“When you were growing up did you ever have a rider who you just liked because of his style or just because you liked the way he rode on the track? This week in Anaheim I thought it would be cool to find out who were some of the industry’s favorite riders when they were growing up."

“For sure, Johnny O’Mara, because he always rode hard and was the most stylist rider of his time. I even have a set of customized O’Show license plates when I was twenty years old. My brother introduced me to him in mid - 90’s and he even autographed them for me. I was so stoked!”

“Definitely, Jeremy McGrath, just because he was “Showtime.” He won seven SX Championships and then he wasn’t a very good outdoor rider but decided to dedicate himself and won the 1995 outdoor championship. You just have to look up to a guy like that!”

“My favorite rider growing up was Mike Bell. He came to the Pontiac SX when I was 14 years old and we went and played racquetball together. He was really down to earth and a cool guy. So when I turned pro I wanted to be like him. I rode for Malcolm Smith just like he did and I even had his mechanic when I turned pro. I kind of took over where he left off.”

“Growing up I always looked up to Bob Hannah. When I started racing he was the guy dominating supercross and the outdoor nationals. I liked him because he was the one running his mouth and backing it up. Fortunately I got to know him and found out what kind of a guy he really was. So, I always looked up to Bob Hannah.”

“Growing up I always looked up to Tim Ferry, just because he has helped me out so much throughout my career. He’s taught me a lot of the ropes in professional racing and thanks to him I expect more things out of racing. That alone has kept me going and to see how he has succeeded keeps me working hard everyday.”

“Damon Bradshaw, just because he was aggressive and really fast. He was kind of the bad guy in some ways but I loved the way he rode. He always rode with really high handlebars. Back in the day everyone use to have their bars pulled back and he had those Pro-tapers up in the air. And I always liked JMB because he was French, very fast, and had a smooth riding style. He was my idol growing up.”

“It was Jeff Ward because he was short and had short little legs like me (laughs). I thought if he could get it done, so could I.”

“I had two favorite riders growing up. In Europe it would be Roger DeCoster. He was just smooth, calculated, and he was the man! In the U.S. , I looked up to Marty Smith as a kid. He was the first teen idol of motocross.”

“I had two guys. First was Roger DeCoster because when I was little I had a poster of him on my wall. That’s when my dad was racing, so that was the first guy I saw. Second would have to be Ricky Johnson. He had that #1 plate on the Honda CR 250. When I was young, coming up, I wanted to be a champion and at that time he was the champion. So I put his poster on my wall and I trained hard to be like him.”