A celebrity who works in one of the most dangerous jobs in America said he is impressed with the people who compete in one of the most dangerous sports in America.
“I’m seeing guys who can fly without wings,” Josh Harris, one of the stars of the reality TV series “Deadliest Catch,” said as he watched athletes compete last weekend in the Washougal MX National.
“I am so happy to be here. This is amazing. This is unbelievable,” he said.
Harris is a deckhand on the Cornelia Marie, a vessel that fishes during the winter for crab in the Bering Sea off the Alaska coast.
Harris said he was yanked out of his home in Monroe by his close friend Duane Lewis, who demanded they travel south to Washougal to watch Ryan Villopoto race. Villopoto, one of the biggest names in the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship series, is from Poulsbo.
“I just broke up with my girlfriend, and I haven’t left my house in three days,” Harris explained. “Duane said, ‘This is the greatest thing on God’s green earth.’ He was right. It’s beautiful here.”
Lewis said he has been coming to Washougal to watch the national since 1988.
“I haven’t missed a year. I hope I never do,” he said.
He also converted his famous friend into a motocross fan.
Title beats Grammy
While Harris is well known in the world of reality television, a celebrity hopeful also was at the park.
Carson James Lueders, a 9-year-old singer-songwriter, played his guitar and sang a song he wrote, “Motocross High,” during prerace festivities.
He was considered by producers for the 2010 season of “America’s Got Talent,” getting a callback after impressing the judges in his initial audition.
Lueders has had some radio airplay on a country station in his hometown of Spokane. He also is an amateur motocross rider.
Lueders told the fans at Washougal that he would rather win a national motocross title one day than a Grammy.
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