A wheelie long way up: BMX rider tackles world’s first floating skatepark

A British BMX rider has spoken of completing a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” after he performed tricks on a floating skatepark more than 2,000 feet (610 metres) above the ground.

Kriss Kyle completed the world-first stunt, called Don’t Look Down, on 6 February when he rode around a custom-made bowl suspended by a hot air balloon. The balloon set off from Charlton Park Estate in Wiltshire and flew about 30 miles over the Cotswolds before touching down.

Kyle executed several highly technical BMX tricks in the short time window, and achieved the feat while wearing a parachute and contending with a constantly swinging bowl. The 31-year-old Scot, from Stranraer, Dumfries and Galloway, has competed in professional BMX events since 2008 and is an athlete for Red Bull.

“I went straight to the edge, looked over and thought: ‘This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,’ Kyle told the PA news agency at the launch event. “All through riding that little bike, I was like: ‘This is one that I’ll be taking to the grave.’ [It was] a surreal experience and [I’m] just super fortunate for it, and I can’t believe I’ve done it.”

Kyle said the idea of a floating skatepark came to him whilst out mountain biking with his dogs in lockdown, before he pitched the idea to his manager at Red Bull. He added: “This was pretty much the same as I go into every project - if you want it bad enough, just keep visualising it and sure enough you can turn that into a reality. No one’s ever really done anything like this, and it’s a big bit of kit. It’s actually registered as an aircraft, which is insane.”

Very specific climatic conditions, including wind speeds of less than three miles per hour, were required to make the flight possible, meaning Kyle had to