2019-08-01_Maxim_Australia

N—AustralianFMXChampion,XGamesco

FreestyleKingstheCrustyDemons—shareshistraininganddietregimes,talksbroken

bones and how he mentally preparestoperformsomeofthe world’s deadliest stunts...

THE

Anatomy of an Athlete:

EXTREME SPORT

INTERVIEWBYSANTI PINTADO

PHOTOS (THIS PAGE):

MERCEDES-BENZ GOLD COAST

I taketothecourse,it’sa sprintwhere

youmustfit asmanyjumpsin asyoucan

in 90secondswhileperformingthemost

dangeroustrickin thesport— allwhile

maintaining complete mental clarity.

Describea normaltrainingdayforyou?

WhenI’mhomein Australiain between

eventsI usuallywakeupat 4am,run

twokilometresasa warm-uptomylocal

F45in Helensvale,ontheGoldCoastin

Queensland,whereI thendoa 45-minute

class– usuallya high-intensitystrength

andcardioworkout.If I’mfeelinggoodI

mightstayfortwoclasses,soa 90-minute

workoutin totalfollowedbya two-kilometre

runhome.ThenI headintoP3Sports

recoveryin BurleighHeadstorotatein the

magnesiumiceandheatbaths.I trydothis

five-to-sixdaysa weekwhichcanbepretty

taxingonthebodyafterbeingawayontour

for months at a time. Right now, I’m also

hatmadeyouwantto

getintothissport,Pat?

I’mnotsurewhatit was

aboutmotorcyclesthatfirst

inspiredme.AsfarasI can

rememberit’sjustsomething

thatI’vealwaysknownI was

borntodo.I askedmydadfor

a dirtbikewhenI wasthree

yearsoldandstartedriding

withhishelp.Sincethen,

I’vebeenona missiontobe

thebestriderin theworld

in mychosendiscipline

• FreestyleMotocross.

What’sanaspectofyour

jobthatmostpeople

wouldbesurprisedto

knowabout?

Alongwithbeinghighly-skilled

motorcycleriderswearealso

professionalrisktakers.Every

timeI swinga legovermybike

andperformthesetricks,we

arefacingtheriskof deathor

seriousinjury.However,throughout

theyearsof doingthisoverandovermy

abilitytowalkthetightropebetweenlife

anddeathhasbecomesecondnature

givingmetheabilitytofeela senseof

freedomthata lotof peopledon’tgetto

experiencein life.Fora job,tohavethis

asanextrabonusis prettyawesome.

Describeyourfitnessregime?

I trytomaintaina fairlyhighlevelof strength

andcardiotrainingbecauseI compete

in theFIMFMXWorldChampionship

throughouttheyear,whichis a competition-

basedformat,soit’simportantformeto

be fit, agile and explosive. Essentially, when

doingassistedstretchingtwodaysa

weekat ActionSportsPerformancein

Brisbaneasallthetrainingtendstomake

mybodysuper-tight,whichmakesit hard

toextendmytrickswhenyou’reinflexible.

It also helpstoavoidinjurywhenyou

crashandhittheground.

Is thereanyspecific

trainingyouneedto

doinyourprofession?

Alongwithobviousbike

practicewithlearning

newtricks,etc...Forme,

it’simportanttostaylean,

agileandexplosivesoI avoid

liftingsuperheavyweights.

I guessyoucouldcompare

metoa gymnast.

Whatarethemost

importantmusclegroups

youconcentrateon?

It’smostimportanttohavea

strongcore,howeveroverall

strengthfromarmstolegsis

ideal.Alsomentalstrengthis a necessity

aspushingpastfearbarriers is vital to be

successfulin oursport.

Describethementalstrengthneeded

todowhatyoudo?

Thebiggestchallengeis havingtheability

anddisciplinetoletgoof fearandpush

yourbodyintotheunknown.Forexample,

recentlyI wasjumpinga 55-metrejumpand

ontheapproachforthefirsttimetravelling

at about100km/hthereis somuchgoing

throughyourmind– thegravityof what

you’redoingandtheconsequencesif

somethingwastogowrongis justso

real it’s easy for your mind to slip and be

W