Now riders had a reason to do
tricks and practice their Whips.
It was suddenly a way to make
money - or have a job for that
matter. For the racers who
jumped over that very taboo line crossing over to the dark-side by
leaving the confinements of being
a racer and changing their title
to a freestyle motocross rider - it
was time to take something that
was considered not so serious
and turn it into something that
was. FMX compounds began
to sprout up; riders brought
video cameras to film their
riding sessions. And so began
the rat race to learn every trick
imaginable, ride every contest,
and hit every demo – all while
earning up to six figure salaries in
most cases.
...it’s just
...it’s just
beauty in
beauty in
motion!
motion!
One thing that both racers and
freestyle riders across the board
could share though was the Whip.
It didn’t matter what you did - the
most desired thing, past winning a
medal or a race, was the ability to
throw a Whip. Being able to do so
gave you a certain kind of street
cred amongst your riding peers
that every rider desired. As tricks
became repetitious and played
out, the Whip always remained
cool.
When X Games added the Best
Whip category in 2006, the
practicing of the Whip became
even more serious. Now it was
not only important to have a Whip
in your FMX run or as you crossed
the finish line first, it was a matter
of a giant pay check, a medal
66 | FreestyleXtreme.com
£ Ronnie Renner rides on
the sand dunes at the Red
Bull Road To X-Fighters
tour in Ocotillo Wells, CA,
USA 2012
p. Garth Milan / Red Bull Content Pool
“It was a time when we were free
to be characters, and be who we
wanted to be whilst entertaining
the fans and viewers.” said an OG
FMX rider who wanted to remain
anonymous. “We made up our
own rules and it worked. It spread
like wildfire - FMX was a hit, and
Whipping it was at the core.”
p. Garth Milan / Red Bull Content Pool
first time in history, riders shunned
by the corporate manifesto of
the racing industry had a home one where they could do as they
pleased, and they did just that.
They were now officially freestyle
motocross riders at X Games.