#throwback:
Brian Deegan’s X Games 360
Ice Slam!
For this issue
we’re going back
to 2004, when X
Games held FMX
comps in the snow!
B
ACK IN THE WINTER of 2004,
in the snow-covered mountains
of Aspen, Colorado, the Winter
X Games were going down, and
Metal Mulisha frontman Brian Deegan
was going for gold.
It’s hard to imagine X Games even
contemplating incorporating FMX into the
winter games, considering the struggles
they have had in recent years with
Freestyle Motocross. The on-snow FMX
set-up consisted of a 45ft superkicker, a
75ft kicker and a big 90ft snow double.
There was a lot of controversy
surrounding the set-up of the jumps
in Aspen, and many riders felt that the
jumps were simply not built right. The
mountain conditions had more of an
impact than most predicted, and issues
like speed and grip had become major
concerns for the riders.
p. Dom Cooley / Shazamm / ESPN
At this point in time Deegan was on a
high, having just learned the 360. He
had claimed the trick and dubbed it the
‘Mulisha Twist’. The 360 was still to be
landed in FMX competition.
With ‘The General’ knowing exactly
which trick he was going to throw that
day, the question remained: which ramp
would he use?
According to Deegan, who learned the
trick off a 45ft superkicker (jumped in
1st gear), the 45ft set-up in Aspen was
simply not up to scratch, and next to
impossible to clear in 1st gear. The
75ft ramp gap (the distance Deegan
had been practicing the trick on prior
to Aspen) was apparently so bad and
overly jacked-up that no riders hit it all
weekend. That only left the big 90ft snow
(ice) double!
After hitting the 90ft ice gap, third gear
pinned on his CR250, Deegan’s rotation
stopped halfway through and he was
forced to hit the eject button, whilst
upside down and nearly 45 feet above
the ice. Upon impact, Brian suffered
a broken left femur and two broken
arms. At the time this was considered
one of the worst FMX crashes anyone
(especially mainstream ESPN viewers)
had seen. Although Deegan didn’t land
the trick this time, it would turn out to
be one of the most viewed jumps of his
career.
146 | FreestyleXtreme.com
Halfway through
the jump - upside
down and 45 feet
in the air - Deegan
was forced to hit
the eject button...
Following the crash Deegan was not
afraid to voice his opinion on the
set-up and the way the event had
been run that day. Going on record,
Deegan pointed out that the riders
had not been allowed sufficient
practice or ‘pre-runs’, as this would
have slowed down the flow of the
proceedings and possibly had a
negative effect on the TV ratings.
Brian was angry that X Games hadn’t
listened to the riders when they said
the jumps weren’t right. From his
hospital bed he accused the promoters
of not giving a s**t about the safety of
the riders and only caring about their
ratings.
With no warm-up jumps, sketchy
conditions to say the least and a
new trick never before landed in
competition, let alone on snow,
Deegan still went for the 360. In a
situation where most professional FMX
riders would have weighed up the
options and said ‘no – the risks are too
high’, Brian Deegan was prepared to
take those kinds of risks.
‘The General’ would come back to X
Games the following summer in LA and
land the 360 to dirt. Respect! T