August 2005: ROOFTOP SETS TWO WORLD RECORDS - PULLS 62 FOOT FLIP. By gOrk
Aug 25, 2005
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Redline's Mike Escamilla broke the Guinness Book World Record for long distance backflip on a BMX bike over the Big Air ramp at the X-Games. First, he beat the world record of a back flip off the mega ramp. The previous record was 54 feet. Mike jumped 62 feet, 2 inches, and then went on to set another record for Distance 360's at 50 feet 6 inches. This was an unexpected record, that had never been attempted before. In setting this mark, Rooftop and his DEVICE frame spun a one-handed tabletop during the fifty-foot long 360.
We spoke to Rooftop to get his comment on what it's like to air things out at that distance, and razzed him about the not-super-smooth Evil Knievel landing. “I know, it was pretty sketchy wasn't it? But to beat the World Record, I had to overshoot the jump. On my first attempt, I landed smooth, but only beat the record by like 1 foot. I had to do better, so I pumped harder down the takeoff and stretched the landing."
And what about the 360? We didn't know you were going for that. Was that planned? "I knew I was going to try it if I broke the flip record. The first 360 I did was 65 feet, but I over-spun a bit and had to put a foot down. So I slowed it down to do it right and got fifty feet. I could definitley go farther. The 360 was the funnest – it felt like a big snowboard jump.�
After doing a BMX 'zine for ten years (1987 - 1996) FATBMX made it on the internet. The year was 1998. Here to stay.