Jeff Emig on the Future of WSX, Getting Fired by Kawasaki & More...

This one is an absolute banger with one of the greats in the sport of Motocross and Supercross. Jeff Emig was one of the sports most enigmatic figures through the 90's and instead of retiring into the sunset post career, he started on a whole new journey in sports broadcasting. After 12 years calling the AMA Supercross he now has a new focus in the form of the World Supercross Championship with long time partner Ralph Sheheen.
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00:00:00 Intro
00:01:44 Getting back to bike fitness
00:05:47 Does bad eyesight effect riding?
00:14:42 What makes dirt bikes so amazing
00:17:59 Reflecting on 90's moto
00:28:16 Thailand trip with Pete Fox
00:30:33 Jeff Emigs weekends in the 90's
00:34:17 Training Jason Lawrence!?
00:38:09 Getting FIRED from Kawasaki
00:46:31 Doing Lorettas
00:53:35 Parenting
01:01:28 Fail and fail often
01:07:56 Broadcasting Career
01:15:40 Knowing riders personalities
01:19:24 The importance in a good broadcast team
01:25:15 WSX Broadcast
01:33:03 Leaving AMA
01:36:40 Ricky Carmichael HATE!?
01:44:29 Message for Chase Sexton
01:51:14 Supercross is unpredictable
01:54:52 WSX Discussion
02:12:22 Supercross is a global sport
02:22:38 WSX are GREAT Storytellers
02:27:47 Ken Roczen to headline German Supercross
02:29:05 Euro Supercross Riders
02:34:06 Favourite WSX Venue?
02:35:57 MXON 1992 (Manjimup)
02:45:20 Mike LaRocco rivalry
02:47:35 Rivalries grow the sport
02:53:56 Ken Block Tribute
03:02:54 Outro

[@TheRideCompanion]

There's more gold coming from this channel than out of the Yellowstone National Park!!

[@astreet339]

Nice!

[@jasonhiebert2032]

I live in Wyoming. There's no Gold in Yellowstone

[@Hoffy251]

Yeah that’s a pretty strange comment but I get what you mean and couldn’t agree more 🤘

[@desertriderukverun1002]

@@jasonhiebert2032Yellowstone was closed to mineral exploration when it was made a national park in 1872. Given the volcanic activity and geology, there is no doubt gold within the boundaries of the park. And there it will remain

[@jeremywishart9934]

Fro is a great guy. I recognized him many, many years ago at the mall in Morgantown, WV on the Friday before the race at High Point. He was still on factory Kawi and just strolling around with his mechanic (Jeremy Albrecht). The coverage of his supercross win that broke McGrath's streak of consecutive wins had aired just days before on ESPN and I was literally star-struck (I was the moto-obsessed schoolkid at the time) and upon walking up to him I went to say "Hi, you're Jeff Emig!!!" but when I opened my mouth nothing came out. He was super friendly, down to earth, and struck up a conversation about riding and racing. I'm sure it was awkward for him and Jeremy A., but both were exactly what you hope your heroes are in real life as a kid. Stoked that he's still living the moto dream and passing along his experience, knowledge, and wisdom.

[@jordanemede]

That type of interaction is so important to the sport. We can't have ego driven assholes representing moto. Good story man!

[@devineunlimited6800]

Fro is such a solid dude. As a long time fan of the sport supercross hasn't been the same for me since he left the booth. Wsx struck gold landing Jeff and Ralph

[@buffmuff6153]

Ralph is the OG Todd Harris. I think, Jeff Emig, and Paul Malin would be a power duo.

[@OhhMauly]

Saw Emig ripping pala yesterday. Was unreal to watch. Great Pod!

[@robfizzle3091]

One of the best interviews ever. Emig is very well spoken and is easy to listen to, very rare for someone in our sport, mind you I like a good Troy Lee or Denny Stephenson one but this was good. He's come a long way with public speaking.

[@christophercastor6666]

I worked Factory Support with a graphics and seat cover manufacturer from ‘05-‘08 and ran into Emig, Cameron Steel, and Dave at the Georgia Dome. They already knew my boss who initiated the conversation, but they were extremely down to earth and included the wet behind the ears starstruck new kid in the bench racing session. One of the best memories I have! That’s almost as good as me escorting Rob VanWinkel “Vanilla Ice” through security at the 2008 Daytona Mudfest! We stood on pit lane alongside Mitch Payton and watched Chad Reed sink his bike while leading with one or 2 laps to go. God Bless Dirt Bikes and the people who love them. Thanks for making incredible podcasts and for opening a platform that our community CRAVES!! Keep it up Gypsy! Thanks as always, -Castor

[@lusafur950]

I remember being a kid and Emig was my favorite rider but anyway there was a place in riverside Cali off Etiwanda and Jurupa that was a nice spot to practice and ride back in the 90s and I Emig showed up one day and rode with me on me Yz80 and was so cool .He signed my die cast model I had of his KX250 it was a great memory I will never forget . THANKS JEFF

[@islanddoggear]

FRO!? Dude you're crushing it. Still waiting for JS7.

[@brentcarr8365]

One of the original crustys!! Probably my favorite riders of all time

[@zimmermanlandscape9287]

Reminds me riding with Paul Whibley at the GNCC. That dude could turn out four laps to my three any day of the week

[@scottworatyla3277]

Awesome interview Fro! You are a great ambassador to the sport we all love!

[@michael-cs7bd]

Dude this is for sure my favorite one

[@matt241287]

I’m so glad he spoke about the Manjimup photo. I was lucky enough to be in the crowd at the fox/shift launch when Terry, Scott and Jeff told that amazing story. The photo is worth a google search.

[@atv55803]

Emig was so fun to watch, still have my 94 yz250 blue plastics I always wanted to have him sign it

[@root4309]

What were the 90s ike for you? Emig: watch Crusty 2 💀💀🤣🤣🤣

[@71dbart]

Great watch here. I wish Emig still announced Monster Energy Supercross! Stoked he's gonna be doing WSX.

[@dbambino775]

Im 39 and still shredding a yz450f at the track. I have a shift bag i got when i was 12 i still use , i always loved shift because of emig. Mad Respect to jeff this was cool hearing my personal favorite rider of all time .

[@danbyrne3958]

I had glasses under my googles. Can’t ride if you can’t see. Contacts were mind blowing. I got super fast once I could see properly.

[@davebishop2566]

There are so many subjects touched on that makes me feel normal. I’m in my late 50’s and still riding. I’m down to the last running race engine and still wanting a new bike. The eye thing is huge but not just for sports also work or rebuilding bikes.

[@astreet339]

Jase is bringing a new style to moto content, and I’m definitely a fan of it! #GypsyGang

[@GoombaDuzIt]

Emig, RC, and Ralph were the best. Ralph use to annoy me with JS7 races but I learned to like him. Especially with these 2023 clowns.. that was the dream team trio. RIP

[@brentcarr8365]

That was my favorite combination to

[@user-rp1lb9xi3y]

I just got to finish this podcast. One of my favorites of yours to date. Jeff Emig is so real and I love listening to his perspective on everything from racing to life. Great job!!

[@Andy-co6pn]

Ref eyesight. Back in the 80s , Aussie fast bowler Geoff Lawson who is a qualified optometrist tested English batsman David Gower's eyesight. Gower read all the letters on the card plus the tiny print at the bottom that said " Copyright of xyz". Even amongst top sportsman there are some who have that little bit extra to allow them to see.things much earlier

[@Cowboy-ob3cd]

I am a longtime fan of both Jeff and Ricky and recognize their accomplishment. That being said, I found Jeff's race commentary to be more insightful and interesting at this point.

[@Bobby83060]

Still you can feel the respect between Ricky and James.

[@kaiobe]

Glad you touched on Manjimup. Used to watch that MXdN on repeat. Young Emig and Everts 🙌

[@thompson9451]

Eming has such great perspective. Really appreciate how he uses analogies from outside moto.

[@zoomerzoomer-jn7rf]

Jeff is very good at handling Jason's interruptions And has An amazing life story that could be turned into a film could be turned into a film, a very quick 3hours plus.

[@frc7951]

Great job guys. Fro always delivers as a great story-teller and a great guest.

[@Bobby83060]

Your interview with Brian Deegan was epic. Saw a side of him I didn't know existed.

[@CR250rSMITH]

I think people who excel at things it comes from passion, when you have passion for something your completely absorb to whatever your passionate about

[@KN-lq4zv]

I was listening to this in the car, laughing at Jeff’s comment on eyesight at 47, i know exactly how you feel. Emig is definitely dirt bike royalty !! WSX is definitely the way forward, very excited as to how it will evolve the sport, there is no reason why it can’t evolve into a calendar similar to Motogp and WSB scaled correctly I think it has plenty of growth, the same way f1 is trying to crack America, super cross needs to grow broader than the states .

[@reineherrera8897]

Let’s start a gofundme for some LASIK and return Emig to 97’ glory.

[@InspectorButters4]

Hell yeah Fro, sweet shoutout to the OG and forever legendary ...... Ken Block 🙏 RIP. U just know dude's drifting all up and down the golden roads in heaven right now, lol making all kinds of noise and grinning ear to ear 😂

[@InspectorButters4]

Cant wait to watch WSX!! Im stoked to have Fro and Sheeny in the booth, and super excited to watch Kickstart Kenny prob wax the field and finish with that #1 plate!!

[@kevinleiberick8607]

Emig was one of my favorites growing up, I raced Moto for many years then raced personal watercraft professionally, now I ride MTB with my 2 boys and I try to keep up but the crispness of my eyes is just not there, he nailed it, it slows you down and it is what it is, love the channel nice work as always!

[@mikschultzyevo]

Man, only makes me respect him more. What a dude.

[@jamessharp9790]

Best interview I’ve heard in a long time

[@SeanHelm01171971]

Went to junior high with Emig. Was a good friend and all the dude talked about was racing. He always said I'm going to go pro. And his dream came true. I remember him bringing cases of Hubba Bubba to school. Would be cool to meet up with him again.

[@trutheye1]

Jeff, you shouldn’t cringe about those old interviews, you pulled it off just fine and no one ever lost respect for you because of your stutter.

[@markgriffiths2714]

Jeff I can feel you in terms of stuttering it takes so much effort to get it right thanks for being open

[@eddietautkus30031]

Absolutely awesome episode and always enjoy watching Emig. Definitely wishing him the best at Loretta’s this year and hopefully see him next year on the road to Loretta’s. Hope you are doing well Jase and wish you along with the whole team all the best. 👍🏻🏁🖤

[@ipbrew5536]

Fro, love the honesty. Your interview on the Whiskey Throttle show kind of turned me off (could have been the whiskey) but this interview, and your honesty has brought me back onboard. Lets face it, the ego gets the best of all of us.

[@maxblack2113]

Ricky is great on the broadcast and with James joining the team perfect team on the broadcast

[@lect0n7]

I’m a retired pro Motocross/Supercross racer… I’m from a totally different background as any of the top pros I looked up to growing up like Jeff Emig, Jeremy McGrath, Doug Henry, John Dowd, Mike Treadwell, Ken Kaplan, Tony LaRusso, Mike LaRocco, Ezra Lusk, Kevin Windham, I’m from New England, my dad was one of those guys who was on the line smoking a cigarette, sitting on his Bettencourt Honda CR250 Elsinore with a #6 on it & my home town’s early in the Boston Marathon Route, I saw some guy standing near me had a Ken Roczen t-shirt on…and the wheelchair racers come through & I said to the Roczen shirt guy “I think that may’ve been David Bailey” and he said “Who?” I was like “Wow…you have a Ken Roczen shirt on and you don’t know who David Bailey is?! Motocross Racing has changed since I was part of it…”

[@davesarna7756]

Fro...spot on the vision thing. I'm 53 and just a slow Vet B guy at best. AND .....fluid cushioning of the brain as you age. I liken it as an example of going backwards in generations with GoPro image stabilization. Still love to ride though.

[@ssimons3208]

great great potcast thanks Jason and jeff

[@BST501]

Love you Emig! Thank You🤙

[@philc4520]

Jeff’s a really cool cat. He’s smart but very grounded. A great guy & very level headed.

[@dirtbikeordie]

Been waiting for this one 👌👍

[@InspectorButters4]

U said it perfectly........ "i dont get all the hate towards RC, i mean, the dude is the f*cking GOAT!!" Enough said right there lol, but people are always gonna hate RC just like they will always hate Tom Brady! Jealousy plain and simple 😂, they're just mad they cant do what he did, and the fact that Ricky made it look easy is even more salt on the wounds 😂😂. RC is the man and so is Fro, so screw the haters. Real fans recognize, respect, and honor the legends 😁✌

[@adriancurley2598]

The hero I grow up watching race then listen to in the broadcast the frow, epic episode thanks

[@John-rambo84]

Emig and McGrath had the style back in the day!

[@Terpyrips]

Mr. Emig awesome job

[@Andy-co6pn]

Shame you never asked Jeff what he thought when Seth landed on his practice bike 😂

[@llla4091]

"Well pick it up dude!"

[@InspectorButters4]

This was such a great episode!! Fro is always so real and so fun. Im happy for him and I cant wait to watch him and Ralph during WSX!! These eps are always good, but Its def funny getting to hear the truth about alot of the moto drama from back in the day lol, before social media exploded us fans just lived off rumors and bs 😂😂😂

[@dazmckeown9428]

Jeff your awesome and Jase your doing amazing work man💯❤️

[@KeenPotato]

Haha the kid talk tripped me out. As a father with a 6 year old and a 1 year old. I want them to grow up but at the same time I get emotional as fuck when I realize they are growing everyday and so fast. It’s an absolute trip.

[@jordanemede]

I feel that 😂

[@georgie-peorgie73]

You've out done yourself again..nice work..🙂

[@garyelkerton-gh9qi]

Epic podcast of my good mate Jeffo and great job Jase love yr work....

[@mixerguru]

I can't even listen to any other Moto podcast with out being embarrassed . Emig is like not just a Moto legend but a real folk hero Like the names "Presley" "Jager" and not to forget about Jeff's greatest race challenge, Zoey Bonham yes that "Bonham" this interview really exposes his other passions one being music obviously . I wish I knew when met him instead of just being another douche bag at a party .. B. James Stewart has a natural talent for broadcasting, good pipes, and great grammar where as Ricky is missing that for instance " he rides good , or he rides well" as someone who produced a lot of content before it was content .. Ricky is not very articulate when describing technical aspects of racing where as James has an astute simplified way of describing any moment during a race. Even if its inaccurate its really believable,. There's and old you tube of both Ricky and James describing the technical aspects of whipping and scrubbing, Ricky was all feel and ambiguous about analyzing his own action, James on the other hand delivers a frame by frame analysis sharing his exact moves and weight transfer all the way to coming back to ground like he was Effin Tesla ! with some voice coaching he could be really natural .. I really enjoy JS and RC together I like the atmosphere of guys that raced talking about the race

[@jordancook3775]

First time I saw emig was at Loretta Lynn . He was on a 250 and Carmichael was on a kx125. They cleared the track and give Carmichael a head start and let us watch a few laps of Emig catch up to Carmichael

[@joshuawatson9486]

My favourite rider as a kid.

[@Davi227MXB]

Was excited for this one

[@JokersWild70]

Havasu is an absolute nuthouse where anything goes. Other than murder, I've probably seen everything else under the sun happen in Havasu back in the early 2000's. I moved to SoCal in '96, and there was just a lot of personality and flavor in the sport at that time. I used to run into Jeff at Perris Raceway practice during the week once or twice a month. He's a nice, cool guy. Id say he was definitely McGrath's biggest rival during his career

[@greganderson2472]

Brooo where did you get the steel city shirt??👍👍

[@gypsytalespodcast9369]

@dirtstudio on Instagram

[@brentcarr8365]

​@@gypsytalespodcast9369I live near there miss it, your shirt caught my eye immediately

[@cutndry4165]

I ran into Jeff and team Kawasaki at a Mexican restaurant hours after his Houston win A LONG TIME AGO. It was cool 😎

[@guntv1195]

Jeff emig is my favorite analyst of all time! I hope he does at least another 5-6 years before he fully retires from everything

[@lowspeedhighdrag566]

It's funny... as a kid I hated Emig so much. I was a McGrath fan, but now I have so much respect for Emig

[@jamesbowman5062]

Another legend and champion. Also congrats to whoever won the Husky. Keep it pinned!

[@michaelkritter1694]

Wonder what race on Texas he is going to qualify with? Oak Hill?

[@mistrmintmoto]

So that principle of "Slowing things down" comes from your brain going into overdrive. Example, when are about to have a serious accident, be it car or bike, your brain kicks into overdrive in trying to keep the body alive, and in doing so, everything you experience is in Slow Motion. I think that is why these top riders in any motorsport are so good, is because they have trained their brains to work at a higher rate than us mere mortals. Our brains are currently only working at less than 30% of what they can actually do. If you train the brain to work at, let's say 50%, then processing information is much quicker, thus reaction times are quicker.

[@abracing199]

Awesome message and way to end by emig. RIP KB.

[@pauldavis509]

I can see progressive scan with my naked eye on the TV

[@gavindietz5520]

EMIG IS SO AWESOME, also my stepdad is a damn doppleganger to Emig as well xD

[@gavindietz5520]

2:10:10 Jeff gives an amazing statement that destroys all the haters arguments against wsx XD

[@robertlawler1387]

SWEET

[@dgochez]

They talk about eyesight and how it affects riding. I can totally relate. I always needed glasses to se afar, and now I also need reading glasses. So if I wear glasses I have to choose what distance I want to see clearly. For driving I just need to see at a distance. But offroad you need to see closer too.. I haven't tried progressives, I wonder if they work for this.

[@ryanlorance6168]

Salute Jase

[@gypsytalespodcast9369]

Thanks g

[@deetsdailydriver7151]

Love this channel. And the whole thing about “ fuck, I hate you for meeting my a Cooper Webb fan.” I hated the dude until I listened to your podcast.

[@user-zx1ir7jt4c]

I used to hate Emig when he raced because he was the THE GUY that beat Jeremy in St Louis to end the streak. I just hated that, but now I love the guy. He's one of the best personalities out there...

[@jordanemede]

😂 I used to love him for the same reason! Plus I've always rode Kawi. Later in my late teen years growing up in moto we always loved emig cause he smoked 😂

[@user-zx1ir7jt4c]

@@jordanemede you liked him because he smoked pot? All those guys probably did back in that era. Emig was just the one who got popped!

[@jordanemede]

@@user-zx1ir7jt4c oh I'm certain they did! He was just the one everybody could confirm man I grew up around J Law and Izzi so there was a lot of illicit use going on in that day, I'm not sure what it's like now I'm not really involved in the racing scene. Coming from someone who had problems with pain killers after multiple injuries I would recommend smoking weed over taking those pills for any extended period of time.

[@user-zx1ir7jt4c]

@jordanemede6883 same here. It still affects me too this day...

[@jordanemede]

@@user-zx1ir7jt4c it's a fvcked up system we got sucked into. I don't think anybody expected it to turn out this way back in the 90-00 but here we are. I will be fighting the urge for the rest of my life, good luck man! ✊

[@jeffd5310]

Is there an interview with Emig where he tells his story without some guy rambling on about random stuff in the middle of it??

[@kahutara818]

"Dude! I just got snaked by Subaru" (Snowpark Nz 2007) Rip Ken Block. Plenty of inspiration can be taken from what Ken did to help build the wsx brand aswell lads. Get er!!

[@mrrandom55951]

Man, this eyesight thing is the worst thing about getting over 40. My parents never complained about it so I never thought about it. It IS VERY annoying to not be able to focus at something right in front of you.

[@DUBYA-DUBYA]

Damn dude. I have a 23 and 21 year old boys that I’m afraid will never leave home.. I’m bout to kick there asses out. Lol.. this generation of boys and girls are so different from each other it’s crazy!!

[@Jpaul1988.]

You can say that again

[@torqdoff]

35 and thinking you are getting old? I started flying paramotors at 54. you are only as old as you feel.

[@chrisgleis4297]

It make sense Emigs boy is good at soccer after Dad kicked the Rock it's in his blood.😁

[@stephenfrancis303]

Riding in dubai? Is that dude interviewing jeffro rich, also senna is god

[@gabrieljairala111]

Fro & Jbone

[@Brandon-qy4rs]

Ricky is not a communication major. Bring back Fro! Emig and weege would be an awesome duo.

[@dezertdestroyer7782]

Who won between the fist fights with you and mcgrath 😝😝🤜🏻🤜🏻👊🏻👊🏻

[@travisgutshall9337]

I prefer Emig over Carmichael announcing the races. Listening to Carmichael is like nails on a chalkboard.

[@dezertdestroyer7782]

Emig !!! My fucking doode!! 🙌🏼🙌🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼

[@amfk8079]

I never liked Jeff was a die hard MC fan as a kid, but the weed kawi ride deal makes me feel. Ive battled addiction my whole adult life. only the last 4-5 years have a found so peace in high dose cannabis. Thank god for legal weed. I would have never rode a bike again

[@jordanemede]

Jeff must have learned a hard lesson about talking about guys deals before theyve been announced 😂 he keeps away from that talk like the plague.

[@johnnybgood774]

Emig just didn't have enough talent. McGrath had no competition until R.C. and R.C. never had any competition until Bubba

[@davim8085]

Any chance you can post a version without a zillion F words included? Can't have kids watch this which is unfortunate.

[@gypsytalespodcast9369]

No sorry

[@Bobby83060]

I'm surprised steroids aren't more prevalent in moto for recovery after a race. It has to be one of the most physically demanding sports in the world.

[@mrjacktraeger]

With that much opportunity separated by seconds on a track it Most definitely is we just don't hear about it.

[@SosopChabot]

@@mrjacktraeger EXACTLY!!! It’s rampant in every other physical sport in the world but NOT motocross??? Give me a break…

[@jordanemede]

Depends who you ask about that 😂

[@rodrickdobson1584]

I never knew a lil bag of pot got jeff fired I b damn…. Can u imagine this guys career without McGrath!!

[@jpmorgen5726]

You can do training for your eyes.