DEAD FACTION:
Freestyle motocross group members Brian Howard, 18, Austin Lasater, 16, and Chris Brodersen, 18. Not pictured; Gerry Gregorio, 22.

Passers-by at Chris Broderson’s Happy Valley house might do a double-take as they witness a giant mound of dirt turn into a landing pad for death-defying freestyle motocross stunts.

The backyard track is the home base for Broderson’s freestyle motocross group, Dead Faction, who recently made their debut at the Yahama X-treme Summercross Nationals in Red Bluff.

“It’s a dream of mine, and I’m finally getting to live it,” freestyle motocross rider Brian Howard said.

The group of talented and fearless riders range from 16 to 22-years-old. Austin Lasater, 16, Brian Howard, 18, Chris Brodersen, 18, and Gerry Gregorio, 22, comprise the up-and-coming freestyle group.

They hope to become professionals in freestyle motocross — a variation from racing that incorporates ‘big air’ and stunts. The freestyle athletes launch off a ramp and perform acrobatics mid-jump before landing firmly about 60-feet from their starting point.

The feelings the riders get as they soar through the air and land safely on the other side, is a mix of adrenaline, exhilaration and pride.

“It’s the thought when you come down on the landing that you’ve accomplished something that not many people on this earth have ever accomplished,” Broderson said.

The stunts can be dangerous and intimidating, so it’s key for freestyle motocross riders to wear safety gear, and learn tricks at their own pace.

“You go gradual at first. You try tricks and do them little, and then get bigger and bigger,” Lasater said.

“We sit down and we watch professional videos, and we see how they do it,” Broderson added. “Then we go out and try to mimic that when we’re ready. We tweak it anyway we can to give it our own original twist.”

The local riders said the most challenging part of freestyle motocross is really going for the big tricks, and coming back from the big falls.

“For me it’s committing to go and do the biggest and gnarliest tricks you can do,” Broderson said.

“You wreck on a trick and you come back a week or two later and do the same trick,” he said. “You’re hurt and scared that you are going to do the exact same thing you did last time, but you go for it anyway.”