BMX rider Jon Riddle fulfils dream of performing at Nitro Circus

A Hamilton-based BMX rider has fulfilled his dream of performing at the hugely popular Nitro Circus - pulling stunts in front of a crowd of tens of thousands.

After 25-year-old Jon Riddle won the BMX dirt nationals in December, he was given the chance to try out for the circus. Then he found out the audition was the real thing.

Riddle's been on two wheels for most of his life. Now he's ready to pedal to the next level.

"It's not something I actually ever thought that I'd get the opportunity to do," he told Newshub.

"I just sort of tried to ride my bike as much as possible."

The king of BMX is Jed Mildon. Nicknamed Warrior, he's the first rider to nail the quadruple backflip. Mildon spotted Riddle years ago.

"I've ridden with Jon for ever," Mildon told Newshub.

"He's always been that kid that's been right there and then last year he proved that he was the best in the country."

Riddle looks smooth now but he's had his share of slipups getting to the top and plenty of bone-crunching injuries.

"I've broken the same bones quite a few times - the collar bones five times, lots of shoulder surgeries, toes, wrist recently, tendons," he says.

But he's always got straight back in the saddle and that's what Mildon likes - Riddle's fearlessness and confidence.

"Oh he's got it," he says.

"We rode my dirt jumps the other day on the farm - and my dirt jumps are bigger than these jumps, they're world record dirt jumps and he did them with ease. He actually did a couple of world records, like unofficial world records."

And now Riddle wants to be riding in front of crowds of 15,000 like at Eden Park.

Mildon says Riddle has his foot in the door - the rest is up to him.