Robbie Knievel - Daredevil, Life Achievements and Family

Robbie Knievel was born on May 7, 1962 in Butte, Montana, USA. He was raisedby his mother Linda Knievel and his father Evel Knievel, one of the most famous stunt performers.Robbie grew up along with his siblings – Kelly Knievel, Alicia Knievel, Emma Knievel and Tracy Knievel.

Robbie grew up seeing his father perform stunts on motorcycles. He was just 2 years old whenhefirst rode pillion on the streets of his hometown. He usually rode with his father, and would sit on the handlebar or on his father's lap while his father performed wheelies.

His first job was at a mine where he drove an earth mover. He was fired from the job after he crashed the massive vehicleinto the power lineswhileattempting a wheelie with one of the earth movers, depriving theentire cityof electricity.

Robbie commenced his bike stunt career at the age of eight when he performed at the Madison Square, along with his older brother, Kelly.

In 1968, he was hospitalized with a crushed femur and pelvis and numerous other fractures after attempting a risky stunt. In 1974, he joined his father in a performance at Toronto’s Exposition. He then started traveling a lot with his father and performed some relatively safe stunts under his father’s supervision.

During the early 80s, Robbie decided to start performing on his own. He wanted to break almost every record held by his father. However, Robbie didn’t succeed in breaking all the records, and in the process had some major injuries as well. But that didn’t stop him as he would get ready for the next performance after recovering from his surgeries. Many of his performances have been aired on television.

Robbie has now stopped performing as doctors have warned him against the daredevil stunts, for he has undergone numerous surgeries. Hence, Robbie hasventured into entrepreneurship by setting up a company named Knievel Motorcycle Manufacturing Inc., which produces customized motorcycles, safety gears and some of Robbie’s line of clothing.

On April 14, 1989, Robbie paid a tribute to his father by jumping over the fountains at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. 22 years back, his father had attempted the same stunt but unfortunately, he had failed to pull it off. But Robbie nailed it as he had a smooth and successful landing. He became the first daredevil to successfully jump over the famous fountains.

In March 1992, Robbie suffered a few minor injuries when he crash landed, trying to jump over 25 pickup trucks. In 2003, he successfully jumped over a fleet of 15 Diet Pepsi trucks. In 2008, he jumped over 24 Coca-Cola trucks at Kings Island amusement park in Ohio. In 2011, at the Spotlight 29 Casino in California, he jumped over several tractor-trailer trucks that were spread across an area of 150 feet.

On July 10, 1993, Robbie Knievel faced off against another legendary daredevil, Eddie Kidd. Robbie and Eddie attempted three jumps each and the winner was to be decided after taking into considerationthe average distance covered by each competitor.Robbie lost the challenge by just 6 feet. Since then, Robbie started training hard, hoping that he could defeat Kidd at least once. But three years later, Kidd had a massive accident that left him with severe head injuries, forcing him to retire.

Robbie broke his own record of the world's longest motorcycle jump on February 24, 1998 when he successfully jumped over a fleet of 30 parked limousinesat the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas. This act too, was a tribute to his father who had escaped death years back, while attempting a similar stunt.

On May 20, 1999, Robbie broke yet another world record by jumping 223 feet over the Grand Canyon. Robbie leapt over a height of 55 feet into the air and crossed the 200-feet-wide gully at a speed of 90 mph on a 500-cc motorcycle. By performing the act, he made his father’s dream come true as his father couldn’t realize his dreamof jumpingover the Grand Canyon using his motorcycle. However, Robbie could not make a safe landing and ended up fracturing his leg.The stunt was aired on Fox News. Also, many reporters had gathered to report the performance live.

Robbie made another remarkable jump, but this time around it was on a skycycle. He knew that a motorcycle would be inappropriate for the act and so he got some aeronautical engineers to customize a skycycle for him. Using the specially designed cycle, he managed to successfully jump over a part of Snake River Canyon. This stunt too, was broadcast on television.

On December 31, 2008, Robbie jumped 200 feet over the Mirage hotel’s volcano at the Las Vegas Strip. Though it appeared as if hejumped over the man-made volcano, he actually jumped next to it as the event organizers thought that jumping over the artificial volcano could prove fatal.

Robbie sponsored his own television show, ‘Knievel’s Wild Ride’ in 2005 and it was aired on A&E Networks. He also made an appearance in the series, ‘Hollywood Stunts’.

Director Jesse James Miller made a film on Robbie’s life story which released on 19 February 2017. Robbie appeared in the film as himself. The film is based on his relationship with his father and how he continues the legacy of Evel with his breathtaking performances.

Robbie Knievel was in a relationship with American actress Jenny McShane. He is the father of actress Krysten Knievel, who had appeared in the series, ‘Knievel's Wild Ride’.