How the hell do you…Become a stunt rider?

If you love danger and you are addicted to petrol fumes and dead rubber then you may try to be a stunt rider. Do skids, jumps, wheelies and high speed attract you? Then there is no reason why you cannot be a professional stunt rider. But at the outset let me tell you that to be a successful professional stunt rider you will have to work extremely hard. The British Action Academy is perhaps the only stunt school in Europe through the stunts aren’t something you can learn through courses. At first, you should look at the stunt riders and figure out if you have enough courage to do what they are doing and only then even try the stunts. Find out roads which are not used so often where you can practice for hours.

Stunt riding these days has become a lot easier as the pace has slowed down. In the last decade stunt riding was a lot faster and hence the fear factor was more. Initially, you should start riding on scooters at slow speeds and then gradually move on to the bigger bikes. Being a stunt rider it’s not only about the stunts. It’s also about being famous. In the age of the internet and social media, it is easy to achieve fame so you have to stand out in your performances and that is the tough part. You have to market yourself and carry a personality which people will find charming. You and your bike have to be well presented. Always remember that a live performance is tricky as you have to put on the show. The spectators must find your performance exhilarating and better than the rest. You can edit your Youtube videos but in your live performance, you don’t have that luxury. Stunt riding is a hard job to make money as you need to innovate and have variations and tricks in your performance.

If you want professional training then you can avail of the various courses in the British Action Academy. It has a course called the British Live Action Stunts Training (BLAST) which is aimed at people who want to pursue stunt riding as a career. Stunt riders themselves run the course and so you get the guidance from people who have been there and done that before. Over three days you are imparted intense theoretical and practical training. BLAST is designed to test you by giving you intense realistic stunt scenarios which will test your endurance and mental ability. Once you are through the course you should be determined to be a professional. For that in the UK you will have to get registered with the British Equity Stunt Register where you have to work for three years as a Probationary Member. Then again work for another two years as an intermediate member when you can perform stunts. In another five years, you will become a fully fledged Stunt Action Co-ordinator. After that, you will be eligible to perform stunts and supervise others. Due to the hazardous nature of the work stunt riders are strictly regulated by the Joint Industry Stunt Committee.

A professional stunt rider will be expected to perform varieties of stunts and continuously innovate to attract the spectators. Irrespective of your skills and talent for successful stunt riders innovation and flexibility are a must. You will also have to get along with the actors for whom you will do the stunts. You have to be extremely professional and flexible as you may be required to be available at a short notice and the working hours are usually long and may involve long hours of travel and extreme conditions.