BREAKIN' BAD

Brian Deegan has made a life of going against the grain - and it's workin' for him. Known worldwide for his exploits and injuries in the X-Games, he now heads up Metal Mulisha, a motocross team, and a large company selling action-brand apparel. But his origins were far from the world of Freestyle Motocross.

As a kid growing up in Omaha, Nebraska, he bucked the system by riding dirt bikes instead of playing on the gridiron like most Cornhuskers. His dad wanted him to go to college, but he had his eye on another mountain: professional motocrossing. While not the most socially acceptable choice, it was the right one for him, since it turned out he has some skills. After making a name for himself in the dirt bike arena, he's now doing the same in the Pro Lite division of shortcourse off-road competition. In keeping with his reputation, and to haul his race vehicle, he's just finished tricking out a Ford Super Duty in flat gray with Metal Mulisha graphics and a Pro Comp suspension. More about that rig in a moment, but first a bit more background. When Deegan graduated high school, he headed to California, where he landed a slot on a Supercross Team. Flaunting convention once again, when he won the 125cc main in 1997 at the LA Coliseum, he ghost rode his bike 10 / ORA JULY 2010 across the finish line in true rebel fashion. Of course the crowd went wild over this stunt. More important, he points to this pivotal moment as ground zero for Freestyle Motocross. Deegan was the first ever to do a 360 in competition (some say an off-axis back-flip because it wasn't as flat); he nicknamed the trick the "Mulisha Twist." He has also been a pioneering innovator in Freestyle Motocross and is the most decorated Freestyle Motocross rider in X Games history. With 10 total medals (3 Golds and 7 Bronzes) he is the only rider to compete in at least one event in every X Games. The explosion in Freestyle led Deegan to form a bad-ass motocross team called the Metal Mulisha, identified by counter-culture graphics depicting skulls and military helmets. This ominous, in-yo'-face look caught the attention of young mavericks in general, and Deegan began to realize he could achieve something positive with a negative attitude. He cites his friendship with Jesse James of West

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