Hi, I'm Jon! and This Is My Story..
My name is Jonathan Stark, a 27 year old T-4 complete paraplegic from Pittsburgh, PA. I race motocross on an adapted Yamaha yz250fx! I became paralyzed on February 11, 2009 when I was on my way to school and had a bad tire blow out and sent me into a hillside, rolling end over end, ultimately getting ejected from the vehicle. After 85 days in the hospital the question arose, what now?!
I started to ride/skate on my wheelychair which is called WCMX and that was so fun!! I traveled and competed many years. That was a huge confidence boost as it lead me to believe, if I could do that, I could do anything! After some time that became boring, so I decided to get back to my roots and try to adapt a motocross bike to race! It's been a dream of mine since I was a kid to race.
I used to tell my dad "you see that dad?! That's gonna be me one day!" He would chuckle. I thought that was all gone when I broke my back... Little did I know life's most beautiful journeys had only just begun! With the help of the awesome people at the bike shop, and the best friends a kid could ask for, we got the bike set up and I got to ride again, on my moms birthday for the first time in 10 years! It was the perfect way to celebrate the life she gave me. But that was only the beginning.. we began to train and practice and eventually the toughest but most empowering thing happened, I got to race at the track with my best friend that I had always dreamed of as a kid, HIGHPOINT! God rest his soul, but every time I ride I feel his and my moms presence and it makes me feel so alive! It was the hardest thing I ever did but it was the greatest feeling of achievement I ever accomplished. Since then I have entered several outdoors and indoor races with the soul intention to have fun while motivating and inspiring others to stop at nothing to chase your wildest dreams!
Limits, like fears are often an illusion of the mind. And I want to be a testament that no matter what life may throw at you, you have to choke up and just swing away. While things may be different for us now, we just have to adapt and find a way! Sitting on the sidelines is never an option. And soon the ultimate goal, is to have an adaptive moto sports school for indivials of all disabilities that want to be out there with the rest of the crew!
Thank you for reading a bit of my story, and feel free to check out my Instagram @fatboy412 for more photos and feel free to ask any questions if you'd like to get involved or try an adaptive motocross bike! And remember, to never settle!
