By PETER JESSUP
Mad Mike Jones has plenty to show for his career as a motocross freestyle rider.
He has twice broken his back, had a broken neck, shattered shoulder, broken wrist, punctured lung and seven knee operations.
He has two plates, six screws and two wires in his neck and can display
more than 400 stitches. Twenty-five or 30 broken bones - he's lost track.
His worst crash was falling upside down from 28m when the four-stroke bike he was riding cut out mid-air and he landed on his head. "I knew I'd broken my neck straight away," he said when in Auckland this week promoting his upcoming tour with stunt outfit the Crusty Demons.
The neck injury was in August 1999 but three months later he was back racing, and winning.
Jones was world Supercross champ in 1989 after collecting loads of other titles in a career that began when he was 15. Between races he would entertain the crowd with stunt jumps and so began a new career.
He and other racing mates were filmed "freestyling" in the California deserts and when the videos took off, so did Jones' new variant. Now it's a multimillion-dollar business.
The Crusty Demons of Dirt are so-named because of the dry California desert dust that was stuck to everything after a day's riding. One crash made them famous, Jones said.
"Seth [Enslow] was supposed to jump 200 feet and he jumped 300 and hit a sand dune, tore the bike apart and smashed his face and everyone loved it."
So followed a series of 10 videos that have sold seven million copies in 70 countries.
He hasn't raced for three years now. "I had to decide whether to be average at two things or good at one and this is what I love."
Jones, from a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, farm on Jones Rd - because his family own and work most of it - is 37 and showing no signs of slowing down.
When a demonstration of jumps set for Auckland's waterfront on Monday afternoon was called off by the promoter because of high wind gusts, Jones went ahead and jumped anyway.
Two Kiwi riders followed him. Luke Price from Te Puke and Nick Franklin of Tokoroa will perform with the Crusty Demons at Western Springs on March 20.
Franklin, 22, got into the sport after watching Jones' early videos. "He invented the sport so to be working with him now in New Zealand is awesome," he said, making a living from demo riding himself after a year in Europe.
Franklin's worst injury is a broken big toe. He puts the thought of suffering a Jones-style major smash out of his head. "Falls are in the nature of the sport. Yeah, I get scared but if you want to do what you love you have to put that to the back of your mind. You don't want to be thinking about it when you go up the ramp."
After performing several jump-stunts on Monday, Jones admitted he was a bit scared because of the wind. "You tell yourself you're not worried about getting hurt."
Mad Mike's favourite tricks are the "Kiss of Death", where he and the bike go completely vertical with a no-hands landing. Something most people might consider brain-free? "Well, brain override anyway."
The stunts people will see at Western Springs have been practised hundreds of times before being included in the show. Jones has a "foam pit" under and around his practice ramp at the family farm. It's 3m deep with foam blocks about 20cm square. He holds on to the bike and lands in it.
Sometimes he does 100 jumps a day for 10 days to two weeks before he gets a jump right.
That's where he trained for the backflip, considered the most dangerous trick.
Insurance costs him US$1000 ($1500) a month.
Promoter Michael Porra was a worried man when Jones and the others went ahead against his orders on Monday.
"These guys are supposed to be going on a global tour - I don't want it ending on this concrete," he said.
Rules don't seem to worry Jones, who is also pursuing a screen career with his latest role in a movie called No Rules. That follows stunt work in Four Legged Freaks and Charlie's Angels II.
In France, he's been banned from performing since doing a jump blind-folded despite being told by authorities not to.
The Demons ride 250cc two-strokes, with little modification.
They have beefed-up suspension and holes cut in the side-covers to provide grab-holds for the riders when in mid-air but that's about all. Two-strokes are preferred for the straight-up power and lighter weight than four-strokes.
Mad Mike promises plenty of action with "dancing girls, pyrotechnics, a light show, music - three hours of non-stop action" in a show that aims to replicate the videos.
He looks the sort of hyped-up individual who could do it all himself.
The Crusty Demons
* Some of the moves
Backflip - Only landed by a few MXers, including Jones, Ronnie Faisst and Jeremy Stenburg, and considered one of the most dangerous moves.
Whip - The bike is pushed flat while in mid-air then brought upright for the landing.
Superman - Rider "flies" with his hands on the bars and nothing else touching the bike. Has numerous variations.
Indian air - Rider holds one hand on the bars, one on the back of the seat and does a scissors kick while in mid-air.
Lazyboy - Rider lies back on the seat, hands outstretched behind him, only his toes in touch with the foot rests.
Shaolin - Rider brings his legs up and over the bars and does the splits mid-air.
Kiss of Death - After leaving the jump and getting the bike vertical, the rider flips his legs over his head to align vertically with the machine.
By PETER JESSUP
Mad Mike Jones has plenty to show for his career as a motocross freestyle rider.
He has twice broken his back, had a broken neck, shattered shoulder, broken wrist, punctured lung and seven knee operations.
He has two plates, six screws and two wires in his neck and can display
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.