NITRO CIRCUS PRESENTS: BIGGEST WEEK IN ACTION SPORTS
A Special Television Event Chronicling Seven Days that Changed Extreme Sports Forever
Airing on NBC Sunday, January 3 at 4:30 p.m. EST / 1:30 p.m. PST
(Los Angeles CA / Monday – December 28, 2015) The Shot. The Catch. The Miracle on Ice – all unforgettable moments that transcended the sports page. Extreme sports has its share of incredible achievements as well including Travis Pastrana’s double backflip and Tony Hawk’s 900. This year, Pastrana along with champion FMX rider Josh Sheehan plus BMX stars James Foster and Jed Mildon upped the ante with some unbelievable moments of their own. The drama and high-flying action unfolds in “Biggest Week in Action Sports,” a Nitro Circus television special airing January 3 at 4:30 p.m. EST / 1:30 p.m. PST on NBC. This 90-minute program details how their journeys lead to one extraordinary week in spring 2015.
The broadcast tells the story behind two monumental world’s first attempts. First, a nearly unthinkable triple backflip on a motorcycle. “This is the most dangerous trick in the history of action sports,” says Michael Porra, Nitro Cirus C.E.O. and creative director. A joint project between Pastrana and Nitro Circus, it required construction of an all-new ramp at his “Pastranaland” complex outside Annapolis, Maryland. Set at a staggering 85-degree angle and at 37-feet high four times the height needed for a double flip, it launched riders 100-feet in the air at 60 mph. Pastrana teamed with Nitro Circus teammate Josh Sheehan and the pair pushed the limits of their equipment and their bodies as they strove for the seemingly impossible. “There was no margin for error,” says Pastrana. “The difference between successfully riding out and having a catastrophic injury was only inches.” Sheehan added, “Dropping from those heights you risked getting seriously hurt just practicing into the airbag.”
While Pastrana and Sheehan chased the FMX triple backflip, Nitro Circus stars James Foster and Jed “The Warrior” Mildon were on another high stakes quest: to see who could be the first to land an unprecedented quadruple backflip on a BMX bike. The two competed in a global, nine-month battle with Mildon based in his New Zealand hometown and Foster at “Pastranaland.” Both are the only athletes ever to stomp a triple backflip with Mildon the first to accomplish the feat in 2011. “They are the best, most insane BMX riders on the planet,” says Porra. However, the quad backflip was an exponentially bigger challenge given the much greater height and speed required. “You need to get more than 50 feet in the air going over 40 mph just to have a shot at pulling four rotations,” says Foster. “The ramp was unreal. That’s as big as you can go in BMX,” says Mildon.
Both projects encountered numerous obstacles including frightening crashes and numerous injuries. As they continued, it looked like the race between Foster and Mildon to land the quad might coincide with Pastrana and Sheehan and their pursuit of the triple. Each would have made headlines across the globe on its own. “The thought that both might go down in one week was simply unbelievable,” says Pastrana. What happened next would shake the action sports world and exemplify the utmost in courage, commitment and camaraderie.
This riveting documentary captures all the danger and drama as Pastrana, Sheehan, Foster and Mildon stared down their fears, shut out the doubters and tried to make history. It features never before seen footage and brand new commentary from legends like Tony Hawk, Danny Way, Mat Hoffman, Sage Kotsenburge, Bucky Lasek and more, giving incredible insight into just how much was on the line.
NBC Sports Ventures, a division of NBC Sports Group, and Nitro Circus formed a multi-year partnership in May 2015. Nitro Circus programming, including compelling specials and the docu-series, “Nitro Circus: Crazy Train,” now airs regularly in the U.S. on NBC and NBCSN and also streams on NBC Sports Live Extra. Also, the Nitro Circus World Games, a groundbreaking reinvention of action sports competition, will debut at Salt Lake City’s Rice-Eccles Stadium on July 16, 2016, and air live in the U.S. in primetime on NBC.
Nitro Circus Live returns to North America in 2016 with an all-new touring event, playing 40 shows (all in first-time markets) starting in the spring. Go to http://nitrocircus.com/tour/ for a full list of tour dates and to purchase tickets.
For additional Nitro Circus news, exclusive behind-the-scenes content, tour updates and more, go to http://www.nitrocircus.com. Follow Nitro Circus Live on Twitter: @nitrocircus and Facebook: www.facebook.com/NitroCircus.
About Nitro Circus:
Recently named by Forbes magazine as one of America’s Most Promising Companies, Nitro Circus continues to position itself as the world’s leading youth action sports & entertainment brand. From humble beginnings in 2003 – with Jeremy Rawle, Gregg Godfrey and extreme sports superstar Travis Pastrana producing DVDs from a Utah garage — to a smash TV series which has aired in over 60 countries, Nitro Circus has exploded to global popularity. In 2012, Nitro Circus: The Movie 3D, featuring cast members from the hit television series, was released in cinemas worldwide. In 2015, Nitro Circus announced a partnership with NBC Sports Ventures. The multi-year strategic alliance will feature TV specials and series programming airing nationally in the U.S. on NBC and NBCSN as well as streamed on NBC Sports Live Extra.
The TV show was transformed by current CEO and action sports industry guru Michael Porra into a must-see live event in 2010, creating the global touring phenomenon that is Nitro Circus Live. Since its inaugural Australian trek five years ago, the show has travelled the globe, obliterating box office records and cultivating a legion of diehard fans. Nitro Circus has now rolled across five continents, blown away over two million fans and sold-out shows in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, the Middle East and South Africa. With close to 100 shows globally in 2015 and a packed 2016 touring schedule visiting even more cities still to be announced, Nitro Circus is the world’s most successful action sports touring brand.
