Pro BMX rider Terry Adams puts on a BMX flatland performance for students Wednesday. Red Bull energy drinks sponsors several events on campus each semester.
Red Bull-sponsored BMX professional Terry Adams was on campus Wednesday, riding in front of the Edmon Low Library and showing off some flatland stunts.
The show began about 12:30 p.m. and lasted about an hour. He did his signature trick, Katrina, as well as several other tricks including the Karl Cruiser.
Many BMX professionals use jumps and ramps to preform typical BMX tricks. Flatland BMX involves performing tricks on a smooth, flat surface while riding a 20-inch bicycle.
Coordination becomes key in flatland BMX as riders try to maintain balance while pulling off tricks that are often described as elegant and artistic.
In 1993, Adams began racing BMX and quickly became interested in flatland BMX. Then in 1999, when Adams was 16, he competed in his first professional BMX contest.
Adams started to get national attention in 2002 when he won a King of Ground contest in Japan. He has placed in several other contests, including X-Games, Flatland Voodoo Jam, World Championships in Germany and Urban Games in London. Since he has gone pro, he has obtained several sponsors other than Red Bull, including Raising Cane’s, a restaurant well-known for its chicken fingers.
Mandy Channel, an elementary education freshman, stopped on her way to class to watch him perform.
“I just don’t know how you would learn to do something like that,” Channel said. “It takes so much serious talent, and you’ve got to be in really good shape to do that stuff.”
When he’s home in Louisiana, Adams trains four hours a day when preparing for a contest and two hours a day on normal days, he said. He rents a boating precinct so he can practice in inclement weather. When he’s on the road, he sees his shows as “hanging out,” not training.
“Basically everything you see me falling on is something new,” Adams said.
Adams said he enjoys watching “American Idol,” “Real World” and other reality shows when he’s not practicing. He also said he enjoyed the OSU campus.
“It’s been the best campus we’ve been to so far,” he said.
Fans of Adams can see him perform in the Flatland Voodoo Jam in New Orleans on May 31, King of Ground in Japan on April 6 and July 20, and BMX Masters in Germany July 4-6.
The event was designed to raise awareness about Adams and flatland BMX, said Olivia Withington, an advertising senior and Red Bull’s student brand manager.
“We’re stopping at numerous campuses around Oklahoma,” Withington said.
Some of the students who stopped to watch and visited with the Red Bull representatives received cans of Red Bull to help them get through the day.
Red Bull sponsors several “underground” events throughout the year here on campus. Students can usually identify these events by the representatives nearby wearing refrigerated backpacks shaped like Red Bull cans.
Students interested in learning more about Adams can visit http://www.terryadamsbmx.com/ or http://www.redbull.com/.
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