Mike Garrison of Lee's Summit, Missouri was the kind of kid who "struck out playing tee-ball or got tangled in the soccer net." When he was five he discovered a passion for motorsports, and that was the beginning of his racing career.
His dream of becoming a professional dirt bike racer seemed within his grasp because his family travelled a lot, he would sneak and race dirt bikes. Then, on August 27, 2006, tragedy struck.
Mike was 18 when he collided mid- air with his best friend during a competition. His friend was not hurt, but Mike suffered a shattered spine, collapsed lungs, and severe internal bleeding. Mike got paralyzed from the chest down.
Many would have fallen into depression at this point, realizing that your dreams have been shattered forever, but not Mike. For him, this was just the beginning of an entirely new journey. Instead of feeling sorry for himself in what might have been, Mike turned his focus on what he could achieve now, in his current physical state.
able to ever again. You can look at it that way, but quite honestly, I wouldn't change it even if I could.
Mike's love of motorized sports never died. He attended racing events, and one day at an event in 2007, the commentator of the race handed him the microphone and asked him to fill in while he took a break.
Though scared at first, he soon discovered that announcing was a wonderful new way that he could participate in the sport he has always loved.
There are days when he wishes he could be riding a bike instead of announcing the races, but he also thinks that telling the story of the sport is also more fulfilling than physical participation. He has come to terms with his situation and he says, if he could go back in time to change the outcome of that tragic race, he wouldn't.
He credits his wife Britani Jo Garrison for constantly pushing him to go further and achieve more and for not seeing him as a disabled man.