"I never think to quit. You crash, you damage yourself, you fix, you go ride again," says Arunas 'Aras' Gibieza

Arunas 'Aras' Gibieza is one of those riders that, once on track, demands your full attention. The manner in which he can ensure that entire grandstands full of people have all eyes on him is commendable.

Despite him spiking everyone's adrenaline by showcasing his skills on the tarmac, once the helmet goes off, he appears as calm and collected as possible.

Arunas has been racing ever since he was sixteen, but once he took to stunt riding formally, he found his calling and never looked back.

The 29-year-old has won various competitions around the world and even when he is not competing, he remains in the limelight with his breathtaking stunt shows.

The Lithuania born sat down to speak with Sportskeeda about his journey so far, the stunt competition he organises in his home country and his fondness of India, among other things.

Aras has been touring India for the past five years and looks in no mood to stop. He stated,

“It’s a really really good feeling for me to come back here. It's been a one and a half year from the last time. So I already missed all the crazy things happening in India. The traffic, the people, the crowd, they're shouting, I really enjoy a lot. That's why I keep coming all the time.”

Performance by top stunt rider and Red Bull athlete Aras at the finale of JK Tyres FMSCI National Racing Championship

Arunas began racing when he was a teenager and he explained how that helped shape up his career in stunt riding,

“I started as a 16-year-old - racing. I have done stunts at the same time actually but I was more focused on racing, less on stunts. After I turned 17-18, I moved to stunts. The races were really helpful for me because I wasn't afraid of the speed. I can go much faster than other guys.”

He continued,

“I was really happy in the same moment to have races and the stunts. But once I decided to go for the stunts, I was training every single day like 5 hours, winter, summer, doesn't matter. I really enjoy the times, every single year, every single moment of my life I really love because I'm doing this from 16. This is my passion, this is inside me, so I'm enjoying every moment.”

He expounded on his decision to switch from racing to stunts and the reasons would resound with anyone who has previously looked to step into Motorsports from a non-European background.

“Lack of racing circuits in my country. There's only one, which is for cars, so it's quite dangerous to race there. The level was not that good in my country compared to the European level so we have to go outside. To go outside, you have to go to the school, so you can't go for a month to train, you can't go for one day- 1000 to 2000 km- that was the main reason.”

Arunas 'Aras' Gibieza entertaining the crowd at the JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship

It can be nerve-wracking for the family of a driver to watch someone close to them choose to make a living out of stunt riding.

Gibieza elaborated on how his family reacted once he had made up his mind,

“Actually, once I stepped into racing they were really scared and once I moved to stunt driving they were happy. They weren't afraid because it’s okay, stunt is not so dangerous as the racing.”

He added that he felt the same way,

“We didn't race, we didn't do so high speed, we didn't have so many deaths in stunt riding, maybe few of them. In races, there's a lot. In racing, it's just different. You never know what's happening behind you or in front of you.”

The rider from Lithuania clarified that he remained careful and took precautions to safeguard himself from major incidents.

“Sometimes it happens that there are big crashes between stunt drivers. It's really important once I'm on track to watch the other guys and go to the track with professionals. I had few bad injuries back in the day with beginners and I've seen many crashes with beginners.”

Today, Aras is at that point where young kids around the globe are looking to emulate him and thinking of taking up stunt riding as a profession. Talking about how he is giving back to the sport, he said,

“Since 2013, I'm organising a stunt competition. It didn't happen this year because I had so many shows around so didn't have time. But for five years- four years, we made a competition in my country so we can grow the sports, help the younger riders.

“Now we have some of the really good stunt teams, which is five-six-seven drivers performing around the country, I really enjoy watching them. Sometimes if I have time, I train with them, teaching something, maybe learn something from them as well. I'm enjoying, actually. The sports is growing, not only my country, it's worldwide.”

Learning a stunt is a challenging task, especially with the risk involved. Taking us through the process, Arunas elaborated,

“Basics come from scooter or from small cc bike, but it has to be a small one. No power, you can pick the wheelie on your own weight, so if you crash you won’t hurt yourself badly. After that you just increase the bike, increasing yourself, just get better and better each day. But you have to start with something small, even bicycle is really good.”

Arunas Gibieza performing at the JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship

When asked about the willpower and determination that goes into getting back on a bike after a crash, Arunas dismissed the question with nonchalance.

“You just don't think to get back, you just get back. I never think to quit, I never thought about it. It's a part of the game, you crash, you damage yourself, you fix, you go ride again. You never think about it.”

A specific stunt that Aras is known for is inventing the 360° unicycle no-hander which he first performed in 2014. Nowadays, however, he has a new favourite,

“Switch back wheelie, is actually still one of my favourite trick because I can see in stunt riding only few rider can try, even try this trick. Some of them can do 360, some of them can do unicycle but very few of them can do a switch back wheelie.”

The 29-year-old is a well-known Red Bull athlete and he was quick to credit the impact they have had on his life.

“Red Bull is the most important sponsor of my whole career. Once I stepped into Red Bull in 2013, things changed in a really good way. Had best shows, like Moto GP, Formula One, even here in India it's been fifth time with them. Things going really good with them, I'm enjoying. The media guys, promotion, they help, they look after me.”

Speaking of his plans for next year, Arunas said,

“I will be competing, definitely. I am doing both, competing and stunt shows. We have separate competitions. I will go, maybe, to Czech Stunt Days, it’s one of the biggest competition in Europe right now.”