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About

The Rider

Las Vegas, Nevada · BMX flatland since childhood · Pro since 2009 · Cirque-trained · LED designer

Portrait of Blake Hicks with his tall mohawk, with him standing in an LED suit beside the rainbow LED bike inset
Portrait · LED Bike Show

Tricks & technology

Blake Hicks started riding BMX as a kid and never stopped. When the 2008 downturn cost him his job, he made a decision most people would call crazy: he'd make a living doing bike tricks. He put in the hours — two to three nights a week at Portland's Waterfront Park, weekly shows at Dante's, monthly spots at the Star Theater — and built a reputation as one of the most technical flatland riders in the Northwest.

The breakthrough came from combining two obsessions. Using his own electrical know-how, Blake wrapped a BMX in blue LEDs, built a matching light suit, and took the "LED Bike" to Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas in 2011. In front of 110,000 people, spinning in the dark like a neon gyroscope, he went viral.

Since then he's trained with Cirque performers, toured internationally, and become a fixture at NBA halftimes across the league. His signature move, the Stubbleduck — rider and bike spinning a full 360° in opposite directions — is a trick only a couple of riders in the world can land.

The same hands that wired the bike now run a full LED design studio: custom jerseys, jackets, e-bikes, festival totems, outdoor light infrastructure, and one-off props for brands and events. See the LED Design Studio.

Off the floor, Blake is a burner — he runs a Burning Man camp and spends his spare time designing LED art cars for the playa. See the LED art cars; a page for LED e-bikes is on the way.

Blue isn't just the lighting. It's the whole brand: blue hair, blue kit, blue bike. If you saw it once, you remember it. Now based in Las Vegas, Blake performs worldwide.

// The LED Bike · today

Full-color LEDs, arena-ready

Today's bike and suit are fully programmable LED builds — bright enough for a lit arena, timed to the music, and the reason he's a halftime regular across the NBA and WNBA.

Blake Hicks riding the LED Bike at a Las Vegas Aces halftime
WNBA · Las Vegas Aces
Blake Hicks jumping the LED bike over the Spurs Coyote
NBA · San Antonio Spurs
Blake Hicks balancing on the LED Bike with arms wide at an NBA arena
NBA · OKC Thunder

// Cirque trained, performer bred

Blake Hicks in a blue-and-white striped tank on stage with Cirque Mechanics, riding a square-wheeled bike and posing with the cast
Cirque Mechanics · stage
Blake Hicks balancing on the front wheel on a purple-lit stage
Cirque · stage
Blake Hicks in gold costume with LED bracers on stage
Theatre · Venardos Circus
Blake Hicks handstand on the LED bike on a red-curtain stage
Theatre · Venardos Circus

// The original build · 2011

EL wire, a soldering iron, and a dream

The first LED Bike was hand-wired with electroluminescent wire — a glow-line look straight out of 80s sci-fi — and a suit to match. It debuted at EDC Las Vegas in front of 110,000 people. Every LED bike since has been built in the same room, by the same hands.

Blake Hicks in white EL-wire light suit holding the glowing blue bike
Original EL-wire bike · 2011Photo: Fallenstedt Photography
Blake Hicks flying off the blue EL-wire bike
Original EL-wire bike · 2011Photo: Fallenstedt Photography
Blake Hicks inverted over the EL-wire bike with a festival crowd around him
Festival · original EL-wire bike

Timeline

From the waterfront to the NBA

  1. 2009

    Goes pro. After credentials in automotive, diesel science, and business, Blake commits full-time to flatland BMX — the technical, dance-like discipline of BMX performed on flat ground.

  2. 2011

    Debuts the LED Bike at Electric Daisy Carnival, Las Vegas, in front of 110,000+ people. The video goes viral on YouTube.

  3. 2013

    Three-month contract with Busch Gardens Tampa ("Kinetix"), a tour in India, and a two-month European run. Trains with Cirque performers.

  4. 2017

    Performs with Cirque Mechanics and opens the Pepperdine University Center for the Arts 2017–2018 season program.

  5. 2018 →

    Becomes one of the most-booked halftime acts in basketball: Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Lynx and more, plus the NBA Finals stage.

  6. Music

    Featured in two Muse music videos and performs for Muse live at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas.

  7. Today

    Based in Las Vegas and available worldwide. Performs the LED Bike Show as a 3–5 minute featured act or an ambient roaming set at festivals, corporate events, parties, grand openings, and celebrations — and runs an LED design studio building custom jerseys, jackets, e-bikes, totems, and outdoor light infrastructure.

// Booking

Put Blake on your floor

Festivals, corporate events, parties, birthdays, grand openings, celebrations — a 3–5 minute featured act, an ambient set, or both. Las Vegas based, available worldwide. Tell us the date and venue and we’ll send a quote within 48 hours.