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The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times
Bageshri Savyasachi

It's the closest thing to flying, and these kids are addicted

As a young boy, Robbie Maddison would sit on the back of a postman's bike and help him deliver the mail.

His obsession took off when he watched his father ride them all throughout his childhood and he would do just about anything to be able to hop on a motorcycle.

"A young kid up the road was riding a motorcycle, I just saw the freedom he had and I immediately fell in love with that," Mr Maddison said.

Freestyle Kings extreme motocross riders perform nail-biting tricks behind Robbie Maddison and his sons Jagger, 10, and Kruz, 13. Picture by Gary Ramage

He was gifted one for Christmas at four years old and quickly became unstoppable.

"I always wanted to fly up into the sky and motorcycles was as close as I could get to it," Mr Maddison told The Canberra Times.

Record-breaking thrills

His decades of experience in motocross racing in the country contributed to his meteoric rise in freestyle motocross in Australia and eventually the world.

The 42-year-old holds the Guinness world record for the longest jump ever attempted when he jumped 107 metres across a football field.

He's also jumped off iconic attractions including Greece's Corinth Canal, London's Tower Bridge and San Diego Bay.

Mr Maddison has broken his own record multiple times until he's satisfied with his tricks and landing.

Freestyle Kings extreme motocross riders perform nail-biting tricks behind Robbie Maddison 42, and his sons Jagger, 10 and Kruz, 13. Picture by Gary Ramage

The veteran thrill-seeker is bringing this same energy to Canberra Stadium today for an action-packed choreographed show. His two young sons will also be part of the acts, accompanied by world-famous BMX stars and fire dancers.

What you can expect

"The Freestyle Kings show is for the young, for the adults and for everyone in between," Mr Maddison said.

Show-goers can expect a world-first BMX dance. Riders will be about 30 feet in the air most of the time, trying to impress audiences with wild and unimaginable stunts.

In the second of half of the show, a new ramp called the 'Moon Booter' will be rolled out to help riders 'fly' double the height in the air.

"We start the show off with the tricks that were originally done with freestyle motocross and take the audience for a journey showing them how these tricks evolved over the last two decades. At the end, we show them where tricks have got to now and we pull out the Moon Booter," Mr Maddison said.

Multiple X Games gold medallist Rob Adelberg will do a front flip, world champion Pat Bowden will carry out a double backflip, while New Zealand's Callum Shaw will perform double grab backflip.

"So the bike is upside down above his head, he'll be holding on to the seat with his hands and hanging on underneath. Almost physically impossible, but we have the best riders in the world," Mr Maddison said.

"We have my son, the youngest child in the world doing flips, in the show at 13 years old. He'll be out there backflipping his 55."

Robbie Maddison is excited to bring his action-packed show to Canberra. Picture by Gary Ramage

Following Kruz, his younger son Jagger, 10, will also be jumping the ramp.

"I've been able to train my sons to do what seems to be quite daring tricks and pull them off effortlessly. It's cool to have them out here because it encourages other young kids and it brings awareness to the sport," Mr Maddison said.

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