The X Games are a series of action sports events founded by ESPN Inc. which air on the ESPN family of networks including ABC. The events are mainly held in the United States, with disciplines such as skateboarding, BMX, motocross, skiing and snowboarding. Participants compete to win bronze, silver, and gold medals, as well as prize money. Concurrent with competition is the "X Fest" sports and music festival, which offers live music, athlete autograph sessions, and interactive elements.
Mat Hoffman is an American BMX rider who is considered one of the best vert ramp riders in the history of the sport. He is nicknamed "The Condor" and runs the BMX Freestyle brand Hoffman BMX Bikes based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He was a sponsored rider for Skyway and then Haro Bikes before starting his own brand.
David Michael Mirra was an American BMX rider who also competed in rallycross racing. He set the record for most medals in BMX Freestyle at the X Games and earned at least one BMX medal at the event in all but one year from the competition's inception in 1995 until 2009. He also competed for several years with the Subaru Rally Team USA as a rallycross driver. Mirra rode for and was fully sponsored by Haro Bikes from the mid-1990s until he started his own bike company. He was a member of the team which won the 2014 Race Across America four-person male category. Mirra died by suicide on February 4, 2016. He was inducted into the BMX Hall of Fame on June 11, 2016.
Bob Haro is an American former professional freestyle BMX rider turned artist and business executive. He is the founder of Haro Bikes and was one of the most important early innovators of BMX freestyle.
Freestyle BMX is bicycle motocross stunt riding on BMX bikes. It is an extreme sport descended from BMX racing that consists of five disciplines: street, park, vert, trails, and flatland. In June 2017, the International Olympic Committee announced that freestyle park was to be added as an Olympic event to the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Ryan Nyquist is an American professional BMX rider with 16 X-Games medals, 39 X-Games competition starts and 60 Dew Tour finals appearances. Nyquist is considered one of the greatest and diversely skilled BMX riders ever. Nyquist has won numerous gold medals in the X Games Dirt Jumping & Bike Park events. Recently Nyquist has had an interest in freeride mountain biking and has been training in mountain biking as well as BMX. He currently rides for Haro Bikes, Vans Shoes, Rockstar Energy Drink, and The Jiffy Market of Los Gatos.
Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2 is a BMX video game endorsed by Mat Hoffman and published by Activision under the Activision O2 label. The game, which serves as a sequel to Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX, was released on August 13, 2002 for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. A Game Boy Advance port was developed by HotGen and released the same day as the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions. A GameCube port was developed by Gratuitous Games and was released on October 8, 2002.
The 900 is a 2½-revolution aerial spin performed on a skateboard ramp. While airborne, the skateboarder makes two-and-a-half turns about their longitudinal axis, thereby facing down when coming down. It is considered one of skateboarding's most technically demanding tricks.
Freestyle motocross is a variation on the sport of motocross in which motorcycle riders attempt to impress judges with jumps and stunts.
Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX is a BMX video game endorsed by Mat Hoffman and the first game to be published by Activision under the Activision O2 label. It is similar to the Tony Hawk's series and competed directly with Acclaim Entertainment's Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX. Despite a planned release in fall of 2000, the game was released in May 2001 for the PlayStation and Game Boy Color, followed by Dreamcast, Microsoft Windows and Game Boy Advance.
Taj Mihelich is a World Champion American Freestyle BMX rider. He is widely considered one of the most influential BMX riders of the golden era of BMX.
China Krys Darrington is the first sponsored female Freestyle BMX rider. In 1986, she rode for GT Bicycles in Huntington Beach, California. She started riding in 1983 after finding a BMX Plus! magazine in the locker of another junior high school student at Old Trail School.
X Games XIII (13) took place from August 2–5, 2007 in Los Angeles, California at the Staples Center and the Home Depot Center. It was broadcast on the ESPN networks, EXPN.com and ABC.
Nitro Circus is an "action sport collective" led by Travis Pastrana, featuring his friends and him traveling around the world riding dirtbikes, BASE jumping, and performing stunts. Co-founded in 2003 by Pastrana, Nitro Circus has become a media company that produces television programming, documentaries and the Nitro Circus Live tour. In 2016, the company introduced the Nitro World Games, an action sports competition designed around pushing progression in core action sports disciplines like FMX, BMX, skate and scooter.
Edward Lynn "Eddie" Fiola is an American former professional freestyle BMX rider, and a film stuntman.
Adam Banton is an American freestyle BMX rider and MTB rider, professional musician and part owner of The Biker and Baker granola. He's known to have resided in Phoenix, Arizona. His riding style is regarded as progressive and creative while not limited to any specific genre of Freestyle BMX. He began riding in 1987 after being influenced by a Dennis McCoy demo clip on his local news station.
Dennis Enarson is a professional BMX rider who has won 10 X Games medals and Dew Tour Dirt Jumping & Park events. He is known as one of the best riders in freestyle for his cannonball barspins and ability to adapt to any street, park or dirt course. He is currently residing in San Diego, California and trains with Coach John Welch at NAKOA Fitness.
Robert Lewis Osborn is a BMX rider. His father Bob Osborn started BMX Action magazine. He, along with Mike Buff and Bob Haro are considered the forefathers of BMX freestyle, a style of BMX bike riding that involves flatland and ramp tricks.
Tim Knoll is a freestyle BMX rider based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Known for his unique style that combines flatland and street tricks with acrobatic maneuvers, Knoll uses different aspects of the urban environment as apparatuses to perform his tricks. He gained international recognition from a few online videos that have each amassed millions of views. After his Original Bike Tricks video went viral, several of his video clips have been featured on television shows throughout the world, most notably The Tonight Show. He performed on Star King (SBS) and set a Guinness World Record on Guinness China Night (CCTV-1). Knoll has been featured in online video ads for Ford, Genesis, Red Bull, GoPro, Contiki Tours, as well as a mobile-only campaign for Doritos Jacked 3D. An article on Red Bull's website describes him as one of the most creative riders in the world. He gave a TEDx Talk about using creativity to gain notoriety.
Kevin Robinson nicknamed K-Rob was a professional freestyle BMX rider. Widely recognized as one of the best riders of all time, Robinson was integral in creating Megaramp disciplines for BMX. Aside from this, Robinson was most notable for two stunts in his career: He was the first to successfully land a Double Flair in competition at the 2006 X Games and, in 2016, set the Guinness World record for the highest air on a BMX bike in his home town of East Providence, Rhode Island. Robinson was a longtime receiver of sponsorship from Hoffman Bikes, Red Bull, and Target. Robinson died of a stroke, ten days shy of his 46th birthday, on December 9, 2017.
