When it comes to extreme sports, there’s nowhere quite like New Zealand. They start them young and send them big. Case in point: Theo Riddle, an 8-year-old BMX rider from Queenstown, who was dropping into skatepark bowls by the time he was 4 years old, and can now do big-time backflips on dirt.

In April, he became a YouTube hit when he landed his first backflip. According to the clip, Theo and his identical twin brother, Jake, found the perfect pile of dirt and moved a ramp just in front of it.

Then Theo, who had dreamed of doing a backflip on his bike since he was 6 years old, got to work with Jake cheering him on.

With the philosophy of “hard spills are proof that you’re trying,” Theo attempted the flip many times over and slammed hard on each. But, he took it in stride, brushed himself off, and even joked with his parents, “I’m going going to need a bath.”

The next time you think about giving up, let this little guy’s perseverance serve as a reminder.

 

 

While Theo caught the world’s eye several months ago, it’s well-worth noting that his brother, Jake, is a talented BMX rider, too.

 

In fact, long before Theo was hanging upside down, he was hitting the BMX track with Jake. One YouTube video their parents posted of them at 4 years old has almost four million hits on YouTube for good reason: They drop ledges in the skatepark and hit ramps like they’ve been riding for at least 10 years.

 

 

According to New Zealand-based publication, Stuff, Theo and Jake were born three months premature. They took to BMX because their older brother, Sam, was into it. To start, they honed their skills on balance bikes. Then, they were ready to fly with pedals.

“It was worse when they were younger and didn’t know how to fall but it didn’t seem to faze them,” their father, Steve, said. “They’d just get on their bikes and carry on with blood on their chins. We’ve never pushed them to get back on their bikes. We’d say to go home but they’d be like ‘one more go’. It’s definitely something that’s just in them.”

Blood probably flows like water, and it may take two or three showers to get clean in the Riddle household, but Theo and Jake are doing what they love and testing their limits on a regular basis. All I can say is “cheers to that.”

If you’d like to stay up-to-date on their BMX adventures, follow them on Instagram at @Jaketheobike.