The Athlete: ALLAN COOKE
Episode: Chopper Jumper | Premiere: Sept. 20, 2006
Episode: Moving Van Backflip | Premiere: Jan. 15, 2007

Perry's Thoughts:
Allan Cooke ranks up there as one of my favorite athletes that have been on this show. He was our first repeat athlete for Stunt Junkies. When he first told me of this stunt, I was truly hesitant, knowing that his good friend Colin Winkleman was seriously hurt after the first attempt. But I knew that if anyone could pull this stunt off, it was Allan. And with my main man Nate Wessel coordinating the stunt and building the ramps, along with his crew Mike and Jeremy, I knew that this was going to be spectacular. When Allan and Nate explained to me that their whole reason for doing this stunt was to pay tribute to their friend Colin, I took it as an honor that they called Stunt Junkies to document it. These guys are true professionals and it was a pleasure to work with them again.

Eli's Thoughts:
Allan Cooke has had a really successful career in BMX riding. Hearing about the stunt as a tribute to his late friend Collin Winkleman, I was interested to see what was in store. When I met Allan and his crew they were all hardcore BMX riders, mostly living on the road, doing one show after another, impressing crowds across the country. We finally sat down to watch the video of Collin's accident, and when I saw what happened, I could barely watch ... This was a stunt that had gone completely wrong and the impact that followed was extreme. Nate Wessel was there during the stunt and you could tell Nate had been very close to Collin. So, this stunt had a lot of feeling, but the best part was that these guys were doing something to remember the inspiration their friend had given them and many others. Nate and Mike ( the welder) went right to work on building the ramp and structure on the van they had chosen. These guys worked very fast and Perry stepped right in, cutting wood and firing nails. During construction I got a chance to go to a BMX ramp to try my luck at riding, and I can say that this stuff is extremely intimidating. I took it easy, learning how to turn on the ramp without breaking my face, and got to partially jump a tabletop in the end. When we returned the construction was done; we had some fun painting the ramp and van and everything was set. Stunt day: We started out having Allan jump the van without it moving and he quickly got used to that, even pulling 360s over the top. Then it was time to get the van on the move. They set up a radar gun for Allan and then he jumped the van while it was moving. Before too long, he was doing a backflip over the top of the moving van. Congratulations to Allan and his crew — I'm sure their old friend would have been stoked to see them pull it off.