Riding HIGH

Mike Sciacca

Mike Metzger talked about the seven screws and the metal plate in

his right arm as though it were an afterthought, a nuisance that

simply was inevitable.

After all, Metzger, or “Metz,” as he’s known to friends, says it’s

all part of the job.

“I’ve hurt everything and broken just about every bone,” the

Huntington Beach native said. “If there’s something to break, I’ll

break it. But I’m pretty resilient.”

Metzger rides Motocross and has had so many broken bones that his

26-year-old body at times might feel as though its been around for 80

years.

“Sure, you take your lumps, but it comes with the territory. I

love what I do,” he said.

Metzger is one of the top Motocross athletes in the world. He

holds that status despite breaking his back three times, twice

breaking the femur in his left leg, breaking his right leg and

fracturing both of his heels.

He’s a daring rider but “in control,” he says, and seems to thrive

on competition and exhibitions.

“Mike’s an incredibly skilled rider. I don’t think any other rider

has the technical depth that he possesses across the board, from

Motocross to freestyle Motocross, road racing to the newest sport of

Super TT, also known as Super Motocross,” said Russell Stratton, a

former rider who first met Metzger eight years ago, when Metzger was

an “up-and-coming” rider.

“What’s amazing about Mike is that he has really fine control of

both the space he’s in and with his motorcycle,” Stratton said. “He’s

an artist who competes in a physical world. His personality

definitely is unique.”

Metzger’s artistry extends beyond the competition and exhibition

arena: he paints, sculpts, does graffiti and, at one point during his

career when he was on the mend from an injury, he got his license and

went to work as a professional tattoo artist, Stratton said.

He has several tattoos on his 5-foot-10 frame, all relating to

each other and telling a story.

Metzger is credited as the freestyle creator and pioneer of many

freestyle staples. On July 2, he became the first person to land a

ramp-to-dirt back flip on a full-size bike.

Also this past summer, he won the silver medal in freestyle

Motocross at the Gravity Games held in August in Cleveland.

Two weeks later, he was in Philadelphia for the ESPN X Games where

he won gold medals in the freestyle Motocross and Big Air

competitions, and a silver in the Step Up event.

The Step Up competition had riders start at flat ground and

attempt to go up and over a standard bar. Metzger cleared the bar at

33 feet, falling short of the world mark by 1 foot but having just

enough to earn the silver medal.

But it was the Big Air competition that had Metzger at his best.

It is his “no-hander lander,” as he calls it, no-feet maneuvers and

several thrilling back flips that garnered gold.

“I was happy with my performances,” said Metzger, who also won a

silver medal at the 2000 Gravity Games. “The X Games and Gravity

Games are the two biggest events in the world for freestyle

Motocross, and I was thrilled to be competing again.”

Metzger, who rides a 225-pound CR 250 Honda, says that one of his

riding inspirations is his father, Ted, a former Motocross athlete

who also suffered a broken back competing in the sport.

The younger Metzger said he has been riding since birth and

remembers entering his first Motocross competition at the age of 6.

He has been riding Motocross since he was 16 but quit racing in

1998.

Metzger flew to London this week. He’s en route to Belgium for a

Super TT racing event. Then it’s back to Sheffield, England, to give

a Motocross exhibition at the culmination of a big SuperCross event.

Metzger says he plans on doing six to eight different freestyle

jumps and will finish his exhibition with a couple of back flips in

an effort to “wow” the crowd, he said.

His every move in preparation for the European trip has been

caught on camera by an MTV crew, which followed Metzger and will

feature him in an upcoming show.

“It’s been a pretty hectic time but I’m looking forward to

performing overseas,” he said.