Winter 2003 - Summer 2005

<< 1995-2002

My riding life coincided with the video production career I was also cultivating. That previous summer I had picked up a part-time gig doing camera work for a high-school friend's dad, and I resumed that job after recovering from my leg injuries in the fall. When I began traveling for events in January 2003, I would do freelance video work during the weeks when I was home and while on the road I kept a camera handy to shoot for my DVDs. During the slow weeks I would travel to shoot video while also practicing and networking.

In addition to riding in about 25 events that year, I took film trips as far west as Utah, as far east as upstate New York, and as far south as Alabama. I was busy shooting and editing video as well as teaching myself how to weld and build ramps out of metal.

In hindsight, 2003 was all about learning. Learning new tricks, how to network effectively, and how to manage my travel schedule and the business side of my life. I was teaching myself how to shoot better video and how to balance that part of my career with riding. I was learning that I was still learning while also trying to figure out what I wanted from this hobby of mine that had turned into a career. I didn't know how long it would last, but I knew that I was having fun and that was all that mattered to me.

2004
A Few Loose Screws had been completed in November 2003 and was nominated for an Xtremmy Award that spring. That led to a memorable California trip where Jason Rowe, Johnny Jones, and I met up with producers Dan Jackson and Mike Russel to attend the award ceremony. During a star-studded event (well, at least for action-sports enthusiasts) that involved limos and VIP bars,A Few Loose Screws won the Best Sportbike Video 2003.

During that time I took advantage of every opportunity I could to enjoy my new routine. I pulled over-night drives to California. I partied in hotel rooms. I went sky diving in Utah. I fell for girls in Oklahoma. I shot video in California, Pennsylvania, Florida, and too many more states to mention. I loved every aspect of the kinetic life I was building for myself.

When the 2004 season had started in January, I was happy with how my FMX skills were coming along. By then I had a pretty good Kiss of Death, or "KOD." I was busy building metal ramps and had sold a couple across the country. I was improving my website, simultaneously working two more FMX videos, and staying busy with freelancing in Kansas City. That summer I enrolled in a few media courses through the local community college, as I knew that one day it would probably be smart to have a college degree to supplement my experience in video production. I was trying to be responsible and plan for life after dirtbikes, but I wasn't sure when that would be.

I would be busy with events that entire summer, and in July while between shows I visited fellow pro rider Adam Jones in Maryland to shoot video for my fourth DVD, Minatory Youth. Adam was at FMX icon Travis Pastrana's distinguished house/compound to train for XGames which was taking place just a few weeks later. While there that I met another top FMX professional, Chuck Carothers. Chuck was working on a revolutionary FMX trick that would challenge the popular backflip variations, and Pastrana's compound was the perfect place for him to train. I felt like I was becoming part of an elite circle of friends when Adam got a Bronze Medal in MotoX Freestyle and Chuck won MotoX Best Trick with his ground-breaking trick that he dubbed the Carolla.

That fall Chuck invited me to participate in an event that he helped to produce in Texas, and it was then that I showed him the nearly complete Minatory Youth. Not long after that he went on to build an FMX practice facility near Houston, and he asked me about helping him to produce a Motocross documentary. He wanted to tell a story that captured a day in the life of a top FMX professional, and from what he'd seen in Minatory Youth he thought I would be a good person to help produce and direct it. That would set me up for a busy 2005 as I prepared for my third year of full-time FMX riding.

2005
For the 2005 season, I was asked to ride on the IFMA's "Ramp to Ramp tour" and I hoped that this new, grass-roots professional tour would be a good stepping stone to advance my FMX resume. My busy travel schedule would force me to cut out on my freelance video work in KC, but I would replace that involvement with my dedication to Chuck's movie. I knew that I would be away from home more often than not that year, but I looked forward to grueling travel schedule. I would be crisscrossing the country with my friends every weekend, riding contests, performing backflips on my 110cc minibike, and making decent money. I was building my resume and networking for the future in both my FMX and video production careers.

September 2005 >