jackassworld

Part One:

Part Two:

Mat Hoffman is obsessed with flight. Unfortunately for him, he isn’t that concerned with landing. As you know (and if you don’t) Mat Hoffman is the modern day equivalent to Evel Knievel. He is the most legendary BMX rider of all time, and he also happens to be one of the sweetest men I have ever met—the gnarliest man I have ever met, yet completely gentle and humble. What a huge and singular spirit! It’s tough to reconcile the shy, soft-spoken guy you encounter when speaking to Mat with the nutcase you see when he is on the back of a bike. I chalk it up to rationale, of which Mat has none, zero, zilch.

I think he honestly believes he is going to be able to sprout wings and fly one day. In his career, he has had 24 surgeries and he has been declared clinically dead twice from trying to make his BMX bike fucking fly. I love him like a brother, but that funny look he always has in his eye keeps me constantly worried for his well-being. Nothing is impossible to Mat. I think it was prolly the same way for Evel Knievel and say a Chuck Yeager. That belief, that fucking belief that nothing is impossible, enables them to do things that up until that point were impossible for mere mortals. I mean the guy is actually having to teach himself to be afraid again. Not kidding. Over the years he has conditioned himself not to be afraid and at some point he realized that wasnt such a great idea (hello Louise!), so he is now trying to recapture that highly necessary human survival instinct. Unbelievable. Mat, you got vision, courage, and brains, but you ain’t got a lick of sense.

Please sit back and enjoy this very special “One Bourbon, One Scotch, and One Beer” with my hero Mat Hoffman.

Love, Knoxville