Arguably the hardest working man in motocross, Axell Hodges has been busy this winter. Between his Slay’s World Tour program and his SLAYGROUND riding facility in Southern California, Hodges has been airing out his Monster Energy-powered Kawasaki KX450 and creating media content for millions of moto fans the world over.

Our good friend and legendary journalist in America, Eric Johnson caught up with the air wizard and here is what Axell told Eric.

“I recently did Anaheim 2 demos and went riding at some local dirt bike tracks and then I went to Twitch’s house (ED: Jeremy Stenberg)," he said. "I’ve also been having some disc problems in my back these last couple of weeks. I’ve been trying to resolve that and get my back better. I’m 29 years old and my back is hurting.

“We ended off the year pretty heavy with that Slay’s World Tour and just being on the road, riding for fans all over. Then there was all the editing we did for that and there was just constant work out at my property at the SLAYGROUND. If it’s not one thing, it’s another thing. I’m constantly on the move, and it’s taken a toll on my body. I think it’s all even come from driving. I ride all day and then I drive home and I’m sitting a slouch. I need to fix my posture.”

“Yeah, it never really stops either,” said Hodges of his adventures. “I’m trying to ride, and then I’ve been working on my YouTube channel a lot lately. Just for my personal channel, and then it is just constant editing work. I come home and edit and then try to stay on top of everything. I’m maintaining the SLAYGROUND property and keeping everything running there, and working on jumps. Then we’re traveling and doing shows. There is always something going on. I’ve done a little bit of stunt work lately, too. I just did a Harry Styles music video that’s coming up. I got to do a stunt double scene for that. I’m always constantly trying to do things that are different and are fun and I can make money while doing it. I just love all aspects of dirt bike riding, dirt bikes and filming.

“The Slay’s World is something we did last year and continued on into 2026. We got our box trailer loaded up. I brought three mountain bikes, two 110s, a 230, my quad, three 450s and all of our snowboards. Honestly, we were in over our heads. We brought so much stuff. A the end of the day, though, I just wanted to ride my dirt bikes. We started off going snowboarding in Mount Hood, Oregon. We went to Washougal and went to the National and watched the races. We rode with Josh Hill and got the track private. We rode sand dunes in Oregon. They were incredible sand dunes. The dunes were so cool. It was kind of a bit harder to find big jumps up there, but the scenery and everything was so cool.

“We got all the videos up from the road trip. The last video went up the last week of December of 2025. That was the first time we did a road trip tour like that. I had myself, my two buddies plus my dad. I thought my dad was going to be the driver for the trip, but I ended up doing most of the driving because he was so sketchy behind the wheel.

"We all got in an RV and hit the West Coast. We started off up in Oregon and then made our way back down to Encinitas. We went riding and mountain biking and we snowboarded. It was just kind of the dream tour I’ve always wanted to do since I was a little kid. I got to do it with my two buddies and my dad. Thanks to Monster Energy, we got to make that happen. It was a lot of fun. We learned a lot what to do and what not to do on a road trip. It was really good to get this first one out of the way.

"From there we went to Area 52, which is a big free ride spot in Central California. There were 200-foot jumps over mountains and we go to go open it up. I had a brand new jump bike that I actually broke in there, thanks to Mitch Payton. He sent me 260 feet over this 200-foot jump. I went a little deep. Then we hit more sand dunes in Pismo in California. We rode Hangtown. We finished it all off by just returning home to my SLAGROUND.

"From there, I did a bunch of wheelie combinations lines. I haven’t done them and I don’t think anyone else in the world has done them. I also did a whip-flip no-footer backflip to wheelie. I’m always trying to do those new combo lines and seeing what I can land into a wheelie. We just ended it all with a big old day at SLAYGROUND. The day we finished the video there, I went and did a big 140-foot Superman seat grab to nose wheelie and then rode over and just kind of had a moment with my late friend Pat Casey and cracked a Monster. I rode it over to his cross there and parked it on the water tank and shared the moment with my by Pat. It’s been hard losing Pat. I miss Pat so much. It was cool to be able to honor him. That’s where we ended it at SLAYGROUND.”

“Next week I’m working with this guy Barry Keoghan,” said Hodges. “He’s a movie star and they’ve got a movie coming out called Crime 101. I got linked up with him because he wanted to learn how to ride dirt bikes for this movie. He’s like a biker bank robber in the movie. He also wanted me to do some videos for him to help promote the movie they have coming out. It’s Hollywood stuff. I might go to that premiere next week. We’re talking to them right now. He can’t go, so they want me wear a helmet and kind of show up at the premiere and act like I’m him.

"I like doing the stunt work. I’ve got my SAG card now. I’ve been doing some stunt work with Dave Castillo. He’s always kind of had my back and got me a couple of jobs here and there to do some stunt work. That was fun. I don’t really like doing the same thing all of the time. I’m always seeing what I can do that’s a little bit different. After that they want us to do Slay’s World Part Two on the East Coast this April. Right now I’m just trying to hammer that down, too.

"I don’t know… I just like riding dirt bikes and always like riding different stuff. I love doing that stuff. It was also cool to meet my fans along the way. I’ve got so many cool people that support what I do. It’s so cool being able to go travel and hang out with my fans. It’s cool to see people face to face and have those encounters. Next up. Slay’s World Number Two on the East Coast. I always try and find some different stuff to do. Anytime that I can get out of the normal and get some new eyes on stuff, it’s cool to do.”