It wasn’t that long ago that
Higashino was dreaming of
becoming one of the sport’s
best riders in the world. A far cry
from his previous line of work: he
was doing construction - roofing
homes and buildings. Instead
of dreading the mornings, he
now looks forward to loading up
his bike, his dog, and his wife
to head out to one of the many
compounds scattered over the
Temecula Basin to practice his
insane arsenal of tricks.
£ Taka busts out his Kung-Fu skills
with a huge Shaolin Flip
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Taka has a constant desire to
keep bettering himself, which
he’s proven day in and day out
as his wife films every practice
session so that he can critique
his every move and then perfect
it. Only when he’s satisfied
with how he sees it is the trick
finished.
It doesn’t matter if it’s just
practice or a demo, Higashino
will lay it out on the line every
time; from Backflip Rock
Solids to working on new
Double Grab Flip combos.
He’s a true warrior fighting
to drive his samurai sword
through his competition leaving them no chance to
recover.
He’s won Transworld MX
magazine FMX rider of the year
award twice in a row now from
2012-13. Surprised that he won
both years he said he couldn’t
believe it, especially the second
time around. But when you win
three consecutive gold medals
in FMX at the most prestigious
event - X Games - it shouldn’t
be unexpected. And that’s Taka:
humble, appreciative, thankful for
everyone who’s helped him along
the way, and always seen smiling
ear to ear.
As Nuclear Cowboyz 2014
nears the end of its tour, focus
is starting to shift towards
competition events like X-Fighters
(which is coming back to his
hometown of Osaka in Japan)
68 | FreestyleXtreme
All the US guys I met
helped me to get a
chance... that’s why I can
make my dream come true