A quick word with Levi Sheerwood of the Crusty Demons

Levi Sheerwood got his first bike when he was 3.

Levi Sheerwood is a 13-year-old Crusty Demon from Palmerston North who jumps 20m on his 80cc motorbike. If you're thinking, 'Gosh, that's young to be risking life and limb for a bit of an adrenalin rush', you're probably right. But Levi's a Crusty Demon and he wants to be riding in the X-Games by the time he's 20. He's in a hurry so get out of the way.

When did you first get into riding motorbikes?

When I was 3 my dad - who had always ridden motorbikes - got me my first bike, which was a four-wheeler 80cc. I got a two-wheeler next.

Do you actually remember it, because you were young?

It's pretty faint, really. I remember not being able to touch the pedals. But it was just an automatic.

When did you start riding motorbikes competitively?

I started racing round the track and stuff, doing motocross when I was about 5 or 6 I guess, on a QR50, and I just moved up through the bikes. I went up to 80cc, then a guy who worked for my dad decided to build a ramp and he had nowhere to put it so he put it out at our farm. I started jumping from there.

How did you break your leg?

I was just practising one day and I turned the fuel off, then five minutes later I forgot to turn it back on and when I went over the jump I came up short.

Lesson learned?

Yep. I couldn't really stand up and just went to the doctor.

With that danger in mind, why do you do it?

For the thrill of it, really. It's a bit of an adrenalin rush.

What is the Ruler?

That's where the bikes goes vertically down, and then you're vertically going straight up at the same time as you're looking backwards. It only took me a day to learn. I just went from Supermans to that really.

What's the first trick you learned?

The first one I learned was the heel clicker, where you wrap your feet round your arms and you click them together.

What do the kids at school think of your chosen sport?

Yeah, they think it's pretty awesome and they're always asking for tickets to the shows. None of my mates do it and I'm really the only one on an 80 really doing it. There's a couple who jump ramps but they just don't really do tricks. And my brothers used to ride 80s but they've gone up to 250s.

How long are you going to be riding an 80?

I hope to go to a 125 by the end of the year because really I just need more power.

Is 20m the most you could jump on an 80?

You could go bigger but it's just really the run-up you need.

And do the older, wiser Crusty Demons give you advice?

Yeah, they're awesome and they give me a few tips. Last year Mike Jones was saying, "Don't worry about the crowd". But I like the crowd because it makes me perform better.

* The Crusty Demons perform at Wellington's Westpac Stadium on Saturday March 12 and Auckland's Western Springs Stadium on Saturday March 19.