Kenan Harkin, a former professional BMX rider, has traded in his bikes for snakes. He now spends his days breeding and caring for reptiles at a sanctuary in Florida.
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Harkin began racing BMX at the age of 9. By 14, he had begun to concentrate more on style than speed, as he began to popularize what is now referred to as freestyle BMX in shows for small, local audiences across the country. The transition from racer to showman involved several injuries for Harkin, breaking his collarbone, leg, and pinkie finger, and being knocked out cold twice.
At age 20, Harkin met Jay Miron and Matt Hoffman, He helped them while they were touring on Long Island. The duo invited Kenan to the world famous Woodward Camp. Once at Woodward Kenan’s riding excelled and he began experimenting with the camps newly built foam pits. In 1996 he began working on the 360 backflip, a trick that had only been performed by one other rider, English BMXer Zack Shaw. Kenan was the first rider to use the foam pits to take a trick from inception, to competition. He pulled the trick for the first time in competition at the Chelsea Piers B3 event aired on ESPN. He turned pro at that event and subsequently went into larger competitions. Performing his 360 backflip at these events gained him a great deal of attention and sponsorship, as BMX and other extreme sports entered the mainstream.
Check out more of Kenan:
https://www.youtube.com/user/kenanh2
Instagram: @kampkenan
Or his website: http://kampkenan.com/
Shot 100% on the HERO4® camera from http://GoPro.com.
Music
Brandon Calhoon “That’s What I’m Talkin Bout (Instrumental)”
William Ryan Fritch “Blunt” “Unsteady Hands” “Fire Starter”
Quasi Bonsai “Three Rivers”
Buy on iTunes: http://goo.gl/5wyEKwhttp://goo.gl/5wyEKw
