Words: Simon Makker
Pictures: Simon Makker
T
HE SMALL, PEACEFUL,
apple-farming community
of Donnybrook - two
hours south of Perth,
Western Australia - is
about as far away as
you can get from the
bright lights, hype, glitz and
pressure of the Red Bull X-Fighters
Championship.
But this picturesque location,
complete with green rolling hills,
red dirt and road-side fruit stalls
is home to the 2014 X-Fighters
champion, Josh Sheehan.
“It’s a pretty magic spot, alright,”
Josh reflects from the lounge-room
window as the sun sets on a warm
spring day. “I don’t get to spend as
much time here as I’d like, so this
year I’ve decided to put aside a
good couple of months to just hang
out at home, enjoy the Australian
summer, catch up with mates and
do the things I enjoy about being
home.”
Josh’s parents own and run a fully
operational apple orchard on a
200-acre farm, although about a
third of the land on the opposite
side of the road is covered in arid
gum bush and scrub. This allows
Josh and his older brother Chris to
build a full-blown sand motocross
track through the trees, complete
with an irrigation system, heavy
jumps and a sand quarry for
freeriding.
Meanwhile, Josh’s FMX compound
and supercross track are built
next to a stream that divides the
orchards, offering rich, red clay
from which he’s sculpted his jumps.
If you’re now imagining some sort
of riding nirvana, free from the
prying eyes of the fun police and
red-tape bureaucrats, you’re on
the money. You can’t blame Josh
for making a conscious decision
to spend more time here this year,
and it’s a wonder he can ever bring
himself to leave the land his family
has owned since before he was
born.
The second youngest of five
kids, Josh grew up with friends
who loved anything with wheels,
watching early FMX movies and u