For stunt team progression is key to success

April 22, 2007

ROBERT DeBERRY

Frontiersman

WASILLA - What started in the streets with hooligans and lawbreakers pulling wheelies down the highway has turned into a professional sport with tricks that push the riders skills to the extreme. Now a trio of motorcyclists is looking to push stunt riding to a higher level

Freestyle Syndicate team members Thad Langford, Denis Reynier and Chad Wilson are taking aim at a mass audience and think stunt riding has a place in ESPN's X-Games.

Langford, a Valley resident who works at Hartley Motors, said the X-Games would bring credibility and help grow the sport.

&#8220Right now it is hard for the sport to progress,” Langford said. &#8220Because it comes from the streets. That is where it started.”

Syndicate teammate Denis Reynier agreed.

&#8220It is getting huge,” he said. &#8220But a lot of people don't see it as a sport.”

The activity gets a bit of black eye, they said, because of people who equate it with riders pulling tricks in and out of traffic.

&#8220We definitely don't advocate that,” Langford said. &#8220We tell kids at all our shows ‘don't do it in the streets.' In order for the sport to get bigger and progress, we can't be doing our stunts down the highway.”

Empty parking lots serve as their practice space. Usually with the permission of the owners.

&#8220We only use about 300 feet,” Langford said.

Still, finding a safe legal place to practice can be hard, he said. Even though the team has its own insurance in case of accidents, business owners don't really want a bunch of motorcycles practicing tricks on their property.

For Freestyle Syndicate, practice makes perfect.

&#8220When we perform, there is a lot of choreography going on,” Langford said.

The team's goal this year is to make it to &#8220Stunt Wars” in Florida, which Reynier calls &#8220the contest of all contests.” It is the top tier of competition, which requires competitors to pre-qualify for

an initial field of 200 that gets cut down

to 12.

Stunt shows are a big deal for the Freestyle Syndicate. Not only does it give them a crowd to perform in front of, but it helps bring in a little bit of money.

Usually a company will hire the team to come out and do a show for their customers. The cost to hire the team is always negotiable, Langford said.

&#8220Unless it is a charity show for kids or kids at a hospital or somewhere like that,” he said. &#8220In that case, just give us a call and we will be there.”

Freestyle Syndicate performs shows all over Alaska. Last summer, the team performed for more than 100,000 people.

&#8220We see everybody from 5-year-old kids to 90-year-old adults,” Langford said.

Even with stunt shows all over the state, reaching the point of being able to make a living by doing stunts on a motorcycle is tough. Riders like Langford, Reynier and Wilson depend on sponsors.

Langford credited team sponsors like Hartley Motors, Snap-on Tools, Scorpion Helmets and Jeremy at Mat-Su Tattoos and Big Bob's Flooring for helping the team do what it does.

Stunt riding can be an expensive sport. A $10,000 motorcycle can turn into a $1,500 motorcycle in seconds. And keeping the bikes running is not cheap or easy.

&#8220Without sponsors it would be a lot harder,” Wilson said.

For more information about Freestyle Syndicate, visit the team's Web site at www.freestylesyndicate.com.

Contact Robert DeBerry at 352-2266 or robert.deberry@frontiersman.com.