FreestyleXtreme Magazine Issue 7 | Page 72

Colin ‘Scummy’ Morrison is known as one of the most
badass FMX riders of all time. Around the 2000 - 2002 era,
the Metal Mulisha rider was officially at the top of the game;
competing in major contests, starring in videos, jumping some
of the gnarliest hits out there and inspiring a generation of
young rippers. As Scummy slowly dropped off the scene, there
was a lot of speculation as to what was really going on with
the OG rider from SoCal, although the rumours pointed pretty
heavily towards a serious drug addiction. In this exclusive
interview for FreestyleXtreme, Colin tells fellow rider Doug
Parsons the full story of his journey to hell and back – and it’s
anything but sugar-coated

Capturing his heart and igniting a
passion for motocross, his days were
soon spent dreaming of making it to
the top and living the life of the guys
he looked up to in the Moto XXX and
Crusty Demons of Dirt videos.
As an innocent youth, Colin was
captivated by the allure of the rockstar
lifestyle of sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll.
This very world revved out the engine
pipes of Morrison’s CR 250 two-stroke,
fuelling his uncontrollable appetite for
self-destruction whilst he travelled
the world, getting paid to put on FMX
shows. At this time, Scummy was
one of the smoothest, most confident
riders on the block.
Morrison’s life plays out like an open
book as painkillers, heroin, Dust-Off
hits, car crashes, going broke, a
friend’s overdose, a suicide attempt
and three DUI’s became his reality.
Now living the life of sobriety, he
reflects back on his life, thankful to
be alive.

“Well I got into riding after my dad took
me to an off-road truck race at Angel
Stadium. It was cool because up until
that point I was only into baseball.
I hadn’t really found my niche yet,”
Morrison says. “At the truck race,
they had a dirt bike race at halftime,
where they closed off parts of the truck
track. It was just a real small, basic
track, but when I saw that, my whole
life changed. The next day that’s all I
thought about – dirt bikes! At that point
it was game on; all I did was eat, sleep,
and breathe motocross.”
After climbing his way up through the
ranks, solidifying himself as one of
the OG’s, Morrison was riding high,
and well on his way to making his
dreams come true. Riding shows
every weekend and doing all the
major contests, Colin was making a
name for himself in the world of FMX.
Down the road that would carry some
momentum for him, buy his career
some extra time and ultimately save
him.
“Back then freestyle motocross was
so hot. Everyone wanted to be a part
of it because no one really knew what
it was yet. It was still evolving and with
all the music videos, commercials,
photo shoots with FHM and other
fashion magazines, video games and
the TV shows we did at Deegan’s
house, everyone wanted to be a part u

© COLIN MORRISON

O

NE EVENTFUL NIGHT IN 1995
during the halftime motocross
exhibition show at a Mickey
Thompson off-road truck race,
Colin Morrison’s life as he
knew it would change forever.
He was only 11 years old, but
for the first time Colin saw what he
was meant to do with the rest of his life
- ride dirt bikes.