Thaindian News

New Delhi, May 3 (IANS) India is a bigger-than-life experience, says Brazilian skateboarder Sandro Dias as he prepares to perform in the country for only the second time, adding that he hoped to return soon.

“India is a bigger-than-life experience. It was an amazing crowd, an amazing experience,” he told IANS of his first show in Bangalore last month as part of the Mountain Dew Xtreme Tours extreme sport extravaganza.

“Hopefully, we’ll do better next,” he added of the show in suburban Noida on Saturday where Dias and nine other skateboarders, BMX (extreme racing on bicycles) and FMX (freestyle motocross) professions will wow the audience with their death-defying stunts.

“I certainly want to be back,” said Dias, who has won innumerable gold and other medals at various editions of the X Games, the LG Action Sports World Championships and the ASA Action Sports World Tour.

Nicknamed “The Pitbull”, Dias is, in fact, one among a handful of skaters to have landed a 900, a 2.5-revolution (900 degrees) aerial spin performed on a skateboard ramp. While airborne, the skateboarder makes two-and-a-half turns about his or her longitudinal axis, thereby facing the other way when coming down than before. It is considered one of skateboarding’s most technically demanding tricks.

Echoing Dias was FMX biker Jimmie McGuire, who has competed in 11 countries and 48 of the 50 states in the US.

“I just loved Bangalore. The crowds in India are awesome. It’s really exciting. I want to be back,” said McGuire, who won seven AMA SX titles between 1993 and 2000 and was placed in the top five of the Australian X Games.

He also thought there was tremendous potential for FMX biking in India.

“In India, driving on the streets is pretty crazy. People can pick it up pretty quickly,” he said.

Among the other professionals on view Saturday will be skateboarding pro and 21-time X-Games medalist, Andy MacDonald, legendary skaters Eito Yasutoko and Takeshi Yasutoko, BMX star, Simon Tabron and FMX pros Tommy Clowers, Dustin Nowak, Myles Richmond and Mike Mason.

The Mountain Dew Xtreme Tour will also travel to Ludhiana, Jaipur and Lucknow; along with special athlete-led consumer workshops in Hyderabad, Kanpur, Gurgaon, Delhi and Chandigarh.

Speaking about the tour, Ruchira Jaitly, executive vice president - Marketing, Beverages (Flavours), PepsiCo India, said: “Adventure, can-do attitude and overcoming your worst fears is in the DNA of Mountain Dew. Over the years, we have brought in high adrenaline experiences to our consumers and Mountain Dew Xtreme Tour promises to take it to the next level.

“Mountain Dew is bringing world-class athletes, a mega set-up with sets fabricated by experts and spectacular performances for the first time with this scale in India. We are confident that the first season of Mountain Dew Xtreme Tour in India will be a great success and will only amplify our message of ‘Darr Ko Maaro Dew’,” Joshi added.