“The Whip changed over the
years because riding styles
changed, bikes changed, and the
way guys rode tracks changed
too,” said Brendan Lutes
(professional photographer for
Transworld Motocross). “It got
more fluid with McGrath. It was
‘Showtime’ Whipping it for the
fans that inspired today’s Whips
to start evolving in the early 90’s.”
A lot of this new attitude of the
latest breed of riders can be
accredited to the VHS (video)
era. Filmmakers like the guys
behind Crusty Demons and Moto
XXX were going out into the hills
with riders who were winning
supercross races and filming them
play riding on natural terrain setups. “As long as the results were
there,” as Jeff Emig stated: “When
you win, you get to write your
£ James Stewart
competes at the
AMA Supercross
Series at Qualcomm
Stadium in San
Diego, California,
USA February, 2014
64 | FreestyleXtreme.com
own rules”. Cliff jumps, doubles,
table-tops, and hips were all front
and center to do with and create
whatever they wanted.
the limits and exploring avenues
of creativity on the bike that had
in the past been majorly frowned
upon.
For a rider, freeriding out in natural
terrain and throwing Whips is a
time when you are completely free
to be creative. It’s a blank canvas
and you paint your own picture.
And what was the coolest thing
you could do on all these jumps
back then? That’s right - a Whip!
“Racers are really good at
Whipping it on a bike because
they’re on it all the time.” said
Brendan Lutes.
“Ba ck in the day - before there
were tricks, there were Whips.
Everybody basically had their own
style,” said freeride extraordinaire
Tyler Bereman, “and now it’s
pretty insane to see where it has
all gone and how it’s evolved.”
During this era we saw some of
the coolest imagery to grace the
covers and pages of our favourite
motorcycle magazines - setting
the tone for a race of a whole
new kind. It was now not only
important to win; you had to have
style doing it. The finish line Whip
became almost as important as
the win itself. Jeff Emig with his
signature “90’s” style Whip as it’s
coined today, and McGrath with
his classic “Terrafirma films” style
hanging off the bike Whips. The
days of hard motos and no fun
were gone. Riders were pushing
At this point, the biggest Whip
you could throw was a completely
flat or ‘pancaked’ Whip. Passing
the point beyond horizontal and
heading into the negative degrees
had not yet been pushed to the
limit. Freestyle MX had still not
officially become a sport, but
what Crusty Demons and Moto
XXX were doing fuelled the
revolution that was about to catch
on and set ablaze.
The VHS era gave birth to an
outlet for the riders to show
their creativity - the hills. Riders
began experimenting with tricks
influenced by the BMX world. It
wouldn’t take long for someone
to recognize the potential that lay
in this new form of expressing
yourself on a dirt bike. A more
lifestyle driven concept, freestyle
motocross would land on the
footsteps of X Games, and in
1999 FMX would make its debut
at the biggest action sports
contest in the world. For the u
p. Garth Milan / Red Bull Content Pool
Heading into the 90’s, a new
breed of motocross riders would
grace the era. Jeremy McGrath,
Jeff Emig, Ryan Hughes and
Buddy Antunez left the hardgrunt training days with no fun
in the dust. It was now about
showmanship, and winning the
race too. For the first time in
history, riders were showcasing
their talents on the racetrack as
well as off it.