Nitro Circus lands in Orange

You’d take them nearly every time.

Ask that same person if they’d take those odds on landing a 50-foot jump on a skateboard, tricycle, bobsled or, like we’re about to see in Orange tomorrow afternoon, an eski, and they’d baulk at the prospect, every time.

Not Ethan Roberts though.

Not the Nitro Circus’ giganta ramp rider.

Mr Roberts is one of 40 Nitro Circus performers set to light up Wade Park tomorrow night, the high-octane act’s sixth stop on its 2013 Australian Regional Tour.

From Salt Lake City, Utah, the 22-year-old admits to having one of the best jobs in the world and jumping eskis down the circus’ giganta ramp is just one of the perks.

“[We jump] pretty much anything you can imagine,” he said.

“The eski is definitely interesting ... they’re meant to keep beers cold, not jump 50 feet, and so when it gets in the air it’s definitely something really hard to keep control of. It works about 50 per cent of the time. 

“It’s definitely one of the most scary thing to jump down a gigantor jump, for sure.”

“Born into Nitro Circus” as a 14-year-old, Mr Roberts became the youngest person on the planet to complete a backflip on a motorcycle.

“Ever since then I’ve been jumping my bike or doing flips and so when the Nitro Circus live tour came around, I was the perfect candidate just to jump the mega ramp or jump whatever they had just to make things entertaining,” he said.

The Nitro Circus Australian Regional Tour’s last stop was in Wollongong, one of the bigger cities the show will perform at.

Mr Roberts was looking forward to the more “intimate” setting at Wade Park.

“The littler shows, the regional shows ... you get a little more intimate with the crowd. You get to see the little boys getting excited about the motorcycles starting up and the boys riding their bikes out. It’s cool to watch them,” he said.

Construction on the Nitro Circus set begins today. Gates open at Wade Park from 1.30pm tomorrow.

nick. mcgrath@fairfaxmedia.com.au