American Online Influencer Fined Following Large-Scale Electric Bike Ride on Sydney Harbour Bridge
New South Wales police have issued a fine against an American social media personality and served two driving violation citations for alleged negligent driving after a large group of e-bike riders gathered on the famous Sydney landmark during peak-hour traffic on Tuesday.
The Event: An Illegal Gathering
A group of approximately 40 people riding electric bikes and motorbikes travelled along the bridge’s main deck, where cycling is prohibited. The riders then turned around and rode through the city’s CBD and Haymarket.
"This had a risk of people to be injured and killed," remarked a senior police official David Driver on Wednesday.
Police indicated they did not chase right away the riders out of safety concerns but instead located the assembly at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the city gardens, at which point they broke up.
Fines Imposed for Influencer
On Saturday, authorities announced they had issued the American online personality known as the influencer, 26, with two traffic infringement notices for negligent driving (not involving death or prior injury), with a penalty of $562 and three demerit points per notice, connected to the bridge ride-out. They added that inquiries were continuing.
The personality is said to have over 3.4 million followers on YouTube and more than 1.2m on the social media app.
Influencer's Comments
The content creator spoke with a major newspaper this week following the event gained traction on digital platforms, saying he regretted giving "the biking community" a bad reputation.
"I accept the blame. That was one of the safest ride-outs I’ve ever seen," he said. "I am a visitor here, so I’m going to come here respecting the laws and norms of Sydney. So when I decided to do a public meeting it did not involve a ride-out, it was just to greet people under the bridge."
"I did not know the area well, I am to blame we found ourselves on the bridge and I had two choices: whether the group completes the entirety of the bridge and turns around, an illegal act. Or we reverse, basically, before entering the bridge. I chose at the time to turn around."
National Debate on E-Bike Regulation
The increase of electric bicycles on roads nationwide has sparked increasing demands for stricter rules. The federal health minister, Mark Butler, commented that non-compliant electric bikes were a "complete hazard on the road."
"Kids have done stupid things on bikes ever since the early bicycle [but] the harm that are coming into our ERs are absolutely devastating," he stated. "We must make sure we prevent these things coming into the country [and] officers are granted the authority to take strong action, to take them away, to destroy them, to dispose of them."
The state reported over two hundred injuries associated with ebikes in 2024. However, in the initial half of 2025, that figure jumped to 233 injuries plus four deaths.