in America was paying so there
was weird stuff going on with
that. It was all crazy. Nuns literally
sneaked me out of that hospital.
What? That’s crazy; tell me
more about nuns sneaking you
out, sounds like something out
of a movie.
My mom was on the way to the
restroom and ran into a nun. She
told her that we weren’t allowed
to leave and asked ‘how do we
get out of here?’ The nuns told
us to meet them in the hallway at
3 AM. So my mom brought my
gear bag and clothes from the
hotel and wheeled me out into
the hall where they (the nuns)
marched right out the front of the
hospital and into an ambulance. I
waved good-bye to the nuns and
we were off to the airport in the
ambulance. It was the weirdest
thing I’ve ever been a part of
(laughs) but to this day I thank
the Lord for those Catholic nuns
because they did me a solid. It
was all just a crazy experience
being hurt and in another country.
When I was there in the hospital
I was alone for the first five days
and since I didn’t speak the
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language, I couldn’t communicate
with anyone. They showed me the
x-ray and where my bones were
broken but it’s like I already knew
that. My shoulder was coming out
of its socket at night when I was
sleeping but I didn’t want to tell
them because I knew they would
try to keep me there even longer
so it was the wildest thing I’ve
ever been through (laughs).
When I did get home, I had
nothing but tears of relief. It was
a crazy one for sure. I do want
to say though that I love Italy, I
love the people and the fans and
I even went back to that event
two years later and rode that
same demo. Everyone was very
welcoming and warm to me, it
was great.
...as far as
crashes and
getting hurt go, you
kind of just
accept that
What drove you to want to go
back? I know most riders would
cross that one off the list to
never go back to.
Part of going back was to
conquer it and get over the fear of
riding in that same arena and also
to see the people that cheered for
me when I was getting hauled off
after my injury. That meant a lot
to me too, the people there are
great.
Speaking of home, let’s talk
about something a little
brighter. Temecula is the hot
spot for FMX. A handful of
riders, including yourself, all
have competition level FMX
courses on their properties.
How is the vibe in your area,
does everyone get along or are
there turf wars and cliques that
people segregate into?
I think what we have going on
out here i s great. I don’t know
if there’s any other place in the
world quite like it. Yeah, I know
some of the spots are tight, and
the guys keep it to a closely knit
group. For the most part I’ll ride
at Fitzpatrick’s place which is like
a 60 acre ranch with the most