Red Bull: Australia's own Evel Knievel

18 January 2010

Red Bull consistently provides so much news and media about Robbie Maddison and they haven't failed to deliver with another great article, check out the full article here or see some excerpts we have included.

"It’s easy to believe Robbie ‘Maddo’ Maddison is a bit of a nutcase, hell, Robbie has probably believed it himself in the past. After all, this is a guy who’s jumped 30 metres onto a 10-storey high replica of the Arc de Triomphe and holds three world records for jumps. He is Australia’s very own Evel Knievel."

"It’s been a fast, exhilarating and brutal few years for this motocross rider from Kiama, who went from being a Port Kembla electrician to international superstar in just five years. Undefeated as the King of the Coast champion, Robbie went on to win the Planet-X Summer Games gold medal in 2004. The next year, he turned his destructive powers to breaking world records, starting by jumping a 125cc bike a massive 221 feet (67 metres). Days later, Robbie stopped the blood of thousands of fans when he soared 246 feet (75 metres) on his Honda CR250cc while doing a “heart attack”. He still holds the record for the longest jump with a trick."

"For New Year’s Eve 2008, Robbie reached even greater heights, performing another hugely dangerous stunt at a time when most people are singing Auld Lang Syne. He leaped 30 metres onto the replica Arc de Triomphe outside the Paris Las Vegas casino hotel, then plunged off the monument, lacerating his hand, but landing perfectly to the fevered adulation of the 300,000-strong crowd."

"As impressive as these feats are, Robbie is not just a stuntman. Now based in the US, where freestyle motocross (FMX) is a hugely popular sport, he has proved himself again and again in FMX competition. Robbie went into the 2009 Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour with a strict game plan – “I came into this year with a whole new work ethic on training hard and riding hard. I knew I could ride at the level needed to win,” he says."

"Robbie makes it look so easy, but a lot of hard work goes into these stunts. “On the night, people get to see a gnarly jump and a benchmark set in the sport, but the lead-up to that jump is involved and takes a lot of training and dealing with fear,” he says, adding that the fear is a huge factor in preparing his mind for these feats."

“It’s cool that people make the connection, calling me Australia’s Evel Knievel, it’s good to have recognition on a world level. But I do want people to realise that I’m different – I’m Robbie Maddison.”

Read the full story over at Red Bull