"I'd rather go down in flames than not try"

Until last year Travis Pastrana was the uncrowned king of FMX. Now he’s made the irrevocable change to rally sport. He says. Why, despite this, he’s still captivated by FMX, how Red Bull X-Fighters has pushed the sport, and what his goal in life is he divulges in the first part of our two-part interview.

The fact that you gave up FMX for health reasons is a reminder that even Red Bull X-Fighters are very normal people. Is there such a thing as a Travis who sits in front of the TV in sweatpants, eating popcorn, and who’s satisfied with himself and the world?

My sports are my life, and just because I'm not competing doesn't mean that I don't ride almost every day. I'm the most un-retired, non-competing rider in the world :) Last week I was trying no-handed rodeo 720s on a dirt landing step-up. I’m very fortunate to have amazing sponsors like Red Bull that allow me to become more focused on videos and freeriding. I love putting on a show but I don't believe it's possible to judge style. I enjoy pushing myself and the sport, but with my focus on rally it's very difficult to put in the time necessary to win.

So a free day for you isn’t much different from the average training day of an active FMXer?

I have a short attention span and my idea of a relaxing day would be going for a 100-mile road-bicycle ride. Freestyle fits my personality well because it's not about perfection as much as it’s about creation and originality. It allows you to be spontaneous much more than racing motocross does. I enjoy rally so much because you don't know the roads, so you have to put trust in your co-driver and you're constantly on the edge. It's not like circuit racing where everyone knows the track and you measure success in tenths of seconds.

Can you think of a situation from your past where you wanted to have been more courageous – and one where you’d have been better off acting a little more cowardly?

My goal in life is to never have any regrets. I would rather go down in flames than not try. I’ve never regretted going for the win and crashing. I realize that hindsight is 20/20 and I’m sure I would’ve been a much more successful racer if I hadn't always thrown caution to the wind ... but that's who I am.

Your double backflip at the X Games 12 is what garnered you the most fame. In a list of your best personal achievements, where does this figure in?

The double backflip was the trick that reached the most people. It's rare that the general public understands what we as athletes feel each and every time we try something new. There were a lot of tricks that I was just as proud of, but the double flip was unique because the energy in the stadium was so electric. I have never felt anything like that before and I wouldn't be surprised if I never feel anything like it again.

So the double backflip was the pinnacle of your career, for you as well?

As far as personal achievements go, the double flip is probably 3rd on my list. Racing with a broken wrist for the first three rounds and then with a broken ankle in the last four rounds and winning the outdoor national championship in my rookie year was probably what I would consider my greatest achievement. My second greatest personal achievement happened the day before the double flip, and that was swapping stage times with Colin McRae when the X Games had actual stages in the rally event.

Your experience at Red Bull X-Fighters really shaped you – and you also shaped it. Please tell us a bit about the first time you participated in the event in Madrid, 2004.

X-Fighters is unique for me because I really didn't venture out of the USA for many events. Usually promoters or fans tell me about how great events are, but it’s very rare that I have athletes come up to me and tell me about an event that’s far superior to anything they’ve ever participated in. Kenny Bartram told me about X-Fighters with such enthusiasm that I called my agent and told him to get me involved. He was shocked because I always fight him about anything out of the country. I wasn’t disappointed. In 2004 I experienced what everyone had been talking about.

What was that?

What separates X-Fighters Madrid from any other event in the world has to be the amazing crowd. The Spanish culture combined with a tight arena where everyone is truly on top of the action. The riders go bigger when there is so much enthusiasm from the fans. Red Bull X-Fighters has figured out a good balance of making an exciting show with great competition while giving the riders a more backyard feel, which keeps it fun. If the riders are having fun, they go bigger.