Metal Mulisha Athletes Vicki Golden, Jackson Strong, Rob Adelberg and Matt Buyten have all been confirmed invites for the 2016 X Games Austin event.
This three-time Racing gold medalist (2011 to 2013) was the first female to compete in a Moto X freestyle (trick) competition when she made her Best Whip debut in 2013 and earned bronze. Golden is used to breaking gender barriers. In 2011, she became the first female to qualify for an Arenacross Lites class main event. In 2013, she was the first woman to join the Metal Mulisha. In 2014, she did it again becoming the first woman to complete Ricky Carmichael’s Road to Supercross and she hopes to race supercross in 2015. She is one of five women to earn three consecutive fold medals at the summer event.
Vicki is a three-time Moto X Racing gold medalist who also placed fourth in 2010. She was the first female member of the Metal Mulisha and was also the first woman to complete Ricky Carmichael’s Road To Supercross in March 2014. In 2011, she was the first woman to qualify for an AMA Arenacross Lites class main event.
Jackson ‘Jacko” Strong, the fearless Aussie, is a crowd favorite due to his ‘go-for-it’ style. In 2011, he became the first to land a frontflip at XG Best Trick, and led an Aussie sweep of the podium. He took gold again in 2012 with “The Jack”, a body varial where his legs flip over his head and back into the bike. In 2013, he joined the Freestyle roster at Foz and threw the frontflip on the very first ramp hit. Unfortunately, however, he crashed soon after attempting a backflip and broke his right tibia. Jack is back again in 2015 — this time for QuarterPipe — where he is promising a “first-ever” trick in the new discipline.
Strong is a two-time X Games gold medalist in MTX Best Trick and was the first rider to land a frontflip and the “Jack” body varial in an X Games competition. He was also the first to land a frontflip in a Freestyle run at X Games in Foz but broke his right tibia moments later.
Australian Rob Adelberg netted Freestyle silver at Foz do Iguacu 2013 in his third X Games. His previous best was fifth in 2010. Adelberg is part of the large Aussie posse with a significant presence in freestyle motocross and won his first major comp in 2013 — the weather-shortened Red Bull X-Fighters in Glen Helen. He is also the proud papa of a three-year-old son, Cayden.
Rob, who is making his sixth appearance in Austin 2016, earned his first X Games medal after three attempts in Foz 2013: a silver Moto X Freestyle. He was also the winner of the US stop of the 2013 Red Bull X-Fighters and scored second overall at X-Fighters in Dubai 2012.
While a solid freestyler, Matt is best known for his Step Up skills, backed by for X Games Step Up gold, including back-to-back in 2010-2011. When the pressure is on, Buyten digs deep and finds a way, even if it’s not pretty. His 17-attempt 2004 battle with Jeremy McGrath when his shoulder popped out of socket twice and is now an X Games legend. After losing at LA 2012, Matt failed to earn gold in 2013 — he missed Foz, then took bronze in Barcelona, silver in Munich and bronze in LA. At X Games Austin 2014, he struggled with traction all night and finished sixth, the first time he finished lower than third. In 2016, Buyten is determined to get (literally) back on top.
Matt is a seven-time X Games Step Up medalist, including four gold, and is tied with Tommy Clowers for the second-most Step Up gold medals. X Games Austin 2016 is his 16th X Games appearance. In 2014 Matt finished sixth in Step Up — the first time he finished lower than third since 2003.
