VOLUME 58 ISSUE 25 JUNE 22, 2021 P119
Can Cans and heel clickers—just
replicating what the BMX guys
were doing."
Metzger was a racer. And a
good one. But it was in freestyle
that he would make his mark,
and it all came about as a side
job. Albeit a lucrative one.
"In '98, I was still racing and
coming to the end of my rac-
ing career. My goals, as a rider,
growing up as a kid, was to be
one of the best Supercross
guys," Metzger said. "When the
freestyle thing started, to me it
was, like, 'What am I doing?' I
grew up with a dad who was my
mechanic and a dad who pushed
me to be the best I could be at
racing. One thing led to another
and I got a chance to ride with
Fox Racing, and I got to travel
around and do film shoots for
Terrafirma while I was racing
at the Nationals and traveling
around in a little cargo van. I was
actually making more money to
go film than I was showing up at
the motocross races and leaving
with my earnings. Those years...
thank God, I was able to go out
and film with different compa-
nies, because that's what helped
me get around to the Nationals
and stuff."
Eventually, Metzger put the
racing to the side and concen-
trated on freestyle. And he's
seen it explode to levels he never
thought possible.
"Now, with the Su-
percross, all the semi-
trucks and with those
guys hanging out, it's
gone a completely
different direction
than when we first
started," Metzger
says of the just com-
pleted X Games. "X
Games started pretty
much with skate-
boards, BMX and
rollerblades. It was
weird... and we were
suddenly hanging out
with BMX and skate
guys. I don't think it
was as overwhelm-
ing then as it is today for new
kids because there are so many
names out there now. I just don't
think it was that big of a deal
for us back then. I pretty much
already knew the top BMXers
and skaters from being into BMX
throughout my life.
"It's amazing how far freestyle
has come. Yesterday, Travis Pas-
trana came out and did a double
backflip in his final run, and he
didn't even have to do a final run.
However, many years ago, he
did a double backflip and said,
'I hope I never have to do one
again.' A couple of years go by
and he's doing a couple of back-
flips in a run and that's how we
are—we cannot not up the ante.
When someone comes to the
table with something big, it's our
personalities to want to go out
and at least do what that person
did or go above and beyond and
say, 'Okay, you did this, well I just
did this.' The rate of progression
is so rapid now, especially with
people having foam pits."
More than anything, the foam
pit has changed the sport. Now
you can practice a trick and not
hurt yourself when something
goes wrong. But, as Metzger
says, you eventually have to land
the trick on dirt. And that's where
things can go wrong.
"The things that we do, you are
going to get injured," Metzger said.
"Every guy is going to get hurt and
that's the name of the game—you
can't go out and not crash a dirt
bike when you are pushing the lim-
FREESTYLE
Metzger's first
passion was
motocross.
