Brian Deegan (born May 9, 1974"Brian Deegan." Notable Sports Figures. Ed. Dana R. Barnes. Detroit:

Gale A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface winds moving at a speed of between 34 and 47 knots (, or ).freestyle motocross rider and racing driver. Deegan was the first to do a twisting backflip 360 in competition. With a total of 10 medals (two golds and seven bronzes), he is the most decorated Freestyle Motocross rider in

X Games The X Games are an annual extreme sports event organized, produced and broadcast by ESPN. Coverage is also shown on ESPN's sister network, ABC. The inaugural X Games were held during the summer of 1995 in Providence and Newport, Rhode Island, ...

history and the only rider to have competed in at least one event in every X Games. A co-founder of the Metal Mulisha clothing line, Deegan is one of the most recognizable names in action sports. He earned 10 XG medals in Moto X, before he made the transition to four wheels. In 2010, Deegan earned double silver in Racing and RallyCross. In 2011, he took RallyCross gold and came back to earn bronze in 2012.

Racing career

Brian Deegan jumping at X Games 17 in Los Angeles

Deegan became a pro supercross rider with Team Moto XXX at age 17. In 1997 at the LA Coliseum, Deegan won the 125cc main and ghost rode his bike across the finish line. This was the beginning of what we know today as Freestyle Motocross. In 2004, at the Winter X Games, Deegan crashed while attempting a twisting backflip 360 over a 100 ft snow double, breaking his

femur The femur (; ), or thigh bone, is the proximal bone of the hindlimb in tetrapod vertebrates. The head of the femur articulates with the acetabulum in the pelvic bone forming the hip joint, while the distal part of the femur articulates ...

and both wrists. He came back 6 months later to place fourth at the Summer X Games. Switching to four wheels in 2009, Deegan ventured into short course off-road racing in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series' Unlimited Lites division. He ultimately won the championship over more experienced off-road drivers. At the 2010 X Games, Deegan competed in the Rally Car event at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. He finished second behind Tanner Foust after making a wrong turn during the race. He also competed in Rally Car Super Rally, again finishing second behind Tanner Foust. At X Games XVII, Deegan won gold in RallyCross. In 2011, he won the World Championship race at

Crandon International Off-Road Raceway The Crandon International Off-Road Raceway is a short course off-road racing racetrack, located near Crandon, Wisconsin, United States on U.S. Route 8. The course hosts the World Championship Off-Road Races, Red Bull World Cup, Forest County P ...

in the Traxxas TORC Series. He also won the Pro Lite Unlimited and Pro 2 class championships in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series. In addition, he represented the U.S. with teammate

Travis Pastrana Travis Alan Pastrana (born October 8, 1983) is an American professional motorsports competitor and stunt performer who has won championships and X Games gold medals in several disciplines, including supercross, motocross, freestyle motocross, a ...

in the Race of Champions (ROC) competition held in Germany. ROC is an international competition that invites top drivers from around the world to compete in a series of different racing events. In 2012, he debuted the Metal Mulisha

Monster truck A monster truck is a specialized off-road vehicle with a heavy duty suspension, four-wheel steering, large-displacement V8 engines and oversized tires constructed for competition and entertainment uses. Originally created by modifying stock p ...

. Todd LeDuc officially debuted it at

Reliant Stadium NRG Stadium, formerly Reliant Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in Houston, Texas, United States. Construction was completed in 2002, at a cost of $352 million and has a seating capacity of 72,220. It was the first NFL facility to have a retrac ...

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

in January 2012. Deegan drove the truck in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

Chase Field Chase Field, formerly Bank One Ballpark, is a retractable roof stadium in Downtown Phoenix, Arizona. It is the home of Major League Baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks. It opened in 1998, the year the Diamondbacks debuted as an expansion team. Ch ...

. Deegan also won his second championship in the Pro 2 class of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series. Deegan raced an OlsbergsMSE

Ford Fiesta The Ford Fiesta is a supermini car marketed by Ford since 1976 over seven generations. Over the years, the Fiesta has mainly been developed and manufactured by Ford's European operations, and has been positioned below the Escort (later the ...

in the Global RallyCross Championship, earning runner-up in 2012, fourth in 2013 and 12th in 2014. He also continued his Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series career, winning the Pro Light Unlimited championship in 2013 and the Pro 2 championship in 2014. In 2015, Deegan was hired by

Chip Ganassi Racing Chip Ganassi Racing, LLC (CGR), also sometimes branded as Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, is an American auto racing organization with teams competing in the NTT IndyCar Series, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, FIA World Endurance Champions ...

to compete in seven Global Rallycross Championship races in an

M-Sport M-Sport is an auto racing team and motorsport engineering company headquartered at Dovenby Hall near Cockermouth, Cumbria, England, United Kingdom. Formed in 1979 by the World Rally Championship driver Malcolm Wilson, and originally known as ...

Fiesta along with former professional motocross rider Jeff Ward.

Media appearances

During a 2005 taping of

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's ''

Viva La Bam ''Viva La Bam'' is an American reality television series that stars Bam Margera and his friends and family. The show is a spin-off from MTV's '' Jackass'', in which Margera and most of the main cast appeared. Each episode had a specific theme, ...

'', Deegan under-rotated a back-flip and suffered a strong impact from the handle bars in his midsection, almost losing his life. He lost a

kidney The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blo ...

, lacerated his

spleen The spleen is an organ found in almost all vertebrates. Similar in structure to a large lymph node, it acts primarily as a blood filter. The word spleen comes .

, and lost a significant amount of blood. He now has a long scar down his stomach, that he calls his "zipper", spanning almost his entire abdomen, as a result of the accident. At the end of the episode when it originally aired, Bam dedicated it to Brian. The accident was cut out of the show. In 2006, Deegan and Berkela films released a film entitled ''Disposable Hero'' that follows him through the struggles and rewards that accompany the freestyle motocross sport and lifestyle. Jesse James, Ronnie Faisst,

Jeremy Stenberg Jeremy "Twitch" Stenberg (born September 27, 1981) is an American professional freestyle motocross rider and professional off-road truck racer. Stenberg received his nickname "Twitch" from his Tourette's syndrome, which he was diagnosed with at ...

, Cameron Steele, Chris Ackerman,

Nate Adams Nathaniel Adams (born March 29, 1984) is an American professional freestyle motocross rider and extreme sports athlete. A resident of Temecula, California, he attained national fame when he won the Freestyle Motocross World Championship in 2 ...

, and Seth Enslow are a few of the featured cast that talk about Deegan and his life's journeys. The film aired on

Spike TV Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles. The channel was ...

on December 5, 2007. Deegan performed stunts in the movie ''

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 (cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first s ...

''. He has been on the cover of ''Transworld MX'' and ''Racer X'' magazines and has been featured multiple times in ''

FHM ''FHM'' (For Him Magazine) is a British multinational men's lifestyle magazine that was published in several countries. Its master edition contained features such as the ''FHM'' 100 Sexiest Women in the World, which has featured models, actres ...

'' magazine. Deegan was in the

Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, ...

Nintendo GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the Wii ...

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on ...

video game ''

Freekstyle ''Freekstyle'' is a 2002 motocross racing video game for the PlayStation 2, GameCube and Game Boy Advance. There are four levels of gameplay: the circuit, a quick race, freestyle, and free run. The game features an assortment of real-life FMX ri ...

''. He also appeared in the 2000 game ''

Supercross The AMA Supercross Championship (commercially known as Monster Energy AMA Supercross) is an American motorcycle racing series. Founded by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) in 1974, the AMA Supercross Championship races are held from ...

'' for the

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a di ...

. In 2018, Deegan was the subject of the documentary ''Blood Line: The Life and Times of Brian Deegan''.

Other ventures

In addition to supporting riders, the Metal Mulisha has a clothing line and other related merchandise. Deegan also has a toy line called Hevy Hitters distributed in retail locations such as

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

. Most recently he teamed up with Illektron to create Battlez FMX, a collectible card and dice game featuring Deegan, Todd Potter and Jeremy Lusk. He is the former owner of the FMX park, the Compound, which he later sold to

. At the 2007 X Games Deegan stated he sometimes regrets selling it.

Personal life

He has been married to Marissa Deegan since 2003. Together, they have three children:

Hailie Deegan Hailie Rochelle Deegan (born July 18, 2001) is an American professional stock car racing driver. She competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 13 Ford F-150 for ThorSport Racing. Deegan is currently a Ford Perfor ...

, who currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Truck Series driving for ThorSports Racing; Haiden, who was recently signed to Team Star Yamaha as a amateur/pro rider; and Hudson, who competes in youth motocross. Deegan became a

born-again Christian Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and sep ...

after a near-fatal crash in 2005.

Career highlights

* 1997 Los Angeles Supercross 125cc – 1st place * 1999 World Freestyle Champ * 2000 Air MX Champ * 2000 Bluetorch Ride and Slide FMX Champ * 2003 Featured Rider on Tony Hawk tour * 2003 EXPN Rider of the year nominee * First to land a 360 * 2004 ESPY award nominee * Hold the most medals in FMX X Games history: 10 medals * 2004 ESPN top 100 athlete of all sports * 2007 Winner Best Biography X Dance Action Sports Film Festival for Brian Deegan: Disposable Hero * 2009 Awarded The Lifetime Achievement Award At The Transworld Motocross Awards In Las Vegas. * 1 gold and 5 medals at the X Games rally events. * 2nd at the 2012 Global RallyCross Championship. * 4th at the 2013 Global RallyCross Championship. * 2009, 2011 and 2013 Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series Pro Lite Unlimited champion * 2011, 2012 and 2014 Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series Pro 2 Unlimited champion * 2011 World Championship race winner in the Pro Light truck class * 2022 Summit Racing Freedom 500 race winner at the Freedom Factory

Racing record

Complete Global RallyCross Championship results

Supercar

Race cancelled.

References

External links

Brian Deegan's official website

Metal Mulisha website

''Disposable Hero'' website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Deegan, Brian 1974 births Living people American motocross riders X Games athletes Freestyle motocross riders Global RallyCross Championship drivers American Christians European Rallycross Championship drivers Chip Ganassi Racing drivers