Brian Deegan and the Metal Mulisha
It was an atypical day in Southern California. It had just rained and Brian Deegan’s Temecula backyard was mushy. It was not a good day for him to ride. The clay-like mud would just muck up the gearing. And it could also be dangerous for Deegan who was just coming back from his horrific crash on the ice at the 2004 Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado.
That the video production crew would not be seeing Deegan in action was disappointing. But we set up two separate locations at his property for interviews of Deegan and his buddy, Jeremy Sternberg aka “Twitch.”
Interviewing Brian Deegan
Deegan showed me photos of himself in the hospital after the crash. And then he explained what had happened. When reviewing the ramp prior to his run, he realized that it was really cold. And he knew that the bike’s engine might not lift the cycle up to the required height for his 75-foot, 360-degree spin which he had dubbed the Mulisha Twist. He practiced the stunt at home in SoCal where he had a foam pit. But things didn’t feel right in Aspen. Still, when he saw the crowds of people and assessed their level of expectation, he decided to go for it. When he did, he wasn’t able to reach the required azimuth. He separated from his bike. And then he came crashing down from nearly 45 feet above ice like concrete. He split his left femur and broke both of his arms in the crash.
He told me “I’m 31 and I can’t even walk around the block with my daughter.” But he was able to take her for a short, slow spin on one of his bikes, for the camera. That was a bonus.
Interviewing Jeremy Stenberg
Neither Deegan nor Sternberg had any great love for race promoters. And Deegan told me how he was putting more energy into his own company. The Metal Mulisha seemed to be “by the people, of the people and for the people” in the sport of dirt biking.
As noted in Wikipedia: Brian Deegan (born May 9th in Omaha, Nebraska) is a professional Freestyle Motocross rider and a founding member of the Metal Mulisha. Deegan was the first ever to do a 360 (some say an off-axis backflip because it was not as flat) in competition; he named the trick the “Mulisha Twist”. He has also been a pioneering innovator in Freestyle Motocross and is the most decorated Freestyle Motocross rider in X Games history. With 10 total medals (3 Golds and 7 Bronzes) he is the only rider to compete in at least 1 event in every X Games.
We wrapped the video equipment. Then I ordered a couple of pizzas for lunch for the crew and the Deegan household. In later months, I learned that Brian Deegan had healed well enough to perfect his 360. By now he is probably coaching his children.
