Gene Buonomo
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Superheroes come in all shapes and sizes. For professional motorcycle rider Gene Buonomo, it's in the form of his 14 year-old son, Decklan. While Gene can impressively guide a 150mph motorcycle on the country’s top tracks, his strength doesn’t compare to Decklan’s, who lives with down syndrome.
Life has presented challenges for Decklan from the get-go, as he was born with duodenal atresia, a condition affecting only 1 out of every 7,500 babies. Surviving surgery was one thing, but managing Decklan’s down syndrome is a daily challenge for not only Decklan but Gene, who is a single parent to three sons, juggles two jobs and races professionally on the weekends.
The National Down Syndrome Society, or NDSS, was Gene and Decklan’s saving grace, providing them with resources, programs and a community to connect with others fighting the same fight to give children with down syndrome a normal life, helping them land jobs and providing health information to parents.
That is why in his rookie season on the MotoAmerica circuit, Gene will sport the NDSS logo on his leathers, giving thanks, showing support and raising awareness for the society that has saved his family. Decklan will be alongside his dad each weekend of competition, cheering him on as his unofficial racing manager and pit master.
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Hi, everybody. This is Gustavo, the host of the Enabled Disabled podcast. It is my great pleasure to have our first professional athlete on the show. Jean. Say that again. Buonomo, Jean, Buonomo. We will edit the that out. Gene, it's awesome to have you here. We're going to have a great conversation about your life, your career, your motorcycle racing, and your son Declan, who was born with down syndrome and who is an amazing kid. And you guys are raising money this year through your racing for the National Down Syndrome Society and really looking forward to this. Thank you for being on the show. A quick description of myself. I'm a middle aged Latin American male. I have dark Brown hair comb to the front. I'm wearing a black Polo shirt and I've got some blinds in the back in my living room and some beige drapes. So, Gene, welcome to the show. Please tell us a little bit about yourself and visually describe a little bit of what you look like in your room.
It's great to be here. My name is Jean Vanilla. I'm in my living room. I got some pictures behind me. I'm wearing one of my racing shirts. I'm going to say I'm middle aged, too. We're going to be one of the older athletes on the paddock this year for sure. I'm here with my three boys in my home. I'm happy to be here.
Domino, when did you first start getting into racing?
So I started racing in 1992. I raced for a few years, and then it just started to get I probably raced for about six years and ended up becoming into the professional level. Also back then, it was just the AMA and it just started to get too hard. And I had my first son and I kind of started to feel okay, you know, this was not the path I should be on right now. Doors were shutting as opposed to Obama. And that's why I backed out gracefully back then. And I was, believe it or not, off the plate for probably about 16 years, 16 years just doing the basics of the family life, which is great. And since through that journey I had two other boys and my youngest is back home. He's the one who has down syndrome. He just changed the whole plot, just the whole dynamic.
Yeah, we're definitely going to get into that. I'm just curious to learn a little bit more about you, too. Was racing bike something that you were into since you were really young? How did you start to know, hey, I like this. I'm good at this. And maybe I want to go professional with it.
It was a tough fight. My dad was super against it. He did find me my first dirt, which I thought was bizarre. And all I did was get in trouble on the thing. And maybe that's why I could say he would not let me use it. As much as I wanted to. But as I started to progress, I was a lot younger at that time. I went to the football and the other sports that were a little easier on I think my parents to get me there and to actually do it was always just always festering in the back of my mind. I would show up down to the shore, and I'd see the bikes go by on the highway, and I was just dreaming about those bikes. It was something that I knew it wasn't going to be attainable from my parents. They just were not really into me. So as I started to get a little bit older, I started my own business, which I still do today, this landscaping company. And I got this big job. I don't know how I got it, but it was a doctor in the hospital, and it was just a really big job that we did.
And it was actually enough money to where I was able to buy my first motorcycle. Yeah. And then I instantly went into actually fell off of it pretty quick. And someone's living, you should take the school. It's called Mike Baldwin pro school, and he was a world champion. And I didn't even know. I just showed up to the school, and it ended up being this racing school. And I ended up taking the bike instantly off the street and right to the racing. That's where it all started. That's where. And I probably did that for about six or seven years where I got a pro ranking. And then as it progressed, like I said, I started out my family, and things fell out of place at that point.
It's interesting that you showed. So we're fellow entrepreneurs, so Congratulations for opening your own company and pushing through that. And that's never easy. It's never an easy step to do and to build that business. Do you have any advice for people today or kids today if they're interested in going into racing, whether it's cars, whether it's bikes for parents, keep your kids out of it, or is there something you're doing it now? I'm imagining that you've got good feelings for it, even though there's an error.
That's the first and foremost I would want to say as a kid, the thought of being heard is definitely not as apparent in your mind. You're thinking more out of the box differently. You're not really thinking about things like that. That's where they get that term. No fear there's. Still inherited fear there. But you have to be a special kind of person. Well, you can motorcross, you could flat track and road race. They're all a little crazy from the natural normal, let's say the regular person looking at it from the outside saying, man, these guys are crazy, but you have to be a special individual. And much like any other sport, really, you have to really have a desire to do it. And for baseball, for instance, for me, baseball is a sport. But then you look at these guys and they're a huge sport. It just wasn't for me. I was good at it. It just didn't do it for me. Football, same thing. I was good at it. I had gotten hurt with football and so I couldn't progress in that. It was just that when I finally was able to grasp the bike, I was like, wow, this is really neat.
So as far as to answer your question, I would say if your kid said to you, all I want to do is ride bikes, then I would say embrace it because that's the way I was. And my parents didn't embrace it. And they felt bad. Later in life, if they did feel bad, they were like, man, I think I wrote my mom a letter and my dad, I'm like, I'll get ease and all my classes, please buy me this bike. I'm like, why didn't you buy me the bike? And she said, I don't know, it was dangerous, but she felt bad. So I think it's something that and it's becoming more of the norm now where people start to really look at and listen to their children and what they want to do. And just on that regular level, if we spin off to down syndrome, everyone has dreams and we have to try to as parents, we want to try to give them the avenues to do it. Racing is a little bit more expensive than the regular sport, like football, baseball, basketball and things like that. So it's a lot more that it's in play with racing and all the sports in general.
Absolutely. I don't know too much about motorbike racing, but I'd imagine that between the suits and the helmets and some of the rules and the sports that they are trying to implement more safety restrict more safety to it. And I know that with Formula One, it was a lot more dangerous to do it 30 years ago, 40 years ago than it is today.
Absolutely. It was a definition back then, especially for those guys. The protection is amazing now and it has spilled over amazingly into my racing. And everyone else is racing with the air suits. And I have a great sponsor from Revit. They hooked me up with an awesome suit. That's an air suit as you eject off the bike. The suit has GPS and it senses your position and it just jettisons these airbags in the suit. And it's an amazing amount of protection that they have that just cases your Eternals up here in air. And it's amazing. The helmets and the helmets have come way a long way. So much testing and development that goes into them.
I had no idea about the suits. That's an awesome innovation.
That's really helpful. Absolutely amazing. And that was one of the biggest things that we were trying to do. We were putting the suit deal together this year was trying to get be able to utilize that tech air suit.
Are you the only one who has that tech air suit, or is that something that's getting more common in your racing circuit on the pro level?
Most of the guys are running with it now. It just makes sense as far as wherever it's concerned. It's going to be me, PJ Jacobson and Danielle Patrick, all top writers, and those two guys are huge. I'm the grassroots guy. These guys are World Championship, Mortal GP and World Championship and World SuperSport. World Super Fight is PJ. Yeah. So it all started out in Mortal GP. They usually start with that higher platform and stems down. It started trickle down to the mainstream now, which is great. And I think it drastically reduces a lot of injury.
That's fantastic. To dear, let's go back in time a little bit to where you have your first two sons and you're raising a family and you're doing the family entrepreneur thing. Never easy to balance either. And then Declan is born and can you talk a little bit and feel free to share whatever you like? Can you talk a little bit again, maybe for new parents who have just had a child either. It can be any disability, it could be any chronic condition, it can be down syndrome. What are the kind of emotions that are going through you and what's the process of okay, how am I going to help my son thrive? How are we going to adapt? How are we going to learn? Tell us a little bit about what that process was like.
I have to store it back when I was real quick just to stem on something, is that when I was 17 years old, probably 1617, I was beating a girl from my town, and there was this little boy, Tommy. I want to say it's, Tommy. I'm almost 100% sure. And he used to sit on this rock on the corner warehouse. And yet down syndrome, and he was just the cutest little guy. He would just sit there, I guess he would visit his grandparents a few weeks a year. So you won't see him, like during the summer. And I talked to him and I remember saying these words, I ever have a son, I want to have a son just like that. And it didn't resonate with me until it happens. But it was even later on. So I always thought that was a cool gift that I never realized that I bought on myself. But so moving forward to where we're at, where we got the news about that one, to be as Frank as I can be. And it's almost a shame for me to say at the time I wasn't doing well with my ex.
We're not doing well in our relationship, and all of a sudden now we have another child coming on. I was like, oh, man, it's going to be tough. She had some issues, and she was having a hard time with two perfectly healthy boys. And I was just, man, I don't want. And then all of a sudden, we found out we might have down syndrome, and they were just so brutal about it. They're like, no, you don't want to just get in the boat. Like, right away. That was where they went with it. Pregnancy. We're here for you. And it was just very shocking. And that's probably one of the things that we can cover later. And I was the same way. I was scared. I didn't know who to talk to. I was embarrassed for some reason, which is totally ridiculous. And I was worried just because of the way things were seemingly falling apart. And then now I had to even work even harder. I thought, like I said, I wasn't very uneducated about it. And the doctors had nothing for me.
Yeah.
You want to terminate the spirits. That's all it gave us. There was no support system number to talk to you, no MDSS, nothing. Just, here you go. We're here to help you. And very sad. Fast forwarding into it. I am very thankful to my ex, because that was one thing she stood firm on, because she was like, I was kind of on that side of what, maybe we should do this. But she stood firm. Thank God she did. And we had declared and right out of the gate, we had some issues. They call it a double bubble duodenal trees. Your stomach looks like two stomachs. It's blocked. When you look at the scan, it looks like you have two they call double bubble. So right away, he had a gap surgery two days old. And I'm like, and then the doctors wanted to remove his appendix for some crazy reason. This is where I started to become an advocate. And I'm like, why do you want to take his appendix out? Because my mom was an award nurse. You don't need to take that appendix out. They have to take this whole bow out to get to the appendix.
And it's not necessary to tell them to leave alone. And I went back to the doctor. I'm like, I just want you to leave the appendix alone. Of course, I was overridden by my ex and her parents, and they ended up taking his appendix as well, fixing the double bubble, which is sort of like a basic surgery at that time. And what had happened was he was allergic to the latex. So when they put him back together and he was all good and responded for a few weeks, he ended up getting achesions all over his bells, and everything got blocked. So now I'm like, you were right. They should have just left them alone. They hadn't taken the bow out. They wouldn't have gotten through. And that's when I said to myself, this, never again. I'm going to research everything and no one's ever going to tell me what they're going to do with my son. And that's where it started to evolve for me. I was on that parental instinct. I'm going to give this kid everything he deserves because he can't speak for himself. He was just at that point, it's not even I want to say.
It was probably four months old by the time maybe. And things started to transition again with that kind of behavior where my ex started to back away from the situation. I thought it was bizarre. So I took this role. It was very strange. I was against it and she was for it. But then all of a sudden she started to back away. And then eventually she left. And so I was by. I wouldn't say that wasn't even a year, maybe a year, not even a year and a couple of months and I was alone. I had the three boys getting choked up here. I can't believe it. But yeah, so it was tough, but I just switched to all the gears. I was like, how am I going to fix this? How am I going to survive? How am I going to do this? I still hadn't come into the end of the SS, and I was just walking alone, trying to figure this all out. Researching the school system sort of helped me. They did, but they weren't as knowledge as much as they have now, even ten years later, let's say it just has evolved so much more with information for someone like me to try to how am I going to deal with this?
How am I going to do these extra qualities? How am I going to run my business? How am I going to get these two to school and get him to school? And it was freezing, but I figured it out somehow. I can't tell you how, but I figured it out and it's been a blessing. He's been just like, it's all those days when you wake up and you just look and you probably do it and we all do it. You have a bad day, you wake up just like, I got it from this. And he just like, hey, dad. Hi. How're you doing? I love you. Just the amazing presence that he had, I think, saved me. And as he got older, it's just been a blessing. Every day a different story, a different amazing thing he does. And my other two are amazing. I don't want to push them aside. They've just been the greatest, bigger brothers to him, greatest peers. They treat him as one of their own. They bash him around, they torture him and all that good stuff like big brothers do. So it's been quite the journey.
That's an amazing story. Thank you for digging deep into that. That's never easy to relive past challenges and hardships. So thank you for sharing that's going to, I think really help people. I think it's interesting to see the story. I have a younger brother, and we were pretty much always good friends. We're three years apart and he's non disabled, but it was always a I think partially because we came from Brazil when I was two and partially just the way my parents were. There was this real solidity within our family, and it was like, you two are brothers and you need to learn how to trust each other, how to rely on each other, how to feed friends, because this is family and this is what you have. And even though we always had other friends, that I think that really stuck with us. And my brother, Besides myself, has been a harsh critic. He'll tell me when I'm doing something wrong, he'll help me like, hey, and in basketball, why don't you try this instead? He had that empathy. He saw me as a human being, and that's something that I was. I couldn't have asked for a better brother.
I couldn't have asked for a better friend growing up than him. And it's interesting. It seems you've got a similar dynamic in your home where your two older sons are seeing Declan as a human being. Like, they're accepting him for who he is. They're acknowledging him for who he is, and they're including him in the family, which is beautiful, right?
They are amazing. All three of them are amazing for sure. Now as they're getting older, it's even more helpful just the way they step up and just do whatever help with something on his computer or helping with some work or even fixing one of his games, playing a game where he stopped on a level, ready to jump through the ceiling just the same, the frustrations there. I got to help him, but he does. But I like that because it's real and it's true. And I would almost say not even so much where they're just like, oh, I got to help them. No matter what. They still probably know about it, too, just like the rest of us. So I try to keep it where he's special, but he is also just they're all on the same level. They really try to keep it, and that just comes natural to them to help. And it seemingly everyone around us. I try to put him out there's videos and dancing and just things he cooks with me. I try to post his videos. We're trying to figure out a niche here, what it's going to be wants to ride.
He rides a quad. I'm a little nervous about the motorcycle just because it requires so much more attention. And he may see me, right? And he'll just be like, hey, dad, forget what he's doing. And his reaction might not be as quick. So the motorcycle still worries me, but I'm hoping to see if we can figure that out. He's like my biggest fan, and he's also the one. He's probably more than the other one who wants to ride. So it's pretty cool.
That is cool. I imagine that your mom was a really helpful support structure as you moved through this. And then how did you come across the NDSS? And when was that? And let's talk a little bit about the ways in which they've been so supportive and helpful and have really improved the dynamic of your life and decklan's life.
That's a great question. I had this down, but I want to say it was probably around six or seven years old. It was pretty much getting in maybe even a little later. I wish I had a date for you. But when I was doing the whole schooling programs in school, which, like I said, when you're diagnosed and you have a diagnosis, they go right to the textbook and they have it all mapped out what we're going to give, what services, PT, OT, speech, and the amount of time allocated for each child and so on. And then they have groups like multiple disabilities, multiple disability rooms. They have children with autism. And then where does he fit in their levels of balance, injury? The scope is huge as far as delays, and there's no set. They're not all on the same level, just like autism or any other handicap. Every degree of it is different. So that's where I was starting to freak out. And I'm like, I don't know what to do. And my mom actually suggests to start looking for groups. And I was like, I don't need a sports macho. I don't need a sports system.
I don't need to go to school. I'm just going to fight with the school. But I didn't advocacy is a big help because the school is going to kind of and I don't want to sound like I'm knocking the schools, but they have a budget, they have things in place, and I get it, but we have to push the envelope as parents on all that. And just like anything else, pushing and pushing the first question, okay, let's go to the national bounce. So I had called over and I started to research on the computer, and first thing I saw was the advocacy. And someone answered and she came right on to me and she started talking to me and I was telling her my situation, and she was just kind of loud, okay, you definitely need help. And it just showed me the blueprint of how to address the school system and not back down and not yet. You can't go in narrowly guns blazing, but you have to be strong and you have to be persistent and give your child the best program they need. And that was the biggest help that they gave me as far as even medical things, medical advice, insurances and things like that.
And then it also stemmed out, they got me to the Special Olympics because for some reason I was blinded by Special Olympics. I just didn't even I'm like, what am I going to do with this guy? And they were like, oh, yeah, you got to get him into that. And it was the greatest. It was a great program. They just have so many avenues early on, just someone to talk to, someone who can appreciate what you're doing, who has diverse, and that this specific diagnosis and what they have to offer. And it continues to grow as all the individuals grow. And that's where I started to see, okay, he's this Chuk little guy and everybody loves him. But I'm starting to see now the transition. The hurdle that I'm having trouble with right now, me watching is the friend. So his level stays the same with his friends are growing and now they're not wanting to hang out with them. And it's sad because I'm bored. And that's the thing I'm starting to deal with right now, learning how to adjust to that. It's an ongoing process as they get older. Cuteness. I guess you want to say where it's I don't think it does.
I think they're all raising beautiful. I think maybe it's sad, but it's true. It just seems to be. I think the world is embracing it way more now. And that was the greatest advice and information that I got out of the SS, and that's why I want to be a part of it. It was a huge step for me in learning how to feel and admit that I don't really I don't have all the answers.
It's hard. I know my parents were especially my mom did a great job advocating for me through school. I've spoken to people on the podcast that I'm still in touch with. Her son was born with cerebral palsy. He was on the podcast. He's phenomenal. But she talked a lot through everything that she had to learn and helping him get what he actually needed in school versus what the school was willing to give. So advocacy is huge. But if you don't know what to fight for, you're like you're swinging blindly, right? You're out there fighting, but you need the information. You need the foundation of knowledge and the people helping you and support you to say, actually, we think you should look here, you should try this, because this is going to help your son out way more. So that foundation is tremendously out of work even had a word of sentence.
He needs his needs. He needs this. Or then it was even the last resort of we're going to take him out of district to a better school and guess who's paying for it? And even things like that. And that's where you get to the last resort. You're like, let's see, you got a venture a little bit. Give me two more hours of speech a week. I think that's probably more of Declan's greatest hurdles speech. You spoke to him briefly it's a little hard to understand that's one of the things we have to try to dial in on him that will come with time.
I think that he's 13 or 14 now, 1414. So actually think 14 is an awkward age for most kids. And all of those transition periods are going to are differently difficult for everybody. Obviously, with Declan, there are some additional challenges there. But I think that with, like any kid, like any human being, if you give them the love, if you give them the support, if you give them the attention, they're going to find their way. It's people, and people are going to see them for who they are. It's just a matter of persistence, like you said, having the right people behind you and supporting you and just moving through those challenges, that life just never seems to stop giving us, no matter who we are.
Absolutely right. That's getting them out there, participating. Like I said, with you, I can do this or participation, making sure they're included. That was another issue. I'm sure that was probably an issue your mom had to go through. Why can't he be out here playing basketball? Figure it out. Let's figure this out. I know it's coming, and it's like you said, we've come a long way, but there's still more work, and that's kind of a life kind of went on. I can't even tell you exactly how I got back into racing, and it almost did seem like an irresponsible move. But I was having my struggles because most of my friends were in the Lake community. I live in Beautiful Lake, New Jersey. And not to knock horse shoes or dots or this or that or just all these other extracurricular activities, just not for me. It wasn't doing it for me. I was always had to be doing something, running around, doing something right, something my son, I came across some pictures and some trophies, and it was just like that. And then with that, I think my friend called me from back in the day, and it was just amazing.
He had a bike for sale. And the next thing you know, I was on the bike doing track days. It's been good for me because it gives me an outlet and I would bring the boys with me and they all ride and do stuff. So it was just another great Avenue and a good therapeutic thing for me, too, as a person. It's just evolved. And I'm not really content with just kind of, yeah, I'm just going to hang out here and do track days. Let me try racing. And then I started doing some endurance racing with a guy I met, Canadian, but he lives in New Hampshire, and we became best friends. And after a few years, we won three national titles and team challenge, endurance racing. And then it's on to the next. What's the next? Which leads me to mortal America. Now that's going to be that's going to be a big one.
How much training do you have to do, Jean? How long did it take where you started to feel like I'm getting my skills back? Or was it like that old adage about riding a bike you never really forget once you get back on? Like, what is the process?
Look for you now I'm going to say the first day I got back onto the race track for racing, even ridiculously as it sounds, I didn't go to track day. I went right back to racing like a knot. And I remember the first day I was out there, I'm like, what am I doing out here? It was in New Hampshire. I was turning into turn one. And I'm like, what are you doing? But then the way the bikes have revolved from the 90s to I guess the bike I was on was 2008. It was a few years older, but that bike has remained on change for a few years. But it was just instantly where I was as a pro years ago there. And it was amazing the technology and how easy it is to ride these bikes now. It's just the way different sport, just like everything else that's involved, too. But I do spend a lot of time training because it's hard for me. I'm definitely I'll say it again, I'm one of the oldest guys. I probably will be the oldest guy in the product this year. And I do push myself.
And I'm at least an hour and a half a day in the gym doing something. I try to ride with my son. We didn't get to ride too much this year. We came out to California with me, and we had a lot of fun out there. So anytime we're riding, we're having fun. And it's a nice way. We call it training, but you can ride a motor bike or Super Moto. It all transitions and all helps you with your overall.
That's awesome. And I know Deckley's there. I know he's participating. I know he's loving it. Can you talk a little bit about what it's like? How has he taken with the crew, the team members, the fans? I'm sure he's interacting with everybody and just cheering people on, learning, enjoying the experience. It must be interesting to see this whole new world open up for him that most kids don't get to experience.
It's great. I want to say the first time they went was we say I had to start as an amateur again, work my way back up through the ranks. I was there, but they were riding their skateboards and their scooters, and they were oblivious to what's going on. And they were a lot young. They were white, and they kind of didn't come as much. We started to travel a little bit more, probably go away once a month. And I would start the team challenge, which is like a national thing. And I would bring down to New Hampshire, which would be considered my home track, even though it's track in Jersey. I just appreciate that facility and the people, they were my friends from years ago, and it's just a great place to be. And they had the national there every year. It was always False Day Week and which was brilliant. And we always won. And it was really cool. So it was neat. And I used to remain as they got older, they were like, come on, ball as they come in the track with me, the older guys. And then the last time we had gone racks, they stopped doing that race up there, unfortunately, a few years ago.
But he had bought a bunch of medals and Special Olympics. And I just told my friend, so we go to the riders meeting. I'm not sure if you ever got a hold of that video. And they just had this great presentation. They gave him a national award for a lot more racing series for all his achievements. I couldn't even speak. I was so tired and black white. He won like five medals in the Special Olympics in like a week or two prior to that. And it was like motorcycles. What? And it was fantastic. It was a beautiful moment. And that's the motorcycle industry in a nutshell. They just embrace everything from one end of the spoke to the other. It is exciting for them, I think, to be there. And he loves it, especially because now that some of the women will take them and I have to go out on track, they'll take them away. My girl doesn't come. My sister was there Daytona, so she was the elf and my other son came. They just kind of go through and everyone just gets to know them as they go. Now, this was the first Mortgage America event because Daytona changed over this year.
So it was even bigger platform of everything that was going on. So it was pretty exciting.
That's phenomenal. And the Moto America is where can we watch it? Are all the events televised or some of them televised? Some of them not. Do they stream it?
They're starting to put some of them on, but it's Fantasy network. I'm hoping it didn't change this year, but I can update, update you on that. And it is a web based series, but they do put some of them out there, and I don't know, but that's where it's evolving now. It's starting to come more unleashing as it should because it is exciting for people to actually see how much goes into it just to get one team out there onto the track. It's very involved, and it's just such a tight knit group. Everyone is just so close. At the end of the day, everyone gets what they're doing out here. I think sometimes it's nice to see someone like me come in and I have a little bit more on my platform, whereas I'm bringing something else into the mix, something that I believe in seems to be getting some attention right now, which is great.
Absolutely. So you are sporting the NDX logo on your suit, and you're basically helping raise awareness for the organization, teach people, expose people, build the awareness of what it is that they're trying to do and what their mission is.
Exactly. 100%.
That's awesome.
Yeah. And I'm going to just put on some events through the year. I'm going to try to do try to do an endurance event for myself, basically, and maybe just get out on the bike as long as I can stand it, maybe at a track event and maybe try to reach and funds that way forward them. It's in my wheelhouse. So I think it's just kind of people when they run miles or do things like that for donations, I might do like lapse. That would be one of my events this year. We're going to try to get that locked up soon. And then there's twelve races from North America, and it's going to be a tough call just to get in there and get on the grid there. If you do stock 1000 Ninjas, the X Ten R, it's another level quite that. I'm just learning. I'm always learning from the 600 Bgtu with a lower CC bike to 1000. So you're going from 115 HP to 200 and something horsepower. It's a big jump.
That's significant for people who don't know those bikes. Give us a reference point. How fast are you going in a race and how quickly are you accelerating from zero to wherever it is you're going? 100 and 6150. I don't know what your top speed is on those bikes.
It's different on many of the tracks, but I'm going to say that 1000 could probably get close to 200 miles an hour if you were to open it up with Daytona, which is probably one of the fastest tracks. But they usually run that race is on 600, but all the tracks. North America's got a fast look at fast back street. So there's a lot of tracks where it's the turning and the maneuvering at 150 miles an hour course, you knee on the ground and it's pretty wild.
I have a client who was a former he's a professional racer on the weekends, too. He races cars, but he says that he's found I think he's in his 40s, mid 40s right now, late 40s. He said that he advised a lot of the younger racers are a little bit more, less careful or much more willing to take risks that maybe they shouldn't take. That that's where he finds the most difficulty is dealing with the younger guys. I don't want to say this the wrong way, but it's like they don't have an appreciation as much for better racing techniques. Do you see the same thing?
I think motorcycles has a little more of a gentleman approach to it, only because of the respect. But I definitely will say that the younger guys a lot more. I don't want to say what I want to say, but they got a bigger set. I want to say maybe they're not risking as much the thought process. They're not even thinking about risk at all, really. I think but I would say that there is a level of as a gentleman in that sport because it's just so much. It's just such a fine line of being on it and being off it and being hurt. I would say that as far as the fear factor is concerned, more so than respect factor. I would say some of the younger guys definitely have less beer than some of the older guys. And that's part of the whole sport and mental drama of it. It's not easy to do it easy. Everybody to do it. It's a commitment.
Yes, but it's fun. It's something where you want to respect the risks, but you still have to as a professional racer, you're still trying to beat the person next to you and finish as quickly as you can. So you have to balance that risk reward, like in a split second.
And when you know these guys, they're in the heat of a battle. It's close. They're going to rub elbows and they're going to push on each other and no doubt there. But that's with all the respect in the world. It's just part of it. But yeah, it's a great sport. I wish they would bring it more into the nation, a little bit more up close, more direct those cameras right on those bikes and everybody's faces and let them really see what's going on. That bikes technology out there is amazing right now.
Absolutely.
Appreciate it. Back to the voice that we were all talking about. I think that these type of sports and I think mortal America, for me this year is going to be a great I think they're showing super interested in this, and I just feel like it's just going to be a great platform. However we do, they're going to give us the time to really get the word out. What we're trying to say here.
That's really fantastic of them. And I hope more professional sports organizations take that into account and hopefully you can help be the launching pad for that. Right. If this goes well, which we all hope and every indication is that it will, you can keep building off of that and potentially helping or consulting with other sporting organizations in different sports to help raise even more awareness.
Absolutely. Yeah, that's great. Like I said, it's just amazing how doors open for you with the people that I met just at Daytona Bank. It's amazing. It's there. It's in front of us. We just have to embrace it.
Absolutely.
Everyone has something to offer to help, not just money. I'm sure you've run into people that helped you along the way. It's just amazing how it happened. It just catches you off guard. Like I said, this guy was Sherry Morris. He was one of the guys who was contending to win the daytoen 200. And somehow they found out that I was not getting into the race. And he came over and asked me for my tank. And I'm like, I was a little staying off, and I'm not going to lie, I'm just going to come in Carnival my bike here. And this is kind of weird. And I was still upset. And then he read, he stepped back and he's like, looking at my bike, and he's so deck weren't sitting there. And so you move his dad. And I'm like, yeah. And it just opened a whole other dial to the point where I was like, yeah, whatever you need. What do you want to take? It was pretty neat.
I know we talked about it offline, but why don't you tell us so that everybody knows. Tell us about that interaction and what happened, what came out of it.
So with that interaction, Stefan is his name. He runs the I want to call it the Golf Masters. I should know this, and it's the Golf Masters, but it's one of the biggest Special Olympics for the world. Over in Europe, that's a big fundraiser. It would be like long ball golf. So everyone gets the best shot and they just raise awareness and funds for the Special Olympics world Special Olympics system. Higher fire. So we invited you out to go to one of the events. The country's closed down now, he said, still. So when they do start, it back up and it's in McCoy every year, which I've never been to, where you pay the parents or if you have a son or a friend or an athlete, they pay for everything. Five star hotels, you have to pay for your airfare there. And then it's just getting involved. And it's the same type of platform fundraisers, and everything goes towards the cause. And keeping using Olympic scarring. Yeah, it's amazing. And it was just like I said in the Gory conversation over a gas tank. And it was pretty wild. And I'm glad he came in third in the race, so I'm glad that was pretty cool.
That's pretty cool. That's the whole key is you got to put yourself out there and you got to expose yourself to those opportunities. If we're just sitting at home not wanting to get out there, not wanting to take risks, not wanting to do things, there's not a lot that's going to happen.
It made sense for me doing what I do. I like. And we talked about people say it's risky and it's this and that. I'm not even sure how it evolved, but it just made sense to me. And with that on there, it's even better because it just sparks and people see him running around. What do you do with it when you go on the play? God, someone always kicking back into play here. I usually have someone there with me, and if I don't, there's always someone willing to help me.
Yeah, it's a community. Like you said, it's a tight knit community.
It's amazing. Even Dumb Lop Tires, their spots are mine. And Corey. Yeah. Just bring them, drop them off. Just send them over here. We'll keep them busy.
It's great, Jean, I really appreciate all the time, and I think it's been interesting. Have I missed anything in this conversation that you feel is important to talk about?
No, I think we covered a lot. I'm glad it was good to share that part of something that I don't usually talk about too much. How I got here. And when we first found out that everyone would have bouncing. That's the kind of awareness I want people to know, because I did have someone reach out to me once or I reached out to someone who came with the same situation. We have another great little guy around here in this community, and he's just a wonderful little guy. Raymond, I feel like she had already made her decision. It was just the usual. It's a tough a lot of emotions going on and leaning they were going to have. I think she was just kind of going through that journey that you're going to go through, and she's out. And I just kind of wrote her a letter on Facebook, and I told her, Everything you're feeling is normal. It's all just the unknown we're afraid of. I don't think for a minute they were thinking, like, us not having some society with a lot of it. The doctors come, like I said, they came in and I'm on the board.
You can go to the next room over here. It's just horrible. It was sad. And then when you see it, this beautiful person here, you're just like, oh, my God, you get robbed. The world gets robbed with someone like this. And I think, really, we have to just give them the avenues to grow and be their own individual. They have dreams, and they say, oh, yeah, they're so happy. And that's true. They are so happy, but they do get sad and they do yearn, and they do have dreams, and you have to try to figure it out what it is. And we're still working on that with that one.
So I'm not a parent, but I imagine that everything is all those decisions are totally normal, and there's always a range of emotions that we go through. And when you talk to parents, so many you hear from when they're expecting is, I'm just hoping the baby is healthy. I'm just hoping the baby is healthy. And I don't blame them for that, because that's a normal thing. It's a cultural thing. It's a societal thing. And that's what makes those decisions and those emotions more difficult, because as a parent that you're going against the grain, you're going to be in the minority. But on the flip side, there's so many blessings and amazing experiences and opportunities that you get because you made that decision because you showed that courage that most people don't get to experience. I'm not going to say it's a cut and dry thing. I'm just going to say there are a lot of benefits and a lot of things and that kids with a disability bring to this world that people don't realize yet. And more and more people are. But I'm really happy that there are parents like you. I'm really happy that there are parents and human beings like the people we've met on this show that I know personally who took that journey, embraced it, and found a way to make it just as beautiful and just as amazing and just as difficult as raising any human being.
Just because they're healthy doesn't mean they're not going to be diagnosed with a learning disability or there's always hurdles.
Always hurdles. Exactly.
Like I said, when you hear it from the doctor like that and they put you in this negative state where you're like, I'm dead in the water before I even get started here. And it's terrible. I pray that that's not how it is, how they present things the way it is now. That's the way it was for me 14 years ago. Sure. It's coming, that Avenue or that part of it. I have seen how they well, I'm sure it's changed.
Yeah. I don't know. I hope it's changed, too.
These are all the things that national doubts. It's just one big operation on every level from start to finish. And it's all about just improving their lives in that journey, helping open doors for them as they get older and breaking down doors.
Absolutely.
If they're there.
And how can people I know that you're going to send us all the website info, but how could are there other ways that people can connect with you once the show comes out? Instagram, Email, MotoGP and DSS. What are the ways that people can get in touch with you right now?
I'm on Facebook. It's Generosityino and Instagram as well. And then I would have the link for the NDSS and it's Mission Deck. I don't have a specific link that we just got it up and running. So we'll definitely have to post that at a later time. It's up on my Facebook page right now. And it will be Jane Horseshoe and my Instagram as well. That will give you the basis where you start to try to type the add to it as we go. And feel free to look at my Facebook page and you'll see that one in there. If you dig in there a little bit, go back. It's my stories and you'll see videos and we're going to try to post more of him and his brothers and just everyone as much as we can. Fundraising is a small part but it's a part that's going to help the NDS so whatever we can do to put more money on the table for them to complete the mission that they have and help every year it's what we're here to do.
Fantastic. Yeah. Hopefully as far as I'm concerned you have an open invitation back here any time. Keep us posted once the season is on once the season is over you can come back. We can do another show. We can talk about when and if there are any events or any fundraisers that you have coming up. Just let us know and we'll post them as well.
Yeah, that'd be great. Yeah. I haven't gotten the trigger pulled on it yet but I'm trying to get a helmet below when my sponsors awry and we'll see if we can sort of maybe even make a nice I'm kind of painting on that helmet or get one of these one really good one. I think it's a beautiful one that kind of says everything just by looking at it and we can put the NDS on it and wrap all that off just things like that. I'm going to have my team shirts up and as much information as I can get on there so that people can watch and see what's going on with everybody. I appreciate you having me on and it's great to meet you too. You have an awesome story too, mum man.
Thank you. I appreciate it. I'd like to hear more about that any time. Absolutely happy to share and I appreciate it so you have yourself a great night. Thank you so much and we will definitely be in touch. Bye.
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