Travis Pastrana On The Dumbest Stunt He Ever Attempted
Aug 14, 2019, 11:45 AM | Updated: 11:55 am
Travis Pastrana performs his stunt in the Moto X Best Trick competition during the ESPN X-Games on August 5, 2004 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – An $80 children’s big wheel bike and two skyscrapers. What could go wrong?
Travis Pastrana told this story to Scott Mitchell on Helmets Off Podcast.
Mitchell started with a simple question, “What’s the dumbest thing you’ve ever done?”
“Anything you’re unprepared for,” Pastrana responded.
. @TravisPastrana and @LukeAikins joined me today. Did you catch Luke floating in over the #SaltLakeCity capitol building last night? Has Travis Pastrana ever gotten a speeding ticket? What is the dumbest stunt they've ever tried? https://t.co/oZHuuvddMg pic.twitter.com/Cf5JSWsyzu
— Helmets Off Podcast (@helmetsoffshow) August 13, 2019
He explained that he is not really concerned with pain because in his career he has already experienced the maximum amount of pain his body can take. He can prepare himself by thinking – what’s the worst that could happen?
“Yeah, I hate being hurt but usually you break your wrist, get a bone sticking through the skin… this sucks I won’t be able to ride… that’s not so bad,” Pastrana explained.
The Dumbest Stunt
Pastrana told a specific story of a time he was in Panama and thought, “this was a horrible idea…I bought a toy for less than $100 and I’m about to trust that it’s going to make it down this janky roll in that we made out of borrowed scrap wood.”
Here are the details.
He bought a “Big Wheel” from Toys R Us for $80 and planned to drop in from a 63 story building onto a 60 story building that was about 50 feet away.
Then he had an idea, “What if we set up a ramp from this building (60 stories) to that building (63 stories)… what if we just landed over there?”
They built the ramp and in the end, he explained that it “worked great.”
Why These Stunts?
These stunts may seem and look crazy to the average person. Pastrana explained some of the motivations behind them.
“It’s the belief you can do something that has never been done,” said Pastrana.
He has a lot of “firsts” to his name, most notably he was the first person to ever land a double backflip in a motocross competition. He completed the flip at the 2006 X Games.
On the podcast, he explained to Mitchell that his motivation is changing with age. Now he is more interested in helping the younger, next generation of extreme athletes achieve their dreams. He is doing that through Nitro World Games.
“There is always going to be guys that are going to push the envelope if we can help them learn from our mistakes and not be as broken up as we are… then we’ve done something well,” Pastrana said.
Nitro World Games
Pastrana’s current project is the Nitro World Games. The event pushes the limits of action sports with big air formats and breakthrough ramp technology, according to their website.
Fans can expect to see the best of the best action sports athletes and, of course, BIG AIR.
The Nitro World Games is in Salt Lake City on August 17. If you are interested in seeing Pastrana and the rest of the athletes you can find ticket information here.
You can listen to the full interview on Helmets Off below.
