Page 663 - Total War on PTSD Final

I entered the world of motorsports as a competitor, but severe injuries that I suffered during a qualifying race became the catalyst for a different kind of opportunity. Rather than continuing to race, I instead founded VETMotorsports, a nonprofit group that organizes and funds motorsports experiences for injured post-9/11 Veterans who are having trouble adjusting to civilian life. I got the idea based on therapies I saw being done in the United Kingdom as well as a chance viewing of a BBC broadcast that prompted me to create this life-changing organization for injured Veterans. The BBC program showed how injured troops used motorsports to recover, and I believed that the same approach could work in the United States. As a former professional motorcycle racer, I facilitated race experiences across the States during the racing season and focused on fundraising and outreach to partners during the off-season. I wanted the experience to be very hands on and immersive and not a parade of Veterans just getting thanked for their service. Veterans could ride or work in the pit, and could benefit from the cultural similarities of motorsports to military culture.
I knew that the first event we held would really affect the motorsports team. But how the event positively affected the veteran participants was overwhelming. From that point, I knew we had a concept that had the potential to really transform the lives of those attending and participating in our events.
Inspired to empower disabled Veterans through motorsports, our team took the leadership role to show value to those suffering injuries in combat. In doing so VETMotorsports became the first American motorsports team to fully integrate disabled Veterans into an active race team environment. By working with injured combat Veterans local warriors are included into motorsports events. VETMotorsports allowed
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