Charlie Bowlen at the 2024 Freestyle Trampoline Association World Championship in Barcelona, where he placed ninth in the Men’s Junior division. Photo: Charlie Bowlen // Photo by Michelle Bowlen

PARK CITY, Utah — Summit County’s Charlie Bowlen will join an international lineup of elite athletes this weekend as freestyle trampoline makes its debut at the X Games in Salt Lake City.

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Bowlen, 17, placed ninth in the Men’s Junior division at the Freestyle Trampoline Association’s World Championship last fall—his first international competition. Although he narrowly missed the finals, the experience at Extreme Barcelona and the Urban World Series served as a turning point.

“At first, I was a little disappointed to not make the finals—only the top five juniors advanced,” Bowlen said. “But then it has motivated me. I’ve learned that your mindset is most important.”

Bowlen, who trains locally at Woodward Park City, Lowes Xtreme Air Sports in Provo, and on backyard trampolines, said visualization and a positive mindset have become central to his approach.

“Being worried about a trick going wrong doesn’t lead to success,” he said. “You have to visualize success to progress.”

This weekend, Bowlen will perform in athlete demonstrations alongside top international talent including Robin Steiner of Switzerland, a former world champion, and Aleksi Sainio of Finland, who placed second in the 2023 world rankings.

“Training and competing with people at a similar or better level only makes you better,” Bowlen said. “It’s really cool to be able to jump with and hang out with people I looked up to.”

Freestyle trampoline is not yet an Olympic or X Games-sanctioned sport. Bowlen said the grassroots nature of the sport—born in backyards and trampoline parks—makes its emergence on the X Games stage even more meaningful.

“Freestyle trampoline isn’t developed by clubs and doesn’t have a lot of money to support it, like traditional gymnastics,” he said. “To go from the backyard to international competitions is an unreal experience.”

His current favorite trick is a “fullfullout,” a triple flip with two twists. He’s now chasing a “full 4,” which involves four flips and four twists.

Bowlen credits Utah’s freestyle community for its tight-knit, collaborative environment, and expressed gratitude to the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Center of Excellence in Park City for allowing him to train on their rebound trampoline ahead of last year’s world competition.

“That was huge,” he said. “The CoE’s rebound trampoline is the closest competition-level trampoline to the Eurotramp 5 Square available in the U.S. That was invaluable training time for me.”

Bowlen also had advice for younger athletes who want to advance in any sport: “Start now and put your heart and soul into everything you do. Be realistic. It’s gonna feel scary at times and it’s gonna be hard, but if you put in the work and keep a positive mindset, you will succeed.”

Freestyle trampoline athlete demonstrations will take place at the Acon Action Zone in the X Fest area of the Utah State Fairpark, 155 1000 West, Salt Lake City, during the X Games June 27–29. Demonstrations will be held Friday at 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.; Saturday at noon, 3 p.m., and 5:30 p.m.; and Sunday at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. A public jump zone and athlete meet-and-greet will also be available.