A mega ramp, or megaramp, is a large vert ramp structure, often used in skateboarding and freestyle BMX. First built in the 1990s and 2000s, megaramps are twice or more the size of earlier vert ramps.
MegaRamp (styled with title caps and without a space) is the name of a mega ramp event organization and promotion company.
Contemporary structures are generally constructed of metal scaffold with a wood surface topped with Skatelite, and consist of two or three sections. The most common ramp setup, used as well by MegaRamp, is a sequence of three mega ramp sections; a roll-in, a gap jump, and a vert quarter pipe. Vert half-pipe mega ramps have been built, but they are uncommon.
The roll-in section consists of a single or multiple roll-ins that drop from 12m (40') or higher up. The roll-in allows athletes to gain the speed needed to tackle the other sections of the ramp.
The second section can be a quarter pipe, but is more often a gap jump with a distance of 7.5m (25') to 21m (70') between the launch section and the landing section, which is sloped forward to decrease the impact.
The third section is almost invariably a quarter pipe. The quarter pipes can be 5.4m (18') or greater in height and serve as either a speed brake, or as another launch point from which the athlete sails directly vertical into the air off the top lip of the ramp, before falling back down and re-landing on the quarter pipe.
Other additions and modifications have been tried on mega ramps, such as the tall flatbox with a rainbow rail that was added to the Point X mega ramp.
The total length of these structures varies from about 60m (200') to 108m (360').
The first giant ramp structure was conceived and built by BMX freestyler Mathew "Mat" Hoffman in his Oklahoma home backyard between 1991 and 1992. It was a single 6.3m (21') tall vert quarter pipe ramp. Lacking a roll-in ramp, Hoffman would be towed in at speed by a motorcycle. In 1992, Hoffman set the Freestyle BMX air record at about 7.05m (23.5'). Hoffman later built a full vert half-pipe ramp with similar dimensions, including a 12m high roll-in ramp, from the roof of his warehouse. [1]
Danny Way thought up the now-common "MegaRamp" setup: roll-in ramp, gap jump, and the final quarter pipe ramp. This setup was first seen at Point X Camp in the OP King Of Skate pay-per-view special in 2002. It was dubbed the MegaRamp in the 2003 DC Shoes video release "The DC Video", where Way set two world records in a single run: longest jump (75 ft) and highest air (23.5 ft).
In 2005, Way used a megaramp, the largest ramp structure ever built, to jump the Great Wall of China and became the first person to jump the wall without the help of a motor vehicle and land successfully. [2] After one practice attempt, he landed the jump across the gap over the Wall four times in front of a crowd of Chinese dignitaries and officials, along with his family, friends, and thousands of locals. [3] [4]
In 2012, Tom Schaar used a mega ramp to land the first 1080, breaking Tony Hawk’s record 900 (landed on a vert ramp) set in 1999.
In August 2019, Mitchie Brusco used a mega ramp to land the first 1260, breaking Schaar’s record.
Professional skateboarder Bob Burnquist has a 60-foot tall megaramp. [5] [6]
The MegaRamp has been employed in the X Games' "Big Air" event since 2004 for skateboard and 2006 for BMX. In 2007, Jake Brown fell 45 feet to the bottom of the ramp. [7]
Robert Dean Silva Burnquist is a Brazilian-American professional skateboarder who competed for Brazil throughout his career. In 2010, he became the first skateboarder to land a "fakie 900", making Burnquist the fifth person in history to successfully complete the 900 trick.
The X Games are a series of action sports events founded by ESPN Inc.. In late 2022, ESPN sold the long-running property to MSP Sports Capital, a private equity firm co-founded by Jahm Najafi and Jeff Moorad. As of early 2024, MSP Sports Capital has overseen four major X Games events as well as other related activations.
A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, scootering, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairsets, quarter pipes, ledges, spine transfers, pyramids, banked ramps, full pipes, pools, bowls, snake runs, and any number of other objects.
A half-pipe is a structure used in gravity extreme sports such as snowboarding, skateboarding, skiing, freestyle BMX, skating, and scooter riding.
A vert ramp is a form of half-pipe used in extreme sports such as vert skating, vert skateboarding and vert BMX.
Vert is a term used in extreme sports especially vert skating, vert skateboarding, snowboarding and BMX to denote a competition held on a vert ramp which allows the competitors to fly into the air and land back on the ramp. This time in the air allows the competitor to perform moves which would otherwise be extremely difficult. An example of this would be a flip, or a spin.
Danny Way is an American professional skateboarder and business person. He has been awarded Thrasher magazine's "Skater of the Year" award twice. He is known for extreme stunts, such as jumping into a skateboard ramp from a helicopter; that was featured on the cover of Transworld Skateboarding magazine. One of his more notable stunts was jumping the Great Wall of China on a skateboard via megaramp.
Mat Hoffman is an American BMX rider who was considered one of the best vert ramp riders in the history of the sport. He was nicknamed "The Condor" and ran 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.
Dropping in is a skateboarding trick with which a skateboarder starts skating a half-pipe by dropping into it from the coping instead of starting from the bottom and pumping gradually for more speed. When a skateboarder drops in, they use their gravitational potential energy to gain initial velocity, allowing the skater to skate longer before exhausting themselves and thus to take more runs.
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.
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.
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.
X Games XVI was an action sporting event which took place from July 29 – August 1, 2010 in Los Angeles, California at the Staples Center, L.A. Live and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The games featured the sports of Motocross, skateboarding, BMX, and rallying.
The 1080 is a skateboarding trick that can be performed on a vertical skateboard ramp or on a mega ramp, in which the skateboarder makes three full revolutions while airborne. It was first completed successfully on a mega ramp in 2012 by American skateboarder Tom Schaar, and on a vert ramp in May 2020 by Brazilian skateboarder Gui Khury. The 1080 has only ever been landed after a fakie ollie, meaning the rider is in the normal stance, but rolling in the opposite direction, popping off of the tail.
Tom Schaar is an American professional skateboarder. He was the first skateboarder to land a "1080," which is three revolutions, and was the youngest X Games gold medalist after completing the first 1080 in a competition at the 2012 Asia X Games in Shanghai; Forbes Magazine listed Schaar to their 2020 30 Under 30 Sports category highlighting the next generation of Sports talent.
Jagger Jesse Eaton is an American professional skateboarder who currently competes in street and park competitions. He was the youngest ever X Games competitor at age 11, until his record was broken in 2019. In 2021, Eaton won the first Olympic skateboarding medal, earning a bronze in the men's street competition in Tokyo, Japan.
X Games Austin 2015 was an action sporting event that took place June 4–7, 2015, at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
Guilherme 'Gui' Khury is a Brazilian skateboarder. He is the first person to land a 1080 on a vertical ramp and the youngest person to win a gold medal at the X-Games.