Mail Sport Extreme: Kyle’s BMX adventure has taken him to unimaginable heights…and his death-defying stunts are an inspiration to millions

He may have recently ridden his BMX in a skate park suspended 2,000 feet in the air for a project titled Don’t look downbut Kriss Kyle only looks up when it comes to his sport.

After receiving his first BMX for his tenth birthday, Kyle admits he was the “token little brother” who would follow his older sibling and his friends to the local skate park and it was these experiences that gave him the sense of freedom gifts that he would take with him. maturity.

The 32-year-old Scot is now widely recognized as one of the most innovative riders in the world, and while he admits these stunts give him a thrill he’s never felt before, there’s more to riding his BMX than just tension. and of course spills.

“It’s a dream come true,” he says. ‘I make videos that get millions of views and all that, but jumping out of helicopters in Dubai or riding my bike 600 meters in the air, it’s all to inspire people.

‘The more people who see these videos, the more people can get on their bikes and enjoy the freedom and feeling they give us.

‘If we pay more attention to it, more skate parks and the like can come to the countryside. What gets me excited is that when I make a video, I can be anywhere in the world and a kid comes up to me and tells me it’s my video that got them into BMX.

“I’ll look at them and see that they’re really good and it’s crazy to think you can have that inspiration on kids. They can make a career out of this. I never thought this could happen and here I am now living my dream.

‘It’s incredible, only good things can come from that. It keeps children off the streets and keeps them busy, especially when they have problems.

“If I ever have a day like that, I can just get on the bike, I can go riding and all that matters at that moment is what I’m doing on the bike. You’re outside, fresh air, there’s nothing like it.

‘The more people get on their bikes, it’s better for the whole world.’

Kyle grew up in Stranraer and admits he never expected his life to turn out this way.

But having been cycling for more than two decades, he admits that being able to visualize his goals has played a big role in getting him to where he is today.

“For me, I believe so strongly that as long as you are passionate about something and believe that you can do it. I will pretty much lie to myself,” he reveals.

‘When I was driving around Dubai, they showed me all these places and asked if I could do something in these places. They took me to the top of the Burj Al Arab, and I said, “Build a runway on top of this helipad and I’ll jump out of a helicopter over it and onto the red carpet.” It was a joke, but I flew home and it was canceled and found out I was jumping out of a helicopter in November!

‘I kept thinking about it and visualizing it over and over again. Certainly, as long as you visualize, you can turn it into reality.

‘I just go on autopilot. I just shut down, know I’m going. Everything is built, everything is ready. I’m not getting out, I’m fucking landing this.

“There’s a big risk, a huge risk with some of them, but the feeling I get when I get away with it, to know I’m not dead, that buzz keeps me going back.

“Of course I get hurt and stuff. That’s the price you pay. But often you win and that’s a damn good feeling.’

Starting out at the local skate park with his older brother and his friends, Kyle travels the world looking for unique places to perform and create videos that generate millions of views on social media.

It’s been quite a journey from a nine-year-old boy in Stranraer, then to Unit 23 in Dumbarton – where Kyle was able to hone his skills and learn new stunts – to now performing in all corners of the world.

“I remember going to Unit 23 for the first time and it was incredible,” he says. ‘It was like a dream; ramps everywhere, huge, so many people there with the same passion for what we were doing. It opened my eyes.

‘When I got on the bike, the freedom I felt was nothing like it. I had played football before and stuff like that, but what drew me to BMX was that there were no rules. It is not freestyle BMX for nothing, you can express yourself on the bike as you want.

“I got sponsored by Nike when I was 14, which was crazy. So many shoes were sent to my house. When I went back to school, everyone wanted me to buy shoes, football boots and so on. It was incredible.

“They just set me up and paid me to travel the world. They didn’t really pay me, so it wasn’t a good job.

‘For that I would have to move to America. Coming from such a small town, things like that just don’t happen to us. But the passion and determination were there; it was the only thing I ever wanted to do, so I just kept traveling and riding, getting better and better, and started getting paid when I was 16.

“Red Bull started looking after me when I was 19, so I’m lucky now that I can come up with these ideas that I’m passionate about and send them to Red Bull to see if they’re up for it. I’m very lucky very often, but then we get stuck in it.’

Red Bull’s support has certainly helped Kyle realize his dreams and given him the platform to bring his visions to life.

Without them, the Scot might never have been able to perform his Drop in Dubai, Kaleidoscope film or, indeed, the film Don’t look down documentary.

For his latest series he collaborated with Jack Nowell from La Rochelle. A Six Nations winner with England and Champions Cup winner with Exeter, Nowell – or even rugby – might not seem like an obvious choice to combine BMX with. However, Kyle sees the bigger picture.

“I was with Jack (Nowell) in Formula 1 at Silverstone and hung out with him all weekend, so I came up with the idea that we could do a lot of things,” he says. ‘So I sketched out a few little ideas, sent them to him and Red Bull and Jack said to fly over, bring the family and we’d make it happen.

‘So I flew to La Rochelle and filmed the video in about two hours, just because his training schedule was full and he only had a short time. But if we had longer, I think we could have hit a lot more trick shots and used the bike.

‘BMX is such a small sport, so I try to bring it to other people’s attention. Floating the skate park 2,000 feet up goes beyond the BMX community. It’s about putting it in a different light, trying to be different. It’s about pushing the boundaries of where we can take the bike, so I thought why not take it to the rugby field?

“I’m working on a really scary project over the holidays… it’s probably the most dangerous thing I’ve ever done. It involves a Formula 1 car coming towards me quite fast and I’m going to bunny hop on it.

‘I’m standing still, no driveway, nothing. I just jump and hopefully the car goes that fast and I clear the car. It’s just timings. It will be difficult. The cars are high and long.

‘I love these videos, I love these challenges. It’s my passion. No matter how much effort it takes, you’ll watch it at the end and it’ll be worth it.

‘Where is the line? Once you finish one, it’s “what now?” I have a booklet full of ideas that I’m slowly starting to work through, and I’m sure there will be many more to come.”