Travis Pastrana: A One Man Circus
Dec 06 2006 / Los Angeles, CAFrom bike to rally car racing, Lat34 gets an insider’s view after hanging out in Travis Pastrana’s Backyard
Suburban Maryland — Not exactly a motocross Mecca. But just outside of Annapolis lies the elaborate compound of FMX and MX racing legend Travis Pastrana. When I say compound, I really mean a vast, adrenaline junky, fun center of sorts, complete with a pool, FMX foam pits, a full on motocross course, a huge shop, and toys everywhere… oh yeah, and a home-made waterslide carved into a hill. Pastrana’s “Nitro Circus” video series has become widely known in the action sports world for insane antics and stunts, and his compound is exactly that… a circus.
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At 23, Pastrana is still relatively young in the grand scheme of things (apparently 60 is the new 40), but in those years he’s put his body through the ringer. Knee injuries, wrist injuries, a broken back, and a string of concussions (that almost ended his career prematurely) have not been enough to stop Pastrana. He conquers one sport, and moves onto the next.
After winning every freestyle title known to man many times over, along with several 125cc Supercross titles, Pastrana is still unstoppable. You’ve no doubt heard about, or even may have seen Pastrana’s double backflip from X Games 12. What you might not know is that Pastrana had already landed the trick once, for his “Nitro Circus 3” video just a few months earlier. That didn’t make the trick any easier, or his family and friends any less nervous. Nevertheless, he conquered the trick in front of millions. The intensity and roaring applause from fans and friends inside the staples center that night is something I’ve never seen inside an arena. Ever. Pastrana isn’t stopping at FMX.
His new passion is Rally cars. Rally racing has been popular in European countries like Britain, France, Germany, and Belgium for years, and has recently begun picking up steam in the US. In 2006 Rally Racing was added to X Games 12, bringing the sport to a new audience of action sports loving Americans. Pastrana won the X Games Rally race by a mere .53 seconds over British Rally legend Colin McRae. More recently, Pastrana recently secured the overall driver’s title of the Rally America National Championship. Clearly, Travis is passionate about everything he does, and Rally appears to be no exception.
Pastrana’s life always revolves around having a good time. Some would call it “thrillseeking.” I would call it non-stop fun. As soon as you step foot past the metal gate surrounding his compound, it’s clear you are in for it… There is little chance you will escape without a suggestion that you “jump this into the foam.” You’ll likely see the cast of the Nitro Circus videos racing around through the mud on 50’s or quads. And if you’re lucky you might see “Street Bike” Tommy lube himself up for a trip down Pastrana’s makeshift waterslide. There is a constant crew of wild ones around Travis, and they are always up for a good time.
This motohead may be a kid at heart, but he was quicker to grow up than the masses. At 15, in the midst of winning numerous freestyle events, and on his way to a Supercross title, Pastrana still found time to graduate high school three years early. Does he ever stop? No.
Pastrana’s house is a shrine to fun. His basement walls are lined with jerseys and medals from his winning runs, as well as the jersey’s of countless big-name action sports stars including BMX star TJ Lavin. The jerseys line Travis’ home gym, which he refers to more accurately as his “recovery center.” And what recovery center is complete without a Red Bull vending machine? Check.
Up the stairs is no ordinary living room. Side-by-side sit two car racing video game chairs, hooked up to plasma TV’s for side by side racing action. The competition never stops.
Back down the hill at Pastrana’s shop and foam pit, there’s a good chance you’ll find other FMX riders in town to take advantage of the facilities. On this day, a group of Canadian FMX riders including former BMX Pro Mike Judge, and Women’s MX Pro Jolene Van Vugt were in town to work on flip tricks into the foam. Jolene was the first woman to land a flip on a full-size dirt bike (last year over a step up), and she was now set on landing the flip over a 60-foot set. A days worth of egging on and tips from Travis and she was ready to try it.
Pastrana will make the fun happen at any cost. Heavy rains had created a thick layer of mud over his entire FMX course out back. But Jolene wanted to flip, and damn it, she was going to flip. Pastrana set out with a Bobcat to plow away the mud, and create enough of a clean run up for the flip to happen. As excited at the rest of us, Pastrana was on course with his video camera, standing in six inches of mud, ready to film the action. The flip was close, but no cigar. Van Vugt went down hard, but Pastrana is clearly used to that sort of thing. He didn’t even flinch. While her friends scrambled to stop the engine of her bike, Travis continued to film the battered Van Vugt. “I hate when people panic and can’t film crashes” said Travis. “You want that footage after the fact.” It wasn’t that Travis didn’t care. He was the first one to give her a hug afterwards. But he knew as a rider, she’d want to see the footage down the road. Perhaps you too will see it in the next Nitro Circus video. Who knows?
Van Vugt was okay, aside from a deep cut on her elbow. Pastrana appeared un-phased as he washed mud off of all the quads and carts we had trekked through the mud to get out to the course. Clearly, it was just another day of fun, Pastrans-style, and clearly Van Vugt will be back again to land the flip.
The ceiling of Pastrana’s warehouse style shop is lined with trophy bikes if you will. Contest winning or momentous bikes from his career, and a limited edition Hoffman Bikes “Evel Knievel” bike hang from the rafters. Recently prepped to be raised to the rafters was his 2006 X Games bike. There are toys, lots of toys. Quads, mini’s, and a BMX section with foam pit, used as a first step towards the big guns. Pastrana’s current bikes, as well as friend’s bikes line the floor. There must be at least twenty.
His huge FMX foam pit is somewhat elaborate. There is a sliding roof system to cover the pit from rain, as well as a crane system to lift bikes and riders from the pit. The foam pit itself is huge, but if you’ve seen the Nitro Circus, clearly it’s not big enough for Street Bike Tommy, Pastrana’s good friend, who managed to entirely overshoot the foam pit on a crotch rocket. The incident obviously had no long term effects on the minds of the locals, as Tommy is still a constant fixture, and all remain open to jumping just about anything into the foam pit. Just another day at the Pastrana’s residence.
Pastrana sums up the insanity best by saying, “I realize pain is nothing to be afraid of. You’re body can only handle so much, and then it just passes out.” Yeah, I guess that’s one way to look at it.
Mat Hoffman once said, “Crashing sucks, Chicks dig scars, Pain is temporary, Glory is forever.” At this point, Travis Pastrana’s glory is indeed forever. He has won countless titles, and now faces a new challenge… to sit a top of the International Rally Racing field. If it were anyone else, we’d shake our heads and say “good luck.” But it’s Travis. All you can really say is, “He’s gonna do it.”
-Jared Souney
Travis Pastrana Videos
