Smage has been performing stunts on motorcycles since he was a kid. Now Smage and his brother Pat travel the country performing shows. The two will be at the Progressive International Motorcycle Show at the Washington Convention Center starting Friday. When did you start riding motorcycles? We got into it from our parents, actually. Our parents met at a motorcycle race, and my dad had always been into riding and competing, so he had us get going early on. Eventually we got to the level where we’d have people come over to our house to watch us practice and we thought maybe we can turn this into something and start performing for people.
So your parents were supportive of the stunts?
We had a farm outside a small town in Wisconsin, and we always had the land and had our parents be enthusiasts about motorcycle stuff. Really our only limitation was the weather, so my dad actually built an indoor riding facility with a bunch of obstacles so we could practice throughout the winter, too.
When did things take off for the show?
We started hitting smaller venues like local fairs and motorcycle shops, doing small performances around the Midwest. Since then we’ve come a long way and had a successful stint on the NBC show “America’s Got Talent.” Now we’ve turned it into a national thing and hit the road.
Do you have a favorite stunt?
It’s not my favorite thing, but each show we have a competition, me versus my brother, to see who can hop on their rear tire, which is a very difficult move to do, and we see who can do it the most in a row. The winner between us two gets to get out the one-wheel motorcycle and jump over the other brother. I haven’t won yet, but I’ve been getting closer. If I win then it’s going to be really good. – Ben Giles
— Ben Giles
