Snowmobile
Learn what Daniel Bodin has to say about his world’s first double backflip on a snowmobile record.
How did you get into Snowmobile Freestyle in the first place?
In my early years I was all about snowboard. I was accepted to a special “snowboard high school” where talents were given a chance to combine studies with a top-level elite initiative, dreaming about a career as a pro snowboarder. At the same time, motocross had always inspired me. I watched American FMX movies and at the age of 12 I managed to buy a vintage dirtbike from the eighties. But I couldn’t really afford to take on the sport in a serious manner.
In the year 2000 my father brought me to a FMX show and I was completely blown away. I got home, saved money for a better bike, and decided to start jumping myself. As my confidence grew I decided to set up my own FMX show in my hometown, Malung. People came and actually paid to see it. I made my career’s first earnings. Not much, but very motivating.
Growing up in northern Sweden I have always had snowmobiles around me. There are two or three on every farm in the region, and I had always enjoyed riding them. When the winter came I understood that the FMX tricks could be transferred to a snowmobile. It all came together when a snowmobile manufacturer decided to sponsor me with a new ride, an Arctic Cat. I started jumping it and soon I was invited to show my skills at a show in Umeå, further up north in Sweden. Instead of coming to X Games as a snowboard athlete I ended up in the snowmobile freestyle discipline.
Watch the world’s first double backflip on a snowmobile:
How did you first come to think of the double backflip trick?
I really don’t know! It always was a trick too unrealistic to even consider. Even after Travis Pastrana’s FMX double flip. But in 2009 Levi Lavallee did his attempt at X Games. It looked completely dangerous and reckless to me then. But in 2013 Justin Hoyer made a new try that felt safer and more sensible. I guess the idea started to grow on me slowly from that day.
When Red Bull gave me the opportunity to train for the double backflip with help of an airbag I started to understand that it could be done in a reasonably safe manner. I reached out to Travis Pastrana and Josh Sheehan to pump them for information about their double and triple backflips. About what actually happens during the second and third rotation. Travis made clear that the most important is to believe in your heart that you can actually pull it off. Personally, I would never have believed it was possible if Travis hadn’t shown the world that it was.
What made you spend years on such a crazy trick? How are you wired?
I’ve always felt that a drive to develop this sport. To be break new frontiers. Especially when it comes to backflips. The years on snowboard, trampoline training and jumping off bridges and cliffs into water just for fun have given me a good body control. It was natural to transfer these tricks to vehicles.
I honestly believed that if anybody should land the double backflip on a snowmobile it should be me. Also, I’m a very bull-headed person. If I put my mind into something there’s no going back. Failure hurts me more than physical pain after a crash.
Watch the Double Backflip from Daniel Bodin’s perspective:
And what made you think it was actually achievable?
In the beginning it was all a big question mark. Nobody else had attempted big jumps with a snowmobile into an airbag. Would it pop like a balloon? It turned out that it didn’t.
Now I’ve opened up a new door in the world of snowmobile freestyle. Landing upside down in a foampit from 45 feet is scary as hell and it can really hurt you. From the highest point in this trick a foampit or an airbag looks ridiculously small. You have a split second to make up your mind: continue the rotation or bail out. The airbag made it possible to train properly and do more attempts.
The greatest challenge is the mental barrier. To convince yourself that it can be done and stick to it. This trick is so much more mental than physical.
You had to give it several tries and you hurt yourself in the process. Was there a moment when you thought you would have to give it up?
The fear of hurting yourself is always there within this sport. But I’m not scared of the pain. What scare me are the consequences. What will happen to my family and close ones? What am I doing to them? I can’t really explain it but this trick took me far beyond what I have experienced before in this respect. But the fear of failing prevailed.
When I broke my finger during an early double backflip attempt at the end of the season I nearly gave up. Rebooting the entire project nine months later just seemed so tough, basically starting from scratch all over again. But I came back for more. In the end I was unable to give up. I think it’s an experience that everybody faces sometime in his or her life. We all face challenges and overcome them.
Another time when some may have considered throwing in the towel was the attempts just a week before the successful one. We had the full team in place in Malung, including camera crew, photographers, family and friends. I crashed hard. Twice. I hurt my knee and realized that it was over. I had to send everybody home. But it simply wasn’t the right time. I could feel it.
Just a few days later I woke up and had the feeling that the timing was right. Everything was right. Looking back it was!
Making the first attempts on snow – were you afraid? How do you manage your fears?
To me it was all about the setup. Was there anything else I could do to make it right? Was the snowmobile powerful enough? Did I have the right people around me? Was the kicker exactly the best it could be? Was the landing shaped right? The weather? Knowing that I had the right setup and conditions made me feel comfortable. It helped me manage my fears. On the Monday leading up to X Games there were no more question marks. I had done everything I could possibly do to give myself the best shot at this trick.
What exactly do you think made that last attempt successful? What was crucial?
It’s difficult to explain. I can’t point on a certain detail. It was more like a sixth sense telling me that we had the exact right setup. If the key is to believe that you can do it, then you’d better have a setup that you believe in.
I started the project with a completely clean slate. I designed the jump and landing completely from scratch – based on my own preferences and thoughts about how it should be. Early on I felt that the ramp used at X Games was too small and aggressive for a snowmobile. It was originally designed for motocross. I wanted a smoother, longer transition, giving me time to feel the lift-off. Some of the inspiration came from the setup Josh Sheehan used for his triple backflip. But translated into the world of snowmobiles and the physics I’m facing in my sport.
What went through your head as and when you landed it?
That was two years of work finished in four seconds. Imagine the feeling. Who wouldn’t be extremely happy? Like a personal moon landing. I don’t know how else to describe it. I also got that intense adrenaline rush, like the syringe in the chest in the movie Pulp Fiction. Boom! I’ve had that adrenaline shock before, like when I landed my 147 feet backflip in Alaska. But back then I had no hard work or preparations before. Just decided to pull the trick. Now I had put so much effort and time into the attempt. So much happier.The joy is impossible to describe!
Is your sport more motorsport or winter sports to you? How would you describe in very general terms?
To me, snowmobile is clearly a winter sport. Including the freestyle discipline. Riding should be done in the winter. Freely. That’s what it’s all about. The double backflip, however, is more of a planned madness.
You have also developed yourself as a decent FMX rider. Is that a discipline that you could see yourself do more of? Even aiming for Summer X Games?
I can’t deny that I would love to ride FMX in the Summer X Games. But it’s not very realistic. I live in Sweden with winter, cold and darkness half the year. How could I possibly compete with guys living in Spain or California that can ride everyday in perfect conditions? Also, the level of FMX today is insane! To reach that level I would have to make an equally insane commitment. Completely give everything else up.
So what’s the next trick? A triple backflip!? Is there anything new and gnarly you think we will see people land in the future?
I can’t tell right now. I really have to go back to the drawing board again. Start thinking of something new and exciting. I know there are tricks people would like to see transferred from FMX into snowmobile, like an underflip. Tricks that we today consider unlikely to happen or even impossible. But this is how we felt about the double backflip before. So I must say that nothing is impossible!
