US Social Media Influencer Penalized After Large-Scale Electric Bike Ride on Iconic Australian Bridge
New South Wales authorities have levied a penalty against an US-based online influencer and handed out two driving violation citations for reported reckless operation following a swarm of electric bicycle users gathered on the famous Sydney landmark during peak-hour traffic on Tuesday.
The Incident: A Prohibited Ride
A gathering of approximately 40 people riding e-bikes and motorcycles travelled along the bridge’s main deck, where cycling is prohibited. The riders subsequently reversed direction and rode through the city’s CBD and Haymarket.
"This had a risk of serious injury or fatalities," remarked a senior police official David Driver on the following day.
Police said they did not immediately pursue the group out of safety concerns but instead located the assembly at a scenic Sydney lookout near the Botanic Gardens, at which point they broke up.
Fines Imposed for Influencer
On Saturday, police stated they had served the US social media influencer known as the influencer, 26, with two violation tickets for negligent driving (not involving death or prior injury), carrying a penalty of over five hundred dollars and penalty points per notice, connected to the bridge incident. They added that inquiries were continuing.
The personality reportedly has over 3.4m followers on one platform and more than 1.2 million on the social media app.
Influencer's Comments
The online figure spoke with a local publication this week following the event spread rapidly on news sites and social media, stating he regretted giving "the biking community" a bad reputation.
"I’ll probably take responsibility. It was one of the safest gatherings I have witnessed," he told the publication. "I am a visitor here, so I’m going to abide by 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 say hi under the bridge."
"I did not know the area well, I am to blame we ended up on the bridge and I had a decision to make: whether the group rides the full length of the bridge and turns around, which is a crime. Or we reverse, basically, before we’re on the bridge. I chose at the time to turn around."
Broader Context on E-Bike Regulation
The increase of e-bikes on roads nationwide has prompted growing calls for stricter rules. A senior government official, Mark Butler, commented that illegal ebikes were a "complete hazard on the road."
"Kids have done stupid things on bikes since the invention of the early bicycle [but] the injuries that are coming into our ERs are truly severe," the minister stated. "We must make sure we prevent these things coming into the country [and] officers are granted the powers to take strong action, to confiscate them, to crush them, to destroy them."
NSW reported 226 injuries related to ebikes in 2024. However, in the initial half of 2025, that figure jumped to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four deaths.