“When I first moved out here I
was 16 years old and I could care
less about the wine. I was into
motorcycles, you know? When I
wasn’t in school, playing football
or diving, I was focused on riding
and building my track. It was a
kid’s dream come true; my dad
gave me a spot on the property
to build my compound.” Said
Jimmy Fitzpatrick.
And that is exactly what Fitz did.
Throughout the last fifteen years
or so, whilst progressing through
the ranks of freestyle motocross
myself, I had the pleasure of
growing as a rider, as Fitzland
grew as a compound. I saw riders
come and go, new jumps get
created and more than a few epic
sessions go down. From all my
years of riding, and hanging out
at Fitzland, I would say there are
two memories that stand out the
most for me.
The first that comes to mind
is when I had the chance to
produce an event there titled
‘Park FMX’. This particular event
was a mixture of FMX, MX,
and BMX. We took all the FMX
jumps, then connected them like
a motocross track and topped it
off with a BMX racing element,
where riders put one lap together.
Some of the top riders were
Jeremy Stenberg (who received
a Guinness World Record for the
“I was working in a ditch and I
got a phone call to ride a show.
I said yes I could do it, got out
of that ditch and told my boss I
was quitting and never coming
back.” u
“
It was a
kid’s dream
come true:
my dad
gave me
a spot
on the
property
to build
my
compound
”
p. Metal Mulisha / Shane Ruiz
From the moment the
Fitzpatrick’s first took residence
at the property, young Jimmy
already had a vision of building
one of the sickest FMX spots in
California.
The second seminal moment at
Fitzland for me was when Jeremy
Lusk (R.I.P.) broke onto the scene
and made the commitment to
ride FMX full time, leaving his job
as a construction worker. One
time, looking back on the exact
moment he decided to commit to
FMX, Lusk said:
p. Metal Mulisha / Shane Ruiz
In stark contrast to the FMX
compound, the property is
also the headquarters for the
family wine business ‘Greystone
Vineyards’. This is a business
Jimmy and his brother Brent now
hope to grow over the years to
include wedding ceremonies and
company parties.
longest flip at the time of 164
feet), Todd Potter, and of course
Fitzpatrick himself. The event was
broadcast as a half hour episode,
which aired on Fuel TV. The top
three contestants were awarded
beautifully hand-sculptured
swords - it was awesome.
£ Josh Grant throws an
insane whip off the huge
‘step on’ ramp jump
p. One Industries
high-consequence tricks and
where losers of drunken bets go
to live out their fate.
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