A Master of His Domain

Wes Agee talks backflips and more as he prepares for the upcoming competitions

On this searing hot Thursday afternoon, with the Santa Ana winds whipping through the parched canyons and roadways of Southern California, Wes Agee is driving along Interstate 15 towards Glen Helen Raceway to scope out the course before the next X-Fighters competition gets underway May 11. I’m on a call with Wes, asking him copious questions about his competitive career while he graciously responds to each with that laid back Southern California drawl so beloved by this extreme sports crowd. What betrays Wes’ easygoing, conversational manner are the profile pictures I come across on the Metal Mulisha, Nuclear Cowboyz and Red Bull X-Fighters home pages—the intensity behind those eyes on that deceptively serene face, the focused concentration of the serious competitor.

He has only been competing since 2007, but already Wes has taken the world of motocross by storm, spinning its very foundations to yield to his iron-clad will. Before a series of injuries forced Wes into a temporary hiatus, he was climbing the charts to FMX Freestyle Motocross stardom with nary a backward glance. Wes finished in third place as a wildcard entry at last year’s X-Fighters event of 2012 in Glen Helen, his debut Red Bull competition.

“The Red Bull X-Fighter third place really helped kick off my career,” says Wes. “I’ve got two other thirds since then; one at Dew Tour San Francisco. The other was just recently at X Games Brazil. Also the long distance flip record and getting into some off-road race trucks.”

Wes would like nothing more than to celebrate his 25^th birthday at the end of the month with a couple of medals from the Barcelona games around his neck.

Born to Ride

“I grew up going to the desert as long as I could remember,” recalls Wes when asked about his motocross origins. Encouraged to ride by his father during their weekend treks out to the desert and the rough terrain of the hilly Ocotillo Wells beginning at the age of 5, Wes would learn to master the art of BMX racing before graduating to tricks on the dirt bike with a move from Fallbrook to Temecula at the age of 15. Here, surrounded by the professionals and mentors who would define Freestyle, he’d meet up with friends and start “jumping a little bigger, bigger and bigger and pushing each other.” His first backflip would come at age 17 and soon enough, those in the motocross know caught sight of the fearless youngster with his arsenal of death-defying aerial acrobatics.

“I got asked to ride for money on a dirt bike,” says Wes. “I started to accumulate sponsors, and that’s how my career took off.”

Throughout it all, Wes aggressively worked his way up the Freestyle hierarchy with progressively bigger jumps, all with the expectation that one day he’d land the biggest one of them all. A standard jump happens at 75-feet in the air. A superb, complicated jump pushes the limit to 110 or 120 feet. Wes pushed the boundaries with flips at 110, 150, and 160 feet until the day he back-flipped a world record distance of 190-feet on natural terrain. Wes would be the first rider to land that awe-inspiring distance, and all on his favorite jump.

“Just looking at something and knowing that you can backflip and do it,” says Wes. “I just love it.”

A Day in the Life

The aerial acrobatics that Wes performs on his dirt bike don’t just materialize out of thin air. Each jump, each flip becomes a lesson learned in baby steps, requiring sustained motivation and the charm of good health.

“It can take up four to five days just to practice the jump and three to four days to master it,” says Wes.

A typical day for Wes starts with breakfast and then a quick ride out to one of the local practice courses in Temecula for 9:30 AM training, followed by stops along the way to chat with friends. On days when the Santa Ana winds whip up a sandy fury out on the dirt tracks or when the sun beats so fierce that no relief appears on the horizon, Wes will call it quits until around sunset, when both weather and heat have settled down for another session of training. For each session, Wes will ride out a different set-up in preparation for an upcoming competition. As I talk to Wes by phone this Thursday, his plans after checking out the course at Glen Helen is to go home and train for the specific jumps.

“Glen Helen is the biggest course in the world, so I expect a lot of step ups and step downs.”

Wes’ favorite jump to practice is the backflip, his trademark jump. His least favorite are the one-hander landers, which he dismisses as “not even a trick.” He attributes his preference for backflips based on its inherent mechanics.

“The ramp is a good fit for jumping and flipping dirt bikes because it is very consistent,” he explains. “With dirt takeoff ramps, you get a lot of wear and that causes ruts in the lips, which is a big line from the wheels. With a metal ramp, there is no wear and that makes it easier for us to do consistent flips and tricks.

Each competition is a lesson in strategy. Every jump Wes executes has the potential to be big. His competitors know that in order to even entertain the thought of triumph, they must bring their A-game to the course. If one’s strategy involves circling the opponent and waiting for a first move, Wes has no qualms about throwing his hat into the ring early on.

“If nobody wants to do it, I’ll do a flip trick.”

When Wes isn’t riding his KTM about the track, he’s usually out in the desert riding his truck or lounging about his boat with a refreshing detour to the river.

What the Future Holds

Wes’ world record jump secured for him a place in the record books. His accomplishments after that feat should be icing on the cake, but Wes isn’t letting that stop him from starting the next chapter in his journey, and that includes pitching competition ideas to his sponsor, Red Bull.

“I already have the world record flip so it was easy to pitch doing another one with Red Bull,” says Wes. “In 2014-2015, we are going to do a big event with a new Guinness Record.”

When Wes describes ‘big,’ he means bigger jumps. For Wes, all that matters is the “big stuff.”

I asked Wes for some parting words he would give to youngsters hoping to follow in his footsteps, and his response was pure Wes Agee—well-considered, but full of confidence and quiet bravado.

“Take baby steps and take it slow. Make slow progress. Have the courage to crash, tuck and roll. Then get back up and do it all again.”

Red Bull X-Fighters at the Glen Helen Raceway, 18585 Verdemont Ranch Rd., San Bernardino, (909) 880-3090; www.redbullxfighters.com. May 11, 1pm. $15-$25.