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Manitoban soars into Nitro Circus

Click to play video: 'Local boy hits Nitro Circus'
Local boy hits Nitro Circus
Manitoba's Josh Penner chats about his small town upbringing and his foray into extreme sports just days before his huge appearance at Winnipeg's Nitro Circus show – Jun 6, 2017

On Friday, when dozens of riders take to Investors Group Field for the motocross spectacle that is Nitro Circus, one rider will be enjoying himself a little more than the others.

Josh Penner grew up on a family farm just outside of Letellier, Manitoba — which means this local boy will be soaking in every second of the ride of his life.

“Having my family there to see me jumping at the highest stage of extreme sports is going to be pretty cool,” Penner said. “As soon as I got in [to the show] my whole family had already booked tickets. Before I could even ask someone if we could get my family tickets they were like ‘yes, we’re in.'”
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RELATED: Nitro Circus show at Calgary Stampede grounds cancelled due to weather

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Penner has been through a lot in recent years to get to this point; a stint in motocross racing led to whip competitions in Las Vegas and then to his towering accomplishment — literally — a huge set of dirt jumps and ramps in his southern Manitoba backyard.

“The area is so good for dirt biking out here. There’s lots of tracks and you can just go down the ditch.”

Never needing to go far to train has worked in Penner’s advantage. Long hours spent under the track’s lights after farming 5,800 acres all day is a normal occurrence for the rider, who will be the centre of attention come Friday.

RELATED: Mike Mason discusses Nitro Circus

Penner will be one of the riders soaring through the air in a fiery, bombastic event that tours across the world. It’s his first time riding with the Nitro Circus crew and he couldn’t be more excited.

“It’s going to be cool just meeting the guys I get to ride with. [They’re] the best in the world. Like, there’s that guy I saw in a magazine or on TV.”
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He’s a great addition to the show: Penner jumps his bike and snowmobile over ramps and performs various stunts that look next to impossible.

The Nitro Circus action gets underway at IGF Friday evening. You can learn more here.

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