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00:00Alright, it's another edition of Frank Walks, and this time I got the legend of action sports,
00:07Travis Pastrana.
00:08You know, this guy here has his Nitro Circus going on right now, and he's won countless
00:15X-Game medals, set six Guinness World Records, and he is the ultimate daredevil.
00:21Let's take a walk with Travis Pastrana.
00:22Thank you, Frank.
00:31Alright, so Travis, now, you're in the middle of the Nitro Circus tour.
00:38Tell me a little about the Nitro Circus.
00:40What is it?
00:41So, Nitro Circus is basically the best in action sports, from skateboards, scooters,
00:46BMX, we have contraptions, we've got basically anything that we can possibly jump, flip,
00:51or fly in some way, shape, or form.
00:53We've got it going on.
00:54So, I mean, you have Olympians, you have top X-Games gold medals, and you have just some
00:58people that are really durable.
00:59Everyone says, how do we get in the Nitro Circus?
01:01I said, you've got to be able to do something that no one else can do in the world, or you've
01:05got to be willing to try something that no one else can do in the world.
01:08Now, I've seen flips in motorcycles, flips in cars, every type of flip I can imagine.
01:14I've seen some videos of this.
01:17Now, you've had injuries, of course.
01:20The legend, Evel Knievel, it was said that he broke every bone in his body at least once.
01:28Would you say the same experience is true of you?
01:31Well, I've definitely broken more bones than most.
01:34You know, I've had, everyone says, how many bones?
01:36I said, well, if the doctor says you have 40 fractures over seven bones, but it was
01:40one injury, is that like one, or is it 40?
01:42Did he round up or down?
01:44So, we just put that aside and say, is it worth it?
01:46And if it's worth it, you get back on that horse and keep going.
01:49Now, how long have you been involved in X-Sports?
01:51I know we're going back to the X-Games 25 years.
01:55Yeah, so, X-Games, my first X-Games that I was in was 1999.
02:00It was the first year that motorcycles were in.
02:02And, yeah, ended up winning 11 X-Games gold medals since then.
02:05Getting a little bit old now.
02:06At 41, it's definitely old for a motocrosser.
02:09So, you know, just having some fun out here.
02:12More doing the announcing, doing the judging stuff.
02:14But at the end of the day, we have the best in the world here at Nitro Circus.
02:18And, you know, it's cool to see the next generation come up.
02:21Working on safer landings, working on bigger takeoffs.
02:24If anything is done as the world's first,
02:26it's probably done by one of this crew.
02:28Now, if I'm doing my math correctly,
02:31you were 16 years old when you were competing in your first X-Games.
02:35Yep, won my first X-Games gold medal at 15.
02:37So, it was before I had my driver's license.
02:39But, yeah, dirt bikes are a blast, man.
02:42They're a lot of fun.
02:44I was never good enough on the BMX bikes.
02:46Definitely loved BMX my whole life.
02:48So, always inspired by what those guys were doing.
02:51You know, just seeing some of the tricks that they could do on bicycles and scooters now.
02:54So, scooters, they take it from scooters to BMX and BMX into motorcycles.
02:58It's been a blast.
02:59You performed like the first double backflip on a motorcycle, if I'm not mistaken.
03:05Yes, so double backflip was, I was able to do that first.
03:08We thought a backflip was the holy grail.
03:10And it was so cool because Kerry Hart,
03:13you know, he crashed a backflip at X-Games in 2002.
03:17And he ended up marrying a rock star.
03:19He ended up marrying Pink who was there watching the X-Games
03:23because that was such a badass trick.
03:25And now they're doing triple backflips.
03:27Three riders in the world have done triple backflips.
03:29And to make it even crazier than that,
03:32we had a 10-year-old girl come out to the house
03:34and land a backflip to dirt on a dirt bike,
03:36which is absolutely amazing.
03:39I mean, it's incredible.
03:42You have a young audience and it looks like
03:44the people who get involved get at a very early age.
03:48So almost every single person that's here in Nitro Circus
03:52started riding a bicycle or a motorcycle
03:55or whatever vehicle they're on, scooter,
03:57before they were four years old.
03:59Anything after four is almost late.
04:01So like, you know, so many parents are like,
04:03oh my gosh, my kid's, you know, seven years old.
04:05They're too young to ride.
04:06It's like, no, they're probably starting too late, man.
04:08You got to get on those things
04:10and start having fun at an early age
04:12before you're tall enough to fall too far.
04:14Now, Nitro Circus is an X Games,
04:18but you've done almost anything you can imagine.
04:21I see you were involved in NASCAR
04:23and actually finished 11th in the Daytona 500 in 2023.
04:28So NASCAR is completely out of my element.
04:30I'm not good with rear-wheel drive.
04:32I'm not good on pavement.
04:33But I'm like, I got to be a good enough driver
04:35to at least qualify.
04:36So I qualified dead last.
04:38And my girl, who was nine years old at the time,
04:40she's like, dad, you qualified last.
04:42I'm like, but I qualified.
04:43And I just stayed out of trouble.
04:45I messed up really bad and missed my pit entrance.
04:48And by that mistake, I led a lap of the Daytona 500,
04:51which was awesome, last to first.
04:53Then went a lap down, got back on the lead lap
04:55and finished 11th.
04:56It was honestly a dream come true
04:58just to be a part of the great American race.
05:00But my specialty is dirt, off-road,
05:03anything where you can take more risks to go faster.
05:06It's kind of risk management.
05:07If I can save my job, that's my job.
05:10I mean, I see these rallies,
05:12like rally cars, rally bikes.
05:14What's that about?
05:16So rally cross is motocross with a roll cage.
05:19But rally is so much fun
05:21because you have a co-driver
05:22that tells you what's coming up.
05:24And you've got to drive roads you've never seen before
05:26or had two passes but have no idea
05:28really what's coming up.
05:30And it could be snowing, it could be raining,
05:33cliffs on sides, dust, whatever it is.
05:36And you just got to go as fast as you possibly can
05:38down back roads.
05:39So we won six U.S. rally championships.
05:43That's where I shine,
05:45when all hell breaks loose.
05:47By far the craziest thing I saw
05:49was jumping out of the airplane
05:51without the parachutes.
05:53You think jumping out of the airplane?
05:55Have you ever seen Point Break,
05:57the movie with Keanu Reeves?
05:58A long time ago.
05:59Yeah, so I figured if Keanu Reeves could do it,
06:03it couldn't be too hard.
06:05We got it covered.
06:06But no, it was so fun
06:08because I jumped out
06:09and it was a product test.
06:10At the time I rode for Red Bull.
06:12And I wanted to see if it really did give you wings.
06:14And I found out it was more like Toy Story.
06:16I was like Buzz Lightyear, fall with style.
06:18Now, you mentioned that you're 41 now
06:22and you're winding down your competitive career.
06:25Now, who are the big stars of the future
06:28that are part of the Nitro Circus?
06:30Who are the big stars that fans will be coming out
06:32to see that they're going to be the next generation?
06:34The biggest star in the world right now
06:37in action sports,
06:38winningest BMX big air rider on earth
06:41is Ryan Williams.
06:42Our Willie is the first one to sign autographs
06:45when everyone shows up
06:46and he's the last one to sign autographs
06:48when everyone leaves.
06:49He started as a scooter rider.
06:50He still rides scooters,
06:51invents most of the tricks on scooters
06:53and then takes them to BMX.
06:55The guy is absolutely amazing on a skateboard.
06:57He's good on rollerblades.
06:58He's just got better air awareness
07:00than anyone on the face of the earth.
07:02And for us in action sports,
07:04if we can do a world's first,
07:05that's huge.
07:06Our Willie does a world's first
07:07at almost every single show.
07:09Who are some of the other big stars
07:10who are coming up?
07:11New stars in the future?
07:13What's really cool is Cassie Boone
07:15is out here right now
07:16and Cassie is one of the best FMX riders in the world
07:20and it's really cool to see
07:21how many females are coming in.
07:23You've got Adam Jones.
07:24He's been competing and competitive at X Games,
07:27winning medals since 2003.
07:29Still really at the top of his game,
07:31which is really cool.
07:32And you've got a couple of the up-and-comers
07:34as well as Dusty Weigel.
07:36Shoot.
07:37You name it.
07:38If they're in this show,
07:39Curtis Downs.
07:40Curtis does...
07:41There's some guys like Curtis Downs
07:43that aren't as popular
07:44or haven't won as many X Games gold medals,
07:46but they go out night in and night out
07:48on the contraptions doing stuff
07:50that no one else in the world
07:52has ever thought of.
07:53And they want to challenge themselves
07:55every night,
07:56which is really fun
07:57as an action sports athlete
07:58and someone that loves it
07:59to see someone pushing the limits
08:01at every round.
08:02I mean, it's crazy.
08:03I look at this stuff
08:04and I go...
08:05It's just mind-boggling.
08:07The flips and the...
08:08I mean,
08:09I just started walking last year
08:11and I've lost
08:13close to 70 pounds already
08:15and it's incredible.
08:17And I've always had my feet
08:19on the ground.
08:20I can never imagine myself
08:22ever doing anything like this.
08:24I never even learned
08:25how to ride a bike.
08:27Well,
08:28some of the guys
08:29will actually be going down
08:31on big wheels
08:32and all kinds of kids' toys.
08:34The trikes
08:35are some of our most fun
08:36that we have.
08:37I wouldn't recommend trying it.
08:39They are extremely durable,
08:41which is definitely a quality
08:42that you need to have
08:43in action sports.
08:44But,
08:45you know,
08:46I tell you,
08:47if you take a stop right here,
08:48like if you look out here...
08:49Well,
08:50we can keep walking,
08:51but this
08:52is really cool
08:53because on the far side,
08:54it goes up higher
08:55than we are right here.
08:57Almost vertical.
08:58And they'll drop in
08:59on BMX
09:00and skateboards.
09:01Craziest thing.
09:02There's a guy,
09:03Beaver Fleming,
09:04one of the greatest skateboarders
09:05in the world.
09:06Now,
09:07Beaver has to drop down
09:08and stay straight
09:09on a board
09:10down that
09:11almost vertical rolling.
09:12For the record,
09:13I don't think he's related.
09:14So,
09:15really fun
09:16to see them set up.
09:17Now,
09:18every Nitro Circus show
09:19is different.
09:20If you look
09:21at the ceiling height,
09:22we set up the ramps
09:23however big we can
09:24that the ceiling will hold.
09:26So,
09:27they'll be going
09:28as high
09:29as the center
09:30on the dirt bikes.
09:36This is great.
09:37We can put in
09:38our biggest ramps
09:39here at Hartford.
09:40So,
09:41we need to get
09:42some of the biggest ramps
09:43they do triple backflips on.
09:44We can't quite fit in here.
09:45You gotta be able
09:46to go 85 feet
09:47off the deck.
09:48So,
09:49Hartford here,
09:50we're pretty close to that.
09:51But we just don't have
09:52the running
09:53to get the speed.
09:54Now,
09:55where are some
09:56of the bigger arenas
09:57you've been at
09:58that have had like...
09:59You know,
10:00been down
10:01to South Africa
10:02where we had
10:0340,000 people.
10:04Just went down
10:05to Costa Rica
10:06this year
10:07where we had
10:08triple the amount
10:09of floor space.
10:10So,
10:11we were able
10:12to make over-unders
10:13and all kinds
10:14of crosses.
10:15But,
10:16for me,
10:17I like this arena
10:18that's tight
10:19because you'll be able
10:20to pack the house.
10:21Everyone has
10:22a great view.
10:23No one has
10:24to be looking
10:25at the Jumbotron.
10:26They can see
10:27what's going on
10:28with the Nitro Circus.
10:29How long
10:30is this?
10:31It's a typical
10:32monthly tour.
10:33So,
10:34this tour
10:35is a pretty long tour.
10:36It's 30 stops.
10:37So,
10:38they do probably
10:39five shows a week,
10:4030 shows in total.
10:41And it's so much fun
10:42for the crew
10:43because every night
10:44they get to push themselves
10:45and they have a new crowd
10:46and they try to...
10:47It's basically like,
10:48you know,
10:49you're trying to one-up
10:50your friends on tour,
10:51you're trying to one-up
10:52anything that's been done
10:53anywhere in the world
10:54and you've got
10:55all this motivation,
10:56all this passion
10:57and you just want
10:58to be the best
10:59at what they do.
11:00I've seen that
11:01you even have people
11:02who have walked
11:03in Nitro Tour
11:04now actually
11:05toured in Nitro Tour.
11:06So,
11:07it's starting
11:08to become
11:09full circle.
11:10100%.
11:11The coolest part
11:12is we're seeing
11:13that a lot
11:14of the athletes
11:15and a lot of the fans
11:16of Nitro Circus
11:17in the early 2000s
11:18now have kids
11:19and their kids
11:20not only are coming
11:21to watch with them
11:22and it's kind of like
11:23that bridges
11:24that gap of
11:25grandfather to son
11:26but you're seeing
11:27all of these
11:28next generation
11:29of athletes
11:30when we grew up
11:31we didn't know
11:32we could backflip
11:33a motorcycle.
11:34These kids,
11:35the second they can
11:36watch TV,
11:37they're expecting
11:38to triple backflip.
11:39They're gonna be
11:40quadruple backflips
11:41and spins
11:42and twists
11:43and stuff
11:44that we've never
11:45thought of
11:46because nothing
11:47is impossible
11:48this next generation.
11:49Now,
11:50with next generation
11:51I just saw
11:52something on the
11:53internet that
11:54Tony Hawk
11:55is Michael Cobain's
11:56daughter
11:57so his grand kid
11:58his grandchild
11:59is
12:00the offspring
12:01of Michael Cobain
12:02and Tony Hawk
12:03oh my gosh
12:04I mean
12:05yeah
12:06that when they
12:07look at their
12:08parents
12:09I mean
12:10which is
12:11cool
12:12I mean
12:13not to the same
12:14level
12:15but
12:16so I ended up
12:17marrying
12:18who was
12:19three time
12:20X Games gold
12:21medalist
12:22two time
12:23world champion
12:24you know
12:25so when our
12:26kids look at
12:27they're like
12:28they expect
12:29to be able to
12:30do all of this
12:31stuff because
12:32they're like
12:33well mom
12:34does it
12:35I'm like
12:36look
12:37mom rides
12:38a skateboard
12:39down that roll
12:40and there's
12:41no way dad
12:42would ever
12:43try that
12:44you know
12:45but
12:46you know
12:47nothing's
12:48impossible
12:49with these
12:50kids
12:51and you know
12:52Kurt Cobain
12:53really really
12:54cool to see
12:55just
12:56how many kids
12:57because
12:58when I was
12:59growing up
13:00if you were
13:01on a skateboard
13:02you were a hoodlum
13:03like get off
13:04that thing
13:05get a real job
13:06now if you're
13:07good on a skateboard
13:08or BMX
13:09or scooter
13:10your parents
13:11are like
13:12hey
13:13you can be
13:14an Olympian
13:15let's go
13:16represent USA
13:17I mean
13:18are there any
13:19other big stars
13:20you want to
13:21talk about
13:23that's here
13:24is passionate
13:25and no matter
13:26if you're on a skateboard
13:27or a scooter
13:28or a BMX bike
13:29or a motorcycle
13:30if you want to do
13:31something there's
13:32someone here
13:33that's doing something
13:34on that equipment
13:35that no one else
13:36in the world
13:37is doing
13:38and it's
13:39an honor for me
13:40to be a part of
13:41and so proud
13:42of how far
13:43this has come
13:44well
13:45thanks
13:46and is there
13:47any charity
13:48things you want
13:49to talk about
13:50or
13:51yeah for me
13:52I'm a Marine
13:53and we have
13:54the boot campaign
13:55which is
13:56they've done
13:57so much
13:58not only
13:59for veterans
14:00but just
14:01learning about
14:02head injuries
14:03and stuff
14:04that's come
14:05all the way
14:06full circle
14:07to help
14:08a lot of
14:09athletes
14:10and action sports
14:11athletes
14:12so definitely
14:13shout out
14:14to boot campaign
14:15for all they're
14:16doing
14:17to help
14:18the veterans
14:19that are
14:20protecting
14:21do you want
14:22to find out
14:23tour information
14:24nitrocircus.com
14:25come on out
14:26be a part of it
14:27it's always
14:28the boys
14:29that are excited
14:30to see it
14:31but it's
14:32the moms
14:33and the parents
14:34that they leave
14:35and they're like
14:36this
14:37if my kid
14:38can be a part
14:39of something
14:40so passionate
14:41and they can
14:42potentially be
14:43an Olympian
14:44they can go out
14:45and have fun
14:46it's just an
14:47inspiring show
14:48so come on out
14:49have some fun
14:50and thank you
14:51for coming
14:52for this walk
14:53and
14:54thank you Frank
14:55appreciate you
14:56I mean
14:57I gotta be honest
14:58I've never
14:59watched action sports
15:00are you staying
15:01for tonight
15:02oh you're out
15:03okay
15:04well one day
15:05but I was watching
15:06a lot of the videos
15:07and just amazed
15:08at what you do
15:09well
15:10it's been fun
15:11hopefully we won't
15:12have an ambulance
15:13tonight
15:14perfect timing
15:15yeah
15:16thank you
15:17for your time
15:18really appreciate you
15:20bye
15:21bye
15:22bye
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