Not sure who’s smarter, the guy pulling wheelies on an asphalt boat path or the spectators watching as he passes within 5 feet of them.
Based on the horizon line from his helmet cam, my guess is that he was already unbalanced from mugging for his “fans”, came down hard from the wheelie and was thrown forward, putting too much weight on the front.
At that point, I wonder if there was anything he could do to avoid a highside. My reaction would be to go for the rear brake and hope it quiets the back end. Not sure if that would help.
Kellisanth: Don’t worry about stoppies, You have to work pretty hard to get enough stopping force on the front wheel of most bikes to overcome the fork rake — and you’re probably right on the razor’s edge of locking the front tire at that point.