Last night, the Nitro Circus Tour hit the UK for the first time ever - and FreestyleXtreme was there to bask in all its pyrotechnic, adrenaline-fuelled glory as the daredevil crew performed to a 14,000 strong, sellout crowd at the London O2 arena. And, while we may be more guilty than most for over-using the word, it was genuinely 100% awesome.
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| Once the Milennium Dome. Now the O2 Arena. Still looks a bit like an upside-down spider. |
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| The glamorous world of backstage access! |
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| Trikes galore. They drift and fly! |
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| These BMX bikes worked much better when they were the right way up! |
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| That Yamalube sticker is just crying out to be defaced... |
Our evening started with a brief opportunity to go backstage and talk to some of the riders. Although Travis was caught up with camera crews, we consoled ourselves by grabbing a few words with FMX star Josh Sheehan and the First Lady of action sports, Jolene Van Vugt. Expect to read our interviews with both as soon as we get the chance to transcribe them! All well say now is that both seemed super calm considering what they would be doing in an hours time. Plus, we need to give extra respect for Jolene - not only would she take to her bike to perform a backflip (the first time in 18 months after she injured herself performing the trick last time), she would be doing it with what sounded like a horrendous cold. Oh and Lyn-Z Pastrana is tiny.
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| Pastranas DC Shoe bike was treated to a burnout courtesy of Bilko. |
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| We sneaked out into the arena when security werent looking. Shhhh. Dont tell them. |
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| They dont call it the Gigant-O-Ramp for nothing! |
Even without all the theatrics, cheering crowds and raucous MCs whipping everyone into a frenzy, the stunts were impressive. With all the fireworks and light shows included, it was edge-of-the-seat thrilling. Watching FMX on a video is great and everything, but its only when you witness the feats for real that you can appreciate just how big the bikes are, how much air the riders get and how far they get from their bikes when performing tricks.
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| On a cold night, the 15 foot jets of fire were most welcome. |
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| Catching these guys in action without the greatest camera is a recipe for blurred photos, sadly. |
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| Although the compere was Australian, he claims he was born two minutes away from the O2. Which means he was born in the Thames, we think. |
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| FMX performers included Thomas Pages, Blake Bilko Williams, Cam Sinclair, Adam Jones, Chris Brock, Josh Sheehan and more. |
The evening was filled with highlights but stand out moments for us include Cam Sinclair performing a backflip on his bike with TWO volunteer audience passengers (we have no idea how they got the insurance to perform that trick so remain slightly sceptical about how randomly they were chosen), Jolene nailing her backflip, the BMX boys throwing down some incredible tricks. Plus, Thomas Pages showing that he is in a different league when it comes to FMX skill, some melodramatic nationalism and Aaron Wheelz Fotheringam getting a standing cheer from the crowd for his wheelchair frontflip attempts.
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| Cam Sinclair. Two guys from the audience. One successful backflip. Mercifully. |
If you didnt get the chance to watch Nitro Circus Live and you are in the UK, it might not be too late to pick up tickets for the Manchester event. Or, wait until next year, when Nitro Circus Live confirmed they would be returning to perform at the O2 again November 2013!
Oh, and they finally announced that Nitro Circus Live will be available to watch in Europe (they didnt say whether it was at the cinema or on DVD - we suspect the latter) in February 2013. Hooray!
