Paul Langlands has broken his bones 21 times, as well as suffered internal injuries and brain damage - but the Cambridge-born BMX star says he's living the dream.
Langlands is in Auckland this weekend for appearances at Big Boys Toys with fellow Kiwi Jed Mildon, who has been zig-zagging around the world in the high-powered BMX show Nitro Circus.
While Mildon is renowned as the first BMXer to land a triple backflip and the only one ever to land a quadruple flip on ramps, Langlands is one of the world's top long-distance dirt jumpers.
The 28-year-old got his start at age five when he got his first BMX bike and his parents helped him build a track on the family farm outside Cambridge.
Later, he trained and began working as an engineer until six years ago when he decided he'd had enough spending his days in a workshop. "Now my life is priceless," he said. "I travel the world doing what I love."