US Online Personality Penalized After Large-Scale E-Bike Ride on Iconic Australian Bridge

New South Wales authorities have issued a fine against an American social media personality and served two driving violation citations for reported negligent driving after a large group of e-bike riders gathered on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the busy commute on a weekday.

The Event: A Prohibited Ride

A gathering of around 40 people operating electric bikes and motorbikes travelled along the primary roadway of the bridge, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The riders then turned around and traveled through the city’s CBD and Haymarket.

"This had a risk of serious injury or fatalities," stated a senior police official the officer on Wednesday.

Police indicated they did not chase right away the riders due to concerns for public safety but instead located the group at a scenic Sydney lookout near the city gardens, where they dispersed.

Fines Imposed for Influencer

Later in the week, police announced they had served the US social media influencer known as the influencer, 26, with two traffic infringement notices for careless operation (with no death or previous bodily harm), carrying a fine of over five hundred dollars and three demerit points per notice, in relation to the bridge incident. Officials noted 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 online figure spoke with a local publication this week after the incident gained traction on digital platforms, stating he was sorry for giving "the biking community" a negative image.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. That was among the safest gatherings I’ve ever seen," he told the publication. "I am a visitor here, and I intend to come here respecting the rules and standards of the city. When I decided to do a public meeting it did not involve a group ride, it was just to say hi near the bridge."

"I’m unfamiliar with the city, it was my fault we found ourselves on the bridge and I had a decision to make: either the group completes the entirety of the bridge and turns around, an illegal act. Or we reverse, basically, before entering the bridge. And I made the decision at the time to go back."

National Debate on Electric Bike Rules

The increase of e-bikes on streets across the country has sparked increasing demands for regulation. A senior government official, the minister, commented that non-compliant electric bikes were a "total menace on the road."

"Young people have engaged in reckless acts on bikes ever since the penny-farthing [but] the harm that are presenting at our ERs are truly severe," the minister stated. "We’ve got to ensure we prevent these things coming into the country [and] officers are granted the powers to crack down, to confiscate them, to crush them, to destroy them."

NSW reported 226 injuries related to ebikes in the previous year. But, in the initial half of 2025, that figure surged to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four fatalities.