 |
Derek
Guetter flipping his Can-Am DS450
ATV
|
Wabasso, MN (12/20/2009) -
I’ve been put through some pretty stressful
situations throughout my career, but nothing
quite like this. This experience lands in my
top 3 scariest things in my life (jumping out
of a plane, flipping for the first time, and
now this). I’ve been recruited to ride for the
Nuclear Cowboyz Tour and my job is to shred
and bust back flips. It’s the most insanely
choreographed chaos show ever created, with
the absolute best riders in the world. As if
that wasn’t already enough pressure, hear my
story of what I put myself through the last
2 weeks.
My journey started December 4 leaving Minnesota feeling
confident and hopeful with 28 backflips to dirt under my belt. I had some
major issues with my truck
that I had gotten fixed only hours before we left for our road trip to Los
Angeles, so unfortunately my anxiety was already started to kick in. The
drive was pretty ordinary, sucked
like usual, but I was anxious for the 8 days of rehearsals that were in
front
of me. This was a great opportunity for me to finally get my shot into the
big
leagues.
The first couple days were pretty much what I expected. Bit of nerves and
butterflies going
on. Getting to ride alongside Nate
Adams, Mike Mason, Adam Jones and the rest of the guys is pretty freaking
sweet
not going to lie. But the thing
that was freaking me out the most was the ramps. Obviously this show is
all on metal landings, but the take
off ramp was completely different than my ramp that I had been flipping
on. This setup jumped me higher,
farther, and stayed in the air for at least another ½ second than what I was
used to. All those things together
make up a bid deal, and really REALLY messed with head.
After our first practice on the ramps I knew I needed more
time to get comfortable. I had
asked to get my own practice time so I could get this dialed in. It’s
chaotic with 14 dirt bike riders
all at once, add a quad into that and its pure madness. I came in an hour
early every day for
the next 5 days and not ONCE got a good day of riding in. 10 jumps is not
enough for me to feel
good and just flip, because there are some serious consequences if I screw
up
on this setup.
It wasn’t until Sunday that I got a good ride in, and I took
full advantage of it. I got all my
tricks dialed in, and even learned a few new variations. I felt good but
was still really
nervous to tug this flip because my last back flip was 13 days prior. Talk
about stressing it, I didn’t sleep
a wink all week and the first show with an audience was only 2 days away.
Monday morning was my D-day. I had wanted to get into a foam
pit just to make sure I still had it. I’m not sure why I had this idea, but
flipping had got my train of thought all wacked out. Well the foam pit just
wasn’t going to happen, it had rained all week and I had run out of time. I
had
talked with the tour managers and it was either flip at the show Tuesday
night,
or I’m getting cut from tour. I
was pissed. I had come in early
everyday to feel comfortable and every day something stopped me from what I
was
trying to do. I had so much
frustration at this point I just turned all this anger and rage into
motivation. I was sick of feeling
this scared and weak. I told all
the riders getting dressed to give me 10 minutes; I’m going for the flip
right
now. Everyone cleared the floor,
and there I went. Honestly I
didn’t really care at that point, I came to LA to flip and after a week
like I
just had of being mentally drained I wanted to get this over with. I knew
I could flip, but going for it
on a completely different setup was gnarly.
Thank God my first flip went perfect! I couldn’t have landed it any
better! It was so weird, I pulled
the exact same way I did on my ramp, but since I was in the air that much
longer this flip was just felt really floaty and a bit slower rotation. It
was awesome; it was one of those
things that I was so proud of myself for overcoming that much fear.
Everyone in the building exploded with
excitement, and that got me pumped.
I was back on track. It was
great having all the riders keeping me positive all week, and after I
finally
pulled it they were just as stoked as I was. It really is a great group of
guys on this tour, they have
lots of love for the Quad guy and I have the same respect for all of them.
So leave it to me to flip the day BEFORE the show. I’m so happy to say the
show went
awesome. I did 2 flips in the show and did a total of 7 flips on this ramp
to
ramp setup. This has done so much
for my confidence, I feel like I can take over the world now. I’m just
glad I didn’t panic because I
had everyone around me nervous as hell, but still managed to keep my
composure
with the help of a few special people around me. Now everything’s good and
I feel great about flipping at the
next show. If you guys get a chance to see the Nuclear Cowboyz Tour, GO SEE
IT! It is absolutely insane!!
See you in Pittsburgh January 2!
www.quadfreestyle.com/
G3 / Akraix Quad Freestyle
27157 230th. St.
Wabasso, MN 56293
