MTB athlete Levi Goodall sent in this story of his progression this last year using an airbag. Levi has a great YouTube channel where he has heaps of great MTB vids: dirt jump, downhill and skatepark setups, as well as a few airbag videos, too. Thanks for sending this in, Levi!

I bought my DD Airbags Pro Next Step Lander just on one year ago now. At first I wasn't 100% on how well it was going to work out or how my goals of doing coaching and riding shows was going to go with it. I can confidently say now I am very happy that I bit the bullet and was able to get my hands on one of these landings as it has been one of, if not the best year of riding I have had so far.

Having the airbag landing has changed riding so much for me.

FIrstly it has allowed me to progress so much quicker and safer than I ever have before. Previously a lot of my bigger flip and 360 combination tricks were tricks I would only ever really do if I were filming an edit or at an event and now because of the airbag landing they have become every session tricks which gets me stoked! The airbag landing has also saved me a number of times which I think has been the key to the progression. If some of the crashes I have had on my airbag landing had been on hard packed jumps I don't think I would have been walking away uninjured. The landing has also allowed me to land my dream trick (and possibly everyone's dream trick) multiple times in the past year, double backflips. I never dreamed I would be able to stick a doubleflip to a landing but thanks to the airbag landing I have been able to multiple times which is a crazy feeling!

While the personal progression of my mates and I has been awesome the thing that really stands out to me about the airbag landing is how it has enabled me to grow the sport we all love in my community and get more people on bikes. Just today I got to ride in my 3rd school show and like the two before it the kids and I were absolutely fizzing. The easy set up and pack down and added safety for when you do crash has made show riding so accessible which is awesome. Additionally I have also been doing heaps of A & P shows, children's events and coaching getting our sport out there and hopefully inspiring others! I personally really love the school shows as its a unique opportunity to showcase what I love doing and do it in a way that really role models to these young people how fun this sport can be and what you can do and achieve if you put your mind to it, bike related or not. This is super special to me as I think our sport is often portrayed negatively to the public as being a bunch of bogans drinking beers, smoking bongs and getting up to no good on bikes when it is really not. It also allows me to hopefully inspire others. For me this is what gets me the most stoked about the DD Airbags landings. They have allowed me to do stuff I previously never dreamed I would be able to do and I am so grateful for the opportunity.

My plans in New Zealand this summer are to ride at as many shows and schools as possible and get heaps of people stoked on bikes and stoked on life! I currently have 2 more schools booked in before christmas and 8+ shows currently booked in over the summer so it's going to be a good one! Personally one of my longer term goals I am working on is trying to add double flips and 360 flips/cork 720s to my shows. Off my 6 foot ramp it is a bit of a pull to get it on a MTB but I think it would be pretty sick to be able to showcase those tricks to heaps of people. Other than that I am always on the lookout for unique gaps or setups to do with the airbag, will be setting it up heaps with mates and doing a heap of riding. Be sure to check it out on my youtube channel as I film it all and love sharing the videos!

-Levi Goodall @levigoodall