Meet MX Racer Carson Fiske

Carson Fiske // 6 Years Old // Victorville, CA // Motocross Racer // Born With Amniotic Band Syndrome

Carson and his father Derek reached out to us at Defy All Odds in regards to sponsoring Carson. Once we heard his story and saw some photos/videos of him in action, he was a perfect fit for the message we are trying to illustrate for the world to see. This is Carson's story; get inspired! ( Words of Derek Fiske, Carson's father )

DAO: Tell us about Carson and his journey
DF: Carson was born without the lower half of his left arm. The medical term is called Amniotic Band Syndrome. Amniotic band constriction (also known as "amniotic band syndrome", "ADAM complex", "Amniotic band sequence", "Congenital constriction bands" and "Pseudoainhum") is a congenital disorder caused by entrapment of fetal parts (usually a limb or digits) in fibrous amniotic bands while in utero. Amniotic banding affects approximately 1 in 1,200 live births. 

Carson was born in Apple Valley CA and is currently living in Victorville CA. Growing up he always had his own way of doing things. Just adapting without having to think about "how am I going to do this". From the time he was in his mother’s womb you could tell he loved Motorcycles. Every time we would go to a race or be around the sound of Motorcycles he would move around and seemed like he was super excited. Ever since I can remember all he wanted to do was make motorcycle sounds and watch and play with Motorcycles. He was never a normal kid wanting to watch cartoons or anything, just always asking me to put on Motorcycles on TV. He would watch the same Supercross race every day until the next race came on.  

DAO: How did he get into motorcycles so young? 
DF: His mother and I got him his first bicycle when he was 2 ½ years old. We let him ride it in the house in the kitchen around our kitchen table. He did that for hours and hours lap after lap. Then he got bored of that and started to try and go so fast that he would be doing 180 degree skid outs and 360s. Just after he was 3 we took off the training wheels and he never looked back. I always say that kid is more comfortable on 2 wheels than his own 2 feet.  On his 5th birthday we got him his first motorcycle. It was a 2013 Honda 50. I bought it with training wheels and the very first words out of him mouth were “ Dad can you take these training wheels off”. He rode if for about a month with the training wheels then I went ahead and took them off. He did his first race series in April 2013 at Glen Helen and finished in 3rd. That’s when he fell in love with racing. After that Fall of 2013 we did a MotoxKidz series and Carson ended up in 1st place for the series. After that is when we realized he needed and was ready for a bigger faster bike and we ended up getting him a KTM for Christmas 2013.

DAO: What has been Carson's biggest challenge?
DF: One of the biggest challenges for Carson was as he was getting faster it was getting harder for him to just hold on. He holds on to the bike with his inner part of his elbow between his forearm and bicep. But anytime he would case a jump or a jolt forward his are would slip off. Finally we got in contact with IMG Motorsports James Hill and he was more than willing to help and come up with a bar mount that looks like a hand guard but that Carson can put his arm in and it would slip out. That was one of the biggest confidence boosters Carson had. After that the other challenge was stability on the bike. Not having the second hand to hold the bars made the bars kind of want to go where ever they wanted to go. I ended up calling Scott’s and they made a Stabilizer for the KTM 50’s. We have managed to come up with solutions for every challenge that presents itself so far and I am sure there will be more to come.

DAO: What is Carson's dream as a kid or a racer?
DF: Carson like other kids his age goals are to ride pro one day. I believe the biggest thing about him is the fact that he doesn’t look at himself as a 1 handed kid that rides dirt bikes. To him he is a 6 year old that rides dirt bikes and gets to hang out with all of his friends at the track. He is still a little too young to understand that what he is doing is so special.

DAO: What does "Defy All Odds" mean to Carson?
DF: When we asked him what Defy All Odds means to him he says what we have been teaching him all his life. Let nothing or no one stop you from what you want to do. You can do what everyone else can do and maybe even better. Carson is a very special kid but at the beginning My wife and I made a pack to never treat him any different than any other kid. Like I said before Carson doesn’t think he’s special because he can ride a dirt bike and he only has 1 hand; He thinks he is special because he goes out there, competes, and gives 100% with the other kids his age. He has a blast doing it.      

DAO: Anyone Carson would like to thank?!
DF: Mom, Dad, Victorville Motorcycle Center, IMG Motorsports, Bell Helmets, Spy Optics, Factory Backing.

To learn more about Carson visit carsonfiske.com or follow him on Instagram @carsonfiske51