A REASON TO
RIDE
AGAIN
After his pro motocross career ended in injury and loss,
Sean Collier garaged the bike to get a 9-5 job. Almost two
years later, Collier dusts off his dad’s KX500 and finds a
reason to ride again.
By Rachel Witt, Photos by Jason Witt
It’s midday at Mammoth Motocross. The sun that streams
through the pines is warm to the skin. I’m sitting on the
tailgate of a toy hauler with Sean Collier. He is shirtless, the
scars on his shoulder visible as he eats a deli sandwich
out of a plastic Ziploc. The braaap of 2-strokes plays in the
background. Collier’s young son wheelies a toy motorcycle across the seat of the KX500 parked in front of us, as
Collier’s moto medals jangle around his son’s neck.
Earlier in the week, Collier took the KX500 to the track in
the FMF 2-Stroke Challenge and despite weighing in at a
mere 160 pounds, he handled the beast of a machine
effortlessly, leaving his competition in a whirl of dust.
When I inquire on the history of the bike, he says, “It’s a
’97 KX500 that my dad bought back in ‘97 to cruise the
desert on. Pretty much got parked I’d say in like 2000. He
only rode it a few times too, because he was focused on
helping me, you know, go through all the amateur stuff.
It was pretty much full-time work for him, plus he had his
job, so it was gnarly.”
Like the KX500, Collier parked his moto career in 2012
at the Lake Elsinore Pro Motocross National after a series
of injuries and hardships whittled away his dreams of
making a life out of motocross.
There are aspects of Collier’s story that are all too
familiar: a young kid with raw talent earns titles and
accolades in his youth; injuries early in his pro career
hinder his performance and limit his chances of
earning a factory ride; struggles as a privateer force
him to sacrifice everything—money, time, health, and
relationships—for moto; generosity from family and
friends piles on an ever-growing pressure to succeed in
order to prove their sacrifices worthwhile. Until he has no
more left to sacrifice and giving up becomes inevitable.
To be a pro motocross racer, one needs more than
just talent and tenacity. He needs to have the luck of
good timing and few injuries. He needs small acts of
pure serendipity. Such was not Collier’s luck as a pro
motocross racer.
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