For most people, riding a bike across a cliff and flipping 360 degrees in the air is a virtual reality, only possible in video games. For others, such as the stunt men and women of Nitro Circus, it is what they do for a living.
If you enjoy watching riders defy gravity, then you will not want to miss Nitro Circus, which is marking its debut in the region with a show on Friday at Abu Dhabi’s Zayed Sports City.
In an email interview, one of the show’s performers, Blake Williams, described the show as “non-stop entertainment from the widest variety of action sports athletes around the world,” promising something for everyone.
“We have the largest variety of athletes from motocross, BMX [bicycle motocross], skate, mountain bikes from around the world, and not to mention some silly people who will jump whatever we put them on,” Williams said.
The show will see some of the world’s best action sports athletes riding dirtbikes, base jumping, and performing various dangerous stunts. The crew will also push their limits on scooters, skates, and a range of devices including a rocking horse, Barbie car, children’s tricycles, bath tub, and boogie board, among others.
Additionally, the show will feature a salute to the UAE on the occasion of the 43rd National Day with a special surprise stunt.
As effortless as the performers make it seem, the show is still very much a dangerous one.
“We have no safety nets, so anything can go wrong at any point, but we haven’t had too many bad accidents. Obviously, we do this for a living, so what we call ‘not too major’ is probably a broken arm or leg or a concussion,” Williams said nonchalantly.
As for the most dangerous stunt he has pulled so far, Williams said it was the cliffhanger backflip in which he flips his motorcycle to hang by his feet from the handlebars.
To pull off such stunts, Williams practices regularly, and makes sure he rehearses the dangerous stunts with his teammates before going live.
“I have been riding and touring professionally for 11 years now. We all work hard at the start of each tour on rehearsals to make sure everything is on point for the crowds. If we need to brush up on something during a tour, there will be an allocated rehearsal time just for that,” the Australian said.
Coming to the capital for the first time, Williams said he was excited to perform in front of the crowds in Abu Dhabi, and see people’s reactions.
The show is led by X-Treme sports legend, Travis Pastrana, who promised an unpredictable finale in Abu Dhabi.
“It’s always fun for us to see the look on peoples’ faces when we hit the jumps for the first time or when they see some of the contraptions that are about to down the giganta ramp, but the last half of the show is always different because our guys push the envelope so far,” he said in a statement.
The show has already been around the world to countries as Australia, South Africa, France, the UK, and the US, among others.
