Nitro Circus’ own Travis Pastrana discusses growth of motocross sports: ‘Awesome to see’

When you think of action sports, very few names come to mind, but Travis Pastrana is certainly one of them.

Pastrana, 41, has joined the likes of Tony Hawk, Dave Mirra and Ryan Sheckler as some of the most popular names in action sports, with Pastrana being a motocross legend.

He began Nitro Circus in 2003, which at first was “a group of friends in a backyard in a sport that didn’t really exist” doing extreme tricks on bikes.

It then became a television show on MTV, they released numerous DVDs, and today, they perform in front of live audiences.

Nitro Circus announced their newest U.S. tour, where they will visit 30 cities throughout the country from Nov. 3 to Dec. 16.

What started out as all fun in the backyard is now larger than life, Pastrana says.

“It’s just awesome to see how far the next generation has taken what we started 20 years ago,” Pastrana said in a recent interview with Fox News Digital.

It all started with “just us having a good time pushing the limits and being passionate about what we did,” but now, motocross and action sports as a whole have grown to new levels, which Pastrana also credits the internet for.

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“So many kids now [are] growing into the action sports world. Back when I was growing up, we didn’t have that opportunity. It’s really cool to see how many young kids, especially with the Olympics coming in, you can be an Olympic athlete, you can represent your country in skateboarding, BMX, snowboarding, that’s really cool for us,” he says.

The sport doesn’t have a “face” like it did in the late ’90s and early 2000s with the aforementioned Hawk, Sheckler, Mirra, etc., but Pastrana says the sports don’t need that in order to grow because the community makes it grow anyway.

“Now, you have stuff on the internet every single day, and if you’re not posting every day, if you’re not coming up with something new every day, you’re less relevant. So it’s very difficult to stay relevant for as long as you could in the early 2000s. … It’s very difficult to be your Dave Mirras, Ryan Schecklers, Tony Hawks in this day and age. It’s a very interesting transition on how to build superstars, but at the same time, everything you do is under a microscope. … It’s something that’s been great to bring in the next generation, but difficult to make superstars.”

Every kid goes through the phase, but a small minority keep it going, and that makes the community so tight-knit. Pastrana reflected on a heartwarming story from a mother whose son attended a Nitro Circus event.

“She hugged me and said, ‘I didn’t want my kid to be a skateboarder … but if my son can be a part of something with such a passionate group of people to do what he loves to do, I understand that passion, and I am so happy to support him now after seeing this is something he loves to do,’” Pastrana says. “We’re missing the mark on giving kids opportunities to find a passion, so if we can get them outdoors more … let’s go.”

The tour’s first stop is Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and it will conclude in Savannah, Georgia, after stops in the Dakotas, the Midwest, the tri-state area and other spots.

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