JESSIE GAMBRELL
PRIDE STAFF WRITER
At U-Hour on Thursday, Sept. 23, CSUSM students watched Red Bull Athlete, Terry Adams, do a BMX demo on campus at our very own Library Plaza.
Adams, age 28, has been a professional in Flatland BMX since he was 16 years old and has competed in tournaments all over the world, winning a Gold Medal in the 2005 X Games and also scoring Ride BMX Magazine’s Number One Ride Award in 2005 and 2008.
“I wanted to be a professional,” Adams said.
When asked about what got him into Flatland, Adams continued, “When I looked it up, it looked more artsy. It was different.”
Flatland is a freestyle BMX riding style performed on smooth, flat surfaces that do not include any ramps, jumps or grind rails. By some, it is called “artistic cycling” and can even be related to break dancing, according to Mick Ross of In Air on Ground Freestyle BMX.
Adams grew up in Louisiana and was homeschooled. He graduated at the age of 15 and then attended Louisiana State University for one semester before he decided he wanted to focus on his BMX career instead.
Red Bull sponsored Adams since 2003. He has been touring the United States these past few weeks doing demos at 50 different colleges.
“It is very chill, spreading awareness about what I do. It is a cool opportunity from Red Bull,” Adams said. He continued, “Students here are in a good mood. They are a little more stoked,” when asked about how it was performing here at CSUSM.
The big Red Bull truck, called the Red Bull MXT, came out and opened up its speakers, blasting party music throughout Library Plaza. Students gathered as Adams showed off some of his cool moves, including his own trick, Katrina, that he named after the 2005 hurricane Katrina. Students were handed “spirit” towels to twirl around which added to the festivity of the hour. With the crowds cheering, Adams continued to entertain the students by balancing, spinning and hopping with his bike.
On a break, Red Bull handed out two free T-shirts to the first two people that showed up to the Red Bull MXT. One of the lucky winners was Dylan Baquero who started to “shuffle” in the center of the plaza after winning his T-shirt.
“I won a t-shirt! And it’s cool spirit,” Baquero said when asked what drove him to dance.
Throughout the demo, Red Bull’s Wiiings Team girls gave out free Red Bulls to the students.
“This is the coolest back-to-school event we’ve been to,” Gina Lucas said, one of the Wiiings team girls.
Students also responded to the event with enthusiasm. “It was a great experience. It shows the diversity of the campus,” ASI VP of Marketing, Ken LaLonde, said.
If you would like to know more about Terry Adams, go to his website: www.terryadams.com.
Photos by Ashley Aronson and Morgan Hall