Was James Stewart the coolest rider that we never truly got to know as fans?

twotwosix wrote:

I feel that, much like Villopoto, James is probably a really neat dude and that we really never got to know him as fans. We got...

I feel that, much like Villopoto, James is probably a really neat dude and that we really never got to know him as fans. We got a bit, but not the whole guy. I hate that he felt so betrayed by the sport that he literally felt his only option for an enjoyable life was to cut ties and go dark.

James, I hope your family is doing well and I hope you are learning how to just be a normal guy, leaving ‘Bubba’ begind. It was a hell of a chapter in your life, but I’m sure you are enjoying being Dad, Husband, business owner, etc these days. Having said that, I’d love to see you commentating some events (maybe RBSR?) and I’d love even more to stand in line for 4 hours again to say hello and get your autograph some time. Some of us simply appreciated you for the awesome talent and riding visionary you were and the spice you added to the sport. It would be really neat to see some of you again.

TXDirt wrote:

He's done this sport his whole life. Since like 5 years old. And once he became really good, like 10 years old, it's literally all you...

He's done this sport his whole life. Since like 5 years old. And once he became really good, like 10 years old, it's literally all you do for your life. A lot of top athletes go dark when they retire. It's called burnout. You hate something you once loved. It happens.

ob wrote:

Not cool at all. Ever heard of his reality show bubbas world? He lost me at “Ive never driven a manual car”. Bad ass on a...

Not cool at all. Ever heard of his reality show bubbas world? He lost me at “Ive never driven a manual car”. Bad ass on a bike, no way to deny that.

Aceofspades wrote:

Id say james stewart heard the word "n*gger" enough times at the track growing up that he always was wondering if and when he was going...

Id say james stewart heard the word "n*gger" enough times at the track growing up that he always was wondering if and when he was going to hear it again. Im guessing he was always on guard and wondering if he was going to have trouble. My two cents anyway. Cant blame the guy for being introverted.

Aceofspades wrote:

Id say james stewart heard the word "n*gger" enough times at the track growing up that he always was wondering if and when he was going...

Id say james stewart heard the word "n*gger" enough times at the track growing up that he always was wondering if and when he was going to hear it again. Im guessing he was always on guard and wondering if he was going to have trouble. My two cents anyway. Cant blame the guy for being introverted.

Stephon wrote:

Agreed. I think this has a lot to do with him largely disappearing from the sport. He has a choice to limit his exposure to those...

Agreed.

I think this has a lot to do with him largely disappearing from the sport. He has a choice to limit his exposure to those types of people. Unfortunately, it's alive and well. I'm sure he and his family experienced some horrible people saying horrible things to them. That said, I believe most people respected and appreciated what he brought to the sport.

Aceofspades wrote:

Id say james stewart heard the word "n*gger" enough times at the track growing up that he always was wondering if and when he was going...

Id say james stewart heard the word "n*gger" enough times at the track growing up that he always was wondering if and when he was going to hear it again. Im guessing he was always on guard and wondering if he was going to have trouble. My two cents anyway. Cant blame the guy for being introverted.

Stephon wrote:

Agreed. I think this has a lot to do with him largely disappearing from the sport. He has a choice to limit his exposure to those...

Agreed.

I think this has a lot to do with him largely disappearing from the sport. He has a choice to limit his exposure to those types of people. Unfortunately, it's alive and well. I'm sure he and his family experienced some horrible people saying horrible things to them. That said, I believe most people respected and appreciated what he brought to the sport.

ob wrote:

Not cool at all. Ever heard of his reality show bubbas world? He lost me at “Ive never driven a manual car”. Bad ass on a...

Not cool at all. Ever heard of his reality show bubbas world? He lost me at “Ive never driven a manual car”. Bad ass on a bike, no way to deny that.

Lightning78 wrote:

I met him briefly during the filming of one of the Bubbas World episodes. It was the episode where they go to Nate Adam's house for...

I met him briefly during the filming of one of the Bubbas World episodes. It was the episode where they go to Nate Adam's house for a party and im actually in the episode for a brief second in the beginning of that episode when they speed up the camera as they're walking into the party the camera goes back to normal speed and is looking right at me leaning against a wall with a red cup in my hand..lol.

This was in 08 the party took place on the Monday night of Labor Day weekend. There weren't that many people there maybe 30-40 and all of them minus the handful of smoking hot ass chicks were pro racers and freestyle guys. I'll tell you this James definitely wasn't the happy smiling having fun kind of guy he was in later years That night. Some of the camera guys were trying to get him to go mingle with certain dudesand what not and he kept saying "Man, fuck that" "Fuck this"

"Man,....fuck that motherfucker" and that one was directed towards a certain rider (IT9) James had recently landed on and broke the guys arm, he kept shouting his name and raising his arm up in the air to heckle James about his broken hand from a few years ago He kept calling his name "Yo James! Check it out...take a look" Roger Larsen was with James that night too and Ivan was calling Roger out "Hey Roger...look at what your guy did to me" trying to show him the scars.... You could clearly tell Ivan was still pissed about it.

Now I'm a huge James Stewart fan but that night james was Walking around with a tough guy scowl on his face never saw him smile once...... On the other hand though I really felt bad for the guy because you could overhear quite a few of the freestyle guys (all of these guys have long since disappeared) and a couple racers saying "Oh that fucking N****r is here"

Now I don't know if James heard any of this and quite frankly I was surprised to hear it myself but That was just chatter from a few circles of dudes. Most of the people at the party were cool and receptive To him being there the girls were definitely stoked haha.

I very briefly got to say Hi to him and he said what's up back and that was about it that's my only interaction on a personal level James And at that time it's understandable why he was little arrogant in his demeanor. He seems to be a really cool dude post Yamaha says and on I always have and always will be a huge fan of his and my short interaction didn't really make me think any less of him but it was pretty jacked up to hear some of those guys talking about him like that.

Overall was a really fun experience though I was able to get invited to the party because my good buddy's brother was living at Nate's house at the time

Aceofspades wrote:

Id say james stewart heard the word "n*gger" enough times at the track growing up that he always was wondering if and when he was going...

Id say james stewart heard the word "n*gger" enough times at the track growing up that he always was wondering if and when he was going to hear it again. Im guessing he was always on guard and wondering if he was going to have trouble. My two cents anyway. Cant blame the guy for being introverted.

Stephon wrote:

Agreed. I think this has a lot to do with him largely disappearing from the sport. He has a choice to limit his exposure to those...

Agreed.

I think this has a lot to do with him largely disappearing from the sport. He has a choice to limit his exposure to those types of people. Unfortunately, it's alive and well. I'm sure he and his family experienced some horrible people saying horrible things to them. That said, I believe most people respected and appreciated what he brought to the sport.