In many ways, the tattooed limbs and horrifying skin-graft
    scars of Mike Metzger personify freestyle motocross. The 23-year-old Quail
    Valley, California, resident is the undisputed pioneer of the sport, creating a
    new realm of riding dirt bikes both in attitude and performance. Scars tell only
    part of his story, but it's obvious when looking at them that nothing has
    impeded his drive to keep pushing a little further. "I stopped counting awhile
    ago," he said of the number of injuries he has endured throughout his career. A
    relatively small guy, Metzger has no problem going huge, and throwing down
    tricks no one thought possible on a motorcycle. Because of his career,
    freestyle motocross first caught fire in the United States, and then the world,
    with jump contests in cities ranging from Sydney, Australia, to Paris, France.

    With an amazing performance in the video that launched it, Metzger had eager
    fans, young and old, lining up in droves to buy their copy of Crusty Demons of
    Dirt in 1993. At age 17, Metzger was going bigger than anyone in the video,
    pulling moves like heel clickers that until then were unheard of. Also a
    competitive professional racer, he became wildly popular after the release of
    that first ground-breaking film.

    Metzger took his first ride on a motorcycle with his dad before he
    could walk. By the time he was three, he had his own JR 50, which he rode until
    his first race at age six. Raised in a competitive family, Metzger was
    encouraged to race by his father, also a pro motocrosser from Southern
    California.

    Metzger said it was training for races that helped develop his freestyle talents.
    "Freestyle, to me, is just practice for racing," Metzger says.

    No matter what he calls it, freestyle motocross is a lucrative endeavor for
    Metzger. He enters the Gravity Games as the reigning International Freestyle
    Motocross Association Free Air Festival World Freestyle Motocross Champion,
    taking the first title of the relatively new but flourishing pro freeride circuit.

                         Besides dominating the jump
                         contests, Metzger's video career is
                         thriving. While featured in numerous freestyle
                         videos, Metzger, like many athletes, views his
                         sport as a way of life rather than a means to
                         an end-he's wary of selling out. "The videos
                         have been great for the sport, but we are on
                         the verge of over-exploitation, with people
                         producing videos strictly for the money rather
                         than the love of the sport," he said.