Patrana always playing with the tape.Travis Pastrana launched his car 269 feet off a pier in Long Beach last night, for Red Bulls New Years NO LIMITS event. It was truly amazing. Just another epic feat from the Wonder Boy himself who has done extraordinary things since he was 3 years old.

I first met Travis at the X Games in San Francisco when he was just 15 years old. It was stunning how much better he was than everyone else at the inaugural FMX event.

Travis walk of fame.I was very inspired by him so we quickly became friends and thank goodness his mom Debbie took a liking to me.

A year later, Travis and I traveled to Canada to film for Fox Racings Terrafirma 3. We had a great trip and got some amazing footage. There is a link at the end of this blog to catch a peak at some old footage of him going nuts!! The two other riders on the trip were unmotivated to ride and upset about how good he was!! After that trip I sent the raw footage to him and he was so stoked to film with me again for my first solo project, Motorhead. Ready to roll.

Ten Years later Travis is flying a car on New Year in a way that can only be described as "Dukes of Hazard on crack". At 9PM PST, which was right at midnight for those on the east coast, Travis hit the ramp at 91 miles an hour, just slightly over his ideal speed to hit the sweet spot on the landing. In training, a 5 mph headwind changed his distance by 40 feet so hitting the ramp just right was critical. The landing was pretty narrow and that was his biggest concern. Travis was equipped with an air tank and regulator in case he ended up in the ocean.

Authorities reported 70 thousand people on site and ESPN confirmed millions more watching around the world. Red Bull and ESPN have created something remarkable once again. I'm honestly humbled and honored to know such a bold and amazing human being. Travis goes all out and really pushes it in unique ways. I would love to do more of that in my life and because of him I feel a little bit closer to believing it will all work out. As one of my only claims to fame with Travis, I once beat his long-standing record of calories burned in 5 minutes on a stationary bike. After that he vowed to be "forever bowing". He beat the record two years later. I have yet to return to his home in Maryland and attempt to make him mad once again. You're going down TP...

Its fun for me to share just some of the adventures we have shared together over the years and I have been there for many of his greatest moments at X Games on beyond. To think what he had done by the age of 20 is insane...I feel like I could write a book on him. He's now 26 years old and has done more than most do in several lifetimes.

Last night just really took the cake for me. Talking with him before was nerve racking for me as he explained how technical it was to hit his exact speed. He explained that he needed to drag the breaks while accelerating to build boost in the cars turbo capabilities. He would only get to speed after it was too late to not fly off the ramp...so the commitment level was full on. The turbo boost helped to sling shot him off the ramp with the correct inertia he needed to fly the car just right. He also was ready to pull the emergency break if needed in the air to drop the nose of the car. All the logistics that went into this stellar event are very interesting - this was 9 months of planning and once massive marketing investment for Red Bull.Travis climbs from Long Beach harbor after a
celebratory dunk.

Once Travis hit the landing it was if he had no breaks. The car decreased its speed very little and Travis was forced to through the car sideways and slam it into the end of the barricade. Condensation from the change in temperature had made the ramp very slick in just the 10 minutes before his jump. Dane and Tes were on the ramp checking the moisture until just 10 minutes before. It was almost like Robby Maddisons drop in Las Vegas last year...something so close to death. I think Travis had a moment there by the sound of his scream...it was an oh my....Im going to die scream. Glad your Ok Buddy. It really made for epic television.

Just after his back flip into the ocean, which was not planned but a classic Travis move -we headed back to the barge with only Tes, Dane and the ESPN crew. Media frenzy!

I was so fun for me to be with him during this time and as the only Red Bull photographer shooting this unique lifestyle the pressure was on. The energy was high even though it was just a few of us on the landing...yet you could hear the thousands cheering and feel the millions in awe who had been watching on TV. One of the executives of ESPN that thought the event was too dangerous won the $200 bet of how far he would fly...and thank goodness Travis didn't end up in the ocean like his militant father mocked. Travis very appreciative to everyone that contributed to pulling this event of, especially the coast guard and safety personnel. I hope you enjoy the photos and feel inspired by Travis to do big things and live in the moment. Thanks to Red Bull's communication manager Jordan Miller for another event I will never forget.

World Record - another first!Be well, Happy New Year!! RVE

Here is the link to see my personal videos to Travis back in 1999!

http://vimeo.com/8494489

Click to see the Video and the Full Gallery