Steve Mini and Nitro Circus

IM: Steve Mini, you are a FMX athlete in the Nitro Circus Show. How did you end working with your skills in the Nitro train? What is your background? SM: I grew up in a small town called Mudgee in Australia. Although it's a small town it was really big for motocross. I grew up on a farm riding farm bikes with my brother. I was never big on racing but was always jumping anything I could find. I started doing tricks and slowly progressed until I thought I was good enough to enter a competition. I won the comp and it all went from there. After touring the world with the Crusty Tour and competing in Europe and Australia I was invited to ride on the Nitro Circus Tour in 2010 which I have been a part of since and performed in over 150 shows. IM: I was looking again the ruler/ruler flip part of one of the freestyle train -which is almost poetry in movement to me- (laughs). Who is in charge of the final say for the freestylers' choregraphy? SM: I'm in charge of everything to do with the FMX part of the show. I thought of that train a few years ago but at the time the ruler flip was still quite a rare trick to do. Around a year ago there was enough guys on tour that were doing ruler flips so we were able to do the train. It's still one of the scariest parts of the show for all the riders to do. So I come up with some ideas along with the tour owner, Mike Porra and some of the other riders often suggest things and we just work out what looks best. The tour is so succesful because the riders are the most experienced in the world. We all work so well together to deliver the best show possible. IM: How many freestylers are in the team? And how is it to work with "la crème de la crème" in action sports? SM: On a regular tour there is 12 FMX riders. I've worked with most of these guys for several years now and they're the best group of people you could ever work with. A few of the guys like Bilko and Sinclair have been touring with me for over 10 years now. I'd consider them two of my best pals on and off the tour. IM: You said Johannesburg/Africa was one of the best show ever. What makes the difference between a very good show and the best show? SM: It always comes down to the crowd and the amount of energy they have. We feed off them so if they're into it then we're into it. When the crowd are loud and excited everything always seems to come together and we ride at our best. Even if the crowd aren't so loud we always give it 110% but if the crowds having fun then so are we. IM: In your opinion, where is the best audience in the world? Where does the crowd cheers the most (laughs)? SM: I really can't pick one place. Everywhere we tour we seem to get a great crowd reaction. The show appeals to people of all ages and whether they're into action sports or not. We always have local promoters in european countries tell us that they have never seen a crowd reaction at a live show than what they see at a Nitro Show. I think no matter where in the world we are the crowd can see how much fun we're having so it makes them happy. IM: Sometimes, you run into those inflatable walls at the end of your landing (laughs). Does it hurt? SM: I invented a trick a couple of years ago which is a backflip heelclicker to superman to no hander lander. When you land no hands off a flip the bike rotation makes it shoot out from under me and all the indoor arenas are so small so I always end up in the wall. It hurts everytime but the crowd loves it so I keep doing it. Luckily I haven't gotten seriously hurt yet doing it. IM: We, from the audience, are always wondering if the two (or three!) local guys managing to pull off with Cam Sinclair (Sincs) are part of the Nitro Circus crew...? SM: Nope, it's always local people from the audience. That part of the show is always a crowd favourite and a favourite for us too because nobody ever knows what's going to happen. I think Cams success rate is about 50%. He's sent plenty of people to hospital haha! IM: What do you do now the tour is over? SM: Right now, I just got home to Australia. So I'll take a few weeks off and let the body heal, have Christmas with my family then get back on the bike and get ready for our European Tour that starts mid January. IM: Seing you landing with no hands is amazing! Is it harder for your back and neck? SM: Back, neck, knees and ankles, haha. I'm 32 years old now and I feel like I'm about 60 thanks to doing that trick. IM: You are doing incredible whips and it looks like you are riding backwards. What is your favorite trick in freestyle? SM: My favourite is definitely the whip. No matter where in the world you ride the crowd love a big whip. It's also one of the harder ones that I've had plenty of crashes doing! IM: Who makes the best jokes in the family Nitro? SM: Bilko is our tour clown. He's like a kid with ADD. He's my best friend but even I wanted to beat the shit out of him by the end of our last tour haha! IM: What FMX athlete are you looking up to? SM: Honestly, I've never looked up to any single person. I've got respect for anyone who rides a bike well and is a good person off the bike. That's why our tour works so well. Everyone respects each other. We tour a lot and we live with each other day in and day out and every single person looks out for one another. So for me, I look up to the guys I ride with on tour the most. Thank you Steve! Wishing you fun and safe jumps all over the world!