BMX Flatland pro Terry Adams is a rare breed of selfless self-promoter. If an opportunity doesn’t exist, he’ll simply create it, whether that means inventing a new trick worthy of a magazine cover, giving fans access to all his footage on his website, or putting on his own flatland event to show the world how it should be done. With such intense drive and focus, Adams has succeeded, not only personally, but also as a driving force for the future of his sport.
Pushing himself, and his sport...
For Adams, riding is not just about personal progression; it's more about advancing the sport as a whole. “I’m trying to do everything I can to make it mainstream," he says. "If it’s the last thing I do, I am going to get it on TV as much as I can and in the magazines every month. That’s what I’ve been trying to do all these years.” With the new tricks, awards, magazine covers and TV spots he's been earning, Adams is well on his way to achieving his goal.
Never was that more evident than in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Adams, a Louisiana native who grew up in the small town of Hammond an hour outside of New Orleans, experienced the devastation firsthand. During the storm, Adams perfected a trick he had been working on and named it Katrina to commemorate the life-altering power of the storm. “I wanted to dedicate it to the people who lost their lives or their homes,” he says. But he had another goal, as well: score the cover of Ride BMX magazine. “I pushed really hard to get that cover. I did it not only for myself but for the future of flatland.” The photo ran on the cover of the December 2005 issue, the first time flatland had been on the cover in nine years; yet another selfless victory. Of course, he was just getting started, so he set his sights on the sport's other U.S. mag, BMX Plus. He earned the cover of their January 2007 issue with another brand-new trick, the Adams Bomb.
FINDING HIS PASSION
Adams still lives in Hammond, where he grew up mastering multiple disciplines on his bike. “I started out racing BMX and then worked on ramps when I was about 11,” he recalls. “But when I was 12 or 13 I discovered flatland, and after that, it was just flatland for me.” His mom home-schooled him while driving to competitions all over the southeast, and when the up-and-comer started taking college classes at age 15, it only confirmed his desire to ride full-time. By the time Adams was 16, he was traveling on his own and pursuing a pro career.
Since then, he’s risen to the top of his sport, a non-stop effort for Adams. Between contests, he’s also putting on demos, filming video segments and doing magazine interviews and photo shoots. “I haven’t won these contests and awards because I want to be the best or because I want to win. I just want to get flatland out there and do whatever I can to help it continue to grow.”
Adams frequently travels to Asia, where flatland enjoys its highest popularity. He won the 2005 Asian X Games in Korea, and in June 2006, he took second place at Motorola Ground Force in Singapore in front of 40,000 spectators. His win list is long: several Japanese King of Ground events, the Urban Games in London in '05, the '07 Hong Kong International Flatland Contest, the Toronto BMX Jams in '06 and '07, and Red Bull 14 in Mexico in '07. It's rare to see a podium shot at a flatland contest without Adams in it.
He's no stranger to awards in the States, as well. In 2005 he was voted the 11th most marketable rider in the world by BMX Business News Magazine, the only flatlander on the list. The biggest achievement came when he was named the NORA Cup Flatlander of the Year for 2005. “That’s been my biggest accomplishment so far in BMX,” Adams says of the NORA (Number One Rider Award) Cup. “It’s definitely one of the coolest awards anyone can get in the industry because the readers of the magazine vote. I was really happy just knowing people who don’t ride flatland knew who I was.”
ON THE HUSTLE
Adams works tirelessly to keep the wheels in motion, on and off the bike. After returning from the Motorola Games in Singapore which he guest hosted for MTV Asia in the summer of 2006, he shot a commercial in New York City’s Central Park for Fuel TV and went straight to L.A. to film a “Master of Champions” segment for ABC. In 2005, he went on the Mattel Toy Company Tour, working the runway on his bike for benefit events nationwide. During a stop in New York for an AIDS benefit, he performed in front of Jennifer Lopez and Sharon Stone.
He also co-produced the third Flatland Voodoo Jam in June 2007 in New Orleans, which was Adams' idea of how a flatland contest should be done. “We put it in a nightclub atmosphere with a really dramatic three-man battle for the final. Now that we’ve done it people are copying our format around the world.”
With all he’s accomplished in the last three years, Adams says his main goal is to stay positive and keep the momentum going. “I don’t want to worry about being better than anyone. My main goal overall is to keep pushing the limits of flatland for myself and to help other people to understand what it is. I feel like I’ve done everything I want to do, but I could always do more.”
