Thomas Joseph Lavin (born December 7, 1976) better known as T. J. Lavin is an American BMX rider, professional musician, and host of MTV's The Real World/Road Rules Challenge. T.J has been riding bikes since he was two years old and has continued to dominant almost every BMX competition he has competed in with his incredible dirt jumping skills,he is also know as the "King of Dirt," and in the X-Games he took bronze three times, silver once, and gold three times. On October 14, 2010 T.J. took on a challenge even himself could not win, he was competing in the Dew Tour Date in Las Vegas when he attempting a mid-air combination trick called a nac nac that landed him in a critical condition comatose state for eight days at the orders of his doctors to keep his brain swelling down. The crash shattered his wrist, broke his orbital bone and left him with critical head trauma. It was only a day before that T.J. witnessed friend and fellow BMX competitor Ty Pinney over jump a dirt mound, crash and landed himself in a coma in critical condition at the same hospital Lavin would be in. "It was one of the worst crashes I've ever seen and that was my last memory of October." - Says Lavin. Little did he know he would be laying in a hospital bed not too far from Pinney's the next day.
After Lavins's month long hospital stay and intensive physical therapy, he has nearly recovered, the doctors say it can take up to eighteen months to fully get back to his previous physical condition. The October 14 jump that nearly ended his life was his last jump, atleast on a bike anyways, Lavin is now involved with off track short truck racing. "People might think I'm crazy but my whole life has been to soldier on. If there's a challenge in front of me, I've just got to dig deep and buck up," Lavin. He also states that the safest place to be is inside of those trucks. Even though he continues to pursue his career in Extreme sports there is no doubt that he hasn't learned a valuable lesson. Lavin gives inspiration by not giving up on his dreams, but by showing us how he has learned to follow his dreams in a slightly safer, more confined way. T.J. also has resumed his spot as MTV's The Challenge host.
Video of T.J.'s crash
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