TIM Wood has taken things to the extreme all his life, and when it comes to his latest hobby he is no different.
The 39-year-old recently bought two centurion army tanks, which he works on and drives around the vast backyard of his property in Jimboomba.
The two tanks both served in Vietnam. One is a 52 tonne gun tank with a 27 litre V12 motor Mr Wood got from Nambour eight months ago and is currently restoring to its former glory.
The other is a driver training tank, one of only three ever built and the only one owned by a private collector.
When Mr Wood speaks about his tanks his passion for them is evident, as is his love for sharing them with his two sons, Elijah, 4, and Ryder, 2, and partner Paige Haines.
"I have always loved anything with tracks and the tanks were kind of the end of the line, in terms of the most extreme version in track vehicle," he said.
"It was always a family joke that I would own a tank but they never believed I would.
"I don't really like the whole war side of it but I do like the remembrance and understanding of what soldiers in Vietnam went through.
"It's a humbling experience and gives a reality check that we have got it pretty good and I hope to give others that experience of what those people have done for us."
While Mr Woods loves driving the tanks, he said an equal amount of time was spent restoring and maintaining them.
"It's almost an equal balance - whether its fuelling it, changing oil, repairing something, it is just continuous, but I am getting better at it," he said.
"The tanks are exceptionally expensive to run, even starting and warming them up you can go through 20 litres of petrol, so you don't want to muck around."
Mr Wood's recent realisation of his dream of owning tanks coincided with his retirement from a 20 year BMX racing career.
When it comes to extreme Mr Wood, whose day job involves designing and building track and skate parks for councils, has taken it to the limit over the years and as a result has suffered multiple breaks of his nose, wrists, ribs and ankles as well as a fractured hip.
He started riding at the age of six and then moved into freestyle BMX and was named Australian champion in 1994.
Mr Wood has competed at the American X Games and numerous international competitions throughout his career and was regularly one of the world's top five BMX riders.
He was also the first person to do a full loop on a BMX bike in 1999, after Tony Hawke first did it on a skateboard.
Although retired from racing Mr Wood is still involved with BMX riding, sponsoring a group of riders called JC Epidemic, which puts on extreme sport shows for charity.
He is also involved with a Logan based hip hop group called MNB, whose members dance in shows with BMX riders doing stunts around them.
"In the past year or so I have had enough money to chase my dreams, both the tanks and continued involvement in BMX," Mr Wood said.
"Everything I have done in life has raised eyebrows but it had always worked for me. I have always followed what I love to do and have been lucky enough to earn a living off it."
Mr Wood and JC Epidemic will be performing at a fundraiser for charity Destiny Rescue and local farmers facing hardship at the Harvest Point Christian Outreach Centre, Walker Road, Gleneagle on June 28.
Mr Wood is keen to share his passion for his BMX shows and his tanks and will soon start making rides available to the public. Anyone wanting more information about them can visit tankstankride.com.au and bmxshow.com.au
