That Crusty Demons Night of
Records event in 2008 that
you just mentioned was a
huge night. There were tens of
thousands of people and the
weather was pretty average as
well. Looking back, it’s amazing
the night even went ahead.
What was the pressure like
there?
I was excited to finally try to
break the 251ft record that I’d last
attempted at Mike Cinqmars’ in
1999 when I split my head open
on the handlebars and crashed
hard.
That night in 2008, I just had a gut
feeling that this was my time and
chance. I’d jumped 278ft at Ryan
Capes’ place a couple months
before in practice, and I knew with
a bit more speed I could get there.
But it rained all day – like all day -
and it was amazing that all those
fans stayed there to watch the
burnouts, Cam Sinclair breaking
the long-distance Backflip world
record, a bunch of other records,
and Bubba crashing and getting
taken away in an ambulance.
The weather finally broke and the
organisers put a heap of heaters
on the run-up to try and dry it up,
and it was go time.
We were only supposed to get
four jumps apiece but after my
fourth jump I still hadn’t crossed
the 300ft mark. They put an
orange cone in front of the take-
off ramp, but I went back to the
starting point anyway. The guys
were all trying to flag me down,
and yelling into their earphones,
saying “no, no, he can’t hit it
again” and I gave them the finger
and just started banging gears
towards the take-off. They realised
I was serious and they moved the
cone out of the way in time, and
I got the 301 feet, so it was all
good.
It was a great night and no-one
got too badly injured, and we all
succeeded in breaking records.
Crusty Demons was huge
during the mid 2000s, but in
Australia, it was just on another
level. Why do you think it was so
popular there?
The average Australian is pretty
crazy and loose, and they like
action sports, dirt bikes and all
that s**t. But yeah, it’s crazy how
we’ve been all over the world,
but per capita, more people have
seen us in Australia than any other
country. It’s crazy how much they
love it. in South Dakota a few times for
Metal Mulisha shows, but a mate
wanted to go, so I put a new
Harley motor in a chopper I was
building and we rode it 2000km
to Sturgis. While we were there
my mates wanted to see Mt
Rushmore and all the sites, so I
led them on a ride in the hills.
We’d go there and there’d be kids
named Seth and Deegan and
30,000 people at events, packing
out tennis stadiums. It was just
amazing how much Australia
loved the Crusty Demons. It was a super-hot day. Everyone
said they were thirsty, and I
spotted a Pepsi and water
machine next to a log cabin, so
I’m pointing at it, looking at my
buddies so they know I’m about to
make a left turn.
We’re jumping around a bit
here, but in 2006 you also were
involved in a serious motorcycle
crash that took the life of a
policeman. Are you happy to
talk about this and tell us what
happened?
Yeah, man, it’s all good. I’d been
to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally
..................................
I’m Seth ENSLOW
HI, I’M: Seth Enslow
I’M: 43
I LIVE IN: Costa Mesa, California
I RIDE: A chopper and a 2007
Harley Davidson Road Glide,
which is like the Cadillac of
Harleys.
I DRIVE : A 1998 Mercedes
Benz E320.
I EAT: I’m not picky; Mexican,
fish, seafood, steak, it’s all
good.
I LISTEN TO: A bit of everything,
really. Outlaw country, AC/DC,
Parkway Drive, old-school Wu
Tang and Ice Cube - and Bob
Dylan.
IF YOU SEE ME AT THE BAR,
BUY ME: a beer so I can
remember the whole night
and how to get home. For
hard alcohol I’ll have a vodka
Gatorade or vodka Soda, but it
all gets next level when you start
hitting those drinks.
It was a wooded area and I saw
a pack of bikes coming the other
way, but I didn’t see this single
bike between that pack and me.
I made my turn and got all the
way into the driveway, when all of
a sudden I hear tyres screeching
and this bike just T-bones me.
I went flying and when I landed
the motorcycle frame smashed
my femur. I’d already broken it in
2002 filming for my second video
and still had the rod in there, so it
made a real mess. My right ankle
got smashed by his back wheel
when he hit me, so I couldn’t walk.
I was trapped under my bike and
he was somehow laying on my
motor and I could smell his skin
and flesh burning his belly. I had
these sharp dagger foot-pegs and
one went right through his thigh
and he was stuck on there. He
wasn’t moving and I pulled myself
out from underneath the bike and
my buddies were tripping out,
saying “I don’t think he’s alive”.
The guy’s wife had flown off the
back of the bike and got knocked
out and when she came to and
realised what had happened,
she started screaming. It was
just chaos. I just wanted to run
into the woods and hide. It was
such a gnarly experience. There
were cops and ambulances
everywhere, and luckily I hadn’t
been drinking that day otherwise I
probably would’ve gone to jail for
manslaughter. u