X Games and freestyle motocross standout Axell Hodges on growing up on the outskirts of San Diego, California, and hanging around with a certain seven-time AMA Supercross Champion named Jeremy McGrath: “I mean when I was younger, Jeremy McGrath was everything,” smiled Hodges. “I mean Jeremy McGrath: Seven-time supercross champion and he lived right down from the street from me, so I wanted to be a racer and I wanted to be like Jeremy McGrath. I wanted to get eight supercross titles of my own and be the new King, that’s what I wanted to be when I was a little kid.”
Supremely talented on a motocross bike, as well as being a natural born showoff, Axell Hodges became a global motocross sensation, albeit not one on a racetrack. Now a freestyle motocross and freeride sensation with well north of 1.6 million Instagram followers, as well as 12 X Games medals to his name, Hodges follows flight plans the world over in following his trajectory of being, easily, one of the most popular and recognized motocross riders in the history of the entire and collective sport.
“I was just picking up my new helmet from AP Designs,” said Hodges on Thursday afternoon while cruising around in Southern California. “I’m just now getting everything ready to head up to Ventura. I’m just getting everything cleaned up. I cleaned up my truck and got all of my gear washed. I’m just going through all my stuff and making sure I’m ready.”
Hodges is looking forward to hanging out with the fraternity of freestyle motocross and freeride athletes that he’s grown close to during his mercurial and progressing career.
“Yeah, I mean we’re a bunch of freeriders, so I really don’t have that many competitions and events throughout the year, so the X Games are kind of our time to shine and get us all together and see who could go the biggest,” he said. “When we get there we all seem to get together pretty well. You see who has been doing stuff on the internet and when we’re together in person, we’ve all got respect for each other and we are all just trying to go the biggest and try and feed off each other. The energy between all of us is good.”
The 2024 event will mark a return to the X Games for Hodges as he decided to sit out the 2023 X Games due to the tragic and untimely death of Hodges’ close friend and fellow action sports star Pat Casey out at Hodges’ Slayground Motocross Park last June.
“Ventura looks awesome,” pointed out Hodges, enthused to perform for the first time in the costal city of 109,527 inhabitants located northwest of Los Angeles. “I missed the X Games last year. I sat on the sidelines after the Pat Casey death with the Slaygroud stuff and him passing away. That was kind of a really hard thing for me, so I sat out the X Games last year and just kind of watched it from home on TV and it looked crazy with it all being the first year back from COVID with an audience. There were so many people there and it looked rad. I’m super-stoked to be a part of all of that at the X Games this year. I just want to go have some fun on my dirt bike.
“Yeah, this last year has been a love/hate relationship with my dirt bike,” furthered Hodges. “After losing your best friend doing something that’s your favorite thing in the world to do was just kind of a heavy hit to me and everyone around me. I don’t know… I eventually started riding again and since I have been on the bike, I’ve been turning things around and feeling positive and have just been having a lot more fun again and just trying to stay tough. I mean riding dirt bikes is a gnarly thing to do and overdoing things on them is crazy. To have that happen with Pat last year just caused kind of a lull for me. It made me take a breather for a second.”
Not long after Casey’s death, Hodges experienced further misfortune when he crashed brutally while shooting video material in the Imperial Sand Dunes of Southern California. Shattering his right femur in the shunt, Hodges was immediately sent into rehabilitation mode and a very long recovery.
“I wish we had another month coming into X Games,” sighed Hodges. “Just with my leg and stuff and I’m not quite there. I had not decided that I was going to ride the X Games until really last week. I was just trying to ride to get my leg as strong as I can. I’ve been hitting the QuarterPipe a lot and it has been feeling pretty good. I’ve just kind of been going at it in baby steps. I’m just doing everything I can to get my mind and head and right. I’m just having fun on my dirt bike. That’s the first step. I’m stoked to X Games and just have fun and see what I can do.”
A past gold medal winner in Moto X QuarterPipe High Air, Hodges finished fourth in QuarterPipe high air this go round.
Said the post-event recap from X Games
It was a showdown between the two favorites for this event - Australian competitor Corey Creed and USA’s four-time X Games gold medalist Colby Raha, both who are owners of X Games gold medals in the discipline. Raha won at X Games last year with a 56’3” jump and is a four-time MTX QuarterPipe High Air champ, with three of the golds earned in the last three years. However, Creed edged out Raha by two feet at 53 feet and seven inches, and now both rivals own four X Games gold medals a piece.
“We’re going to go right back home and reinvent the wheel and go even higher,” said Creed. “Ventura is sick. I love it here - let’s stay here for a while!”
Moto X QuarterPipe High Air Results:
- Corey Creed 53'7" (G)
- Colby Raha 51'7" (S)
- Guillem Navas 51'0" (B)
- Axell Hodges 50'5"
- Jason Borosky 41'9"
