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by Sam
Gracis
 Tumbling
out of your truck, clutching your "big-mountain" bike and shiny
new helmet, you can hardly hear yourself think over the blaring tunes.
It’s
barely morning, yet despite caffeine you wish you could get as amped as
your buddies who are as charged as the last party at high school, ten
years ago. You, like these guys, are a self-proclaimed extreme adventurer
and you’ve got the scars to prove it.
The word in the office -- from
your stories and photograph taken ten years ago, is that you are an
adrenaline junkie. Mad! That cat-out-the-window air caught in the bike
photo on your desk actually resulted in two broken legs on the landing,
but hey, no one needs to know that. You were just the shoe-shiner at the
office back then, so you didn’t miss much being unemployed and injured
for a while. As long as you made enough cash for the next adventure --
then you realized you needed a new car, a better job, responsibilities.
With your buddies who were with you from those death-defying vacations,
you can’t help be wary of where they want to take you this year. You can’t
believe you’re secretly freaking out.
Are
extreme sporting endeavors destined for the young and the reckless? How
often do these ‘crazies’ get older and find negative self-scripts
hidden within them that scream out consequences of poor landings or too
much speed? Should we expect ourselves to remain courageous in all aspects
of life’s endeavors, or can we avoid hitting fear?
Not only athletes
consider fear to be the disabling belief that prevents us from reaching
our full potential. Fear can be associated with many daily examples;
holding back our creative style expression through wearing what society
considers ‘fashionable’, by sticking to the rat-race to avoid the
insecurities of following our life’s passion, by starting a family
simply because we don’t want to wind up old and lonely. Fear is an
emotion that many people may not even realize to be a deciding factor of
why their life is on its current track, and of why they became the person
they are today.
From roller coasters to
bungee jumping, the commercialism of risk taking amusement has become an
integral part of western society. The fear factor that some people enjoy
extends only as far as watching scary movies, but for others it becomes a
full time venture. Personally speaking, I can’t imagine a day skiing
without scaring myself or being on the edge of ‘just making it’ - I
just don’t think it’s as fun. The feeling of fear is what keeps me
coming back for more, as it is directly correspondent to the entertainment
and enjoyment value. Yet when watching a horror movie or bungee jumping,
we know we will survive the risk and continue our lives - there is a
certain security blanket attached that simply does not exist in extreme
sports.
The essence of extreme
sports involves a very real physical danger of death if the athlete does
not act in a responsible, rational way that reflects their extensive
training. Some sports that are viewed as extreme are simply highly
proficient athletes performing at an elite level; tempting fate may not
even come into the equation. Amateurs attempting the same adventure have a
much higher risk of severe injury, for example surfing big waves without
wave or rapid knowledge -- come on! These clowns give extreme sports the
reckless, irresponsible reputation that encourages society never to reach
that crazy emotion that makes us feel alive.
Generally speaking, the
mystique of adrenaline sports is their constant expansion-- watching
ultimate activities has turned extreme sports into a multi million dollar
venture for television networks and event programming. Yet despite what
viewers may think, these athletes don’t necessarily consider themselves
crazy - extreme sport is their form of expression. Some people express
their craziness when they party. Others buy fast cars. Extreme to some
people may be what YOU do for a living - making important decisions that
affect hundreds of peoples lives, pushing buttons that could blow up
machinery, consulting people who put their well-being in your hands.
Others perhaps could not imagine being in your shoes for a day because
they have not been trained. Adrenaline sports look extreme to you because
YOU are not trained to do it. It’s quite simple!
Watching extreme sports
can be exciting and compelling, Audience research has shown that ratings
are often drawn towards athletes playing with death, and accidents may
often be shown in slow motion as opposed to outstanding performances. (I
recall being invited by a network to ski jump through flaming hoops, only
to witness my horrific crash being aired instead of the stunt).
To a point, extreme
athletes are socially conditioned to risk-taking ventures through peers or
repeated exposure and lifestyle. Many accidents happen when people from
the ‘outside world’ dive into extremities without the tools or
knowledge as backup. The extreme sporting world has it’s own mindset -
we take risks as part of our personality type simply because this is the
person we have become. Pushing your own limits on your individual terms
can be as exhilarating as death-defying feats of survival -- diving into
an ice cold lake, learning a back-flip on a trampoline, going a week
commando -- living each day a little less predictably.Adventure sports were
staged even back in the days of the Roman emperors with fights between
animals.
The galaxy of television networks and mass marketing has stemmed
everything from music styles to fashion, making adrenaline armchair
athletes more content than ever. Viewers can contribute to the extreme
culture through buying videos, music, even a utility vehicle with
kangaroo-protection bars to drive around the city. Athletes most often
need this kind of public following to keep their sport growing, yet every
so often stunts or events fall under scrutiny. Occasionally safety
examinations fail or the whole concept looks so ridiculously simple that
every young kid wants try his fate (to fly Dad’s motorcycle over a line
of cars, or skateboard rails hanging over waterfalls).
Responsible athletes are
those who are good ambassadors for the sport, such as Tony Hawk, who
explains he is in the skate park every day riding, and it takes years to
build up tricks. Even top-level extreme athletes often face natural
hazards and conditions beyond their control, such as avalanches and
storms. Finding yourself on the adrenaline sweet spot may be pushing
yourself to the edge of your sporting abilities so you can break through
to the next level. Keep in mind that the accidents you have heard about or
watched on television are often a result of inexperienced people
attempting stunts far beyond their abilities, or putting themselves into
stupidly dangerous circumstances without learning the risks.
Perhaps extreme sports
are tempting fate, but is a world without adventure really the society we
want to create? Go ahead, release your inner wild child and rock your own
planet. There really is an exciting world out there ready to be explored.
Cat Smiley is a pro
freeskier, fitness personality and freelance writer. Cat Smiley Personal
Training is an award winning fitness company that helps people release
their athletic abilities (Vancouver and Whistler) www.catsmiley.com,
604.488.7466.
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