BRAITHWAITE, LouisianaESPN X Games gold medalist Mat Hoffman brings his talents and crew to ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" to build a gift that will keep the Leslie family going big in their own back yard for years to come. Hoffman and a crew of seven builders, including legendary rider Tim "Fuzzy" Hall, descended on a little town outside of New Orleans to give one special family a very exciting addition to their home.
The Leslie family episode is set to air on ABC, Sunday, July 31st. Watch to see how ramps are built and then marvel as the builders themselves take to their creation to lay down some tracks. Hoffman will also be featured in the follow-up show "How'd They Do That?" on Monday, April 4th.
"This was a great opportunity to make three little boys very happy given the situation. During the entire build, the only thing I wanted to do was meet the boys and see them ride their brand new ramp," Hoffman said about working on the show.
ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" selected the Leslie family of Braithwaite, La. to remodel their home. The family lost father, Doug and eldest son, Merlin in a car accident in December of 2003. Unable to make repairs to the house, Robin, a school guidance counselor was in need of help to create a safe place for her three sons (Spencer, six years old and three-year-old twins Brandon and Brent) to grow up.
In addition to the changes made to the house, design team leader Ty Pennington called in the experts of the X Games to build a mini-ramp and BMX dirt track in the family's backyard. Hoffman and team rose to the challenge, despite inclement weather. A few last-minute adjustments were made due to the changes in climate, but the result is a stair-stepped mini-ramp with three different heights that the boys will spend years riding on.
Hoffman was able to go beyond just building a ramp for this family. Along with Hall, Hoffman also presented them with X Games medals (like those he won) and custom embroidered leather Hoffman Bikes jackets. Plus, in the spirit of true teamwork, Hoffman and other crew members lent their carpentry skills to Pennington in other areas of the home remodel.
The "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" crew was excited to work with the legendary Hoffman and the rest of his "design team" on this project. Many of them donned X Games hats during the build.
"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" is produced by Endemol USA, a division of Endemol Holding. David Goldberg is the president of Endemol USA. The series is executive-produced by Tom Forman. The show airs Sundays (8:00-9:00 p.m. ET), on the ABC Television Network.
Click here to catch behind the scenes sneak peeks at the making of this episode.