Making
Texas Proud at the X Games
Tyler resident and BMX champ Morgan Wade Takes center stage in Summer X Games At COTA
54
austinfI tmagaz in e .com • 05.201 4
By Leah Fisher Nyfeler Photography by Brian Fitzsimmons
M
organ Wade is an artist, and right now, his paintbrush is a BMX bike. That’s not to say his medium one day won’t be welding, monoprinting, or oil painting, but these days, he’s content to find his bliss sighting new lines, making incredible transfers, mastering back-to-back moves, and finding big air. His next canvas will be the Freestyle Park course and the MegaRamp at the X Games at Austin’s Circuit of The Americas in June. Wade is the kind of rider who makes the crowd gasp. He goes big and all out, driven by a sincere and encompassing desire to experience something new and to provide a great show in the process. “As long as I go out there and have fun—and it shows— that’s what matters to me, and that’s honestly what people want to see,” Wade said. Since 2006, Wade has garnered four X Games medals (one gold, two silvers, and a bronze) and, if all goes well this year, he might just set a world record for height on the MegaRamp in front of his home state crowd.