Video Craze

VIDEO CRAZE

Seth is definitely not dead

CALL VIDIOTS ANONYMOUS, I'M GLUED TO MY TV SET. IF IT'S NOT CRUSTY Demons of Dirt I, II or III, Terrafirma 1-4, Moto XXX, Disturbing the Peace or even Moto Lab Rats, it's Jeremy McGrath's Steel Roots, Full Power Trip or Organ Donors on the screen. Just push Play on the remote control and I'm flying through the dunes, hucking it in the hills, jumping ditches. cliffs, houses and trains, all from my armchair.

N urnbers are hard to et from anyone iii the know, hut it s sate to say that at least I ()O,00() Copies O~ the original C'uiisii' Demon.v of I)i,i-the (`iti:e,i Kane of ftecndL videos-arc out on the VCR circuit. Even if you re not into lieeridine. it's hard not to stop and look if one of these adrenal inc rushes on tape is playing on the screen. Dana Nicholson is one of the filmmakers behind the (`ri,~iv tUnis. A protession al snowbuarder and the subject ol many snowboarding flicks. N icliolson was entranced with motocrossers. f3ut just seeing thcni race wasnt showcasing their talents the way Nicholson etivisioned, so he pointed his eaiiiems away 111)01 the Jeremy Mc(iraths atici Jell [migs and I~cused on I'reeriders like Mike Metiger. Joel Albreet, Carey I tart and Fommy C lowers. racing no-names who could do things oii motorcycles that people had ilot only never seen, hut never even i niagmed. "Racing is great, hut there's more to these riders. The same \~ av that snowboard videos made riders, we're expanding motoeross," Nicholson says.

And then there's Seth. Seth Enslow could easi lv be the second most popular rider in motocross. outdone only by McGrath. due solely to videos. Featured in the first (`ru~Ii video, Seth's popularity came from a huge overcalculation on a dune ump, practically crushing an RM250 and visually defining the terni "ragdoll Surviving this catastrophic get-oil, his skyrocketing career came fr()n~i ambition and a desire that surpassed skill. Seth. now 23, became the [vel Knievel of the Nineties and the poster child for the baggy-gear general ion~ "(io hi~ or don't go at alL" his battle cry. Sponsors arrived~ Shill clothing has a Seth signature line. Zing graphics a Seth sticker kit. Then there were Ii ln~ing trips to South Africa, l3raii I. Costa Rica and Europe, traveling the globe to film even more videos. Packed with Kodak courage, Seth would jump anything. There was even a `Seth is 1)ead" rumor circulating before the ( `ru~n' III premier, Paul Me( artnev-sivle. "I came to California with my truck, bike and snow board. I just wanted to ride. I hooked up with E)ana, went big and things took oft from there," he says.

Burning film or rolling tape, videos are still a healthy arena for riders to make a mark oft the racetrack. And they are expos lug diribikes to the general puhi c. as Bruce Brown did f~r surfing with Eiicl/csc •Siimnu'r and fbr motorcycles with On .~l 1/V Sl11it/L1V, j ust iii a Ni fleti Cs sort of way.

Jimmy Lewis