“Behind the Jumps: The Shocking Secrets of Evel Knievel’s Reckless Pursuit of Fame”

"Behind the Jumps: The Shocking Secrets of Evel Knievel's Reckless Pursuit of Fame"
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Knievel was inspired by this rhyming name, so he began to refer to himself as Evel instead of Robert. He says the reason he chose to misspell the word was so that people wouldn’t associate him with something bad or “evil.”

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He’d Challenge People To Arm Wrestling When They Bought A Motorcycle

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For years, Knievel worked in sales and was quite successful. He worked as an insurance salesman and eventually moved on to selling what he was most passionate about — motorcycles. One of his sales tactics would be to offer anyone $100 off the price of their motorcycle if they could beat him at arm wrestling.

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Knievel later wrote in his biography that no one could beat him and i inspired his showman personality to grow.

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He Was A Walking Advertisement For Motorcycle Helmets

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Knievel knew that his stunts would inspire hundreds of copycats young and old. He also knew that he crashed just as often as he successfully completed the jumps. Knievel then decided that he would always be shown wearing a helmet if the bike was in motion.

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He even went so far as to make sure a helmet was on in promotional stills. Throughout his entire life, Knievel was an advocate for helmet laws and spoke on Capitol Hill to get a mandatory helmet bill passed.

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There’s A Reason Behind The Red, White, And Blue Outfit

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Knievel was very conscious of his image. Everything from wearing a helmet to his iconic red, white, and blue bodysuit was thought out. Since he had already changed the spelling of “Evel” so he didn’t sound like a bad person, he figured he’d do the same with his outfit.

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