BRODY WILSON
the show until we’re all out at the
same time, all in sync with the
music and pyro effects.
Some of the arenas were well
attended, but others weren’t
good at all. Cities that we’d never
been to such as Denver and
Indianapolis were packed this
year, but then there were others
that were a bit disappointing
as far as crowd turnout goes.
Everyone that came was pumped
on the show though.
This year you were promoted to
lead rider for the tour. Did that
add a bit more pressure on you?
For sure. Twitch and Mike Mason
were supposed to be the leaders,
but Twitch crashed and was
going to miss the first month of
the tour. I was riding well and the
organisers thought I’d be the best
fit for the role. The lead rider has
to do around twenty-five extra
jumps, which is a lot of additional
tricks. I had two quick days of
rehearsals to learn the whole
scene, then it was just a matter
of memorising everything and not
messing up during the show.
What are the plans for next
year’s Nuclear Cowboyz tour?
So after NOTJ you got signed
for the Nuclear Cowboyz tour
in the US. Tell us a bit about the
tour and what it’s like.
Yeah I first joined the Nuclear
Cowboyz in 2011 and it’s been
great. The show has ten riders,
two quads and two trials guys.
It tells a story of different riders
battling against each other,
jumping side-by-side, doing
karate moves and loads of other
crazy stuff. It builds up throughout
We’ve actually just been told
the tour isn’t running next year. I
was talking to one of the guys on
social media and they were sitting
down to discuss whether they
continue with Nuclear Cowboyz
or if they introduce a whole new
show. There are no timelines for
this or any certainty it will even
happen, which is a real bummer
for us riders. It keeps us busy
for four months of the year and
there’s nothing else to really work
towards during the winter.
I guess it’s pretty lucky that
you’ve also managed to find a
place in the Nitro Circus Live
tours then. How did you get the
call-up over tonnes of other US
riders?
Steve Mini is a good buddy of
mine and he’d put my name
forward to them and said I’d be a
good fit with the crew. Last year
they did a show in Macau, China
that wasn’t a full cast. I received
an email from them saying Steve
had recommended me and they
wanted to bring me over as a test
for the full show, to make sure
I could ride tight in trains, and
that sort of thing. They liked my
upright and let-go tricks, so they
invited me to the European tour.
From there I rode the Australian
Capital City tour, which was
awesome.
After riding both Nitro Circus
and Nuclear Cowboyz, which
show do you like better and
why?
I like riding Nitro, mainly because
I only have to do seventeen jumps
there compared to sixty five with
Nuclear Cowboyz! Workwise it’s
a lot easier, and there’s often
something happening on the
fly that the BMXers have been
working on and will suddenly just
pull during the show. It keeps the
excitement level high, that’s for
sure.
Financially Nuclear Cowboyz paid
better, but with the sheer amount
of shows in a short time that Nitro
has, it actually works out to be
fairly even.
Will you be riding any more
tours for Nitro?
I hope so. Next year is a big
touring year and they seem to
be a fan of my riding. With such
a heavy workload next year
they said they’d be in touch.
Everything sounds promising and
I’d love to do the US and New
Zealand tours. NZ is high on my
list of places to visit for sure!!
This year you also got invited
to the Munich round of the Red
Bull X-Fighters, which was your
first international RBXF wasn’t
it?
Yeah that’s right. I rode Glen
Helen last year but it got
cancelled because of the wind
after qualifying. Munich was really
last minute - Tes Sewell texted
me on the Wednesday with an
invitation, and I flew out on the
Monday. u
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