Mega jumps, mega fun
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau “The Godfather” Dustin Grice puts on a show at the Brown County Fairgrounds on Thursday in New Ulm. Grice, a BMX vet of more than 25 years, captains the Ride Brand team out of Minnesota.
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Johnathan Bovee entertains the crowd and his fellow BMX athletes behind him at the Brown County Fairgrounds on Thursday during a Ride Brand Mega Jump event.
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Deegan Oliver, the youngest rider of the Ride Brand squad, shows off his skills at a Mega Jump event Thursday at the Brown County Fairgrounds.
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Before their Mega Jump show Thursday, Ride Brand BMXers hand out souvenirs to the crowd at the Brown County Fair in New Ulm.
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Bobby Picht gets early work in on the big ramp ahead of a Mega Jump event Thursday at the Brown County Fairgrounds.
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Lane George shows off a no-hands trick at a Mega Jump event Thursday at the Brown County Fairgrounds.
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Deegan Oliver gets big air during the Mega Jump show at the Brown County Fair in New Ulm on Thursday.
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau “The Godfather” Dustin Grice puts on a show at the Brown County Fairgrounds on Thursday in New Ulm. Grice, a BMX vet of more than 25 years, captains the Ride Brand team out of Minnesota.
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Johnathan Bovee entertains the crowd and his fellow BMX athletes behind him at the Brown County Fairgrounds on Thursday during a Ride Brand Mega Jump event.
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Deegan Oliver, the youngest rider of the Ride Brand squad, shows off his skills at a Mega Jump event Thursday at the Brown County Fairgrounds.
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Before their Mega Jump show Thursday, Ride Brand BMXers hand out souvenirs to the crowd at the Brown County Fair in New Ulm.
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Bobby Picht gets early work in on the big ramp ahead of a Mega Jump event Thursday at the Brown County Fairgrounds.
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Lane George shows off a no-hands trick at a Mega Jump event Thursday at the Brown County Fairgrounds.
Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Deegan Oliver gets big air during the Mega Jump show at the Brown County Fair in New Ulm on Thursday.
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NEW ULM -- Ride Brand brought its high-flying BMX athletes to the Brown County Fairgrounds on Thursday, entertaining fair-goers with a plethora of stunts and tricks.
Captained by "The Godfather" Dustin Grice, a BMX veteran of more than 25 years that has performed in Travis Pastrana's Nitro Circus, Ride Brand showed off the talents of Grice and five other pros at the Mega Jump Stunt Show. Joining Grice was Bobby Picht, Johnathan Bovee, Deegan Oliver, Lane George and Roberto Vazquez.
Three shows took place Thursday, all encouraging audience participation.
"We've all done shows for 25-plus years," Grice said. "About 15 years ago we opened an indoor bike park in Minneapolis [The Factory], and now since COVID, that's been in storage, but we've continued doing the events and performing."
Over the last five years, Grice said the shows have gotten more interactive, with crowd members being invited to try out jumps of their own following the show. Ride Brand also brings a smaller airbag and ramp to their shows for kids, inviting them to get out and try a jump for themselves.
"We have more equipment now, so the kids can come out and ride," Grice said. "We have a kids airbag with just a small version of the jump, but just been focusing on events the last five years now."
Most of the riders are from around the Twin Cities and suburbs, but Bovee, a 10-year rider, is from Minnesota's Iron Range up north.
George, with almost 30 years of riding under his belt, has performed in all 50 states.
Picht, a 25-year rider, said playing to the crowd and getting them on their feet is a big part of the show.
"We're trying to get the crowd really pumped up," Picht said. "Just to make sure it's a really fun event. You're doing a bunch of tricks, you want it to be exciting."
Oliver, a 17-year-old rider of 11 years, said in addition to the tricks to get the crowd engaged, music plays a big role also in their show.
After a few warm-up jumps, the show began with the riders doing their best to one-up each other while hyping up the crowd with a variety of spins and flips.
After the show, the riders autographed posters for fans.
"We're not that far and it's the first time we've been to this fair," Grice said. "You guys have a beautiful fairgrounds and we'd love to come back."
The jumps continue on Friday and Saturday at the fairgrounds, with 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. shows Friday and 12 p.m., 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. shows Saturday. The shows are free to attend.