Before they tried many of their signature stunts, they’d show the outtakes on a big screen of what had gone wrong in the past.
Before some poor chap fired down the giganta-ramp in a sketchy barrel, we learned that this was the same barrel that had almost killed Jolene Van Vugt for example. Before paraplegic motorcyclist Bruce Cook stomped a live backflip – hell yes – we watched the accident at a previous Nitro Circus show that had caused his disability.
So, you’d think that when the opportunity arose for the audience to participate in the Nitro Circus show, most would be a little sceptical, especially given that they’d be attempting a backflip with Cam Sinclair… and all four of them would be on the same bike.
Alas, no. These are action sports fans. They rushed to the barrier to get selected by Travis, and three were selected, made to sign waivers and told literally that if they pressed any part of the bike while they were on it, they would probably die. Then they were shown some previous failures of the four-person backflip for good measure.
Anyway, after all the fun, games and fear, the incident actually ended up on a sour note, when there was a mechanical failure in the bike halfway up the ramp and all four riders tumbled off a ledge about 20ft high.
The back rider was fine, as was Cam Sinclair, but the other two found them sandwiched between the bike and the floor, with one sustaining a hip injury, one sustaining a face injury, and both being taken to hospital. Watch the footage of the incident here:
