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CONGRATULATIONS TO JARRYD MCNEIL FOR TAKING SILVER MEDAL IN X GAMES 2010 BEST WHIP

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SNEAK PEAK OF OUR NEW FALLEN ANGEL 2 TEE, FROM START TO FINISH, ENJOY

Just last week, Connecticut's Rich Kearns got the email that every professional FMX rider dreams of -- the golden ticket of sorts -- I'm talking about the X Games invite. Turning heads with his insanely extended dead body flips and Paris Hilton flips (yes the name is horrible, and yes I hope he plans on changing it ASAP!), Kearns will be heading into X Games Best Trick to snag a gold medal ... but that's only if he has the opportunity to drop in under the infamous Staples Center roof. Unfortunately Kearns' invite is only as an alternate, so his spot isn't guaranteed, but that doesn't seem to bug him one bit -- he's confident he'll make the big show, and even more confident he'll stomp his tricks with ease.

In an effort to find out who exactly he is and how he got to where he is, I caught up with Kearns after putting in a solid ride sesh at Brody Wilson's compound in Massachusetts. He's not a household name yet, but as we've seen with X Games, it's possible that he'll be the talk of the town after the Best Trick medals are handed out. Peep.

Chris TedescoRichard Kearns is a big dude in stature and while it can be a bit of a disadvantage when it comes to throwing tricks, it's a huge advantage for Kearns because it makes his tricks look ridiculously huge.

ESPN.com: First off, introduce yourself. I'm sure hardcore FMX fanatics know who you are, but the casual fan may not.

Rich Kearns: My name is Rich Kearns and I'm 25-years-old and I'm currently living in Southern California. I moved out here last October after riding demos all summer. I loaded up my truck with my bike and a couple of blankets and moved out to California to see what it was all about. Growing up you get to watch all the videos like Crusty Demons, and see X Games -- so it just seemed that California was the place to be. In order to kick start my career I knew had to pack everything up and leave my family and friends behind to pursue my FMX career.

So how long have you been riding dirt bikes?

I've had a bike my whole life. I started off riding BMX and I was pretty big into freestyle skiing because we had a house in Vermont, so with the mountains and the combination of riding bicycles and dropping big jumps on skis, I felt comfortable jumping a dirt bike. From skiing and doing all those big jumps and flips, when it came time to flip a dirt bike everything came pretty naturally.

In order to kick start my career I knew had to pack everything up and leave my family and friends behind to pursue my FMX career in California.

-- Rich Kearns

Did you ever race or did you just b line it straight to the ramps?

Yeah, I never raced. I just rode dirt bikes for fun growing up, and then when I did end up getting serious about riding, there were a lot of riders that made me push myself. Doug Henry grew up in the same area as me. Well, I grew up in his town in Oxford, Connecticut and he was always at the local sand pits, training for his races. Between Doug and a couple of my other racer buddies out here I never actually raced, but just riding with them taught me a lot of bike skills. It's funny -- I would think I was going fast and then all of a sudden Doug would fly by me like I was standing still.

So how did you end up getting into FMX and riding ramps?

Basically I have a brother from another mother type deal -- my buddy Cody always rode dirt bikes and he always had a ramp at his house. He had wooden ones, and then he bought an Evolution ramp. I was always that guy in BMX racing who was throwing tricks over every jump during a race and digging out in trails -- I always liked doing tricks and so it came natural with dirt bikes. So yeah, my buddy Cody had a ramp and that's where it all started.

Was there a point where you were like "Wow, I'm getting kind of good. I want to do this for a career?" If so, when did you have that moment of clarity?

That moment came to me last year, or maybe two years ago. I knew that I had to either do this dirt bike thing or get a real job. That's about the time when I was trying to start my business and my energy was scattered between trying to make a business successful and riding my bike. I knew I had to put everything into driveways and stop riding bikes, or stop this driveway thing and start riding fulltime. I figured driveways would always be there -- they aren't going anywhere, and I'm only young once.

Chris TedescoThis is the reason Kearns is heading to the Staples Center for X Games 16. Paris Hilton flip in full effect.

How did your parents feel about your decision?

Well, it was a constant battle growing up with my parents. Every bike that I ever rode belonged to my friends. If it weren't for my friends I wouldn't be riding because my family hated dirt bikes and it was a constant fight with them to be on a bike. After I showed them how serious I was, it took a couple of years for them to come around, but now they're super supportive.

Fast forwarding, how did you get to such a high level of riding in Connecticut? Is there much of scene there?

The East Coast doesn't get too much exposure and there is actually a pretty good group of riders anywhere from Youngstown, Ohio down to Georgia. I would take off in the winter and head down south with all the East Coast boys in Georgia and Florida. When I started flipping, that's all I did. I lost a lot of straight tricks the last couple of years, because every time I rode it was just flip flip flip. That's pretty much how I got to the level I'm at now. If you're going to do something, you better do it right -- there's no half stepping it. As soon as I mastered the flip I was determined to learn every single one of my tricks upside down. Once that gets handled I can move on to bigger and better things like front flips, 360's and other tricks and keep going with it.

Last week I had pretty much come to terms that I may not get invited to X Games, so I just figured it is what it is and I was ready to move on, plan the rest of my summer and aim for getting in next year.

-- Rich Kearns

It seems like it's a major challenge to blow up if you're on the East Coast. What's up with that? Give us some insight into FMX in the East.

Yeah, you can't be on the East Coast and have everyone know what you're doing -- there's just no exposure out here. There should be exposure out here because there are huge opportunities for filmers and photographers to show the rest of the world what America has to offer. There is more than just California, Nevada, and Arizona for riding. The United States is pretty big and there is a lot of cool stuff out here -- it's an untapped resource that hasn't been found yet. But I feel like once people find out and see what's going on out here, they're going to be buying plane tickets to ride and film out here.

So within the seven months that you've lived in Southern Cali, it seems like you've come a long way with your riding, and you name recognition is much stronger. How has Cali helped your career?

Pretty much it it's been a huge learning experience for me to come out to California. I'm on the other side of the country 2,500 miles away from home, alone without friends and family and completely on my own, so it's made me grow up a lot. It's been huge in the fact that the entire industry is located here. Every dirt bike manufacturer and every one of my sponsors is within an hour of each other in Riverside County, so when I'm not riding I'm at my sponsors just to meet people on a personal level. Giving them my resume, telling them who I am and what I'm doing, just to try and meet people personally rather than emailing them.

So for me being out here and not actually working, I'm making riding dirt bikes a "serious job," I have been trying my hardest to ride every day, stay on top of my fitness, and just keep trying to meet new people. It's fun -- every day is a learning experience and I learn something everyday whether it's on a bike or off a bike. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Chris TedescoYou may remember this photo from a few months ago, but it's just so sick we had to run it twice. When you combine Chris Tedesco's sick photography skills with Rich's amazing riding, good things are bound to happen.

Speaking of opportunities, tell me about your recent invite to ride Best Trick at X Games. What did you do to make sure that the decision makers knew who you were and what you're doing?

Man, I did everything that I could do as far as emailing the "right" guys -- that's pretty much all I knew about getting the attention of X Games. I don't really know too much about it because I had never been in this position before. So, I know they saw what I had been doing and they made the decision to give me a shot as an alternate in Best Trick. And a good thing about my tricks is that nothing was learned in a foam pit -- everything is styled and ready to go.

But just last week I had pretty much come to terms that I may not get invited, so I just figured it is what it is and I was ready to move on, plan the rest of my summer and aim for getting in next year. The next thing you know I got an email from them saying that I was invited, so you can imagine how pumped I was. But then I found out it was an alternate spot, so I went from being pumped to not too pumped. But it's cool and I'm staying positive about it -- I'm sure I'll end up getting in there -- I've been practicing like I'm going to get in there.

So we know that the reason you got invited to Best Trick is because of your ridiculously huge dead body flips and Paris Hilton flips, but are you going to have something else up your sleeve come game day or are you going with what you got?

No, I'm going to go with what I got for right now. I have a new trick I'm thinking about, but I don't really have time right now to learn it, so it'll have to wait. It's going to be pretty cool though once I land it -- I've been toying with it in my head for the last year. I've stomped it clean in my head ... now I just need to take it to dirt. [laughs]

Known for his fearless riding style, troublemaking antics and rock star persona, Colin 'Scummy' Morrison turned a lot of heads and made a big impact during the height of his hot and cold career. But as we've seen time and time again, Scummy eventually succumbed to the temptations that come along with the infamous lifestyle, leading him down the path of no return.

Now back on the bike after completely disappearing from the scene for nearly five years, Scummy has returned with a new lease on life, a grocery list of ambitious goals, and a newfound love for the simple things in life.

Todd StewartBesides making a comeback on the bike, Scummy's looking towards Hollywood to spark up an acting career.

ESPN: Scummy, what's going on man? It seems like you've been making a huge comeback, pushing to get back into the scene. What's up?

Morrison: Well, right now I pretty much just got my entire life straightened out. Just being in the Metal Mulisha and being in this sport just really took its toll on me. Pretty much everything just came to me -- the girls, the drugs, everything. I'm one of the innovators and I've been in this sport since day one and you know, I'm the kind of guy that doesn't know how to shut it down, party-wise. I was going big on my dirt bike and with the partying -- that was me and I was living the Motley Crue lifestyle.

But now I'm over 40 days sober and I'm really taking the whole sobriety thing really serious and bottom line, I'm 28-years-old and I don't want to be known as that guy that parties and messes up, you know? I feel like I have so many great sponsors right now and so many opportunities that I can take advantage of. I just want to be clean and sober and show people that if Scummy can change his life around, anyone can. I just wanna be a good role model and kind of just change my whole outlook because I want kids to look up to me. I've noticed that since I've cleaned my act up, so many opportunities have fallen on my lap and so I've got a lot of good things in the works.

Man, you know what? For me there's way too many crazy stories to even talk about -- there really is, so let's just keep it at that. Bottom line is, Motley Crue? They ain't got nothing on me.

-- Colin Morrison

I was never into freestlyle -- I mean I was, but I was never the kind of guy that's like "Oh dude, I'm going to get top five in this event." It was always about putting a show on, being punk rock and having fun -- it didn't matter if I came in dead last. So I'd say the height of my career is just when I was going big on my bike. I've had a couple big jumps in my life -- I'd say a pretty big one was when I did the train jump. It was fifth gear wide open and nobody has ever hit that jump since I did it. So, just that and being noticed for going big and hitting jumps that nobody else will, and that's what I want to be known as right now. Everyone's doing freestyle, but I like doing my own thing and not following the grain in any which way. I don't want to be a freestyler and follow what everyone else is doing, I want to be an originator and just do my own thing.

Back when you were "big" in the scene, were you making a lot of money? Like back in the 'Twitch and Scummy" days?

Yeah, I was making a lot of money and we were just having fun, like just raging out and traveling. And maybe I should've saved some money, but with the name recognition I have, I've always done pretty good. I can market myself really good and dude, I've stayed busy since I've pretty much been in this sport. It's crazy, but I've never really had a slow moment. Maybe there were a couple slow moments when I was in that dark hole, but luckily I've always had great sponsors to back me up.

Todd StewartScummy has wiped the slate clean and is ready to prove himself to the world.

So you obviously rocked it in your hey day -- do you have any specific moments that you look back on and think to yourself, "Jesus, what the hell was I thinking?"

Man, you know what? For me there's way too many crazy stories to even talk about -- there really is, so let's just keep it at that. Bottom line is, Motley Crue? They ain't got nothing on me. Breaking down hotel rooms, screwing things up -- people would trip out if I began telling stories -- I don't even know where to start on that one.

When do you feel that you started to slip out of the limelight?

Maybe like a couple years ago, but it's not like I was smoking crystal meth and shooting up heroin or anything like that. It was nothing like that, just smoking a little weed, taking a couple vicodin. But now I've realized that I don't need that stuff man. I can get over the pain, I'm a strong dude. I have a lot of issues in my life where my head's not like anyone else's. I've got a lot of messed up things going on in my head -- a lot of crazy things -- and for me, smoking a little weed, taking a few pills and drinking just took all that stuff away. But I've discovered that's not the way to live your life, you know? I have to attack my problems and conquer them full force. By drinking and taking drugs, it just makes you a weak person and I'm stronger than that. Since getting sober I feel like I've got a clear head to figure out my problems and I'm cleaning everything up. I just want people to know that I've got my s--t together and I aint' going nowhere in this sport -- I'll tell you that right now.

So, was there a turning point where you realized that you had to clean your act up before it was too late?

Well, pretty much, I did the whole sobriety thing for me. Every other time I tried to get clean it was because I had an intervention with the Mulisha guys or an intervention with my parents ... but I never wanted to get clean for myself. I was always trying to stay clean for my friends, but I never really wanted it. But this time I realized that I needed to do it for myself and ever since I've had that mentality, it's been working. I wake up every single morning and go to an AA class, and it's good to see I'm not the only person living like this. There are a lot people out there that have addiction problems, no matter what it is.

Back when you were rocking it super hard, where were you living and what were you doing on a day-to-day basis? Because you kind of just disappeared from the FMX scene.

You know, I was always riding my bike and making sponsors pumped, but I was pretty much just eating vicodin and smoking weed. Then I'd go out a lot and when I would start drinking, I was the center of attention -- I was just like a sparkplug in the club. Nobody would mess with me because they knew I was going big and I just turned into a crazy person pretty much.

Chris TedescoYeah he's not looking to get back into the typical FMX gig, but he's still got some tricks up his sleeve.

Were you in Los Angeles during all of this?

No, I was living in my dad's house, but then he kicked me out because I was crashing trucks and got a couple DUI's. So he kicked me out and then I moved to the cabin north of LA, which I'm sure a lot of people know about -- it's a very famous spot in the "Twitch and Scummy" movie. I moved in there, and it was like the first house I've ever lived in where I was away from my parents. It was crazy because before I was partying hard at my parent's house, but now I lived in a sick house and that just took it to a different level. The guy I was living with was really into drugs and every single night was a party out there. But also, every single day I was riding. I learned how to ride kind of screwed up and I fooled a lot of people, but it was just a party every single day.

After I got out of that place, my chick and I got an apartment in Valencia, but if you want to ride motocross professionally there's nothing out there. So I was riding there, but I still didn't have my life together, so we moved to Murrieta and I still had issues. My best friend died in the back of my truck on a pill overdose and I was so messed up and into pills that right after he died, I popped a couple of them myself to help me get over it. Then I had an intervention with the Mulisha guys, cleaned my life up, but then I got right back into using because doctors would prescribe me vicodin after getting hurt.

I did the whole sobriety thing for me. Every other time I tried to get clean it was because I had an intervention with the Mulisha guys or an intervention with my parents ... but I never wanted to get clean for myself.

-- Colin Morrison

Obviously you're on the right path now; how were you able to overcome your addictions and demons?

You know, I am so blessed with all my friends, my fiancé and my family. I just have so many people that want to see me do good because they know I have a name in this sport and they don't want to see me screw it up. It's been huge knowing that they've all go my back, because it makes it a lot easier. But like I said before, I finally got clean for myself and it's working. People are saying that they see a huge change in me, I'm riding better and overall things are just getting better. I'm never going to go back to who I was, but you gotta take it one step at a time, because I'm not really too far into this. You can't say, "Oh, I'll be sober for the rest of my life," because that's not the way it works -- you gotta take it one day at a time and that's what I'm doing right now. I know I'm never going to go back to who I was, but I can't think like that. If I know that I'm not going to take pills, drink or smoke weed today, then that's fine, but I can't say what I'm going to do tomorrow.

I just want to come back and hear people say, "Damn, there's Scummy. We've seen that guy weeded for the past five years and look at him now!" I know I'm a huge inspiration already because people are looking at me and realizing that this is the cool new trend. The cool new thing is to stay sober and not to go get all messed up. I already know I'm doing a lot for people and I want to keep it that way. I have a lot of fans out there, so I just want to show people that I can do this, I'm still young in the sport and I'm not going anywhere. I still want to go big in this sport and I've got a lot of things to prove.

Todd StewartBoth Morrison and Beau Manley (right) will be gracing the big screen in the near future starring in a film titled "Bro."

You've been saying you have a new outlook on life; what's that exactly mean?

Since I've been clean, I just have such a clear vision of my life. It goes from talking straight, just to making my sponsors happy, rolling up at Deegan's house with a clear head, which I've never had before. I'm just attacking all my problems, knowing I'm not going to get into trouble today, I'm not going to piss my sponsors off and I'm not going to screw anything up. Like instead of hanging out with my stupid, messed up friends, I like coming home to my fiancé, my two little white dogs, taking bubble baths and watching the Kardashian's. Like those are lame shows, but I love it dude  I love being inside with my girl and just living the lame lifestyle. I always used to be the guy to be like, "Where are we going to go tonight? What are we going to mess up? Where are we going to get wasted?" Now it's like a complete 180 dude. It's just a nice lifestyle and I've never been happier. I really have a new outlook on life.

So, now that you have this new outlook on life and whatnot, how's your riding been going?

It's insane man. I'm known for going big and so I know that's the direction I want to go. I showed up at the Daredevil Rockfest where Trigger Gumm and Seth Enslow were battling for the distance record and I showed up out of nowhere -- I wasn't even invited -- and I killed it. I went bigger than both of them and I proved myself. They were on 450's and I was on a 250 with a freestyle seat -- my bike wasn't even set up for that stuff and it was cake dude. I don't want to say I went bigger and jumped more than them, but bottom line is that I did. I proved that I can go as big as the best and after that, the guys at Crusty Demons saw my potential and invited me to ride the Crusty Demons Night of World Records, which will be going down on the fourth of July or the first of the year. And that's a chance for me to hold my bike fifth gear wide open and pretty much show these guys, who the real record holder should be. I ain't claiming nothing, but I really think I'll be setting the distance world record here within the year.

Do you think you can beat out Robbie Maddison and Ryan Capes when it comes to distance?

Definitely, I don't think they're any better than me whatsoever. Bottom line is that I got them -- any day any place.

What do you think makes a distance jumper good? Is it skill or just all about being fearless?

I think that being a distance jumper is all about having balls, man. You're going fifth gear pinned on your bike, knowing that if you do crash, you're probably going to die. There are no foam pits involved -- I look at it as the most hardcore thing you can do on a bike. Every single kid is doing backflips now and for me, backflips have never been my thing. And right now, that's not the way to make a lot of money. It's like if you're not doing a hart attack backflip, you still ain't s--t, dude. So I look at it like, "Am I going to kill myself on a backflip, where every single person in the world's doing it, or am I going to go huge on my bike, where there are only a handful of guys attempting that?" For me, going big has always just come natural. If it's a fifth gear jump, I feel comfortable. I feel more comfortable on that than I do hitting a 75-foot ramp-to-ramp jump.

Todd StewartScummy out-jumps Seth Enslow and Trigger Gumm at the Daredevil Rockfest in Perris, Calif.

I know you hit that massive jump at the Daredevil Rockfest shirtless -- is that something that you would do again if you had the opportunity to set a world record?

Oh dude, I'd jump without a shirt while smoking a cigarette in my helmet just to show everybody how punk rock I am. It's like, "Who's the most hardcore?" That's why I got into the Metal Mulisha, because they're the gnarliest dudes around. I want to keep this sport hardcore, because it's not like it used to be. And I want to be hardcore without the drugs and partying, and I got it dude. I know I do.

Well, I can see that you've got your direction set when it comes to distance jumping, how about everything else? I heard you're doing a lot off the bike as well.

I've done so much crazy crap that I probably can't remember half the things I've been through, but I can remember the other half and that's the story I'll tell.

-- Colin Morrison

It's funny because in the movie I play a drug dealer, so yeah I've practiced that role forever, but now I'm sober and I'll be acting it. I'm going to put 100% into it -- I'm not going to show up all messed up, mumbling my lines. I know that I'm going to do good and this will open up a lot of doors because the producers of this film have three other movies they're working on that I fit the part for, so this is going to be a big thing for me. And by doing this movie, I'll get my SAG card and I've always wanted to be a stuntman, so that will help open that door as well. So for the next three months, Manley and I will be filming this movie in LA, so look out for it in movie theatres in the future -- the movie is called "Bro."

I'm also working on a documentary movie called "Scumdog Millionaire." I'll be filming once a month and it'll be showing my progress on how I'm staying sober and how my life gets better and better by the month. More things will continue to fall in my lap seeing as how I've changed my life around and I want this to be an inspirational movie for people, showing that you can still be hardcore, but do it without the drugs and partying. It's going to take a while to film, but once it comes out, it's going to be really good and it'll touch a lot of people.

As far as your acting goes, have you ever acted before?

Well, when there's a camera in my face, I feed off of that. You know, I've filmed all these dirt bike movies and I've done skits and all that for over 12 years, so pretty much acting is second nature to me. We just did rehearsals and I killed it and the producers were saying I was a natural. I'm not claiming I'm the new Johnny Depp, not at all, but I think I got what it takes and I'm not scared in front of a camera.

Todd StewartScummy's for the kids.

So what's this I hear about you writing a book?

Yeah man, I am. The book will be kind of like this interview, you know? I got the idea from reading Nikki Sixx's "The Heroin Diaries." Motley Crue is my favorite band and you know, they lived the same lifestyle as I did -- the drugs and women would come to them. So I read the book and I realized that if Nikki Sixx is writing all these stories about his insane life, I can too. I've got so many crazy stories from the last 12 years, and if people read it and I really tell the truth, people will realize how gnarly I was. I don't want to hold anything back at all, I want to tell the most screwed up stories about all the messed up things I've been through. I also want to talk about how things are changing in my life for the better -- it's basically just going to be a diary of my life. The good, the bad, the ugly ... no holds barred. People are going to trip.

Do you even remember all the gnarly things you've done and lived through?

Yeah, I don't know. I've done so much crazy crap that I probably can't remember half the things I've been through, but I can remember the other half and that's the story I'll tell. [laughs]

It's obvious you're staying busy and have a lot on your plate. But, wrapping up, I want to know what you think makes your story different than the others who have tried to clean up their act and make a comeback before you? And are you at all worried that you'll fall back into that lifestyle?

There's no way I'm going back. You know, I'm addicted to this sober lifestyle and I want it for me, not for anyone else. It all comes down to commitment. I'm going to stick to it and I'm going to work the steps because it doesn't happen over night. I've got a lot to prove and I love life man. I'm just really thankful for my friends, family and sponsors and there's no reason for me not to go big and prove everyone wrong. When you got a clean head and you're sober, you can do anything you put your mind to. For once I've thrown the white flag up, I've realized that I have issues, and I firmly believe that this is going to stick. This ain't a lie man -- this is me, this is the new Scummy. Pretty much the old Scummy is dead and the new re-born Scummy is alive and he was born about 45 days ago.