Matt Buyten rode freestyle for Metal Mulisha and competed in X Games Step Up for more than a decade. He won gold at his first X Games in 2003 and finished with four Step Up golds, including back to back wins in 2010 and 2011. In 2004 he went 17 attempts against Jeremy McGrath and earned silver after dislocating his shoulder twice.

Buyten's Step Up riding involved a lot of work on the bike as well as the jump. He adjusted suspension sag, clutch setup and chain tension to get the drive he wanted from the short run-up. He kept riding the carbureted 2008 Honda CRF450R that carried him to those 2010 and 2011 wins while training for his final X Games appearance in 2016.