Any fan of motorsports or action sports will know the name. Travis Pastrana was born in Maryland in 1983 and by four years-old was already riding a one-speed motorcycle. Despite excelling in mountain biking and his studies (graduating from high school three years early), the youngster knew motorsports was his calling from early on, winning five Loretta Lynn National Amateur crowns beginning in 1992, plus a handful of Canadian titles for good measure.
Travis served notice of his versatility, but he was just getting started. “I won the first pro race I ever entered (125cc) and also won a gold medal in freestyle at X Games even though I was the youngest person there,” Pastrana recalled. That was just his first of a total of eleven X Games gold medals.
At the 2006 X Games, Travis redefined what was possible in FMX with his groundbreaking double backflip on a motorbike. ESPN highlighted the historic world’s first in a 2014 twentieth anniversary X Games celebration, and the city of Los Angeles named it one of the greatest events in STAPLES Center history (alongside L.A. Lakers and Kings championships, sold-out concerts by U2, Garth Brooks, and more marquee moments).
As the ringleader of Nitro Circus, whose boundary-breaking tricks and jaw-dropping stunts have captured the imagination of fans all over the world, Travis remains committed to the progression of action sports.
Travis also has excelled, and innovated, in four-wheel motorsports. Candidly referring to rallycross as, "motocross with a roll cage," he dominated the sport in the U.S. following his 2006 debut and went on to win the series four years in a row.
After a brief hiatus, which included a NASCAR run, Pastrana returned to rally in 2014, and has won six ARA rally championships to date. He then took motorsports to the next level in 2018 by co-founding Nitro Rallycross, which expanded into a series starting in 2021, and was later rebranded Nitrocross. With its groundbreaking purpose-built tracks featuring huge jumps, banked corners and steep berms – all reflecting Travis’ racing experience and design input - Nitrocross has since gone on to transform motorsport. Travis won Nitrocross’ inaugural series championship, then topped the podium at three stops during the 2022-23 season.