MTV Remote Control Blog › Travis Pastrana

On the day The Dudesons first landed on Finnish TV in 2001, they joined a long line of insane people who do insane things to entertain others. It's a tradition that goes back to Harry Houdini in the early 1900s, Evel Knievel in the 1970s and those jackasses on "Jackass" in the 1990s. But all the badass tricks in the 20th century were just a warm-up for the 21st. The past 10 years have seen some of the most rip-snorting, death-defying, sphincter-clenching stunts in the history of man. Here are our 10 favorites:

10. Bodybuilder Tom Owen claims to have the world's strongest abs. After watching this video of seven trucks drive over them, we won't argue with that. In fact, given the size of those biceps, we won't argue with him about anything.

7 Trucks Drive Over Man's Abs

9. Danny Way has done some mind-boggling stuff on a skateboard. He dropped in off of the giant guitar in front of Las Vegas' Hard Rock Hotel. With the help of Rob Dyrdek, he broke the land speed record on a skateboard. But never has he done anything as unforgettable as jumping the Great Wall of China. Zang!

8. Two days after the opening of the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, Omar Al Hegelan and Nasser Al Neyadi did what any logical person would do: They jumped off of it. Al Hegelan and Al Neyadi started 2,204 feet in the air, and 90 seconds later they were standing in the desert. Guess no one told them about the elevators.

Jumping off of the world's tallest building

7. Steve Hudis makes his living as a Hollywood stunt coordinator, but the worlds of film and TV don't always satisfy his need to defy death. That's why in January 2000 he decided to jump over 15 motorcycles in a flaming 14-ton school bus. On a related note, we're pretty sure this is how Satan's kids get to school.

6. If most of the stunts on this list go right, the performer doesn't get hurt. It's when they go wrong that pain is involved. But for Darren "Professor Splash" Taylor, pain is part of the game. In this video, he sets the world shallow water dive record by jumping from 35' 9" into 12 inches of water. His prize? A red spot on his stomach that won't go away for weeks.

Professor Splash belly flops

5. Skater Bob Burnquist has enormous balls -- and his BASE jump into the Grand Canyon is definitive proof. He scores extra points for trying to incorporate a ramp and a rail, even after almost splattering his brains on the side of the Canyon in the first attempt.

Bob Burnquist launches himself into the Grand Canyon

4. Intentionally crashing a car makes for a solid stunt. It's not too impressive, but it gets the adrenaline flowing. Intentionally crashing a car while an upside-down car is strapped to the top? That's special. And it's the kind of inventiveness The Dudesons bring to their absurdly dangerous stunts, which one of these days will probably kill them all.

Dudesons double car crash

3. Screw jumping down things, Alain Robert likes to go up them. Robert is known around the world for his unauthorized building ascents. He's climbed buildings in more than a dozen countries and gotten arrested at almost every one. But his climbs aren't always illegal. Like this one in Abu Dhabi, where Robert climbed a 656-foot building with thousands of spectators watching. Let this serve as inspiration to all of you who never thought you could make a living using your Spidey-senses.

Human Spider-Man

2. Forget Times Square. The best way to celebrate New Year's Eve is in Las Vegas with Red Bull and motorcycles. Last year, as 2009 was about to turn into 2010, Robbie Maddison launched himself onto the top of a 96-foot replica of the Arc de Triomphe. Then he jumped off, free-falling nearly 50 feet before landing on another ramp. Sounds a lot better than watching the ball drop, doesn't it?

Robbie Maddison and Arc de Triomphe

1. Before Travis Pastrana came along, a double backflip on a motorcycle was thought of like a Yeti and the Loch Ness Monster. Pastrana changed that at the 2006 X Games, where he landed the first-ever double backflip in competition. To this day, it is the only double backflip performed in competition ... and officially the most badass stunt performed in the past decade.

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Tags Bob Burnquist, Danny Way, Evel Knievel, Harry Houdini, Lists, Rob Dyrdek, Robbie Maddison, Travis Pastrana, Video

The Nitro gang isn't just gutsy about sports -- they're also completely fearless when it comes to fashion. Over the years, we've seen them in anything, everything, and, occasionally, next-to-nothing, so we thought we'd show our respect by putting together the first annual Nitro Circus "What Not To Wear" guide.

Check out a few of our favorite style stars right here (PS, did Andy shave his legs?!), then flip through the rest of the virtual fashion show to find out who's hot, who's not and who's made two separate -- but equally persuasive -- attempts at showin' us how sexy a lime green Lycra suit can be.

Related Content Nitro Circus, Travis And Andy: One Part Rivalry, Two Parts Bromance

Tags Andy Bell, Erik Rhoner, Jim DeChamp, Jolene Van Vugt, Photo, Special Greg, Street Bike Tommy, Travis Pastrana

At any given moment, Travis Pastrana and Andy Bell are either laughing, fighting, cheering each other on, or incessantly poking fun at every failure. In short, they're like brothers. Really, really competitive brothers (with identical haircuts), who can't seem to agree on who had this season's coolest stunt. And since they're STILL going back and forth between Travis' roof jump and Andy's souped-up three wheeler, we thought we'd help 'em out by letting you guys announce the winner.

Think Travis' suicidal building leap (and parachute-less sky dive) were the most hardcore? Or did Andy edge him out with stunts like Crazy Rocket Trike and "Dude, Where's My Car's Fire Extinguisher"? Take the poll and tell us which of these Nitro besties had this season's sweetest moves.

+ Like that pic of Travis and Andy? Well, you've got Jolene Van Vugt to thank for it. Give it up for Nitro's (unofficial) photo journalist, and check out some other shots she snapped from the sidelines this season.

Related Content Nitro Circus, Nitro Fashion Awards! See A Few Of The Year's Worst-Dressed

Tags Andy Bell, Jolene Van Vugt, Polls, Travis Pastrana

When Travis Pastrana hopped on his bike and jumped 75 feet off a skyscraper, we had to wonder about his sanity. As it turns out, we weren't the only ones. Apparently, there's a huge difference between proposing a Nitro Circus stunt -- and seeing how small the margin of error (and how high the distance from the ground) really is. Hear the Nitro frontman explain what was going through his mind moments before his roof-jump, plus tune in this Thursday at 10pm for more recaps, bonus scenes and behind-the-scenes cast interviews from Season Two.

Related Content Nitro Circus, Has Travis Pastrana Finally Gone Too Far?

Tags Travis Pastrana, Video

While we were watching Street Bike Tommy suck down doughnuts and Travis Pastrana suck at life, Jolene Van Vugt was doing what she does best: capturing it all on camera.

This week, she managed to snap Travis' pre-jump jitters, Erik Rhoner's about-to-fail face, and some action shots so slick they might actually give you motion sickness. So pop a Dramamine and check out these extreme Kodak moments. It's the closest most of you will ever get to being flashed.

+ See more of Jolene's amazing (and 100% original) photography, after the jump!

Read more...

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Tags Erik Rhoner, Jolene Van Vugt, Photo, Street Bike Tommy, Travis Pastrana

Nitro Circus is not for the weak. Which explains why most of the guys (and girl) on the show seem to have a death wish. But according to Travis Pastrana and Andy Bell, one dude is preternaturally concerned about living til a ripe old age. Find out which NC guy is most concerned about biting the big one, plus Travis pay Andy the ultimate compliment -- and insult -- in one.

Related Content Nitro Circus, Who Makes The Best (Nitro) Circus Freak?

Tags Andy Bell, Travis Pastrana, Video

Much as we love watching the Nitro gang drop by the Fantasy Factory, we couldn't help but be sad when they packed up their circus tents and replaced their clown costumes with Grease-inspired mullets and Velcro suits. Fortunately, thanks to the magic of photography, we still have pix of them all dressed up for center stage! So who wins the viewers' award for best (i.e. worst) dressed? Take a look back at everybody's sparkly sideshow styles and tell us who deserves to be Freak of the Week.

Related Content Nitro Circus, Get Ready To See Some (Nitro) Circus Freaks!

Tags Andy Bell, Jim DeChamp, Jolene Van Vugt, Polls, Street Bike Tommy, Travis Pastrana

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, step right up and get a sneak peek of the greatest show on earth! Leave the kiddies at home, why don'tcha, and feast your eyes on ringmaster Travis Pastrana and his fearless, peerless band of BMX performers!

In centerstage, we have the lovely, fire-breathing Jolene Van Vugt, to her right, a couple of no-talent ass clowns and for the grand finale, our very own Street Bike Tommy will actually stick his head INSIDE a killer elephant's mouth! So get your tix now, do not try this at home and do not, we repeat, do NOT miss the main event! The Nitro Circus spectacular is rollin' into town for one night only -- this Thursday, at 10pm!

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Tags Jolene Van Vugt, Street Bike Tommy, Travis Pastrana, Video

You can thank Jolene Van Vugt once again for the photos you're about to see. Despite (supposedly) being injured, the motocross rider managed to capture everything from Street Bike Tommy's shiz-eating grin to Andy Bell's I'm-about-to-bite-it-big-time face.

Check out Tommy and Special's dirt angels, Cam's (newly) compacted car and Travis' holycrapIdidit dance. All pix and captions courtesy of our fave tomboy -- and in-house photographer -- Jolene.

Read more...

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Tags Andy Bell, Cam McQueen, Dennis “Grave Digger” Anderson, Erik Rhoner, Jolene Van Vugt, Photo, Special Greg, Street Bike Tommy, Travis Pastrana

There's a reason Travis Pastrana and Andy Bell aren't up for any Academy Awards this year. Yep, sorry to say it, but those two BMXers have the combined acting skills of Pauly Shore (and no, that's not a dis on Bio-Dome). Fortunately, these guys aren't paid to act -- they're paid to do stupid dangerous things that generally result in severe bodily harm. Oh, and in case there was (still) any doubt, yes, they do their own stunts. And yes, it really, really hurts.

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Tags Andy Bell, Pauly Shore, Travis Pastrana, Video