“Behind my art desk or my handlebars, the only limit is my imagination,” says legendary big-air BMX rider Mat Hoffman, who learned to fly on his bicycle. After a serious accident kept him from riding for four years, he found a new outlet to enjoy flight, this one from the ground—in 2007, Hoffman began painting birds. His work has evolved to include landscapes and self-portraits. While he says he did not initially see himself as an artist, he found that painting was a way to keep his mind busy during times of stress, and that art became his refuge.
By Mickie Smith
Photography by John Jernigan
