Zac Darnell: EUC Racing's Most Consistent Podium Finisher

Pro Division | Sacramento, California

If you follow EUC racing at all, you already know the name. Zac Darnell is the rider everyone else is measuring themselves against. He podiums at nearly every event he enters, wins on terrain that humbles experienced riders, and does it with a competitive instinct that runs three generations deep. Heading into the 2026 USA EUC national circuit, he is the one to beat.

"I usually get podium. Most races I get podium. I'm trying to think of the ones I didn't. And those are pretty good crashes — the races you don't see me after, you'll probably see me in a good video of me in the dirt."

Zac Darnell and his Dad James Darnell, a fellow EUC racer - photo by @s_m_l_s_

Racing in the Blood

Zac is from Folsom, California. His path to electric unicycle racing did not start with EUCs. It started with his grandfather, who built high-horsepower contraptions and raced cars before Zac was born. His father followed the same path. By the time Zac was old enough to ride, the competitive instinct was already wired in.

He came to EUCs through OneWheels and electric skateboards, working toward something that could handle real terrain. After repeatedly breaking components and himself on an e-mountain board, he found EUCs. The machine fit the rider. He showed up at his first race at Seek n Shred and has been on the podium at nearly every event since.

Chocolate Thunder: Strategy at Speed

The King of the Hammers Chocolate Thunder Downhill is not a typical race course. It is a valley carved out by monster trucks, a constantly shifting landscape of boulders, ruts, and loose terrain with thirty to forty possible lines and no warmup runs allowed. The trucks keep running through it, which means the course at race time is not the course anyone practiced on.

Zac had raced Chocolate Thunder before and knew what that meant. Day one he admitted he was racing blind, taking reasonable lines, managing traffic, staying upright. He finished but knew he had left time on the course.

Day two he changed his approach entirely.

"I decided to take things differently, take some riskier lines, go outside of my comfort zone. What was going through my head was go where no one else is going. I liked those odds."

First place. It is the kind of result that comes from experience, nerve, and the ability to read terrain at speed while everyone else is playing it safe. EUC racing rewards that combination, precision and creativity over raw power.

The Pre-Race Ritual

One of the most revealing things about Zac Darnell is not his lines or his equipment. It is what happens at the top of the course before the race starts.

At Chocolate Thunder, the riders gathered and talked about how they were feeling, what lines they were considering, and what they were nervous about. Zac calls it group therapy. Pre-race jitters hit everyone, even him, even after years of racing.

"It's more of a group building exercise versus like, I'm gonna beat this guy. It's more fun to tell everyone what you're thinking, because you can build off each other. That's what makes it more fun, you're racing with people that are pushing you, not just to do better, but to pursue things outside your comfort zone."

That attitude is part of why EUC racing has the culture it does. Even at the top of the competitive field, the community impulse runs stronger than the rivalry.

Zac Darnell with his Dad (James) on the left, and his Uncle (John) and Aunt (Melissa) on the right - Photo by @s_m_l_s_

An EUC Racing Family

Zac has not kept EUC riding to himself. His father races. His mother rides. His uncle and aunt are involved. And his girlfriend, with only a handful of months of riding experience, was already racing and pushing speeds that made him nervous in the best way.

"When I see her whipping around at 60 miles an hour with probably four or five months of riding under her belt, I get a little nervous. But I love her and I trust her. She will beat me one day. I know it. I see the fire in her eye."

The relationship with his father runs especially deep. Before EUCs, they bonded over snowboarding, working on cars, and dirt biking. When Zac brought his dad into the sport, something shifted.

"Once I introduced him to PEVs, it's been a whole other relationship with my dad. We get to travel all over the US, even globally. I think my mom and sister are getting jealous."

At Arizona Bike Week, his dad became one of the most effective ambassadors at the Amped booth. He targeted riders over 50, asked their age, and told them he was older and already riding.

"It works every time," Zac says.

Zan Darnell training a future EUC racer at Arizona Bike Week - Photo by @eridelife

The Ambassador Who Does Not Need the Title

Ask Zac about his results and he deflects almost immediately. He is far more interested in talking about the terrain, the community, or what someone else did well on course than cataloguing his own wins.

That modesty shows up in how he operates. Zac has served as an Amped Electric Games ambassador at major events including Arizona Bike Week and King of the Hammers. At Arizona Bike Week, he ran a full demo booth and reported a 99.9% success rate getting first-timers riding without holding onto anything. Most of them were riding in under five minutes.

For someone who is the name people talk about when they discuss who is hardest to beat, he spends a lot of time helping other people get on a wheel for the first time.

Zac Darnell at one of his first races - Amped 2022 - Photo by @euc_anakin

Why USA EUC Matters

Zac has been racing EUCs since before the national circuit existed. He watched the community scatter across platforms, struggle to coordinate events, and rely on word of mouth to keep things moving. A sanctioning body was, in his words, what the sport had been missing.

"Our community is vast, not just across the US but all around the world. There's never really been one unifier. Go here. This is where you find the races. This is where you sign up. This is where you find other people in the community."

He sees the USA EUC circuit as the infrastructure the sport needed to grow, giving riders, media, sponsors, and new fans a clear path to follow. For riders on the fence about racing, his message is direct: just show up. Someone will have a spare wheel, spare parts, and a place for you. The barrier to entry is lower than most people think.

Zac Darnell racing Hell Racer Oval at AZ Bike Week - Photo by @eridelife

The Standard Everyone Is Chasing

Zac Darnell is the benchmark right now in electric unicycle racing. Not because he says so, but because the results keep saying it for him. He wins on courses that no one has practiced. He races with strategy in situations that demand improvisation. And he has been doing it long enough that the field knows what they are up against when his name is on the start list.

The 2026 USA EUC national circuit is shaping up to be the most competitive season the sport has seen. If you want to know what that looks like at the front of the pack, keep your eye on Folsom, California.

Find Zac on YouTube and Instagram.