It’s one of those Kiwi summer days that don’t come around often – a cloudless sky, a half-hearted breeze that occasionally huffs then dies, and a beating sun that’ll burn you like cinderblock in 10 minutes if you’re not careful. Where Levi Sherwood’s FMX compound sits between two rolling hills, there’s even less respite – the brown-off hillsides bounce the sun’s rays around, giving the impression that you’re standing in a large, outdoor microwave. Dressed in a black tee, black jeans, a black cowboy hat and aviator sunnies, Levi himself seems somewhat immune to the heat at the Shogun Showdown. Instead, he’s intently watching several up-and-coming freestyle riders go through the motions of hitting the steel ramps, soar through the air and land on a large inflatable down ramp.
The 33-year-old freestyle legend is quick to hand out advice or a subtle thumbs-up as the riders pass him and start their run-ins, bursting into bellows of support when one of them cleanly stomps a trick or improves their extension
This is a whole new adventure for the five-time X Games medallist and two-time Nitro World Champion; after several years away from the sport, February 2025 marked Sherwood’s return to FMX events. However, instead of lining up for one of his signature contortion-esque tricks, ‘the rubber kid’ (even though he despises that nickname) was now hosting his first-ever, self-funded FMX competition.
SOWING THE SEEDS
The Shogun Showdown isn’t your usual FMX contest where the heaviest hitters of the freestyle world go toe-to-toe for big prize money. This year’s pilot event was purely for amateur riders and those with little-to-no competition experience to get some contest runs on the board in a low-pressure environment.
Of the eight riders who took part, only one – veteran rider Joe McNaughton – had ridden competitions before at previous Farm Jams. Everyone else was a first-timer.
While Sherwood has been quiet on the riding side over the past few years after essentially walking away from the sport a few years ago, he’s still been involved coaching young Kiwis to start hitting ramps.
“Nick Franklin is an OG Kiwi freestyle rider who puts on shows at his farm every year, and I was sitting there at one of his shows, looking at the riders, and I realised it was quite an ageing group,” the laid-back Sherwood says.
“I thought ‘man, if one of the boys got injured, we wouldn’t have enough people to put a show on’. I realised I had to sort this out.”
The idea to host coaching camps quickly gathered a head of steam as young Kiwis lapped up the chance to get hands-on coaching from one of the world’s best, while Levi found their energy infectious and motivating in return.
Once they reached a certain level, Levi would invite the riders to Franklin Farm shows to help them start dealing with more pressurised environments.
“You can teach people how to ride, do tricks and set their bikes up, but that’s just the first part of it. The event side is a whole other deal,” Levi explains. “That gave them experience riding in front of people and managing those emotions, and now the Shogun Showdown is providing a perfect introduction to competitions.”
With the idea of holding his own FMX comp percolating in his head, Levi hit up the likes of Farm Jam founder Dan Frew, former Red Bull NZ events doyen Brendan Thomas and BMX legend Jed Milton for advice and direction.
The rough form of the event soon took shape, but plans soon got uncomfortably ambitious for his first-ever attempt; at one point it was going to be opened up to the public with multiple disciplines and good prize money up for grabs.
“It started to gather this life of its own and lose sight of the original purpose of the event,” Levi said. “Those ideas might be cool to include further down the track, but I really just wanted to test the waters this year, invite some close family and friends to watch, hold both FMX and BMX showdown comps and see how it all went.”
Even though he decided to dial it right back, there were still stressful times leading up to the event when some of the riders who’d initially said they were keen to be involved started – predictably – pulling out.
“Moto riders are notoriously hard to pin down and it was pretty frustrating when they’d ring me in the days leading up to the Showdown saying they couldn’t make it,” he admits. “There were some sleepless nights in the lead-up as I wondered if we’d even be able to hold a comp. It gave me a whole new appreciation for event organisers, being on the other side, rather than being a rider.
“The BMX riders were all good – they’d just say, ‘yep, sweet, see you there’ and you know they were good for it. The FMX guys are more high maintenance, but we still ended up with eight riders and it all worked out sweet.”
RAMPING UP THE PRESSURE
Just because it was a first-ever comp for most of the FMX riders, don’t think for a moment that the riding wasn’t any less spectacular, or the motivation to win wasn’t there.
For 23-year-old Carlos Hanlon, the prospect of winning the inaugural Showdown was enough to push his riding to the next level and land his first-ever Double Backflip in competition.
Hanlon, who’s now riding high-pressure shows in Macau casinos as part of a new stage production, worked his arse off and only successfully landed his first Doubles just two months prior.
Sherwood says to see him so motivated to win was inspiring: “I saw a different side of him that I’ve never seen before. Normally Carlos is such a cruiser – a happy-to-lucky entertainer who always rides well but never really shown his competitive side. To see him get into that zone, really focus, and to walk away with the win was bloody awesome.”
Carlos wasn’t the only rider to push himself either – Taranaki rider Jack Jury finished his day in a glut of second-placed results in FMX and FMX Best Trick with some impressive Backflip combos, then threw some wild whips to claim runner-up in Best Whip.
As good as the FMX comp was, it was the push-bike crew that really shone: the level of riding was right up there with what you’d see at a Nitro Circus show.
“If I was to be honest, the BMX boys really made the event the success it was,” Levi evaluates. “They absolutely killed it and a few of them landed tricks they’d never done before. It was awesome to see that level of riding at a grassroots level, and it proved that the New Zealand BMX scene is in a really, really good space right now.”
THE BIG PICTURE
With the event wrapped up, everyone headed home in a dusty state after a cracking after-party that went into the wee hours.
Sherwood had time to take stock, and the success of his pilot project has made him more excited than ever to return next year to expand the comp and take it to the next level.
He’s already locked the date in for next year’s Showdown – 14 February 2026 – and plans are already under way to open it up to the public.
“I’m really stoked on how smoothly it all went and it’s definitely lit a fire in the belly,” he explains. “Next year we’ll open up the event to the public with a limited number of tickets to keep a a lid on it and create some FOMO.”
With Levi also personally stumping up for all the costs of the event, he’ll also pull some strings to get sponsors on board next time out. It shouldn’t be difficult, as he’s already had people contact him to get involved in 2026.
But the biggest satisfaction is seeing the riders he’s taken under his wing challenge themselves and thrive under the pressure of a competition setting.
“I’ve taken these kids from jumping their first ramps right through to riding their first comp, and it’s all kind of falling into place as I’m doing it,” he says. “I think that’s been the most satisfying part for me, and hopefully this event will see a new wave of young Kiwi freestyle riders take on comps around the world and create a new, thriving scene here.”
5 MINUTES WITH… CARLOS HANLON
ADB: Carlos, epic riding at the Showdown. Congrats on winning your first comp and landing your first Double Flip. How were the nerves?
CH: They were definitely up there, especially when the wind started picking up just before my run. I’d done a couple of Double Flips to the landing before the comp, but my shock blew out a couple of days beforehand, so I had to rebuild that and didn’t get a chance to test it before the comp.
Riding in front of a crowd is a lot more intimidating, but I just tried to block that out as much as I could, I tried to allow for the wind off the ramp, spun it round and stomped it. Yeah, it was pretty emotional to get it done.
ADB: So this was a trick you deliberately targeted for this event?
CH: Yeah. I did a few into the foam pit back in 2019 as I wanted to compete at the last Farm Jam in 2020, but that comp was written off with gale-force winds. I didn’t try them again until about early December where I did a bunch into the foam pit and started getting them consistent.
Levi gave me a foot-hook that he’d designed, and his custom swingarm and triple clamp [helped] me spin it a lot faster and easier. I landed my first one to the airbag between Christmas and New Year, then I did a few every day to try and get comfortable and consistent with it.
ADB: I’ve gotta ask about your riding gear. You always wear a heavy cotton Canterbury rugby jersey, which is pretty unconventional. What’s the go there?
CH: [Laughs] I’m not sponsored by Canterbury or anything. I just love running the rugby jersey. I feel like a dork in riding gear, so I just run what I wear. I’ve got 13 rugby jerseys in my wardrobe and I’ll wear them riding, when I’m out pig-hunting, going to the pub, everywhere. They’re bloody awesome.
ADB: That’s gold. What did you think of the Showdown and the idea behind it?
CH: It definitely gives everyone something to look forward to, as there hasn’t been a comp in New Zealand since the last Farm Jam. Hopefully it keeps getting bigger and better from here, and it builds a community of riders who want to keep pushing their limits and the sports. And that’s all thanks to Levi and his drive to step up the freestyle game for the Kiwi boys.
ADB: Finally, you’re in Macau now training for some crazy circus show there. What can you tell us about it?
CH: It’s called ‘The House of Dancing Water’ and was created by one of the dudes who wrote some of the Cirque de Soleil productions. We’re in the middle of training now before the show opens in the casino here. It’s super-intense – there are about 300 performers including gymnasts, acrobats, divers and such, and we’re training about 10 hours a day on a super-tight jump setup that’s wet after it gets raised out of the water.
And everyone’s full athletes except for us five moto boys – we’re all hitting the pub for a beer at the end of the day, while everyone else goes to the gym.
The shows begin in May and it’s going to be epic to finally ride in front of the crowds after months of practice.
