Crash. The sound of a bike slamming into the wood of a mega ramp echoed throughout the park. Junior Tyler Lamb had attempted a backflip off a ten foot ramp designed to propel him into the air onto another ramp aboard his bicycle motocross (BMX) bike. Pain had no place in a moment filled with pressure.

“It was like a movie where all the cameras panned towards me,” Tyler said. “There was probably a crowd of about 50 people, and the camera crew was saying, ‘Tyler, you better do it, you can’t let us down.’”

Tyler made his way back to the start with five cameras capturing his every move, knowing that thousands of people on the internet were anticipating this very moment.

“I was literally shaking while standing at the bottom of the ramp,” Tyler said. “I really can’t explain what it was, but I just trusted everyone around me, reassuring me that I could land it.”

Tyler began to ascend the ramp again, this time committing to the rotation just as his peers had told him, allowing him to successfully complete the backflip in the air and roll out while his friends rushed to congratulate him on this feat.

This moment was one of many throughout Tyler’s time on the Woodward BMX show which consisted of six up-and-coming BMX riders who traveled to Woodward, PA for “a week like no other.” Led by Jamie Bestwick and Ryan Nyquist, who are legends of the sport, the riders on the show feature their BMX skills and personalities through various challenges. While Tyler said he considers this experience the pinnacle of his BMX career so far, he was not always a master of the sport.

“He was born into a motorcycle racing family,” Tyler’s mom, Jenni Lamb, said. “We had told him he needed to learn how to ride a bike before he could get on a motorcycle, so I think that spurred him to learn how to ride a bike at age three.”

Tyler also grew up riding a plastic bike around his house, where he would always attempt tricks that Jenni Lamb said was what sparked the idea of taking him to a skate park.

“One day, we were like, ‘I wonder if we should take him to a skate park,’ there are jumps there, and he can learn how to do more on a bicycle,” Jenni Lamb said. “So that’s how it all started with the BMX and where he met his best friend and mentor Zach.”

Zachary Osment, Tyler’s current mentor, was a 17-year-old kid working at Graffiti Skate Zone, a skate park in Palm Bay, when they met. Osment, an avid BMX biker, said biking has taken him all over the world.

“It’s been sick. I’ve ridden in around 45 states and in Australia,” Osment said. “It definitely opened up a lot of opportunities for me, but one of the biggest things is the connections that you make.”

Osmemt said he was introduced to 5-year-old Tyler after a phone call with his dad, Scott Lamb.

“When Scott called, I said, ‘Ah dude, he’s too young, but bring him up here before we open and we can get a few lessons going,’” Osment said. “They would pull up before the skate park opened and hang out for a few hours giving Tyler BMX lessons. I have been riding with him ever since.”

“BMX isn’t a traditional sport, it is more of an extreme sport where the main thing is competitions,” Tyler said. “Each rider gets two 45-second runs where they get judged on the difficulty of tricks they complete as well as style and speed.”

Although Tyler described these events as direct competition, his mother said she views the event from a different perspective.

“The BMX community is just a great community, and it’s not like a competition where it’s, ‘oh, I’m going to beat you.’ It’s more than that,” Jenni Lamb said. “The BMX riders really support one another in trying new things, and it’s been great watching him progress.”

With each year of practice, Tyler said his BMX riding began to shift from a hobby to a possible future career.

“For most people, BMX riding is just a hobby and something to progress at, using it for mental clarity,” Tyler said. ”But some people, hopefully me, pursue a career where you can make it to the X Games, or even very few people, the Olympics.”

Although Tyler considers Osment as a mentor and friend, Osment said their relationship in BMX has brought mutual improvement.

“Honestly, we probably have taught each other the same amount,” Osment said. “I’ve helped him out a lot when it comes to not only learning tricks, but also understanding the culture and also just talking on a professional level, because now he’s got sponsors.”

Networking is a value that Osment said he focused on instilling within Tyler due to its importance in the professional world.

“Connections are everything,” Osment said. “I tell Tyler all the time, no matter what you do, find connections and find a way to network.”

“Ever since I was like, nine or 10 years old, my parents would make it a big deal for me to go to Woodward as my big Christmas present,” Tyler said. “After a while, I got to know a lot of the staff, photographers and just a bunch of people at Woodward. So I wouldn’t say I was really surprised when they invited me on the Woodward show.”

Tyler starred in the YouTube show for two seasons which took place at two different Woodward locations. Each location houses and provides hundreds of campers with access to countless skateparks at their fingertips. After airing on the show, Tyler said it was a weird feeling to be recognised throughout the parks.

“I just look at some of those little kids and think, that’s what I was like coming here when I was real young looking up to all these other riders,” Tyler said. “Now, there’s little BMX kids just getting started, and they’re looking up to me. It’s really cool to see, and I try my best to encourage them and share the love for the sport.”

Back at home, Tyler spends his days at school and nights at the skatepark, where his story comes full circle, teaching young bikers like he once was taught himself.

“For the little shredders that come up to me at this skatepark, I’m always happy to give them any advice they need,” Tyler said. “I thrive in the role of teaching them how to do new tricks, because often it allows me to see things that I wouldn’t have seen before, and to help them learn while learning myself.”