Motocross star and X Games medalist Jayo Archer dies at 27 while practicing trick

Motocross star and former X Games medalist Jayden “Jayo” Archer died while practicing a backflip trick on Wednesday in Australia.

He was 27.

Archer, who was a member of the Nitro Circus and the first rider to perform a triple backflip in competition, was practicing the trick Wednesday morning in his hometown of Melbourne, Australia. It’s unclear specifically what happened in the incident.

"This really hit home," Nitro Circus founder Travis Pastrana told ESPN. "Jayo grew up in a time when action sports was at its biggest, and he always wanted to do the big stuff like the double and the triple, even though there weren't a lot of places to showcase those bigger tricks. He'd get up every morning at 4 a.m. and go to the gym before work so he could ride his dirt bike. When he came to Maryland to train, he stayed at my house and was an incredible role model to my kids. He was a great human first, a hard worker second and a bad motherf***er third."

Archer is one of only three riders to ever land a triple backflip on a dirtbike. He was the first to do so in competition in November 2022 at the Nitro World Games in Australia. 

Archer, who had been with the Nitro Circus for more than a decade, has two X Games medals to his name. He most recently won a bronze medal at X Games California last summer.

"No one had a bigger heart or more determination than Jayo," Nitro Circus executive Ricky Melnik told ESPN. "We called him the Incredible Hulk. He was a beast on the bike and a gentle giant off it. Watching him go through the process of learning and landing the triple flip in competition was so inspiring. He wanted to take FMX to the next level and go further than anyone had gone before."