CLEVELAND ROCKS!!! You have heard the mantra before and it certainly held true tonight at the Quicken Loans Arena. The fans were loud from start to finish and they certainly had a ton to cheer about. Sean Nielson started us off with a solid run that netted him an 83.1. Sean was happy to end his season on a good note and will be having surgery to repair a torn ACL on Tuesday. We hope for a speedy recovery for “The Outlaw”. Next, Derek Burlew went off, hitting both a switch grip Indy and a BASE jump to net an 88.8. Keith Sayers came to the floor after DB and despite a solid run was only able to manage an 83.5 which was okay with “Say Ya” because he said his return from the early season ankle injury continues on schedule. Nick Dunne came out to a huge applause and didn’t disappoint his many fans, hitting both a Captain Morgan and a Drunken Monkey as well. His 90.8 would turn out to be the top qualifier for the night. Dustin Nowak was fighting the flu as he came to the floor, but still put in a game effort, but was only able to score an 80.0.

During our first break X-Games gold medalist Heath Frisby came out to get his Red Bull Ski-Doo dialed in and ended up a little short on his second jump and got huckle bucked off the front of his sled. He was ok and got right up. He promised to be back after the finals and he kept his word performing a back flip on his snow mobile with Nick Dunne and Keith Sayers flipping right next to him.

Rich Kearns got us going in the second half and he was also fighting a stomach bug but made no excuses. He was only able to manage an 83.2, but the crowd definitely appreciated his effort. Drake McElroy cruised out behind him and smoothly work his way thru a run that included a stylish cliff hanger and his signature whip nac. He had a shot at the finals with his 88.4 but with three riders left he would have wait and see. Julian Dusseau strode out aboard his Yamaha and had a clean run. He put together a nice no footed can to candy bar and managed to get in an extra trick and the judges rewarded his effort with a 90.5 that had him headed to the finals. Greg Hartman rode from the tunnel to the sounds of Johnny Cash and the Man in Black inspired him to an 89.5 which was good enough for the final qualifying spot. Brody Wilson stepped to the plate with the final chance to get to the main event. He showed the crowd a perfectly executed one hand seat grab to rock solid that helped him to the second qualifying spot with a 90.7.

We had all the usual suspects for out crowd judged whip contest with Dunne, Dusseau, Wilson, McElroy and Burlew squaring off. Dusseau and Dunne put up nice whips and “The Wilson Express” turned his bike nearly upside down, but DMC and DB again took things to another level. Drake’s whip nac really revved up the crowd but Burlew stole the win by going to the single ramp and throwing a sweet left handed whip to the Cleveland faithful.

“Superman” Greg Hartman was the first to go in the finals and he started things off with a superflip and ended with a back flip Indy to score a 91.7. Dusseau was rider number two in the finals and used a whip flip and a flip can can to take over the Hot Seat with a 92.3. Julian looked a little nervous in the big red chair knowing Brody Wilson was next to the floor. It turned out to be with good reason because Wilson started his run with a Kiss of Death flip and also showing off a very nice sidewinder and a massive Rock Solid. He nudged Dusseau out of the Hot Seat with his tally of 93.8. The crowd favorite Nicky “Six Guns” Dunne was our last rider and he had it on a rail until his third trick which he dead sailored which pretty much sealed the win for Brody.

It was a fantastic night here on the shores of Lake Erie and the crowd at the Quicken Loans Arena saw one of the best shows of the year. Get to Facebook.com/gravityslashers and let the guys know how much you loved the show. – David Knisley

Winter has arrived, the workouts are intensifying, and I am fully prepped and ready for the upcoming competition season. With temperatures here in Butte dipping below zero at night I have begun thinking about those blower powder days and the smell of two stroke fuel burning. I have been flipping and riding a ton this summer and fall and feel confident that my skills are in place  for the big show, Winter X.

I was looking through photos from last winter and thinking about what is to come from the winter ahead. One thing stuck in my mind from last winter, is our trip to Russia. The shows we performed behind the iron curtain with the SCS Crew were mind blowing. One of our close friends and sponsors, Montaqua Dave, not only produces the best tasting water in all the west, he also has written a nice little synopsis of our events in Russia. So thanks Dave, I wanted to share this piece with the fans to get everyone excited about our next trip to Europe!

Excerpt

Some people hibernate during the winter but others live to play in the snow. The SCS Sledstyle Crew does more than play, they continually push the sport of freestyle snowmobiling to new heights. Most winters are pretty crazy for these guys but the last 4 months might just top them all…

Anticipation for X Games 13 had been persistently building since the close of last year’s event. The SCS Crew trained and planned diligently for the last 12 months getting ready to show the world how their sport was evolving. The preparation intensified in December & January when a practice facility was built in Idaho and white powdery flakes began to fall.

Fanatic spectators ascended upon Aspen in record numbers for X Games 13 to watch the world’s greatest extreme athletes defy the laws of gravity. The SCS Crew was in full force building the sickest freestyle course in the competition’s history and then dominating the medal podiums. SCS’s founder, Steve Miller, engineered and built the course while SCS Riders Heath Frisby & Joe Parsons won medals.

The X Games had barely come to a close when Heath Frisby received a call from Travis Pastrana. With the SCS Sledstyle motorhome loaded with sleds & Montaqua, the group headed south to meet up with Travis & his zany crew of top action sport athletes. Frisby had been invited to Utah to personally coach Pastrana on flipping a snowmobile for the Nitro Circus show on MTV.

With that in mind, I plan on bringing you the best content I can generate this winter, whether it is through social media, my new HD helmet cam from Vholdr, or through photos from all my friends and fans. I will soon be going to California to train at the Red Bull Facility and will have some awesome footage to go with it. Thanks to everyone for their help, and let’s get ready to rock this winter and make some history!

Cheers

Friz