Saw a cool TV program last night...

[Sidewinder]

Due to the vagaries of motel TV, I could not get Sunday Night Football last night, but that's okay, because I found a cool program on extreme sports... two programs back-to-back, actually, the first on Tony Hawk repeatedly attempting and finally pulling off the 900, the second a 30-year anniversary special on the X Games which featured top riders over the years. I'm sure both these programs can be found on the web...

Anyway, one of the BMX riders featured in the program was Dave Mirra, who absolutely ripped back in the day... sadly, I did not even know that he had died, I was too busy dealing with life, I guess. But Mirra, Ryan Nyquist, Scotty Cranmer (and others whose names I'm not recalling right this instant), these were and still are big-time BMX heroes of mine! Badass riders who pulled amazingly-difficult technical stunts or maneuvers!

There was some other kid---to an old geezer like me, anybody under 50 is a "kid"---featured in the program who pulled a really cool and highly-difficult technical trick in an X Games contest: he hit one wall, jumped off it and pulled a tailwhip before sticking his tires to a nearby vertical wall, then he rebounded off the second wall and landed down below in the park! An AWESOME maneuver, and smooth too! The kid had good riding style, lol...

The X Games program also featured Colby Raha winning the big air contest (or whatever the f#% they called it) off the quarter-pipe, soaring over 50' into the air before landing on a curved dirt ramp or berm below... THAT was f#%ng radical, lol. I like Colby Raha, he's one of the best freestyle MX riders I've ever seen, and that's saying something, since I'm a big fan of the 'Crusty Demons of Dirt' (with Seth and the Metal Mulisha), and 'Nitro Circus' (with Travis Pastrana).

Ya know, I've been riding for over half a century, and I gotta admit, if anybody had told me back in the '70s that skateboarding, BMX & MX would get as BIG as they are now, I would've thought the guy was high on crack, lol. WTF, crack wasn't even invented yet, but the progression in each sport has been truly amazing, with kids (and young adults) now pulling such technically-difficult tricks! Full-on circus action, lol... and not so easy for the average schmuck to do, lol. These riders are GOOD!!!

Okay, that's all I have to say, but if you can find those programs on the web, check 'em out, they are definitely worth watching, lol. For my part, I've compiled a thread for extreme sports fans, you can find it in the link below... there's actually an initial link within the link, since I got banned from one site, but if you follow it all the way back, you'll see some cool videos. That's an ongoing project too, I occasionally add a video or two to the list, usually in the form of a link. Here's the thread!

Extreme Sports Thread

If you go back far enough in this thread (to the original thread at another site), you'll see cool videos of Dan Osman, Dean Potter, Jeb Corliss, and other pioneers... dead now, but when they lived, they lived on the cutting edge! There are plenty of skating, BMX & MX videos in there too, along with compilation videos. I tried to keep each video relatively short when I made the choices, but even still, you won't get through the thread(s) in Guinness World Record time, lol. Cheers!

[Sunqin]

(10-13-2025, 08:50 AM)Sidewinder Wrote:  Due to the vagaries of motel TV, I could not get Sunday Night Football last night, but that's okay, because I found a cool program on extreme sports... two programs back-to-back, actually, the first on Tony Hawk repeatedly attempting and finally pulling off the 900, the second a 30-year anniversary special on the X Games which featured top riders over the years. I'm sure both these programs can be found on the web...

Anyway, one of the BMX riders featured in the program was Dave Mirra, who absolutely ripped back in the day... sadly, I did not even know that he had died, I was too busy dealing with life, I guess. But Mirra, Ryan Nyquist, Scotty Cranmer (and others whose names I'm not recalling right this instant), these were and still are big-time BMX heroes of mine! Badass riders who pulled amazingly-difficult technical stunts or maneuvers!

There was some other kid---to an old geezer like me, anybody under 50 is a "kid"---featured in the program who pulled a really cool and highly-difficult technical trick in an X Games contest: he hit one wall, jumped off it and pulled a tailwhip before sticking his tires to a nearby vertical wall, then he rebounded off the second wall and landed down below in the park! An AWESOME maneuver, and smooth too! The kid had good riding style, lol...

The X Games program also featured Colby Raha winning the big air contest (or whatever the f#% they called it) off the quarter-pipe, soaring over 50' into the air before landing on a curved dirt ramp or berm below... THAT was f#%ng radical, lol. I like Colby Raha, he's one of the best freestyle MX riders I've ever seen, and that's saying something, since I'm a big fan of the 'Crusty Demons of Dirt' (with Seth and the Metal Mulisha), and 'Nitro Circus' (with Travis Pastrana).

Ya know, I've been riding for over half a century, and I gotta admit, if anybody had told me back in the '70s that skateboarding, BMX & MX would get as BIG as they are now, I would've thought the guy was high on crack, lol. WTF, crack wasn't even invented yet, but the progression in each sport has been truly amazing, with kids (and young adults) now pulling such technically-difficult tricks! Full-on circus action, lol... and not so easy for the average schmuck to do, lol. These riders are GOOD!!!

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Okay, that's all I have to say, but if you can find those programs on the web, check 'em out, they are definitely worth watching, lol. For my part, I've compiled a thread for extreme sports fans, you can find it in the link below... there's actually an initial link within the link, since I got banned from one site, but if you follow it all the way back, you'll see some cool videos. That's an ongoing project too, I occasionally add a video or two to the list, usually in the form of a link. Here's the thread!

Extreme Sports Thread

If you go back far enough in this thread (to the original thread at another site), you'll see cool videos of Dan Osman, Dean Potter, Jeb Corliss, and other pioneers... dead now, but when they lived, they lived on the cutting edge! There are plenty of skating, BMX & MX videos in there too, along with compilation videos. I tried to keep each video relatively short when I made the choices, but even still, you won't get through the thread(s) in Guinness World Record time, lol. Cheers!

I’m definitely gonna check out your extreme sports thread - sounds like a goldmine of nostalgia and inspiration. Thanks for sharing it, seriously. Those clips of Dan Osman and Dean Potter always give me chills… total pioneers who lived life full throttle.

[Sidewinder]

Yeah, I just figured it needed to be done... and I try to mix it up too, with videos on skating, surfing, BMX, MX, street riding, rock climbing, wingsuit flight, even some hardcore sailing videos, lol.

There are SO many videos on the web nowadays, I tried to "cherry-pick" good ones that are relatively short, ya know? And if someone doesn't like a video, no worries, that hand can just move on to the next one.

Oh, yeah, I almost forgot: that whole 'Parkour' scene isn't really my cuppa tea, but it's still edgy and radical, so I included some of those videos, lol. There's also a wingsuit/B.A.S.E. jumping "catapult" atop a building in there somewhere, it's crazy, lol.

I don't like commercial aviation---ugh, airborne stock cars---but I love flying, if I had more money I'd be into the wingsuit scene BIG-TIME. Meh, I can still do it vicariously through those excellent videos! That's the beauty of the worldwide web, lol...

[Jesper]

Thanks for bringing up Dave Mirra. It was a tragic situation; but also a warning regarding mental health and the dangers of TBI that can result caused by a variety of activities and life events. When I worked at our hospital there were many instances of that same issue. Meds cannot solve all cases, nor therapy once the damage is there.
Sorry to say this, but the sports so many enjoy watching are you watching athletes slowly killing themselves for your own entertainment (almost all contact sports with repetitive high force impact: football, martial arts/boxing, etc ; and what I hear of another outright "sport" of slapping-just wait for those idiots to become even more braindead). The sad thing is that athletes value money more than their own health (often until it's too late!); just as a drug addict values the high over their own health. Owners and sponsors love the money, but not the negative feedback and bury the facts as long as they can; and then make rules changes well after the damage is done (changes that are bandaids only not solutions).
A big problem now is parents and coaches pushing kids at very young ages (elementary age and earlier!) to do what adults are doing for no reason except ego and personal gain that benefits only themselves and not the kids.

I no longer watch anything of that stuff; watching suicide, be it quick or slow, is not entertainment for me. Seeing the results first hand for a decade was depressing enough.

That being said, if you must do dangerous activities whether for a living or recreation, please use proper safety equipment, as anything is better than nothing at all. I certainly do dangerous stuff all the time, often without proper safeguards (only when isolated from view); but my life is over for all intensive purposes and no one is relying on me for anything so I do not care quite as much; but when out with others or around the public in general I set a good example for others to witness and hopefully follow.

[Sidewinder]

As adults, we all make choices... and when I see some wingsuit pilot pull a b@dass flight without any injury or death, I see the possibilities in this relatively new sport. However, wingsuit flight is now the most dangerous sport on earth, according to stats, too many newbies attempting "close proximity" flights without sufficient experience. There's a learning curve, and it can be brutally short and final for those who think they can just don a wingsuit and go for some radical maneuver in close proximity.

Having said all that, here's my take on extreme sports: if mankind survives itself and we eventually colonize other planets, THESE are the recon elements we're gonna want on initial visits to those planets. Dirt bikers and MX riders, technical rock climbers, wingsuit pilots and B.A.S.E. jumpers, you could even include scuba divers, lol... arguably, scuba diving is an extreme sport, since you'll DIE if you mess up down there, aye? We're not gonna want friggin' couch potatoes and video gamers on these planetary recons, lol...

Yeah, extreme sports can be dangerous, that's why they're "extreme sports." I look at mainstream sports like football, baseball, hockey, etc, and I see no comparison, but a player can STILL get hurt in those sports... just look at the injury lists for each team. If someone wants to pursue an extreme sport, and that person is an adult, I say let him (or her) rip... and you're right, money is often a factor, at least for those on the cutting edge. But those same athletes are LIVIN' LARGE, like right on the razor's edge!

I look at some of those overpaid mainstream sports "athletes" and I wonder if they could even pull a roped ascent of a difficult route, let alone a radical free solo like the ones made by Dan Osman and Dean Potter. There are some TV shows on nowadays which feature "athletes" attempting various feats of daring, but those feats or obstacles look TAME compared to what extreme sports athletes are now doing successfully in the real world. I'd rather see the real thing, not some stupid "reality TV show."

Would I PAY to see some mainstream "athletes" attempt dangerous feats or routes in the real world? OH, HELL YEAH!!! Lol... put Shaq on 'The Nose' of El Cap in Yosemite and let him try a free solo, a la Dean Potter! I'm thinking there will be a BIG SPLATTER on the rocks below, lol. Put some of those overpaid baseball players on skateboards and let 'em try a deep pool or park bowl with plenty of vertical... I'd gladly pay to see that, lol. That mean ol' concrete hasn't gotten any softer over the decades, lol...

Anyway, it's okay to have a different viewpoint on extreme sports, I'm not the kinda guy who gets all butthurt over folks who have different opinions. Yeah, some of the things those extreme sports athletes are doing nowadays are PLUMB F#%NG CRAZY, and downright DANGEROUS too, lol, but those athletes are (mostly) adults and they're making their own choices. I still question the sanity of those Parkour participants who leap gaps between tall buildings and whatnot... THOSE crazy fools are beyond me, lol.

Thus endeth the tedious sermonizing on extreme sports, lol... gotta run my KTM down to the storage unit today, and possibly the kayak too, depends upon how much room there is in the unit. My stay at the motel is thankfully coming to an end in 2-3 days, as we close on the home I'm buying in Silver City. Thanks for your reply, and for pointing out that extreme sports can indeed be dangerous, it's important that folks realize this... the pros make it look easy, but that's not always the case for the average schmuck, lol.

I ought to know, since I'm one of those average schmucks, lol... if I had a nickel for every time I picked up road rash (or concrete park rash) while skateboarding, safety gear or no safety gear, I'd be a friggin' millionaire, yeah? But OTOH, I have awesome memories of defining moments in vertical skateboarding, BMX, MX, rock climbing, etc, where I pulled off some radical maneuver DESPITE taking some abuse first, lol. And those moments of supreme success were EXHILARATING, to say the least. NO REGRETS here, I wouldn't change a thing...

[Jesper]

@Sidewinder , I am not knocking extreme sports. You may have miscontrued my comments. I don't think their are many out there (though there are always the demented few) watching those activities you mentioned hoping to see people falling or getting injured in any way But people watch many sports to see people get brutalized and/or subject it upon another. I have been to a football game where cheers were given after a brutal hit (not a tackle!), many happy even after the guy was dragged out on a stretcher; i am talking about "bloodlust". 10 years of wrestling and it got more brutal year after year. I taught many submission holds as a coach after I stopped competing, and made it clear that it was about control and not about inflicting pain/injury (when done properly the opponent causes their own pain or injury in an attempt to counter) and yet from the peanut gallery I would hear some MOTHER shout break his arm! Believe me, in that sport (high school college rules and freestyle; no Greco-Roman) I saw injuries worse than most in pro fake wrestling.
The participants in full contact sports are sucked in by the money to fulfill others need to see someone suffer.
Thrill seekers are a different breed and BITD there was no one see to them pursue their adrenaline rush except like-minded people who certainly were concerned with their own and others safety. I hope no one is watching climbers thinking "when is this perdon going to slip and fall". I'm praying that they do not. Ny neighbor was a pro skydiver; bummed me out to find out decades later after having moved away that he ended up passing from a fall related accident; I never hoped that hmwould happen when I saw him at his loved ptofession.
I guess I'm not with the times. Last boxing match I ever watched (not intentionally; my friend got the pay-per-view feed and I was visiting) was Tyson biting off the guy's ear. Others in the room were ecstatic; I left.
Parents are currently pushing their children to play "pay for abuse sports", yet are pissed off when their kid gets injured in a sport that they actively cheer when others get hurt, but are often just fine when it's their kid who is the one doling out the punishment and potentially putting an end to another's career or life. This are not in the extreme or even tame sports you reference in my experience.

I take/took risks nearly everyday, both professionally and while at play (i.e. danger from electricity, radiation, chemicals, pathogens, falling, etc.), but none were for the paid enjoyment of others hoping misfortune would befall me or cheer when it did (and it did!). When I do unsafe activities it is not for a death wish or paycheck, only for a thrill and to test myself or get a job done. But again, no one is around me to see that stuff and I'm not videoing it for others to gawk at it,, or to have it get distributed to the world who want to see the ill results when things go bad. I guarantee if I had posted my last 2 endo's (no safety equipment; I know how to fall!) if videoed people would have been entertained by my misfortune. I did not watch Jackarse; why would I?

Presently building a jump ramp on my trail that I expect to be injured on once finished. I'll hire ESPN to film my neck snapping so others can laugh.

[Sidewinder]

Copy that, Jesper... my life and the ongoing relocation with 4 cats was interrupted by a distracted driver who turned household moving into an extreme sport, lol. See the pics I posted in the other thread... it was a wicked hard fall, but hey, at least I dodged the oncoming pickup truck! Jeez, these distracted drivers are downright dangerous... and getting worse too, it seems. Kinda ironic that the safest places to be are in the wilderness, where there's no traffic, lol. Even the skatepark is safer than the streets... don't have to worry about some clod driving his pickup truck into the 9' bowl, lol.

Anyway, I'm healing fast, as always, though not quite as fast as I did in my youth. Metabolism slowing down and all... but I'm also on the wagon for the duration of the antibiotic course (couple more days), and I'm taking extra supplements and nutritional shakes to boost healing. On top of my regular diet, I mean, which is pretty healthy overall. I think it was the unexpected suddenness of the distracted driver's BS in the relatively quiet self-storage yard that threw me, lol... not exactly the kinda place where one expects such things to happen, aye? But I guess there's a first time for everything! I just wish my first time hadn't included a gravel hill, lol.

Meh, it'll all be the same in 100 years! CHEERS!!!

[enkei]

The X-Games are still pretty cool, but the early years were truly something special. I guess it was all part of the magic and energy of what was happening back then. I was skateboarding (very, very badly) and riding BMX (not even good enough to do it badly) in the '70s, so to see what those became even by the 90s was incredible.

Also, one of my favourite CDs is the official music of X-Games from one of the first years.

[GirishH]

Thinking of extreme sports, I never considered cycling particularly risky—until I saw the trails in Nepal and how locals and foreigners ride them downhill.

I once pushed my bike through one of those trails and couldn’t sleep for two nights afterward. Downhill riders love the adrenaline rush, but still…

No one depends on me (thankfully), yet I was scared sleepless.

[Sidewinder]

Yes, Enkei, the progression in skateboarding, BMX, MX, etc, has been astounding... had anyone in the '70s told me those sports would become as BIG as they are now, I would've thought the guy was high on crack, only crack wasn't even invented yet, lol.

My friends & I console ourselves by knowing and saying that we were riding vertical before many of these modern heroes were even born, lol... that's our only saving grace, aye?

Jeez, the technical difficulty of modern tricks or maneuvers is SO great, it's hard to fathom how the riders pull 'em off! Back in the '70s, we were glad just to hit tile or coping and make it down in one piece, lol.