Extreme pogo

Extreme Pogo or Xpogo is an action sport which involves riding and performing tricks on specially designed "extreme" pogo sticks. Today’s Xpogo sticks have the potential for over 10 ft. of height (measured from the ground to the bottom of the tip). Extreme pogo is a relatively new and popular extreme sport. Xpogo can be seen in athlete exhibition teams, Xpogo content on sites such as YouTube, and the annual Pogopalooza: The Xpogo World Championship Series.

Xpogo competitions have begun in countries outside of the USA. An Xpogo commercial was run by Nike during the London Olympics. Xpogo athletes were included in the 2014 Rose Parade in Pasadena, CA. The vast majority of Xpogo athletes are male and between the ages of 10-25.

The beginnings of Xpogo are somewhat contested, but it is acknowledged among the Xpogo community that Dave Armstrong from Provo, Utah was likely the first individual in the 20th century to make a conscious and consistent effort to execute tricks on a traditional steel spring pogo stick, beginning in 1999. Dave created a website - Xpogo.com - around that time to share pictures and video of his bouncing. Shortly after Dave, several other individuals began to independently form the idea of creating an extreme sport around pogo. Among these individuals were Nick McClintock, Nick Ryan, Fred Grzybowski, Dan Brown, Rick Gorge, and Matt Malcolm. Each believing they had solely created a sport, the collective founders of Xpogo eventually connected via Xpogo.com. Together they shared their tricks and associated media, effectively laying the groundwork for the sport as a whole.

From 2000 – 2004, pockets of Xpogo athletes began to emerge around the United States, and internationally in places like the Netherlands, inspired by Xpogo.com. During this time there were no Xpogo sticks, only traditional steel spring sticks that could be purchased at retailers like Wal-Mart, Toys ‘R’ Us, and Amazon.com. Each pocket of jumpers took their own names and made associated websites to help define themselves against the larger Xpogo community. These groups included "Team Xpogo" "Team Hyper Pogo," "Pogo Cult," “Rittman Pogo,” “Grand Theft Pogo,” “Say No To Park,”and the largest group called “The Pogo Squad” from York, PA.

As each of these groups developed, and motivated other individuals around the country to begin bouncing as well, a core group of tricks were created that served as the building blocks for all trick innovation to come. A series of grabs, stalls, spins, and wraps utilizing the two foot pegs, two handlebars, and the frame of the pogo stick became the commonly executed tricks. Simple descriptive names such as “One-Foot Peg Grab” or “Under The Leg Bar Spin” were used to describe some tricks, while others received more specialized names such as “Malcolm X” (180 no-foot peg grab) and “Candy Bar” (one leg between the handlebars while jumping). Other tricks were born out of common BMX or Skateboarding tricks such as “Can-Can,” and “Heel Clicker”.

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Wikipedia