Never Say Can't: The Bruce Cook Story

After we explained to them that they knew what we were doing there and who we were, we were able to bribe them with some signs, Red Bull and tickets. For the show, it was pretty fun, you know, watching Bruce squirm his way out of it, it kind of clicked and we just worked together and were able to laugh at the misfortune and try to make the best of a pretty bad situation to do that tour. billy and chris are the perfect guys to do it and through all the misfortunes and everything at the end of the day nothing would have changed when

bruce

met billy van vute in mexico they really hit it off and became good friends who really liked each other.billy and uh, we heard that billy knew travis and that travis was open to

bruce

coming out and using his foam pit and progressing his tricks from where they were at and of course it was really scary knowing that he was going to do it.

Being doing harder stuff in the air when I first met Bruce, he was like a man, he's a really solid guy, he's always happy to fit in with any group and at the end of the day he was one of the freestyle motocrossers. toughest in the world. You are someone you look up to and definitely a great role model meeting him in his personal kitchen for the first time and he is so welcoming and literally opened up his home and his property to me in a pretty unique way and there aren't many people who would do that.

Do that, that was the first time I met Bruce Cook. I instantly adored him and he always had that big bright smile, positive attitude and willingness to help anyone who needed help or you know, die 110 at something he wanted to learn. He is one of the kindest, kindest and most approachable people I have ever met. Bruce has been like a brother to me ever since. Bruce asked me and thought if he was able to do this new trick that no one had ever done before. if travis was able to send him to x games, he was like, hey, i want to practice a holy grip backflip.

I thought no one does a holy grip backflip. He says, yes, I know it's a double seat hold where you let go and fly through the air without holding it. anything and grab them on your bike and back on the motorcycle, that's a pretty hard trick to do upright and he was convinced he could do it backwards when I first heard about it, I just said it's impossible, you can't to do that. Letting your bike go backwards, that's crazy first, it's always been kind of like, go big or go home and again you know maybe it's not always the best idea, but you have to admire him, I mean his tenacity. and push, and you know his willingness to take. risks um, it's admirable and he tries and he's gone to places that many of us will

never

see in our lives.

So for me to have the real possibility of attending x games was really exciting. and he hadn't participated in any competitions in the United States, so he was still completely under the radar. It was pretty much who is this guy from Canada who thinks he can make it to x games and he thinks he has a trick that's good enough. My name is Bruce Cook, I'm 24 years old and from Kelowna BC, Canada, and I think I have a trick that deserves to be an X 18 game. I put together a video that showed the trick enough and I turned around and showed it.

It was possible and with that video and Travis' support I was accepted for the 2012 X Games. It's amazing to be in a position where you can help guys like Bruce get noticed, but at the end of the day I'm not an influence on everything It depends on who's in the x games or who's in the big events, it's the racers, but when you can send them pictures and say dude, this guy is solid, he's doing a trick that no one else in the world is doing, that's what It came up in the x games. The extraordinary feeling when Bruce arrived on the world stage quite proud and very impressive as I say, it was 100 his initiative, his drive, his passion, what got him there, he

never

quit, how many people in the world have the opportunity to have that? kind of experience, you know, when we found out that he had been invited to x games, it's always a double-edged sword: I was very proud of him and very excited, but at the same time, what is he doing to get there and what is happening?

I mean, obviously, we were super excited and proud of him and we all booked a trip so we could be there to see him, but I mean, it's always hard to watch someone you love do dangerous things. It's about progression. It's about trying hard. The next level, this guy, I mean Bruce Cook, his first time in a major contest, the nerves must be going, come on Bruce, the nerves were high, but he was confident with the trick and he was eager to do it and, with luck, make it. The thing is, we went to Cook, that's my best friend so it's unreal.

I remember looking at my wife and she was crying before he even got to the ramp just because we felt the pressure and that's what happens with these upside down tricks as we all know in this sport. that not only do you get hurt, sometimes you get killed and we all have friends who have been and it's kind of a reality of our sport, but Bruce's confidence was super high and he was ready to go out and show that he was very nervous for him. He throws this big thing when it fell, I had a really bad time, so I got out of the stands, it was difficult, it was difficult for us to watch very closely, I ended up fracturing it right below my pelvis and, uh, I had broken a couple of ribs, but the one that mainly stuck out and yeah, it was kind of hard to see the rest of what he should be doing in the back room on a stretcher instead of being out there with the guys. and showing the world that it was possible he knew it i knew it everyone watching knew it he was under rotation but you know what bruce did the biggest rock solid boom held the longest i have ever seen anyone till Today he's like You know, I'm here to put on a show and that's what I love about Bruce, even when things don't work out, it doesn't discourage him, that actually fuels the fire for him and makes him want to try harder. more every time you do something you fuel the fire for the next thing, the fact that you didn't land it, you just wanted to keep trying to get to that stage again and find yourself in a place where you landed something and you get that satisfaction in front of that big stage, I was grateful for the experience and apart from crashing, everything went pretty well and I started to put my name on the map as far as freestyle was concerned and the only thing that was right in my head was that I did go.

Because of that and I got the full extension and it wasn't just a little half-assed trick where I ended up crashing and getting taken out, I was able to show what I was made of at the time. and he excited me to come back. My name is Paris Rosen. Travis called me out of the blue three weeks ago and said, Hey, I want you to come and continue the front double jump progression here at my house. I have the resources to help. you and here we are now working on consistency with the possible option of putting dirt we will have to see how it goes the double front turn is by far the biggest stunt ever done on a motorcycle, in fact it is so big that it needs a specific ramp that really helps start this, it's something that is so precise and the timing has to be so precise and the ramp is so steep and it has such a big kick, it's so violent that I mean you really need like a moose on the tire to inflate it because it would actually tear the tire and blow out the tire every time on takeoff.

It is a violent and violent trick. The first time I saw the front ramp, we didn't really know what. To pull it off, Travis was super excited just because that's Travis, oh man that ramp is amazing, he's got this crazy crazy brain that sees a million different possibilities when he sees something like that, honestly this could make the front flip more Sure, it could open. A whole new era of what's possible on a dirt bike isn't about making things harder, it's about making the things that are awesome a little easier so riders can do them more safely, we all love it. we gathered to see this crazy world first that was about to happen in Travis is uh um oh so close oh man are you okay ah what's it hurts nothing I'm okay after Paris left and it wasn't a success made it very clear to us He was done, he was coming off this ramp and he was trying to set this record and keep going with it and that's when he passed it to us.

This was kind of the last round for me, man, I don't think there's a better place or a better team of people that can take it. this and finish what I started, so I'm going to pass this on to you and you know what I'm saying, he said, I'm not willing to go down that hard, I'm not willing to have a takeoff that violent he knows I have a family I have one life this bike is still here in the shop it hasn't attempted a double front turn since that day so that left Travis with this front turn ramp but no one to try it me I'm thinking man we gotta have someone do this , we need something big, we need a hit for the North American tour, it's our first time in North America to do a full tour and we started thinking, who can we do the front flip?

Who can? get to the front somersault variation and who can we get the double front somersault on? That was just a name we wanted to bring. Hi, I'm Bruce Cook, host of reckless abandon in my line of work. Things don't always go as planned. Actually, things. It rarely goes as planned since X Games. I was doing some Monster Jams in the States and doing some shows all over the place and it had been a couple of months that I had been on tour and it was time to go home and I was excited. I got home and checked the emails on my phone and there was one from Travis Bruce who is by far the best driver not on nitrous circuits yet.

He already felt like family. He was already part of the Van Vood family. The only pilot. I thought he was going to be good enough to get this double flip dial. He was looking for someone to come to his house and work on the double front flip and I was excited and skeptical and, again, a bunch of emotions all in one, and I came. to the conclusion that you know, if I had let it go, I would at least go and try it in the foam pit, I would definitely be living with some kind of regret and what if I don't like passing up opportunities, so it was necessary ? three days in a row driving to maryland it was travis' place from california i was there for a reason again and it was to learn how to do a double front turn the first time i saw the double front turn ramp i literally laughed out loud it was basically like yeah, you gotta be kidding me, what is this? um, it's an extremely intimidating ramp.

Remember laughing and then walking past it and imagining yourself walking out of it and I get goosebumps and I mean, I'm thinking about it right now and I would have to hit that thing at a good speed and it was going to be big and violent. My initial thought was: why doesn't Trav do it if it's such a good idea than when it was? a little vague about the x games trick was crazy but i felt like this one was a little next level crazy when he was training for that trick on travis. I just wanted to stop him, but I know him and there is no way to stop him.

For him, it would have been detrimental to our relationship and it would have been detrimental to him psychologically because he knew he was going to do it anyway, yeah, it was a very, very, very difficult time for us, you know what you do? Do you hope for the best? you want to support him, but it's his sport and his decision, so a week after Bruce Cook was in the house, he had overlooked the front jumps as if to say, yeah, it's simple, this ramp no problem, first time that I came out perfect on a front flip and two three weeks on double fronts the thing about the contraption ramp is that you have less control of the rotation with a backflip you are doing your own pull so you can adjust much easier with this just hit your rear tire and it throws you into the front flip and for the most part you're along for the ride, you feel it all over your body and you throw yourself forward and there's no way to go small with a double front flip, it's a commitment and you have to crush it Yeah, I mean, it was scary, it takes a lot to keep the throttle that wide open when you know how big you're going to go, there's a moment of pause at the top, probably 40 or 45 feet in the air and I almost shit myself. in my pants at that moment, it was uh, I was Holy, I'm high, it was scary, but that's why I do it, I guess and I think that's why a lot of extreme athletes do it, it's to scare you and push the limits, know your comfort zone and follow your path.

Beyond that, I never told anyone, but there were definitely several times where I thought there was a good chance that I could let it go and move on with life as I knew it, just doing shows and basically moving forward in my career. I knew that if I made that call I would basically take it as giving up and letting the gimmick take over and that's a hard thing for me. It is the mind on thematter again and this time it was the difficult question. I made the decision at that moment. that I was going to go ahead and bring this to a live show and uh to a landing round I talked to Mike Pora and Mike like we need this for our tour.

I told him yes, we need it for our tour. I believe in Bruce. Bruce can do it. If these guys have been working really hard, they took a month of work, let's put them on. I was looking at the footage and Travis was getting me really excited because clearly if we could do a double front flip on the show, um, I would do it. It's going to be the biggest stunt in the hi

story

of freestyle motocross, no one has ever done it, Mike agreed we could put it on at least that first show, see how it goes please welcome, Travis Bruce has always had his eyes on the nitro programs. and being a part of the nitro tour because they really are the most elite athletes and it's, you know, the most progressive show out there, so I could see in Bruce's eyes that he was so excited, you know, to have this opportunity to prove himself. . being in the spotlight with youI know Travis and the nitro guys and stuff I certainly didn't want to ruin their parade or anything in the meantime, I'm thinking, dude, I don't know, it's a trick you want to make good progress with when Bruce is first . he mentions that he's going to do that for the first time in the world and that he'll be in Hamilton and ask us if we want to go.

Your gut response is absolutely, um, but of course yes, I mean instantly, I mean you're supporting. him, it's for him, it's his passion, so there was no doubt that we were going from the beginning, but with a lot of trepidation I can tell you because I mean put yourself in our shoes, how would you feel with someone that you know, love and care about for doing something that no one in the world has done before you go, you support them, you are there for them and you hope that everything goes well with these types of stunts, they are intense and the stakes are high, you have to be so committed to what you are doing, you have to be very focused and you have to be confident, it takes every inch of your being to tackle these massive world firsts and the consequences are very high and they don't always go the way we want.

They don't always go with the celebration at the end before Hamilton, there is a lot of pressure but also confidence. um, yeah, there were normal nerves and butterflies, but I was definitely ready to make it. Done and wrap this up, yes my name is Bruce Cook from Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada and this is my first time riding Nitro Circus live and it's amazing to have it here in Canada and tonight we're going to try the double front flip which It's crazy, I'm nervous, excited, whatever, Bruce said we can go down early, just check out the stadium, look at the whole event and how it went, I walked into the lower level and the paramedics were pushing the stretchers.

We just pushed them to the ground and tied them up and got them ready and that was the first thing we saw walking in it, we had a sinking feeling, we just wished they weren't there as apprehensive as we were. Anyway, we were talking about all this and it just added to the apprehension as we trained for the double front jump, obviously, we discussed, you know, the consequences or the outcome or the what ifs we knew there was a good chance of crashing, we knew that there was a really good chance of crashing, there was even a point where I think we agreed that whether or not I came out of the crash with a broken leg, that could be considered a success and doing a trick knowing that you would get hurt in some way. or another, it's a pretty crazy thought, it's hard to understand for sure.

Hey guys, it's amazing to be your first North American tour starting. Jolene's hometown is going to be amazing. It's very cold here in Canada. Many people have done it. touches okay they are really excited about the nitro circus we have bruce

cook

doing a double front flip please welcome from kelowna bc bruce cool we were halfway to the stands everyone is standing you know what It's the biggest part of the show and sitting next to his parents we were just nervous for him, obviously the worst case scenario goes through your mind, you know he could die doing this, this is the first time I've seen him in front of onto a landing ramp and releases lights and pyrotechnics. and smoke and 20 30,000 people and it looks very different, so you try to get in your zone and try to do the best I can to imagine that there's a foam pit and um, it's just another day in the pit, look at this, look at the gigano landing right now oh the members of the natural circus including the travers are sitting here watching this happen right now it's such a surreal moment this is so much bigger than anything i've ever done , no one even did a front flip in the show and bruce goes for a double I was nervous I was really really nervous I think everyone was nervous everything was exciting and we were just nervous and worried that this would go any way the audience was really engaged It's Bruce, he's an amazing person and one of our own Canadian, he was about to set a world first on our own turf and he's ready to go when you start making some noise.

He had a whole stadium behind him and a lot of people supporting him, giving him the thumbs up and usually third parties. when I go so I give a thumbs up and uh the crowd announces it's time to go and uh just take your turn at the right distance and try to do everything the same as in the foam pit and uh yeah I hit it and everything goes felt good. means double front flip, you're spinning fast and you only have a split second to spot your landing, so you're 40 feet up in the air, it's like when you're spinning, you see beams on the ground and then, um, spun by below. a little bit, he landed vertically, he slid off the back of my bike and he just folded over, so I was standing really close to the landing right next to it and he came around, um, and you can, ladies, gentlemen, you're checking it out right now.

They are reviewing it. I was standing on the takeoff ramp so I couldn't see the lander, but when I heard the crowd not cheering and saw people running, I knew it was obviously not good to come running around the lander and see Bruce lying there. . He was definitely terrifying when he landed. He had never seen anything that looked like he did and I don't even know how it happened, but when one foot slipped and he got trapped underneath and he just got rooted. my head like something I want to forget and can never forget, I mean something you really have nightmares about and it was a twisted trick, yes the consequences we knew were huge but it went very wrong and everyone ran over. towards him and I stood there, I didn't want to go see, I didn't want to hear what was possibly wrong or probably the worst part for me with Bruce was when I went there and finally looked, he was moving his arms and they wouldn't lift him up I could see that he was conscious i could see he didn't hit his head on impact i thought it wasn't good i ran towards him as fast as i could he was awake his eyes were open but they were the biggest eyes i've probably ever seen scared uh someone noticed that something horrible had just happened to them, I told him: are you okay?

The first thing he said was that I can't feel my legs and at that moment my heart stopped, a part of me knew that the way he landed and the fact that he instantly couldn't feel his legs, that he was paralyzed, I instantly knew that I had broken my back realizing that you can't feel your legs for the first time, that's terrifying. feeling like you can feel right where the break is and everything is numb and it's like a hot liquid going down your spine and definitely the scariest moment of my life and uh my parents were in the crowd so yeah the idea that they had to see it.

That's the last thing I wanted was for them to be as scared and shocked as I was, obviously our hearts jump into our throats and although we've seen him crash a lot, it usually takes a few seconds to recover and that's when he comes back. but it lasted too long yeah that was the worst day of our life when we saw he couldn't move and then we tried to go down to the floor and go through security and come back to him and see. What was happening was just brutal. I approached Joe because she was talking to him when he was lying down and I just need you to tell me what's going on with him.

We didn't know she said right. I don't really want to say anything right now, but he can't feel his legs and then I started crying and then all the things that we did on the property growing up, all those things disappeared, that's what I had the hardest time was when I found out the severity of the problem before he went in the ambulance, we didn't say much, you know, I just told them that you knew everything was going to be okay, everything was going to be okay, but I remember it as if I wanted to get there. and I grabbed my hand and squeezed it really hard, I really realized that this is not a broken leg, I think this is something much more serious, definitely, happy and lucky that it happened where it happened in Canada and with my friends and my parents were worried about one thing when I was sliding is that I was hitting my legs and I just felt my whole upper body and I wasn't even unconscious so my head is fine, my neck is fine, I can still move my arms well and there was no problem with my upper body, so I was both at peace and terrified from the beginning because I knew it could be worse, it will just be another obstacle and another opportunity to regain strength and prove myself and to everyone what is possible in a motocross.

BC rider is lucky to be alive after a high flying trick went very wrong during an event, it was very cold and there was a lot of snow and ice on the road and I just remember feeling every hit in that ambulance and uh wishing I could feel it in my legs and I finally got to the hospital and it was pretty chaotic and I mean we didn't know yet how serious it was or you know at that point it still could have been as life threatening as those. All of us who were there wanted to believe that the doctor was going to come and say this is what happened, you'll get the feeling back in a moment, you know, it felt like no, this is the moment this is happening, it was scary.

Hell, and that was what I felt like that was the answer we were going to get and unfortunately it was getting the scans back, basically coming in and saying it's the worst kind of fracture I've ever seen in my life without the spinal cord being completely severed. , It is hanging. by a hair's breadth basically when you hear it's not like that you're thinking that walking is a bit of a long shot at this point Bruce had a devastating injury that involved an actual dislocation of his spine his spine actually jumped in front of herself. The spinal cord passes through that area and if you dislocate the tube and the hole for the spinal cord doesn't line up, you can cut the spinal cord.

Unfortunately, in Bruce's case there appears to be a complete spinal cord injury, meaning there is no sensory function. or motor below that level for Bruce, that realistically means a very low, if any, chance of recovery of his lower extremity nerve function. He is paralyzed and is not likely to get better. The doctor and the team tell you the extent of the injuries and that's when it really matters. it becomes real and they're basically telling me the worst case scenario and everything that I hoped wouldn't be the case and it's a lot to take in and a lot to take in the stomach and it's definitely a scary thing, they took him to the operating room and they put in rods and screws or big metal lag screws that go into the bones above the injury, below the injury, and literally pull your spine back onto the table into position, align the tube again, and then lock it with rods that go through the screws, It's a big, traumatic surgery, those days were brutal after that, even though he was in so much pain he just couldn't function, he basically said if I can't feel anything from down here, nothing can't move.

I try to move him and move my legs and my toes nothing happens everything was new we didn't really know what it meant to him and to us at that moment you know we thought it's really horrible you can't walk but what's wrong? everything else you can't reach things you know how you go to the bathroom bowel movements you're in like all the things you don't even think you can't feel you don't really know what you're frozen to From the waist down, those are the things you really I've never been searched or even thought about before and at that point you focus on a lot of the cats rather than the can, so it's a pretty dark time after dying by breaking your back or neck.

Second on the list of catastrophic things and I only remember wanting to wake up from this nightmare. We had been in Hamilton since the night of the accident on the 3rd and it was the following Friday the 10th when he returned to Vancouver General Hospital. We just felt like everything would be better if he came back to BC. Yes, coming back to Vancouver was very important to me because it's the closest facility to home. It was incredible, but at the same timetime one of the parts that I knew was going to be the hardest thing was my friends and family that I hadn't seen yet showing up and seeing me lying in the hospital bed with tubes and wires, you know, running towards me and that's the last place where I want people to see me is in a big moment of weakness it was an emotional rollercoaster the first time I saw him I walked in uh I just gave him a big hug obviously I wanted to try to keep it together and you know be strong for him but I ended up having to take a step I went out and collapsed in the hallway just when you see your best friend lying there, it's hard, it was very hard when we got to the hospital lobby, it was like taking a deep breath and forcing ourselves to go up there. and when I saw him we just hugged each other and said how much we loved each other, he was still there and he still had his sense of humor intact as much as possible so it was hard and I knew it was going to be hard for the loved ones to see me like that and it was important for me to be the Bruce that they knew and stay cheerful and laughter and smiles are important, so there was a lot of negative things in that, but there's just no real need or real reason to do it.

Talking about it so everyone was willing to move on and having family, friends and loved ones so close and accessible was very important to my recovery. I'm sure he was scared, but he's a very positive thinker and he just was. On the way to the next stage of his life, Bruce's attitude has always been positive, he is always looking beyond the negative to the positive and breaking his back, he can go to a dark place pretty quickly, like poor me, I'll never walk again, I can't do this, I can't do that, he takes the positive side and says, well, what can I do?

I do, how can I make the best of this? And he comes back to you. Don't say, can't you quit? Don't say, can't you figure it out? and he is discovering it. He knew it just by being there. being in the hospital bed and having bad thoughts and having a pity party was basically not going to do anything for me feeling sorry for people and words like that almost went against what I was working on, which was maintaining an attitude positive and just keep Those thoughts out of my head, so Smile for BC came about pretty early with social media these days.

It's pretty unique that you can reach so many people in such a short time and with something like a hashtag it's a way for anyone to click. in it and share experiences, share adventures and share a smile. I wanted to see people enjoying life and doing things that made them smile and that in turn would brighten my day and make me smile, so smiling for bc was a way for literally anyone in the world. world so they can click and maybe find something that will make them smile or make their day better. It's an amazing way to deal with this.

It helped us all keep that smile and carry on. One thing about Bruce is that he really cares. about other people, the last thing he would want is a decision he made to bring other people down. You know that helped him and helped everyone who cares about him put a positive spin on a terrible situation. You know he's receiving messages. from Europe, Australia, all over the world, it blew me away, like you met people who talked about Bruce's

story

and you knew how positive he was and how strong he was. It really shows what kind of person he is, there were many times in the hospital bed where I was brought to tears with the messages I received from different people from all walks of life and they used my story to inspire and motivate themselves, it's something that has helped tremendously with my recovery and my will and desire. basically turn it on and move on.

I appreciate each of those messages as much as the last. It was really wonderful for him to have that kind of network and it definitely set the tone for his recovery. The smile for BC was a way to remind myself that there is always something to smile about and whatever the situation, it could always be worse. After a few weeks, it was time to move on to gf strong, which is a recovery center. specific to the spinal cord. My spirits were high and I was basically excited to be able to go the moment I got there and yes, the first time I heard about Mike Shaw was when my sister mentioned that he had had his accident about a month before me and that he was also going to be in Gf Strong and it is more or less the same. similar age and situations, so I would meet someone strong when I got there and it was crazy how similar our personalities were.

My name is Mike Shaw. I'm from Vernon BC, Canada and I'm a former freestyler. freestyle skier and ski coach and I am now a public speaker and speak for a living on December 16, 2013, just a couple of weeks before Bruce's accident. I was in Colorado and we found this big roller at the bottom of the hill that exploded. for a snow gun, this was my turn and I started down the hill and on the way to the jump I had a sinking feeling in my stomach and I chose to ignore it, I kept going and uh oh press buddy, take a deep breath, all I felt.

It was a hard blow to my face and I was falling down the hill and I couldn't get up and I slid to a stop face down in the snow gasping like no, no, now, like not here, not me, and uh, it's at that moment that I I realized I had broken my neck. The first time I got really scared was when I first saw someone raise my arm before my eyes and then lower it again and I couldn't. I thought that's not my arm, it's someone else's. arm and I couldn't have imagined that feeling beforehand until I was there, I felt claustrophobic inside my own body, it was the most trapped I've ever felt and there's nothing you can do about it when I woke up from surgery.

I simply opened and closed my elbows slightly, that moment changed my life forever and then it was the beginning of a long work after my injury. I was lucky enough to get a room with Bruce Cook at the hospital. We're both still like-minded like it's just us. We're in this situation, but we can't go back and change anything, so how do we move forward? I passed many of the checkpoints pretty quickly. They had about two weeks to learn how to do a wheelie in a wheelchair and, uh. I told them that I had grown up on one wheel on my dirt bike and that being on two wheels doing a wheelie was basically cheating, so yeah, I guess I was already into week three or four of wheelchair skills, within the first. two days and I just wanted to push it and I was okay with falling out of my chair.

I was fine with hitting the floor and had to reassure the nurses over and over again. I mean, falling three feet from my wheelchair is nothing compared to falling 40 feet from the sky and hitting the ground, which, as you know, several times in wheelchair skills class, Bruce was like hitting jumping in his wheelchair and I was trying to keep up, I didn't have the arm strength to do it, but really. They both got to do things like play wheelchair basketball together and it was fun too, you know, because it's very easy to obsess over the negative side of that, having another person there who also had a big smile on their face, you know it was uh, him.

It was something else, it helped me a lot in rehabilitation. My spinal cord injury case is incredibly unique because I have had such a significant recovery that most people may not even realize that I have had a spinal cord injury. There's certainly a little bit of guilt that I feel because it's like why did I get better when so many people don't know? I know how lucky I am. I am very grateful every day for what I have received in return, but I know it is strange that it was like this. By maxing out the system that was set up there, I was already looking for more and looking for the next step, so my sisters took it upon themselves to find something next level that fit my mindset and work ethic a little better.

They discovered that Project Walk Down in California is the only place on the West Coast with one of these muscle stimulation machines that mimic your walk. They strap you into a harness, they hold you up, and they put on all these muscle stimulators and they activate at the right time. and you walk at least half of it under your own weight, so it was time to move on and work towards the project walk and make the most of that. As an athlete, I have always looked for a unique approach to accomplish a trick or do something. that most people would think is impossible.

I found that same spirit in Project Walk. Like me, they are looking for an innovative solution. ProjectWalk. I can't say enough about them. The atmosphere is incredible. It's like a normal gym for everyone. He just has a very positive attitude, like there's no camp there, so he was a good fit, it was definitely more what he was looking for just the improvement in balance and his coordination and the things he could do. It was really notable to us the first day he was on his feet using his specialized equipment and approach. He knew he would never stand alone again, but his approach helps patients understand that life is not over, it is like a sign of hope and a future.

They were a perfect match for me, but I could only go so far with them once I was alone. I had to learn to function day to day without their support and high-tech equipment. The injury so early still has a lot to do. things to deal with metal hardware in your body probably not fully adapted most likely you have phantom pains in your legs before and you don't feel them now but you have phantoms the psychological part can't go away yet so you are dealing with both physical pain and pain Mentally, I'm sure he has a lot of things he's still dealing with and just burying and pushing forward to keep moving forward since the injury, it's like everything has changed, I mean, it's crazy how much harder it is even just running errands and In and out of the car, you know you have to think about taking the chair down 10 times if you have five stops and putting it back together, and you don't really realize how different it is until you're in it and you're living it. and it's like every day, um, there's something new, there's a new struggle, but I just try to see it as a challenge instead of a struggle or a setback, and it's definitely hard with some things, life hits you in the face. damn, I just eat snow in my truck now uh yeah, it sucks for a wheelchair, everything from just getting your clothes wet and dirty to literally not being able to move where you want to go and everything on the floor getting on your hands with your clothes and then you're carrying that to your car and you really have to rely on the places that are being plowed now, whereas before you could walk wherever you wanted literally every day, reminding myself that it could be worse and that there are people who would love to be in my situation. and I'd love to just be these minor struggles, uh, people you know stuck in bed all day, so I kind of deal with it.

I had no idea what spinal cord injury it was, I thought and my family thought and I think a lot of the general public thinks that the worst part about breaking your back is the fact that you can't walk and to me that's way off. of the truth. I never used to think twice before going to the bathroom. I use intermittent catheters. and besides the hassle of having to do that, it's a mental thing, they show up with a 14 or 16 inch tube and you know, they tell you that you're going to have to insert this every time you have to go to the bathroom and it was still fresh, how would feel It took me a week or two to get over it mentally and be able to do it on my own and learn how to do it.

I can't feel anything below my belly button so not even the feeling or the need that I used to feel of having to know when to go to the bathroom is completely gone that accidents come an accident can happen at any time and there are many times that I think to deep down you know I'm basically a baby again. Your body doesn't care where you are. You may be out to dinner at night or you may be at a concert or somewhere where the bathroom just isn't accessible. There are days when your body just fights. I mean, there have been days where I've had three or four accidents in one day and you have to keep going and deal with the general public and people who have no idea what goes on behind closed doors, just the embarrassment and the frustration that arises.

By that I mean that it is one of the most difficult parts today. I carry a backpack with me everywhere, it's quite crucial, I never had to pack things before, but obviously with a wheelchair I have to be prepared for punctures all the time, so the air pump carries a spare. tube and tire irons and, uh, I have to be prepared at any moment to get a flat tire, obviously, you can't survive on flat tires, so even more crucial, I have to go to the bathroom, so I have to pack a handful of catheters and basically the handheld urinal to go with it, keep them close by, unfortunately the painkillers have to come everywhere, it's one of the unfortunate ones that I'm still on, but the pain is pretty constant so I have to keep them on hand during all mylife.

I have dealt with pain and been good with pain and through all my injuries and accidents I have learned to have a pretty high pain tolerance. The nerve pain from the accident is by far one of the hardest parts, it's 24/7. They do not know what it is. caused by, but it's just a burning sensation all day every day, basically I feel like I'm sitting at a campfire at one point and it gets a little better and a little worse and it's always there to be in pain 24 hours a day of the day. Seven days a week is very exhausting, yes, I'm basically at the point where I don't even remember what it feels like to not be in pain.

If there is a day, an hour or 10 minutes when it is a little less, that's it. It's a relief that the things that I used to take for granted, I think everyone takes for granted every day, are now front and center and yeah, and if I had the choice, I'd take those things over walking any day, yeah, I mean. You just have to be a lot more careful about hurting yourself below the injury because you can't feel it, so, yeah, I mean, the other day I was trying to blow some things off the driver with the leaf blower and I was in too much of a hurry and didn't do it. .

I didn't think about it and I said it on my lap and I was blowing while I was rolling and I didn't realize that the exhaust was blowing right into my legs and, um, yeah, I ended up getting a second degree burn and two third... burns. degree in both legs just because I was working without thinking about it, I basically became sloppy so it's probably going to take two months to heal so it's just, yeah, I go from being a pain in the ass every day to showering and not being a pain in the ass. being able to shower and having to sponge bathe and all that stuff on top of that, so yeah, it's another setback and, uh, I'm just a little bit angry and uh, just upset about what that means, obviously, you can't feel it, so that it doesn't matter but just the time it takes to heal and it makes life a lot more challenging again so every time I break something I basically ask the doctor do you know how fast I can get back on the bike or what can I do to solve it? to get back on the bike faster and this time it was no different.

I knew I wasn't done and I knew in my head what I was going to do, so basically it was how fast could I get back on the bike, I think any doctor at that time. He kind of looked at me like I was crazy, there was definitely some times where I don't know if you're going to get back on the bike or we're going to basically focus on getting better or working on walking, I guess with the doctor's permission or not. I was going to get back on the bike and ride again. He was home three months after his accident and was looking at the bike.

We were in the store and you know he said, "Go get my bike out like your dad's around." Like, I don't think we should, he's like no, just take it out, it doesn't matter, it's like I just want to try to sit on it, yeah, from the beginning, my dad did his classic uh, he laughed and shook his head. and just no, nothing at all, sitting here, he thought I was going to walk paralyzed down here again, just, I told him how do you get to this thing, well, he was shaking his head and saying no, I was getting up in the bike and helping me, so he picked me up.

He got out of the chair and put me on the bike and it was basically as bad as I thought. With the balance, I wanted to see how wide the seed should be and you know where it slips and stuff like that, so that was awesome. seeing him come back up and you know, we only see his eyes tied up when he's okay, I'm going to be able to do this again, so you expect him to push the limits with himself every day, even his injury. in a young person it has a very significant mortality or mortality rate in five to ten years and the reason for that is that people do not strive to live their will and their desire and their strength are what drives them honestly to be their best. .

For him it is getting back to what he loves in life because that is what will drive him forward and keep him going. He had basically stated it since I would say that one day his goal was to get back on the bike and ride again. people are still dealing with the emotional, okay, how am I going to live the rest of my life? Bruce already passed and he was like, okay, I'm going to get back on a bike and his family was scared as a family that's going through this life-changing experience. with him we expected it to fade, yeah we really expected it to fade but I think it just got stronger and as you know if you tell Bruce I can't he'll find a way to do it so I think that's just it.

It drove me even harder the first time I got back on it, it was just one of those moments where I don't know what it's going to be like once I get away from the van, I could go 10 feet and fall, I could go 100 feet and fall I just didn't know. how balanced was it going to be how would it feel yeah I was definitely nervous about you getting back on the machine that took you out so it's always in the back of your mind since the consequences of the accident are so much worse it basically came out perfect couldn't to have gone better um yeah, it was uh, it was great, it was one of the happiest and happiest days of his life when he got back on that bike and he wrote it down and he realized. that yeah, it was doable to practice and do even more oh, it's a wonderful feeling, it's, it's, it's really cool, it's hard to explain, so you think, ah, man, he did it, yeah, good for him, he did it al At the same time, I know that this is not so. the end that's never the end so get ready for what's next, that's the problem, it's not just that Bruce and I got along because we had a lot in common, but one of the things we both shared a fear of It was What are we going to do now?

Our entire existence used to depend on our sport. It was as if it was based on what we were capable of doing and now that that ability had been taken away from us. Now I remember having the conversation and asking Bruce. What are you going to do after this? and Bruce was like, I don't know, but I think I want to get back to riding motocross, but Bruce said, I want to get back into flipping my dirt bike and to me I thought that's amazing and crazy and phenomenal and I said, go ahead, but you have this feeling that it is possible.

I knew no one had ever escaped a backflip while paraplegic and I'm sure my parents, my family and all my close friends and everyone. It really would have been nice for me to just ride around the farm once and say I'm back and hang it up, but for me getting back on the bike means turning myself upside down because that's what motorcycling is for me, so that's something I knew I had to do it when Bruce was well enough to start talking about getting back on his dirt bike. I am not going to lie. I said I don't want you to get upside down.

I just didn't mean that there are too many quadriplegics in Strong Girlfriend and you know we'd seen him suffer enough, so from my selfish perspective I didn't want to see it reversed. I told him, of course, you're going to ride again, but please don't get inverted. Look, but I told you. What we say about his plans doesn't mean much because you know he's just that motivated, he didn't say he was, he just knew he was and I also thought I didn't sign up for this, but that's not the case. part of the deal, so it was almost a year after Bruce's accident.

We were at Travis' house in the fall. It was a very special moment, a pretty epic moment, to be there and see Bruce finally be able to get on his bike and race around the world. motocross track, it was a great feeling to see him back doing what he loved, what he wanted more than anything since the day of his injury, the first time I got to ride with Bruce again on his modified bike was one of the best days alone I remember following him and thinking how wonderful this is, but I remember thinking that my friend was back because Bruce was Bruce, that wasn't enough, he wanted to get good, we have a very exciting day here in Pastrana Land, uh.

Bruce is going to do his first backflip in the foam pit since his injury on his adaptive bike, so we are all very excited and can't wait to see the big smile on his face when he hears this. Hey, how's that Joe? It's pretty impressive, well, go find her now, regardless of what happened after that moment or what she did with it. He did it and he achieved it. I was so proud of him and so happy for him that it wasn't like Bruce was just going to Flip around once and say, I did good. He wanted to be the first adaptive freestyle rider to turn upside down and get as far away as Bruce would have thought, shake off the rust and just get back on the bike and you know. doing that turn would maybe give him a closure on his bruce um, I really don't think a closure is what he's ever going to need, so if you Google Bruce Cook, it's a double front turn, the whole thing was a crash, a crash and just seeing myself lying on the ground and I didn't want the last thing on a dirt bike to be lying on the ground or being carried out of an arena on a stretcher and that's because by turning over again I wanted it to be in a nitro circus show in front of thousands of people back to a proper landing and um everything would be legit there's just no arguing that's a comeback and uh I mean half of this is just showing just not giving up the power to through uh, no matter the circumstances, so I really was I was sure I was coming in hot and ready for the first show when I first heard that he was hitting the farm pit and doing backflips in the foam pit .

I thought it was something he was doing just for fun. You know, Travis called me and told me Bruce. his back is down and I really want to see him on the show and I was like, trav, I'm not doing it, I can't, it's been hard enough to live with what happened to him because at the end of the day I was ultimately responsible for allowing him to try a double front jump at the Hamilton show and the thought of him getting badly hurt again doing an extraordinarily difficult trick with surprising handicaps wasn't a risk he was willing to take, then he moved on from Travis to Bruce. himself, so Bruce started calling me and convincingly argued with me his point that we should give him a chance to do this at least once, just let me do it once, I only have to do it once and I told him the same thing I told him. to trav.

I told him I know this might be selfish, but I just can't live with the fact that you could become a quadriplegic if you're strapped to this bike, so what the chances if he were to have a serious accident. breaking his neck are too high, I kept refusing and was determined to go through with it because of the responsibility he had. I think there are certain points in this crazy business we're in where you have to draw the line somewhere. and saying enough is enough there's too much risk involved with this i couldn't live with that i couldn't say yes and bruce never gave up and then the tour started um the north american tour started and bruce showed up we went over everything again and did it face to face.

He came down and sat with me and passionately, in no way was he arguing or insisting or whatever, he was just passionately presenting his case. I've never seen anyone want something. Mike wanted as much or more than anyone to have a successful first backflip, another accident wouldn't be good for anyone. In the end, he finally came to an agreement and if I was willing to take the risk, he was too. If a guy feels that strongly, then he can do it too because he is more than prepared to accept the consequences of what may happen. He gave me a big hug and we started making arrangements for the first show he would perform in next. that were the conversations and you know, I'm sure that he was afraid to talk to his family, that he wanted to talk to her strongly for the family again, very hard because another accident when you're working with the body that he occasionally when they tie him to the bike and all that, yeah, it's a scary thought, I was happy for him, but obviously, as I knew deep down, he's dealing with, you know, his family is against that, I talked to his family quite a bit and and sisters and they were really upset about it you know even he just did a backflip again just riding and they got over it you know their lives changed because the little brother is the life changing situation for them and their parents have been through a lot of that . them for sure but he's going to do whatever it takes to feel fulfilled and motivated and I was happy but yeah I was obviously worried about him for sure, know one thing and understand his mentality the way he thinks It's a father thing.

It's brutal, it's brutal because the consequences of another bad accident are really hard, like there are scary things, if you break your hand, or break your wrist, or break your arm, or tear your shoulder, you can't move from there. effectively, he's just in a chair and I can't move so that's the problem for me again, the anxiety level increases and it's always on your mind, it never ever goes away, you can't keep a guy as a man, would I mind a lot, you have a passion for this and just go ahead and damn torpedoes and go for it instead of sitting in a dark corner insomewhere depressed, so flying to it on the day of the Toronto show was every emotion you can imagine going through my head, yeah, obviously nervous, but just anxious, yeah.

I just went in with a lot of confidence and knowing that I was going to land. We are back in Canada, this time we are in Toronto. We are surrounded by our family and friends. What better place for Bruce to do something he's never done? It has been done before once again in Canada. It would have the biggest impact and be most meaningful to do it in Toronto, which is an hour from Hamilton, where my life changed, so a lot of the people in the crowd in Toronto were in the crowd in Hamilton, so everything aligned. and it felt good, that helped my confidence even more going into it, friends, I'm about to show you some vision, which is the hardest thing any of us have. seen about 21 months ago, just down the street in hamilton, we put on a show and a very special member of our nitro circus family tried to do a world first, bruce

cook

did everything he could to put his name in the record books and I'm going to show you what happened that night, warning that if you're the least bit squeamish, stay away, otherwise this will set the story for you.

They played the video of the accident as an introduction and just to inform anyone who didn't know what had happened. It wasn't something I was going to see or want to see, so I stayed still with my head down and focused on the ideal outcome. What you don't want to do is doubt anything and those thoughts are always trying. to work its way into your mind, you know, should you tune out right now or is it too late or should I be doing this, but yeah, you basically dominate those with good thoughts and confidence and knowing that this is the moment that all the practices led to and knowing it's going to be amazing and everything is ready and just to prove that the toughest guys in the world are from here in the great country of Canada, one of your own from Vancouver BC, could you please? welcome back for the first time in almost two years, bruce, thousands of messages and well wishes and all I mean, thousands of people in that crowd had were the ones who sent those messages and everything and I mean they are complete strangers, but at least at the same time you feel connected, it's a pretty crazy feeling, very overwhelming, who wants to see Bruce Cook on a damn motorcycle again?

Here we go, we're live right now, right now you have to do a backflip and all the members of Nitro were out. There again, like that night when he did a double somersault and I stepped back and thought it was all over again, man, like I couldn't stand to see him crash. You have to leave the bicycle on the ground. The boys will then lift Bruce's leg. the top of that kawasaki and if man gets hurt, what is his family going to think?, what is the world going to think?, what is his friend going to think?, how is he?, how is he going to come back Bruce from this?

So you can't stay positive for two years, you wait for this moment and If everything goes wrong, then the last two years will be in vain. I need you to get up right now and stay on your feet because this will be a night we will never forget. We were invited down to the ground wanting to be there but not wanting to be there, I don't know, overwhelmed, it was overwhelming, I mean the last time we saw him live when he broke his back in Hamilton, so that was the worst night of our lives, it was actually the second hardest day of our lives.

Because it was just a repeat of Hamilton, the same stretchers were physically right behind us, so it's all just, yeah, we're a bit gutted, it's a different game having the people closest to you there and it definitely increases that emotion and much more. if nothing else, having to be perfect and definitely without mistakes, the last place I want something to go wrong is in front of my family, it basically happened once and I didn't want it to happen again so I had to be perfect, this has never happened happened. It's been done anywhere in the world before, after you give the thumbs up or nod, it's on, it's a pretty crazy feeling, the last time it happened was the accident, you know, at that moment, that last corner, five Seconds later, everything changed and this.

The time was basically thinking that in five seconds it was going to be a lot better, so, yeah, this is basically what it's come down to and everyone's on their feet and the crowd is going crazy from being in that moment and having to block it out. . extremely hard, stay focused and just follow all the steps and make sure the speed is right and lean forward and at the right point on the ramp just go full throttle and go back, you want to talk about a comeback, he did it, he did it He did this. this is what love looks like the nacho family circus toronto how about you hit them one more time what a legend this man had become since almost dying and having everyone in the world tell him he would never be a motocross racer again, never again Being a freestyler again, he would never be able to do what he loves at that time when Bruce Cook was a freestyle motocross racer again.

I thought you know what he's going to do everything he could before, except now he's going to inspire a ton more people every time. day, a thought that has consumed you, um and then, it all comes to a moment, my relief and everyone's relief just to see it on their faces and yeah, that moment is why I think a lot of the guys in sports risk so much. That reward, that trumps everything, so coming back to something that almost took me out, just not giving up and not letting it take over me was a huge relief, so Bruce Cook is now a permanent member of Nitro Circus and he's becoming very quickly . a global star thank you very much thank you for coming the requests we receive from television networks media newspapers digital media from around the world who do they want interviews from the entire cast we have, including travis, the number one person they want who I speak to now it's with bruce cooke i think maybe i made it seem like it was supposed to be one and done and half of this is just trying to keep my family and friends calm i think if i told them about all my i thought they would disown me , but part of what keeps me going is the feedback I get from people.

I've gotten hundreds of stories from people who, you know, are having a hard time because of my situation. I definitely get emotional reading those things because it means that. It's a lot for me and it's almost this whole crazy journey that almost pays off when I stop and take in the situation and touring and traveling all over the world and performing in front of tens of thousands of people night after night is pretty wild. and if. I often sit there and smile wickedly being back in those stadiums and spinning around in front of a crowd after all I want to say, I think it's really healing for him and it's probably the only thing that could heal him.

Why don't we tie him to a tree and let him go because we knew that's his thing and that's what he needed. He loves it and it's wonderful to see all those people inspired, cheering him on and making the best of a terrible situation it all comes down to, what can I do? You know, if I keep going, what can't I do? The Kents are a joy, they are a stress. We know it's Bruce's joy and, of course, yes, we are very proud. from him and on the other hand saying please stop now, it's amazing to be on tour with so many extraordinary human beings, but Bruce Cook is at the top of that list.

I would say that courage is the most important thing and that is something that cannot be taught. That comes from within It's something that not many people have It's that confidence to believe in yourself when no one else does It's the courage to smile when no one else can And it's the strength to find a way to persevere That's Bruce Something everyone can take a little lesson in something that I wish had a little more of it. I would have to put this up there with the highest recovery I've ever seen to get back to that level of adapting to life and learning to really function.

It required tremendous effort, concentration and drive on your part. I think we could all learn from that that that level of inspiration or drive is there if you want to dig deep and find it, a lot of people when this type of injury occurs don't have the ability to do that. Go for Bruce's story, he has something immense to give back to the world now, take those people who are hurt and show them, look with work and commitment you can enjoy life again, you know he has his trials and he will have them. pain and it has its adaptations but you can do it i think it really is something to give back to the world we can do more than we think we can do we are stronger than we think bruce has been able to overcome such devastating odds to return to a place in life where you are happy and achieve your dreams and your goals, which are actually your highest goals, we are all going to face something that is difficult in life, the way you approach it will be the deciding factor in If you succeed, Bruce is the epitome of choosing a phenomenal attitude and giving your all in everything you do in order to achieve greatness.

I mean, as far as what's next, I have a few more tours with Nitro Circus lined up and I want to keep doing that and just motivating and inspiring as many people as possible, but the sky's the limit and, uh, whatever I dream up, I'm going to pursue it and yes, I may have broken my back and be in a wheelchair for now, but the ideas keep coming and I'm far from done. It's not the end of the road. It's just the end of these stories. I've counted. It's not the end of the road. It's just the end of these stories.

After there is no map there. There's no chart I'm just following my heart It's not the end of the road It's just the end of these stories I've told It's not the end of the road It's just the end of these stories I've told I never tell myself Breathe, it goes automatically, yeah, it's not the end of the road, it's just the end of these stories, it's not the end of the road, it's just the end of these you.