You never know where someone has been to get to where they are in mining. Everyone’s story is different, and for Steve Mini it was a job to settle down with after travelling with daredevil freestyle motocross crews the Crusty Demons and Nitro Circus.
Motocross was always a fun hobby for Steve. Living on his parent’s property just outside of Mudgee, he loved riding bikes and after watching a Crusty Demons movie, started teaching himself how to do wild jumps and tricks.
“As time went on the bikes got bigger and so did the jumps.
“I was a professional motocross rider straight out of high school in 2000. I started a plumbing apprenticeship as well so I had a trade I could fall back on. But I ended up getting good enough with motocross and was offered a contract to move to China!
“I rode at a theme park for nine months before coming home and doing competitions all over the country.”
That’s when the call from the Crusty Demons came. Steve spent five years on tour with the daredevils he’d looked up to as a kid before going on tour with Nitro Circus in 2010 which saw him out to the end of his motocross career.
“One of the most memorable shows we did was at Maddison Square Garden in New York. We didn’t see ourselves as superstars, we were just normal people who were good at doing tricks on motorbikes and all of a sudden, we’re doing a show there!
“I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better life. One of the Crusty guys was and still is my best mate so travelling the world and touring with him was the absolute best time.”
It wasn’t all fun though, Steve broke 23 bones during his career.
“It did get to a point where I had had enough. Honestly, I did it for two years too long; I wasn’t enjoying the travel, and the injuries were more frequent.
“I remember the finish for me started with a broken pinky, then a broken wrist on tour one weekend that I strapped for the next weekend where I dislocated my shoulder really badly. That’s when the wife pulled me up too,” Steve reflected.
Steve did one final show in Newcastle after the pandemic.
“I remember I got halfway through that last show, I was about to do a jump and decided I was done. Looking back now it was a good way to finish; it was on my terms.”
Steve had been working on and off for a contracting company at Ulan West at Mudgee while he was still touring. It paid off. When he finished touring, he took a permanent job at Ulan.
“It was funny I called it quits with motocross in March 2022 and in April of that year I passed my deputy’s exam and became a deputy.
“After that I did my undermanagers ticket and passed that so now I work full time as an undermanager.”
Steve’s last professional motocross bike sits in the garage and while he hasn’t ridden it for a long time, it holds plenty of memories he can pass on to his son.
