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Newcastle Herald
Newcastle Herald
Sage Swinton

Freestyle Kings take stunts to the waves ahead of blockbuster show

Ronnie Mac hitting the waves at Nobbys. Picture by Jonathan Carroll

They're used to hang time in the air, but the Freestyle Kings were hanging ten at Nobbys Beach on Friday ahead of their blockbuster show on Saturday.

The riders learned some new skills thanks to Surfest Surf School, even donning motorbike helmets as they hit the waves.

It comes as the crew prepares to entertain thousands of fans at McDonald Jones Stadium for Freestyle Kings Live on March 9.

"Most of us are from regional areas, I'm from regional Victoria so I haven't spent much time on waves and they were able to get us all up on a few waves and out of our comfort zone," Rob Adelberg said.

"So most of the stunts were performed on the waves by a bunch of amateurs."

The Freestyle Kings Live show returns to Newcastle for the first time since 2021, when the stunt show took place at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre.

"I used to live around the area and haven't been here for a couple years," Pat Bowden said.

"But last time I was here was when we did our first Freestyle Kings tour.

"That was sort of testing the product and seeing how it works and since then we've taken the show to New Zealand and toured it all around the country.

Ronnie Mac at Nobbys Beach. Picture by Jonathan Carroll

"So now we've come back with a more refined product. It's kind of come full circle. So it's cool to be back here."

"Obviously the capacity is way bigger, so we're expecting to have a bunch more fans there and the show is much bigger."

While the two riders didn't want to give too much away on what will be in the show, they both promised enthralling entertainment for all ages, saying the performers "don't hold back".

"I think our show's been refined so everyone can enjoy it," Adelberg said.

Jett Anderson was all smiles. Picture by Jonathan Carroll

"From the people who are hardcore freestyle Motocross fans, we're bringing the newest best tricks and we're doing them side by side, and then to the kids that might even not even know any of the tricks and just going to give them a high-five, they love it."

"The cool thing about our show is it's not a structured competition, it's more of a free-flowing event," Bowden said.

"So we definitely vibe off the fans, the crowd is so close to the riders and we feed off each other's energy./

Megan Hall shredding the waves. Picture by Jonathan Carroll

"There are specific parts of the show where it's more structured, but there's no rules. So if the rider is feeling it on the night and the crowd is giving the rider what he needs to feel good, then tricks that potentially have never been thrown in before can get put down just because of the vibe of the night and the magic happens."

And thankfully for fans, the riders aren't looking to veer from motorbikes to surf boards any time soon.

"I have a 50 acre farm down in rural Victoria and I'm happy to stay playing in the dirt out there," Adelberg said.

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