You Can Never Tell Who is Gonna Show Up

This last week saw me in Reno, Nevada with the crew I started the year with.  This included Brian Foster, Graham Gustin, John Distler, Jimmie McGuire, Jesse Jolson, Sean Nielsen, Dustin Nowak, Derek Burlew, Kenny Bell and a special guest rider- X-Games Step Up Gold winner Matt Buyten!  Now add to this that the floor and landings were dirt featuring four ramps to hit!  Reno- you got it good this year!

First off, I have to congratulate Kenny on his first ever Backflip in competition.  That’s right; the fat kid went upside down.  But it was not that easy.  On Friday he did a few in practice and looked okay, but it was easy to tell he was nervous.  On his qualifier run that night, he tried the flip on his third jump.  I was on the take-off side (where I couldn’t see the landing) and knew he was in trouble before his rear wheel left the ramp.  He got a bit excited during his first comp flip, in front of all his friends, in front of his MOM! Pulling too hard sent him into instant over-rotation (if he wanted to try, I’ll bet Kenny could get a double going) and on landing his bike flung him to the dirt whacking his head, breaking his nose and either breaking or bruising bones in his hand.  He jumped up pretty quickly to the relief of the fans who let out a roar.  He sat out the rest of the evening with a bent machine and sore body.  The next morning, his bike repaired by West Racing, he did ten flips in practice.  “I am gonna do it here.  I am gonna do it tonight.  I’ll do it if I die trying” Kenny told me after his practice run.  I was a little nervous but knew that Kenny has good technical skills from years of moto and Arenacross, and that he had dialed the flip.  He flipped once in his qualifier and made it to the final where he flipped twice!! He nailed them all perfectly and the crowd went bananas!  So did Kenny who encored with the Truffle Shuffle (can’t tell you, you gotta see it) and then proceeded to celebrate with the fans by stripping half naked and tossing his gear into the seats. 

Matt Buyten showed everyone both nights why he is a gold medalist.  He Super Flipped, Can Flipped, Heel-Click Flipped and nailed flawless runs to win both trophies.  Having Matt on the show was not only exciting for the fans, but I think it reminded the riders just how much fun their job really is.  Job?  FMX a job?  Think about it.  You travel a few hundred to a few thousand miles which is better IF you fly, and either way you deal with weather, traffic, delays and bad food.  You are doing shows in places where it is cold or hot, rainy or windy and have to deal with that.  Then there are radio promos, meet and greets and other PR things that barely leave time for good celebration after the show.  Now hear me out.  Hardly any of the riders would give this up for anything, but no matter how much you love your job, there are always trying days and having something to motivate you (like Buyten) can make things as fun as they were when new. 

I am still trying to get all your emails answered as my lap(crap)top finally died after six years and I had to buy a new one- but keep sending them in and I will work with them.  Send your questions for me, the riders or crew to   fmxannouncerman@live.com and one of us will get you an answer.  Well- we all get a week off and then it is Tallahassee for me. See you there!