Red Bull Australia

Robbie Maddison rocketed into 2008 with a bang—jumping his motorcycle 322 feet, 7.5 inches to break the world record at the Rio All-Suite Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas—and finished the season on the podium in nearly every contest he competed in. He ended 2008 back in Vegas, jumping his bike onto the top of the 96-foot-high Arc de Triomphe at Paris Las Vegas and then freefell off of it, at Red Bull: New Year. No Limits., again on ESPN.

“Red Bull X-Fighters is my favourite, for sure,” the man they call Maddo says. “The locations are insane, the format is great, and they have the most advanced, technical courses so the tracks are testing all the riders. It’s really a rider’s contest because it’s the most challenging, just the highest level contest on every avenue. It takes the cake.”

At the 2010 Red Bull X-Fighters tour, Maddo introduced a spectacular new trick – the Volt Body Varial – in Spain and was looking good for a points-rich finish to the year in London and Rome. Sadly, host of injuries blighted Robbie's progress and the Australian was forced into a long hibernation. The time off, was, confesses Maddo, 'a bonus' as a far more important event occurred – the birth of his son, Kruz. Says the FMX star: 'It has given me a whole new motivation."

"I’m still dedicated to riding the best I can because that supports my family and that’s the most important thing now. I need to do it wisely because I don’t want to get hurt," he says. His next big challenge? All eyes will be on Maddo on New Year's Eve 2011, as he attempts to set a new distance record by jumping a 300ft water gap at Embarcadero Marina Park at San Diego Bay, USA.

With more than a decade of amateur racing behind him, Robbie Maddison has emerged as one of the biggest names in freestyle motocross. He’s also managed to turn adversity into advantage, saying that his numerous injuries have only served to help him focus on his goals and raise his own bar. “In some ways, serious injuries helped me refocus on how important this whole adventure around the world is to me. It fires me up more than ever, so it's a blessing in disguise. Traveling the world, doing something I love, meeting the people I’ve met—it’s been a wild ride and I want to keep it going for as long as I can.”