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Nitro Circus dare-devils pull stunts in Rio Rancho
A stunt driver flips himself and his FMX motocross bike.
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RIO RANCHO — “Bones heal, pain is temporary, and chicks dig scars,” Evel Knievel once said.
While the stunt legend wasn’t present at Nitro Circus: Off the Rails Nov. 29, the stunts lighting up the Rio Rancho Events Center emulated Knievel’s crazy moves.
What appeared to be dangerous and possibly reckless was performed gracefully by the circus team, however, and without any broken bones or new scars. Front flips, back flips, side flips, triple flips and more from the Freestyle Motocross and Bicycle Motocross riders had the crowd saying “ooh” and “aah” by the first act.
Ambassador of Fun Micah Kranz got the crowd geared up for the show before it started.
“I’m your host of this entire evening of what I promise will be the wildest live show you have ever seen in your life,” Kranz said. “Come one way or another, you’re going to see something tonight that you’ve never seen before.”
Kranz’s preview was no joke either. Rio Rancho would go on to see gravity defied in many ways.
While several of the stunt riders were on either a bicycle or a modified motocross bike, there were a couple of outliers. Beaver Flemming, an American skateboard artist, was also launching into the air alongside them.
But one of the more inspirational circus team members was Aaron “Wheelz” Fotheringham, an obstacle-shredding man born with spina bifida. His story has been viral because he decided to get into stunt riding in his wheelchair, which has been modified for motocross purposes.
The team was also a mix of riders from all over the world, not just America.
Australian Ben Richards was popular with the crowd even though a contest between American riders and “rest of the world” riders forced the fans to side with their home country.
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There was only one woman, but she kept up with the guys without issue. Kassie Boone from Canada wowed the crowd on her FMX bike.
The BMX riders didn’t just launch their bikes during the show. They also did a “contraptions,” launching with random items like a cooler and a school bus. A rider even made a pig fly. Later on, a rider succeeded in jumping and sliding right through a large inflatable hamster ball.
There were a few riders from Nitro Circus “royalty” joining the fun.
“Nitro Circus’s elite roster features some of the most fearless athletes on the planet. Leading the charge is Ryan ‘R Willy’ Williams, an Australian action sports innovator with more than 100 world-firsts across BMX and Scooter, including over 900 million views on YouTube alone, making him one of the most viral action sports athletes in history,” a preview release stated.
It added that FMX legend Adam Jones, who has more than two decades of experience and X Games medals, is known for his unmatched consistency and dedication to progression.
Additionally, the first man to land a double front flip in BMX, icon Andy Buckworth, was there.
Millennial and Gen-Z show-goers missed the legend they grew up with, though. Travis Pastrana, the man who started it all, was not present for the show in Rio Rancho.
According to the website, Pastrana co-founded Nitro Circus in 2003.
“Nitro Circus has since grown into a multi-platform phenomenon creating spectacular live events, progressive competitions, hit television programming, and innovative digital offerings. With over three million tickets sold to date, linear content that has aired in over 60 countries, and a burgeoning consumer products business, Nitro Circus is at the forefront of sports and entertainment,” it reads.
The Rio Rancho crowd looked and sounded like it agreed with the last part of that sentence.
