Adam Portue grew up around northern Nevada motocross, and in the process became one of the most well-liked riders in the pits, as well as a solid 250cc Intermediate. But Portue’s life in motocross took an unexpected turn when he assumed the announcing duties at a handful of low-key freestyle demos four years ago. Portue soon found that his talkative nature and knowledge of the sport made him well-suited to the microphone, and before long he found himself announcing at all sorts of motorcycle events, including national arenacross races, X Games qualifiers, and even the X Games Experience demos at Disneyland. Portue will be announcing next on this year’s Dew Action Sports Tour, which promises to feature some of the biggest names in action sports, including the top names in freestyle motocross. Portue came out to a Carson practice recently to get back to his first love in motocross--riding--and talk a little bit about his career as the man on the mic.

Tell us what you’ve been up to lately, Adam.
I just got done with the National Arenacross Series, which was cool because a bunch of our buddies were on it, like Nate (Tiearney) and Jeff Northrop. We did 10 rounds of that, along with some regional arenacrosses, so I did about 15 total, starting from back in November. I just finished up about three weeks ago, and it’s been going good.

What are your announcing duties at the races?
I’m what you call the live announcer. I work from start to finish in the show, and just keep people up to speed with what’s going on. A lot of it is that I get to put my own spin on it, too, telling people what I think about the track and the riders. You’ve just got to keep it entertaining. Anyone who knows me know that I like to talk a lot, so it’s fun. Basically we just coordinate the show, and keep it all running, and keep everyone informed.

You’ve been a rider for years, but the announcing thing sort of came out of nowhere. How did you get started in it?
When Kenny Bell first started doing freestyle motocross about four years ago, they needed an announcer for a demo in Sacramento at Cal-Expo. Pretty soon I started doing shows with him, and then Ty (Erquiaga) hooked me up with the Alamo races, and one thing just led to another. I find that if you just do a good job for someone, the word spreads, and people start to hook you up. I can tell you this: I never thought I would be this busy, and I never thought it would go this far.

If you weren’t announcing right now, what career do you think you’d be in?
I graduated from UNR with a marketing degree, and I knew I wanted to work in motocross. I worked at Michael’s for, like, seven years. I think I would probably be doing something with marketing in the motocross industry, maybe with Fox or Bridgestone or Pro Circuit, or at least trying to work in the industry. But this kind of fell into my lap.

Do you see announcing as a long-term career?
Yeah. Every year I think it’s going to go away, and then I just get busier and busier. Since last time I talked to you, I agreed to do the Dew Action Sports Tour, which is a six-round thing where I’ll be doing the freestyle announcing. That’s a big step for me. It’s going to be on NBC, and word just gets around. I never guessed, no way. I mean, I’m still waiting for this (announcing) to end. But it just keeps getting busier. I really won’t be happy, though, until I get to supercross. I’ve done just about everything else.

What are some of the best shows you’ve been a part of?
I’ve done some X-Games qualifiers in the last couple of years, which were kind of a big deal. I’ve done some big-time state fairs in California and Texas, which were a big deal, too. We were just at an IRL Indy car race in Phoenix last weekend, and we did a show there for XM Satellite Radio and Target, so the sponsors and everything are really coming together. I’ve done a lot of different races and freestyle stuff, and I did some work at Lake Havasu for the World Jet-ski Finals. I did the X Games Experience shows at Disneyland, and the Vans Triple Crown, too. The Dew Action Sports Tour is going to be one of the biggest. The purse is supposed to be three times that of the X Games, so everyone is going to be there. And I’m aiming for supercross. That’s what I really want.

So Supercross is the ultimate goal?
Yeah. Actually, the ultimate goal is to have this go for another ten years or so. Things are going to be changing in supercross. I’ve met a lot of people, and hopefully if I play my cards right, I’ll be able to get there in a couple of years. The supercross people would like to see a younger face in there, and someone who rides. The guys who announce now are cool, but it’s time to mix it up a little. The only thing is that all this sacrifices my riding. I used to bang bars with everyone, but now I’ve got to work.

Motocross industry jobs are awesome, but they can seriously restrict your riding, too.
Oh yeah. I’m also afraid that when I’m done announcing, and I’ve put 10 years into this, then what am I going to do? If I put in 10 years somewhere else, I’d be macking. So we’ll see. It’s a trade-off, but I get paid well, and it’s just fun.

You can’t beat the atmosphere.
No, you know that. You get to be around bikes, and that’s all that matters. Basically we get paid to inform, let people know what’s up, and put our own spin on it. And it’s just really cool when people listen to you.