I was lucky enough to witness Nitro Circus Live in London for the second successive year, on Friday night. In recent months, the show has gone from strength to strength. In my opinion, Nitro Circus Live is the best show on earth, if you are a fan of extreme sports – it is a perfect blend of a few different sports that are rarely involved in the same performance.
When I first saw Nitro Circus Live at the O2 arena in 2012, I was left in awe. Honestly, I could not fault it. So, with that in mind, I was a bit sceptical heading to Earl’s Court last week. I did not know how they were going to better the show that they had put on one year earlier! But, we all know how the crew are always trying to push the limits, so it really was not much of a surprise to see them come out with an improved show. Although the core remained the same, the tricks performed were on another level – it was simply mind blowing.
In 2012, a lot of the guys involved in Nitro Circus Live were out injured when the show got to the UK, which restricted the tricks that we saw. At the first UK tour, we didn’t get to see a double backflip on a motocross bike, for example, which was disappointing. But with a large majority of them fighting fit this year, we got to see some breathtaking stuff, on Friday. Fortunately, we got to see the double backflip that we missed out on one year earlier, also.
I could not believe how effortlessly Josh Sheehan pulled off the double backflip. Josh cruised up to the takeoff in such a calm manner that I didn’t think that he going to pull the trigger; it just looked like he was doing another test run. But remarkably he pulled it off, and with a bit of time to spare! It was obviously one of (if not) the most exciting parts of the show. Strangely, I prefer seeing a whip than a backflip variation. So, apart from that double backflip, the whip trains were most interesting to me. Jarryd McNeil specifically went above and beyond with his whips – it was awesome!
Obviously, the fact that Travis Pastrana was on a bike for the show was a great addition – he was just doing some announcing last year, because of his Nascar commitments. Travis brings tons of excitement with him wherever he goes, hence why Nitro Circus has been such a success, worldwide. I thought it was cool that both Travis and his partner, Lyn-Z Pastrana, were still out there doing tricks, despite the fact that they recently became parents. It just shows how dedicated they are to action sports, and Nitro Circus. Although, in the two shows I have seen, I have not seen Lyn-Z land a single trick – it’s just something that I have noticed.
Like I said above, Nitro Circus Live thrives because of the variety that they offer. Interestingly, they do not restrict themselves to the mainstream sports like FMX, BMX and Skate, as they also launched various contraptions off of the ‘MegaRamp’. In my opinion, the most amusing was the rocking horse – it’s just something that you do not think you will ever seen! In my opinion, one of the greatest additions to this year’s show was the “Nitro Golf”, which was first seen in the Nitro Circus movie. I could not believe that they landed in there first time – I thought it was going to take a few attempts at least! It’s just so unique; you will not see that anywhere else in the world.
Despite the fact that I am a huge motocross fan, I think I enjoyed the BMX portion of the show more. Perhaps that is because it is something different? Seeing tricks like a backflip triple tail-whip, and a triple backflip was just incredible! In all honesty, every single athlete deserves props for their performance, as everyone was pushing the limits.
The Nitro Circus Live UK tour is over for another year. But, if you ever find yourself with an opportunity to see the show, you should take it with both hands. At the moment, it has not been revealed when the show will next be in the UK – hopefully it will be quite soon. Despite the fact that I have seen Nitro Circus Live twice now, I cannot wait to see it again.
Words by Lewis Phillips
Image courtesy of Elliot Spencer
