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Downtime with Steve Mini

Written by Goba Thursday, 07 April 2011 09:32

by gobadirt.com

Nitro Circus Live is now done and dusted Down Under for another year, and once again the tour didn't disappoint. Just when you think you've seen it all, every new show provided a higher level of insanity – from Andy Buckworth's Superman Double Front Flip, Mark 'Monz' Monea's 360 Front Flip, and Special Grag's Special Flip to name a few, the bar just kept being raised beyond what seems possible. The energy that surrounds the Nitro Circus athletes is special, with each one of them pushing their own limits every show to help make it the best action sports show on earth. The downside to pushing so hard is that sometimes they make mistakes, and as Steve Mini found out at stop three of the tour in Canberra one slight miss on a Grab trick sends you falling from the highest of highs to lowest of lows in 3-seconds flat! We caught up with Mini the day before he went into hospital for shoulder reconstruction to talk about his gnarly accident and what affects it will have on his 2011 season.

Steve Mini has a positive mindset after his crash and plans to be back on the bike ASAP

Hey Mini, Nitro Circus is now over Down Under, you certainly has some ups and downs while on it, the big down was that massive crash, run us through that:

Well we were in Canberra for the 3rd show of the Aussie tour. I was doing the last jump in the combo section, which is where I do a Holy Grab to One Hand Indy to Rocksolid to No Hander Lander. I guess I just threw it too hard straight off the ramp and couldn't quite grab the hole. It was one of those tricks that I'd done a million times and I guess I just got too comfortable with it. That show was doomed from the start. Travis Pastrana got taken to hospital before the show started with a blood clot in his leg, then I went down then Sincs went down on the Double Flip.

What does it feel like when you're that high up and you know your screwed:

It could possibly be the worst feeling ever. And because of the trick I was doing I pretty much lost the bike at the beginning of the trick so I floated up to the highest point and then down without the bike. Its only 3 seconds but it feels like you're up there forever. When I realised I'd lost the bike I remember actually saying "oh f#ck, not again".

Watch Minis crash at Canberra Nitro Circus below


What's the deal now, official damage report, and how long you off for:

I ended up breaking my arm up where all the ligaments attach. I tore my rotator cuff and labrum. They also think I tore something else but they cant pick it up on an MRI so they have to wait until they cut me open for the reco to see if I've done more damage. If I have I'll have to have another surgery a month or so after the reconstruction.  I have surgery on Thursday so depending on just how much damage I've done it could be up to six months before I ride again.

You were really riding well before this happened, how bad does it screw up your plans for breaking back into overseas comps:

Yeah this has definitely been a major setback. I was suppose to go to Europe next month for 3 weekends of IFMXF and then to Vegas for the Nitro Circus show. Then I was gonna move in with Mike Mason for a while and do some riding over there. So I had some pretty big plans for the year which are'nt gonna happen now. Pretty much the only job I have right now is to get fit and healthy so I plan on using my time wisely and work on a few other ideas I have. I've also got a house being built at the moment so I'll have plenty of time to get all that done now. It sucks but things can always be worse so I just need to set some goals and make the most of the time off.

Mini was on top of his game before his accident

How was the Nitro tour compared to last year. Was it as good, or better:

The Nitro show is unreal and it just keeps blowing everyone away in every town we visit. I think this years was better just because everyone knows each other a lot better so we're all mates now. I actually got to sit in the stands and watch the show on the weekend in the Gold Coast. It was a really good experience to sit in the crowd and watch everyones reaction. Its a good, fun show and the people loved it and I'm stoked to be a part of it.

What were some of the highlights in your eyes:

As far as the show goes the BMX boys were the highlights in my eyes. They stepped it up every show and between Andy Buckworth, Jai Toohey and Matty Whyatt there were about 3 tricks done that had never been done before. Away from the shows I think the activites we did in New Zealand were the best – White water rafting, skydiving and jetboat racing. We had a lot of fun.


Turndown Whip, one of Mini's fav tricks

Special Gregs 'Special Flip' was insane, do you think its possible on a moto:

Yeah I definitely think so. It wont be an everyday trick, but if you were the kind of rider that loved getting into a foam pit all day its definitely possible.

Before Nitro started you switched briefly to Kawasaki's then back to Yamaha, what was that all about:

Well the Showtime team switched to Kawis this year. Even though I dont do a lot of Showtime shows anymore I still rode for the team so I got a 4-stroke to ride. They were great to ride but my schedule was just too busy to have enough time to get use to the bike so when it came time to go back on tour I chose to ride a 2-stroke so I could ride the best I could. As far as the future goes I'm still not sure what I'll be riding when I get back on the bike. I've spoke to a few different people about some ideas so you'll just have to stay tuned.

I'll be back!

Red Bull X-Fighters kicks off in a week and there's a bunch of Aussies in the mix, who do you think will be the riders to watch out for:

I can only really go off the people I've seen ride recently and I think Bilko's going to be up there. His riding is nearly back to where it was before he got hurt so if he gets some practise time in this week he'll have a really good chance of top 3. I saw Levi ride last month and you couldnt tell at all that he'd just spent months off injured. Its going to be a really good series this year.

Hope to see you back on the bike soon mate, all the best for a speedy recovery!

Thanks mate, and a big thanks to everyone else – Jetpilot, Global action sports, Kustom, Electric, ProZ, Answer, SixSixOne, Electric, Gavin at Serco and all the fans. If any kids have any questions email them through and I'll answer them - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

All pics www.nitrocircuslive.com