Note from Steve: I can't say the precision of this brief list of fmx trick inventors is 100% accurate, but I'll do my best to give a quick history of these tricks. If you have anything to add or a correction, drop me an email.

No handed landing - I believe Mike Jones invented these around 1995 (or so). I believe he first displayed these at an arenacross.

Can Can - This is a tough one, but I've heard at times that Brian Swink was the first person to do this BMX trick on a dirtbike in the mid 90s. Perhaps this was around the time he was involved on the first MotoXXX race team, but I am not really sure.

Heelclicker - Metzger did the first heelclickers while filming for the early Crusty videos in the mid 90s.

Nothing - This is another tough one, but the first person I know of doing these is Mike Jones in the mid to late 90s.

Saran Wrap - This trick was inspired by a similar trick done on skateboards of the same name. In skate, a Saran Wrap is when you wrap your foot around the nose of the board, so the name transferred easily to the FMX trick. I believe Larry Linkogle (see his autobiography Mind of the Demon) was the first to do this on a motorcycle, and the first times I ever saw anyone do them was Metzger in the Crusty videos and Mike Cinqmars in LBZ's Chrome/Rechromed videos.

Superman seat grab - Carey Hart was the first person to publicly do this BMX trick at the first IFMA events in 1998-1999.

Cordova - Edgar Torronteras first did around 1997 or so. They are named after a move done by a bull figher after taking down a bull? (not super-sure on that). Clifford Adoptante helped to popularize this trick by getting some magazine and TV coverage around 1998-1999.

No footed can can - I'm not sure who may have done these first, but there are shots of Metz doing them in the first MotoXXX video that was released around 1996(ish).

Switchblade - Metzger was the first person to begin rotating backwards during no footed can cans and dubbed them "switchblades", because they resembled a switchblade knife opening up (sometime in the late 90s).

Superman seat grab indian air - In 1999, ESPN introduced FMX to the world by hosting it at their "X Games", where during his run, Travis Pastrana was the first rider to publicly do this trick which originated in BMX.

Lazy Boy - Travis Pastrana invented these and also publicly displayed them for the first time at the 1999 XGames.

Hart attack - Cary Hart was the first to invert a superman seat grab (the first public display of this was at the '99 Gravity Games), and he named it after himself, calling it the "Hart attack".

Holy Grab - Oklahoma native Bryan Dowdy (IFMA rider from about 2003 to 2005) invented this trick in about 2003. I first saw him do them at an IFMA practice in Kemper Arena (Kansas City) and they were the biggest I've seen anyone do them to this day.

Backflip - The backflip on a motorcycle has been a dream since bicycles began doing them in the 80s. In 1998s Children of a Metal God, Adam Owsley did a complete backflip into a pond on a KX250. Carey Hart was the first to attempt one to dirt at the 2000 Gravity Games, nearly riding away but suffering a crash after over-rotating his flip off the backside of a landing. Pastrana also attempted a similar one off the same year at XGames after his run. In 2001, Carey attempted one again at the XGames best trick competition, and crashed badly when he came off his bike while beginning his rotation. In April 2002, Caleb Wyatt tried several off of a specially made dirt hill, and eventually rode away from an attempt. Only months later in the summer of 2002, Metzger decided that backflips should use ramps, like the other FMX tricks. He took a superkicker ramp out to the sand dunes (Dumont dunes I believe), and attempted one or maybe a few. I'm not sure of the exact outcome, but I'm pretty sure he came really close but barely missed the attempts. Only a day or two later, he went home and set his superkicker up at the same gap, and after several attempts, consistently began landing ramp to dirt backflips. About a month later, Pastana also learned to flip gaps (most likely in order to compete with Metzger) and he and Metzger both flipped on the all dirt Gravity Games course. Pastrana hurt his knee in the step-up competition, and only Metzger would be at the Philidelphia XGames a month later. He stunned the industry by flipping both hits in a rythem section (the second hit was a large 80 foot dirt to dirt jump). Carey Hart eventually proved to himself that he had backflips by landing one at the 2003 XGames best trick competition, getting second place behind Metzger, who landed a backflip no footer.

Rock solid - Chris rourke did this trick for the first time at an event around '01 or so, and named it after his nickname (which was "the rock").

Helicopter - Regan Seig was maybe not the inventor of this combination of the indian air and hart attack, but around 2002 or so he was the first rider I saw pictures of doing them.

 Kiss of Death - Mike Jones was the first to publicly do these at the 2001 Winter X Games, but word has it that he learned them at Ryan Leybas house after seeing Ryan do a similar version of the trick.

Dead body - Drake McElroy invented/perfected this trick between 2001 and 2003.

Last updated 12/30/2021 by Steve Wagner.
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