Brian Deegan (motorcyclist)

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Brian Deegan
Deegan in 2011 after winning the Pro Light class at the 2011 Off-Road Racing World Championships
Nationality	American
Born	(1974-05-09) May 9, 1974 (age 47) Omaha, Nebraska
Related to	Hailie Deegan (daughter)
Global Rallycross career
Debut season
Current team	Chip Ganassi Racing
Car number	38
Former teams	Olsbergs MSE
Starts	42
Wins	2
Podiums	18
Best finish	2nd in 2012
Finished last season	10th
hide Medal record Representing  United States Summer X Games 2011 Los Angeles RallyCross 2003 Los Angeles Moto X Big Air 2010 Los Angeles Rally Car Racing 2010 Los Angeles Rally Car Super Rally 2003 Los Angeles Moto X Freestyle 2009 Los Angeles Rally Car Racing 2011 Los Angeles Moto X Step Up 2012 Los Angeles Moto X Step Up 2012 Los Angeles Rally Car Racing

Brian Deegan (born May 9, 1974^[1]) is an American professional freestyle motocross rider and racing driver who is a founding member of Metal Mulisha.^[1]

Deegan was the first ever to do a twisting backflip 360 in competition but still lost the competition to Travis Pastrana; he named the trick the "Mulisha Twist". It is now often called an "underflip". He is the most decorated Freestyle Motocross rider in X Games history. With a total of 10 medals (three Golds and seven Bronzes), he is the only rider to have competed in at least one event in every X Games.

Racing career[]

X Games 17 in Los Angeles

Deegan was born in Omaha, Nebraska. He became a pro supercross rider with Team Moto XXX at age 17. In 1997 at the LA Coliseum, Brian Deegan won the 125cc main and ghost rode his bike across the finish line. This was the beginning of what we know today as Freestyle Motocross.

In 2004, at the Winter X Games, Deegan crashed while attempting a twisting backflip 360 over a 100 ft snow double, breaking his femur and both wrists. He came back 6 months later to place fourth at the Summer X Games. Deegan was also the first rider ever to land a Mulisha Twist in competition.

Switching to four wheels in 2009, Deegan ventured into short course off-road racing in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series' Unlimited Lites division, winning the championship over experienced drivers.^[2]

At the 2010 X Games, Deegan competed in the Rally Car Racing event at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Deegan finished second behind Tanner Foust due to a wrong turn he made during the race. Brian also competed in Rally Car Super Rally where he also finished second behind Tanner Foust.

At X Games XVII, Deegan won gold in RallyCross.

In 2011, he won the World Championship race at Crandon International Off-Road Raceway in the Traxxas TORC Series. He also competed at the Race of Champions. He also won the championships in the Pro Lite Unlimited and Pro 2 classes of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series.

In 2012, he debuted the Metal Mulisha Monster truck. Todd LeDuc officially debuted it at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas in January 2012. Deegan himself drove the truck in Phoenix, Arizona at Chase Field. He was scheduled to drive the truck at the Monster Jam World Finals 13, but injured himself in driving practice. Todd LeDuc replaced him. He also won his second championship in the Pro 2 class of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series.

Deegan raced an OlsbergsMSE Ford Fiesta at the Global RallyCross Championship, resulting runner-up in 2012, fourth in 2013 and 12th in 2014. He also continued his Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series career, winning the Pro Light Unlimited championship in 2013 and the Pro 2 championship in 2014. In 2015, Deegan was hired by Chip Ganassi Racing to compete in seven Global Rallycross Championship races in an M-Sport Fiesta along with former professional motocross rider Jeff Ward.^[3]

Media appearances[]

During a 2005 taping of MTV's Viva La Bam Deegan under-rotated a back-flip and the handle bars hit hard in his midsection, almost losing his life. He lost a kidney, lacerated his spleen, and lost a significant amount of blood. He now has a long scar down his stomach, that he calls his "zipper", spanning almost his entire abdomen, as a result of the accident. At the end of the episode when it originally aired, Bam dedicated it to Brian. The accident was cut out of the show.

Also during taping of the same show, Bam Margera's uncle, Don Vito, was forced by his nephew to lay down on the ground with the intention of Deegan and two others to jump over him, for what Margera and Deegan called the "Fatboy Jump World Record". Vito was held by the feet and arms by Margera and Raab Himself in order to restrain him. The bikers jumped over Vito, with Deegan narrowly missing him by less than a foot away, which startled Vito. That bit was featured in the show.

In 2006, Deegan and Berkela films released a film entitled Disposable Hero that follows him through the struggles and rewards that accompany the freestyle motocross sport and lifestyle. Jesse James, Ronnie Faisst, Jeremy Stenberg, Cameron Steele, Chris Ackerman, Nate Adams, and Seth Enslow are a few of the featured cast that talk about Deegan and his life's journeys. The film aired on Spike TV on December 5, 2007.

Deegan performed stunts in the movie Fantastic Four. He is also working on a reality show for MTV. There is no scheduled air date yet.

He has been on the cover of and magazines and has been featured multiple times in FHM magazine.

Deegan was in the Game Boy Advance/Nintendo GameCube/PlayStation 2 video game Freekstyle.

In 2018, Deegan was the subject of the documentary Blood Line: The Life and Times of Brian Deegan.^[4]

Other ventures[]

In addition to supporting riders, the Metal Mulisha have a clothing line and other related merchandise. Deegan also has a toy line called Hevy Hitters distributed in retail locations such as Walmart. Most recently he teamed up with Illektron to create Battlez FMX, a collectible card and dice game featuring Deegan, Todd Potter and Jeremy Lusk.

He is the former owner of the FMX park, the Compound, which he later sold to Nate Adams. At the 2007 X Games Deegan stated he sometimes regrets selling it.

Personal life[]

He has been married to Marissa Deegan since 2003. Together, they have three children: Hailie Deegan, who currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Truck Series, Haiden and Hudson, who competes in youth motocross.

Deegan became a born again Christian after a near fatal crash in 2005.^[5]

Career highlights[]

• 1997 Los Angeles Supercross – 1st place
• 1999 World Freestyle champ / Gravity Games Silver
• 2000 Gravity Games Gold
• 2000 Air MX Champ
• 2000 Bluetorch Ride and Slide FMX Champ
• 2001 Moto x Big Air – Bronze
• 2002 Winter X Games Gold
• 2003 Featured Rider on Tony Hawk tour
• 2003 Summer X-Games Gold
• 2003 EXPN Rider of the year nominee
• First to land a 360
• 2004 ESPY award nominee
• Hold the most medals in FMX X Games history: 10 medals
• 2004 ESPN top 100 athlete of all sports
• 2005 Winter X Games Gold Medalist
• 2007 Winner Best Biography X Dance Action Sports Film Festival for Brian Deegan: Disposable Hero
• 2009 Awarded The Lifetime Achievement Award At The Transworld Motocross Awards In Las Vegas.
• 1 gold and 5 medals at the X Games rally events.
• 2nd at the 2012 Global RallyCross Championship.
• 4th at the 2013 Global RallyCross Championship.
• 2009, 2011 and 2013 Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series Pro Lite Unlimited champion
• 2011, 2012 and 2014 Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series Pro 2 Unlimited champion
• 2011 World Championship race winner in the Pro Light truck class

Racing record[]

Complete Global RallyCross Championship results[]

Supercar[]

Year	Entrant	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	GRC	Points
	Olsbergs MSE	Ford Fiesta	IRW1	IRW2	SEA1	SEA2	PIK1 3	PIK2 8	LA1 10	LA2 1					9th	54
2012	Olsbergs MSE	Ford Fiesta	CHA 16	TEX 3	LA 3	LOU 3	LV 2	LVC 2							2nd	84
2013	Olsbergs MSE	Ford Fiesta ST	BRA 5	MUN1 7	MUN2 9	LOU 3	BRI 3	IRW 7	ATL 6	CHA 2	LV 13				4th	106
2014	Rockstar Energy Drink	Ford Fiesta ST	BAR 3	AUS 8	DC	NY	CHA 9	DAY	LA1	LA2	SEA 3	LV 9			12th	140
2015	Chip Ganassi Racing	Ford Fiesta ST	FTA	DAY1	DAY2	MCAS 10	DET1 4	DET2 5	DC	LA1 6	LA2 2	BAR1 6	BAR2 9	LV 5	10th	229
2016	Chip Ganassi Racing	Ford Fiesta ST	PHO1 3	PHO2 6	DAL 7	DAY1 2	DAY2 5	MCAS1 2	MCAS2	DC 4	AC 3	SEA 7	LA1 4	LA2 1	3rd	473

Race cancelled.

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Brian Deegan.

• Brian Deegan's official website
• Metal Mulisha website
• Disposable Hero website
• Brian Deegan at IMDb
• Higgins, Matt (August 1, 2009), "Some X Games Bad Boys Turn to the Bible", The New York Times, p. SP6, retrieved 2010-01-13