GREENVILLE – Bill Nitschke’s Wonder Wheels BMX Stunt Shows attracted large crowds at the Bash at Bish this past weekend in Greenville.
The 52 year old Nitschke, owner, began performing BMX stunt shows in 1984 at age 14. He started his first company, Pulse Products in 1989 and was the first in the industry to manufacture the bolt on axle, revolutionizing BMX Freestyle.
“Been riding since 1976,” said Nitschke. “Just poppin’ wheelies and having fun. I have been doing this a long time. This is all I do – it’s all I’ve ever done.”
Nitschke got his start riding with his friends at a young age before turning Pro in 1990.
“Got a bike one day and then took the training wheels off within a few minutes, fell off of it, skinned my knee up, put a Band-Aid on and kept riding,” he said. “I never looked back until I started riding backwards then I had to look back.”
Nitschke brought two riders with him, both in their 20’s and said dangers in the sport usually come “when learning the sport or from a sketchy ramp or not a good setup.”
“The backward flip is not the hardest trick that we do out here,” Nitschke said. “It’s an exciting trick to watch but it’s not the hardest trick out here.”
“The wind is a big, big factor. The lighter the bikes get the more the wind is a factor with that especially when you’re in the air 15-20 feet above the ground. The wind is different up there than it is down on the ground so it blows around a lot harder, it’s whipping all over the place, you’re not sure what it’s going to do.”
“When you go to throw your body and your bike a certain way and you’re not expecting a 15-20 mile an hour gust hitting you and it stops all your momentum, that’s when things get bad, they get a little scary,” he added. “Mother nature is the only thing that really plays a big factor in what we do – wind or rain – two things we don’t like.”
BMX bike riders are not only in great physical condition but are also excellent athletes according to Nitschke.
“Being athletic has everything to do with it,” Nitschke noted. “The endurance, just the brutalness of the sport – the ground doesn’t give. When you hit the ground you bounce, it doesn’t. We don’t move the planet ever and we hit the ground a lot so being athletic has a lot to do with it. You’re able to hit the ground, get back up and do it again and say, ok man, I’m good to go. We have our safety equipment on, especially on the ramps. That’s what it’s all about – be as safe as you can.”
The Indianapolis native takes his BMX Stunt Show across the country and all around the world.
“We travel all over the planet,” said Nitschke. “China is the farthest I’ve gone unless I go to Australia and I’m not going any further than that. I’m not the kind of person that sits down very long.”
To follow Bill Nitschke’s Wonder Wheels BMX Stunt Shows go to: bnwwbmx.com
