Monday, July 23

World's Youngest Daredevil? - Part Two

By B.J. Smith

Believe it or not

It only took a couple of days for word to spread about Robbie's stunt. In early September, Larry Silverman, segment producer for "Ripley's Believe it or Not!," called Robb Sr. and an offer for a photo shoot with Robbie was brought to the table. After negotiations, Silverman agreed to fly to Mich. in late Oct. to film Robbie for a segment on the TV program. In the past, the show has aired segments of young talent including a six-year-old golf prodigy, a young genius, and even featured Seth Enslow's amazing crash when he tried to break the world record for jumping motorcycles. With Robbie though, Silverman saw something different.

"The idea is that at age eight, this kid is jumping cars on a motorcycle," Silverman said. "There are kids out there that can't ride a bicycle at age eight. We think it's a believe it or not. How could it not be?"

But Silverman said the shows segments do not try to advocate certain behaviors and stunts.

"Gosh, don't go trying this stuff at home. We always make sure to tell people that. This kid is trained, he's a professional."

Before Silverman's crew arrived in Mich., Robb Sr. made calls to drum up sponsorship for Robbie. Todd Hicks at Fox USA was quick to respond.

"I've been in Robbie's shoes before," Hicks said. "This is a kid that races motorcycles and has had people tell him he can't do this. But when you begin riding at such a young age, you are capable of pulling off stunts like this. Racing a motorcycle is like playing the drums. There's so many things going on at once that you have to think fast or you will screw up."

Hicks said that he does not condone straight "daredevilism," but it was Robbie's motocross and flat track background that made him all the more appealing.

"Even though he's young, he's a professional at his own game, and his father is aiding him with what he wants to do in life."

The Ripley's crew arrived three days before Robbie was scheduled to jump 10 cars. Their plan was to follow Robbie around to capture his less daring side.

"We want to portray him as a kid," Silverman said. "He's not weird or a freak. It's his interests that make him unique and we want to show that what he does when he's not jumping cars, is similar to what most kids his age do."

The first shoot took place at Baja Acres, a motocross track in Millington, MI. Silverman wanted to show that Robbie's interests and talent on motorcycles go beyond jumping cars. Robb Sr., fashionably late, was the last one to show. He arrived in his yellow 4x4 with fresh stickers adorning the side of his front fenders: www.rippinrob.com. Robbie is now worldwide.

At Baja, the crew shot the entire family riding: Robb Sr., Peggy Lapeen, Robbie, and his four-year-old brother, Cam. After shooting Robbie on the track the crew went to the Lapeen house to shoot the family sitting down for dinner and Robbie getting help with his homework.

"It was almost like being an actor," Robbie said while playing with a Pastrana replica motorcycle. "They always tell you what to do and they kept stopping me while I was trying to practice. I was like, 'when can I just ride?'"

The following day was spent filming beauty shots and Robb Sr. working at his business. In the evening, the crew followed Robbie to Skateland, for shots of him having fun with friends.

Raising the bar

With a half dozen cameras fumbling to get into position, the pit crew, wearing "Rippin Robb" T-shirts, scramble to make last minute adjustments. When the crew clears from the ramp, a guy on a KX125 wearing a T-shirt and a skydiving helmet with a camcorder rigged to the side, blasts onto the strip. He clears the jump several times, busting front fender grabs and cross-ups. On his way back from his last run, he stops and gives Robbie a few pointers. To the Lapeen family he is Billy Hopper, but to Robbie he is a coach and close friend.

"I always jump first to make sure everything feels right," Hopper says. "He feels comfortable working with me and we practice together a lot."

Hopper, a 10-year motocross veteran, had never jumped a ramp before trying Robbie's.

"It's such an easy jump. It's so smooth, but it's totally different than jumping dirt. If you over shoot this though, you're done."

The crowd is growing. People from the road pull to the side to see what is happening. It's show time and the camera crew chief gives Robbie the signal. He knows the distance is greater this time. Seven cars are exposed and three are buried. The biggest fear is over jumping. Robbie holeshots toward the ramp and clicks fourth gear before the face. He hits the ramp and the cameraman standing between the cars follows him from takeoff to landing, where he hits perfectly. He rides onto the lawn where cameras and his family rush him. Because he is too short to touch the ground, he almost falls over.

Silverman calls for a re-shoot of the 'scene.' To keep things from becoming anti-climatic, Robbie reaches into his bag of tricks to make the 70.5' jump more interesting for the cameras and the crowd. No footers, and a no-hander that would make Rick Johnson wonder-Robbie says he wants to get an early start learning freestyle moves.

"I'm working on my no-handed landings right now," he says. "This jump is a little big to practice those but I can do them on my small tabletop in the back."

More than a dozen jumps later, Silverman says his crew has what they need. The ambulances pack up and are the first to roll out. The cameras are packed into the Ripley's van and the crowd gathers around a table where "Rippin Robb" shirts are being sold.

When Robbie gets a chance to break away from the commotion, he goes right back to where he left off: hitting pop bottles with the cardboard tube. On all known accounts, Robbie has set a world record for the youngest kid to jump cars. Guinness is currently reviewing him for a spot in their book of world records. A concern of Robb Sr.'s is an onslaught of challengers trying to copy what has been done.

"I don't want to see this turn into a competition," he says. "That's not why we're doing this. In motocross there's a lot of burnout and that's why we started racing on the ice and flat track. Jumping this ramp was just something different he wanted to try. He really loves freestyle."

Unfortunately for Robbie, he will continue aging and the landing ramp can only get further away. What's next, Robbie?

"I want to jump a house, and after that, I'll jump into a pond. In 2001 I'm going for three national championships on my 60cc: ice racing, flat track, and the Loretta Lynn's."

Under the influence of icons like Jeremy McGrath and Travis Pastrana, Robbie is one of a growing number to adapt to the freestyle at a young age. But like Pastrana, Robbie also has a promising racing career going for him.

"I want to be a pro in freestyle and motocross, just like Travis."

As onlookers, we hold our breath, wait and wonder, "What's next?"

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