Greg Weatherall © Lat34
Jeremy Lusk: The Man. The Visionary. The Ass-Kicker.
Oct 14 2006 / Orlando, FL Jeremy Lusk Waxes Prophetic About The Future Of FMX
Jeremy Lusk is one of the hottest FMX riders on the scene today. He’s had a stellar year at the Dew Action Sports Tour and has placed in the top 5 at most contests. Now he’s sitting in 4th place in the overall points standings for the Dew Cup. He came to Orlando for the last leg of the Dew Tour with his sights set on a podium finish in Sunday’s Finals. We talked to Jeremy after practice Saturday afternoon to find out his thoughts about whether the sport of FMX has reached its pinnacle or if it’s just getting started.
Lat34: You seem to have really stepped it up this year with some new tricks. What do you think your biggest achievements are this year?
JL: I think my biggest achievement this year is learning to flip before the Dew Tour in Kentucky. And since then I’ve pretty much learned all the back flip tricks except lazy boy, superman and can can flip. And I’ve had a good season. In Portland I got 4th place. In San Jose I got 3rd. And then I got 4th at LG [at the World Championships in Pomona].
Lat34: What is the biggest trick in FMX right now from the riders’ perspective? Is it the same for the judges?
JL: The biggest trick pulled off is obviously the double back flip. But, in the judges’ eyes it’s not about how gnarly the trick is, but now it’s coming down to finding the gnarliest jump on the course and doing it off that. The judges are looking for riders to find the biggest dirt and flip that.
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Lat34: Has the difficulty of tricks reached a pinnacle or can it be pushed even further?
JL: I think the spin and flip stuff is at its pinnacle. I mean, anyone get a foam pit and do some stupid barrel roll thing. But, the main thing is style and consistency. And I think 360’s will probably start again. Other than that I think more and more we’ll see right side up tricks done up side down.
Lat34: So, where does FMX go from here? What do you guys have in store for the future of the sport?
JL: The future of FMX? They’ll probably start making the courses bigger, like putting the 125’ ramp now at X Games. And they’ll start putting bigger dirt hits in courses. I mean, they don’t want to see us kill ourselves, but the crowds want to see the big jumps.
Lat34: Well that brings up a good point. You guys risk more than broken bones at these events, you’re risking your lives. Where do you draw the line when gauging if this is all worth it?
JL: Usually I draw the line with weather conditions. If it’s too windy and [event promoters] are pushing us to ride, I think that’s irresponsible on their part. For one, they don’t ride. They’re promoters. They’re just looking at it as if these guys don’t ride I don’t make my money. That’s where I draw the line. Or if the course is super ridiculous. We won’t ride until it gets fixed.
Lat34: How are you liking the course here in Orlando?
JL: This course flows really good, but it’s not too easy. But, since it flows so good it actually makes it easier.
Lat34: How is the dirt? I know they had to mix concrete into the BMX Dirt course because the soil is so sandy here in Florida.
JL: The dirt is alright. It is sandy so the edges crumble away. It’s so sandy that the lips crumble away half way through the contest, which sucks for the last riders to go out.
Lat34: What are your plans for finishing out the season and then after the season ends?
JL: I’ll be going to LG in Texas. And then after the season ends I’ll probably take a couple of weeks off. I bought a foam pit recently, so I’m going to try to get that set up. And then I’m just going to practice shit that no one else is doing, or has done before.
Lat34: What about next year? What are your plans?
JL: I’ll be at the Dew Tour again. And then maybe X Games. But, I’m not totally sure about that. Nobody knows what they’re doing until the very last minute… except for Nate or Travis.
Lat34: Speaking of Travis, having him focus on Rally has got to help riders like you who are on the edge of podium finishes.
JL: Yeah, Travis is a one-of-a-kind person. In a way it’s better. He’s the reason why Nate is where he is. Because Nate was always trying to keep up with Travis, pushing him to do more and more stuff. And now that no one’s there to push Nate at his level, he’ll probably just chill for a while and let us catch up.
