Taka moved from Japan to California 3 years ago to be able to ride as much as possible with the other Metal Mulisha riders. At the moment, he is living and training together with Jeremy "Twitch" Stenberg, who is supporting him a lot as he looks to push his career on to the next level. Despite a busy schedule living the dream and competing in FMX events throughout the United States, Higashino still finds time to return to his native Japan around three times a year to ride with Eigo Sato and the rest of the MX-Virus crew.

Looking at his haircut and riding style, you can tell that Taka is a real punk rocker with no fear of going big, even when performing the most technical backflip combos. The Temecula resident worked more then hard lately to get some top results into his stats. A well deserved gold medal at X-Games for his run and a silver for at Best Trick showcases that the Temecula resident is on top of his game at the moment.

After 2 good rounds on the 2012 world tour, Higashino should get another wildcard to rock Red Bull X-Fighters again with the "Rock Solid Backflip" and other big tricks. A stop in his hometown Osaka should give him a safe invite at least on that one...