren't really, they're like. Everyone does it. So it's not appreciated, appreciated as much if I'm, if you know what I mean. Like, it's like, oh, I don't know.

Yeah. People don't understand how much work goes into it, but, but now to stand out, you have to put even more work into it, I feel. So it's crazy. It's, it's, I remember, I remember like when YouTube, before when YouTube kind of just started, like, I don't know exactly when it started, but I mean, I, I think I posted my first video on YouTube in like 2012, but like, honestly, I didn't think I was just, I was like a POV or something like that.

And uh, and like I didn't put any effort in like for 10 years pretty much. And then, then like looking back, I'm like, man, what an opportunity everyone had or missed at the time. Like having, having, yeah. YouTube because like now to, to have like growth or have big views and stuff as you're saying, like someone like you is struggling to get a hundred K views, like.

It's like, what, what do you need to do? You need to be like, I don't know, jumping out of a space shuttle or something to, you know, to get people to click on your video. It's like, yeah, right. And then now even with like, people that like Mr. Beast, that just ha they just like, it's incredible the production that he does and like, but it's just like, people just expect, they're like, if you are not like doing the best footage, then it's kind of hard to, to capture a new audience.

Like, whereas there's some people though that like, they've already captured that family and they like, that's why I'm grateful 'cause I've like all, I've already captured like a, you know, like a, a set people that will watch all my videos when I post 'em. And I'm so grateful for that. But, um, I just, I just feel bad for the people coming up.

It's just so hard to, to stand out and like, uh, and capture a family and then. It's just so much work. But yeah, I, I, I wish that it's like real estate, you know? You're like, I wish I bought a house. I wish I bought three houses when I bought my first one. I'd be rich. You know, you just, the hindsight's 2020.

But just know that now in 10 years from now, like you are probably gonna be saying that to yourself about like, things that you are thinking about doing in 10 years. You'll be like, I wish I did that. Like, I wish I had just capitalized. Or even, yeah. Yeah. So even the people grinding right now, I. You are probably gonna say to yourself in 10 years, I wish I didn't quit on, on myself, even though it was so hard.

Now then in 10 years it might be worse. So don't give up. Just keep pushing on, uh, hopefully I'm telling myself that about the podcast and be like, sweet. Like that was a good idea to start the podcast. Yeah. Right. Yeah. What do you, what do you reckon you'd be like if you hadn't been able to be an action sports athlete?

Have you ever thought about what you might have done, uh, with your life besides throwing yourself, uh, down mega ramps? Do you know what I, um, so when I was in school, I was, I did, I did pretty well at school. I got, like, I got the Award for Entrepreneur award or whatever. It was like, most likely, most likely to succeed was the entrepreneur award.

I got it from the mayor. The mayor, mayor. I don't know how do you say it? But, um, yeah. And then, so I went through school. I got accepted into, into university. And to be a civil engineer, I got in to be a civ civil engineering university. And then, uh, in Australia you can defer for a year. So it's like where you take a year off to like just chill and relax for a year or work.

And so I chose to do that. And in that, that, like, well I, 'cause I did nitrous circus when I was in grade 12, so I got into Nitro Circus when I was still in school, but I was in my last year. Right. So I wasn't sure exactly. I wasn't betting on it, let's just say that. And then, so I got into university and then I was like, okay, I'm gonna defer for a year and work and doing nitro circus like work, right?

And so I, I took the year off to do, to do Nitro Circus and then, fuck, I'm not being a civil engineer anymore. I'm doing, I'm doing this. So, but, so I probably would've been a civil engineer or maybe I would've transferred that into something else. Like maybe I would've designed skate parks. Maybe I would've, I don't know.

I don't know what I would've done like. I'm scared to, I, I'm scared to know. I like, I would've been so boring. Um, I'd like think about it a little bit. I feel like I've still got, I, I feel like fi I've gotten five years easy, like just still pushing myself, pushing the limits as much as possible. I then after that, I don't know, like I obviously don't want to, I don't want to be like the guy that's just out there hurting himself or like, not even like trying to outdo myself.

'cause I've always been super calculated. So it's like if I stay calculated, then that means that when it's not worth it, I'm not gonna do it. So there's probably is a point where I'm gonna reach that. But I think that, um, I don't know, in five years, hopefully I've freaking made enough money that I don't need to worry about doing any, you know, concrete because I've done some concrete and it sucked at our Willy land.

It's so hard. It's so much. It makes me, I, when I was doing it, I'm like, I'd rather triple front for the be X Park than. Do any more hours of this, but I think that I could do some camps that my, my land, like set up our Willy Land so that it's not just for the pro pro riders, like get, make it so that I can kind of teach people, like have camps and drive 'em to skate parks and get 'em, let 'em ride our Willy Land and kind of progressed in that because that'd be cool.

And like, obviously I'm not expecting to make millions of dollars doing that, but it would just be like a cool job, you know? Or then I'm, I've done some commentating for feast. I commentated the Olympics for Australia. Um, just anything in action sports, just be a part of action sports, obviously. Um, kind of like Travis, you know, if I can be reached that level and just be in action sports, then I feel like that's my ultimate goal.

But I don't know. If I have to do some sort of work, then I guess I'll, I'll do it, but. I'm hoping that I can make enough money and win enough contests and do enough world first, that it kind of hold, it pushes me to the level of, uh, just being a cool guy for a living. You don't feel like, you don't feel like following, following Trav and Travis and start racing.

Rally do. What'd you say? Falling tra and what? Uh, and racing and starting rally racing. Oh, yeah. That'd be cool too. But I suck with an engine mate. I don't know about you. Like really? I, well, look, I, I'm on a one 10. I'm all right, but anything, any bigger motorbike than that, I suck. And then like my car, I just drive it from A to BI drive, I drive the speed limit.

I'm pretty boring, so I just like what it looks like. I don't care how fast it goes. So we'll see. Who knows? Like I, I've been asked to do nitros a few times, but then Nitro cross isn't a thing anymore at the moment, so. I don't know. We'll see. Dude. Uh, I got one question that I ask all the guests, uh, to end off.

Um, and that's what's the meaning of success to you? Like what, what would you need to do to, to be successful in your life? What would I need to do to be successful? I feel like I've almost done it. I feel like as long as you have a job that you are happy doing, like I literally get paid to do what I love and I feel like there's no better job than that.

Like, you forgive me any other job that maybe even it pays me more, but if it's grueling or if it takes like it's just doesn't make you happy, then I would take the job that you love and enjoy doing and just as long as you can make a living, have a roof over your head, feed your family, that's like the most important thing, especially like to me it's always, once I made enough money that I could.

Help my family out and have a roof over my head, be able to create our willy land. Everything extra. I like, I haven't even spent, I never buy a crazy car or I've, I just kind of save it and just want to, you know, every dollar over the ones, every dollar over the amount that gets you a happy living is like, it's not really, you don't even think about it.

It's like not even a worry. So just know that like the most important things are the people around you. And if there's positive energy around you and your friends and family are all happy, then it's, that's the biggest, that's the biggest achievement. That's the most success you've gained in life. Dude, totally agree.

Um, this has been awesome, man. Uh, thanks, uh, so much for coming on. Chilling mate. Too easy. All the best. If you guys enjoy this episode, please like and subscribe and to see more episodes, click the link right up here. That was iconic.