In journalist David Browne’s eye-opening account of a truly alternate sports universe, readers will find themselves aboard a raucous skateboarding bus tour withthe iconic Tony Hawk, behind the scenes at the X Games and snowboarding contests, dropping into a summer camp devoted to these sports, on the sidelines witnessing the first-ever double backflip on a motorcycle, and in the offices of the multinational corporations that have tapped into the vast amounts of money to be made from these new American pastimes.Along the way, readers will also hear firsthand from such stars as Hawk,skaters Bob Burnquist and Mike Vallely,BMX riders Ryan Nyquist and Rick Thorne, and motocross riders Mike Metzger and Clifford Adoptante.

ONCE A FRINGE UNDERGROUND culture, skateboarding, snow-boarding, BMX biking, and freestyle motocross are now the stuff of car commercials and Olympic competitions. How did these so-called extreme sports get there--and how does it feel to be in the midst of it all?The first comprehensive account of the history, culture, and business of action sports, Amped is a journey into a world where deft athleticism, potential pain,and the ultimate rush commingle.

In journalist David Browne’s eye-opening account of a truly alternate sports universe, readers will find themselves aboard a raucous skateboarding bus tour withthe iconic Tony Hawk, behind the scenes at the X Games and snowboarding contests, dropping into a summer camp devoted to these sports, on the sidelines witnessing the first-ever double backflip on a motorcycle, and in the offices of the multinational corporations that have tapped into the vast amounts of money to be made from these new American pastimes.Along the way, readers will also hear firsthand from such stars as Hawk,skaters Bob Burnquist and Mike Vallely,BMX riders Ryan Nyquist and Rick Thorne, and motocross riders Mike Metzger and Clifford Adoptante.

Preface

1. Prologue: The Awards Show

2. Pump It Up Until You Can Feel It: Riding High and Low with BMX

3. The Boys on the Skate Bus: Going Big with Tony Hawk’s Gigantic Skatepark Tour

4. Core-Mart: Scenes from the World of Shoes, Videos,Gear, and the Industry Within

5. Skatetown and Cabin B-Boys:Going Extreme at Summer Camp

6. Eat Dirt to the Beat: The Music-Sports Connection

7. Lights, Camera, Grind: Madison Avenue’s Extreme Makeover

8. Contest as Metaphor: Braving the Pipe, the Rail, and the Mainstreaming of Snowboarding at the U.S. Open

9. They Got Game: ESPN, the X Games, and the Quest for the Gold

10. Moto Rising: Freestyle Motocross and the Two-Wheeled Sky Kiss

11. Epilogue: The Awards Show, the Day After

Bibliography

Acknowledgments