VOLUME 59 ISSUE 3 JANUARY 19, 2022 P103
Broc Hepler was
reaching super-star
status in motocross/
Supercross when a
severe concussion
effectively put an end to
his professional racing
career in 2009.
Hepler. "Especially Supercross
where any little mistake can be
costly."
Hepler came back to race in
'08 and '09 but a mishap at the
2009 Las Vegas round proved to
be the final straw.
"I got hit by Davi Millsaps
in practice and it spiked my
symptoms again even worse than
what they were," says Hepler.
"So then in '09 I didn't do the
outdoors, even though I was still
employed with Yamaha. I'm just
like, I can't keep getting hurt like
I was. I didn't want any lifelong
permanent injury by wrecking all
the time like I had been. I think
I had three surgeries within that
year or something. So, it was
like, if I keep riding the way I am
and just trying to push through
the brain injury, I'm going to hurt
myself even worse. At that time,
when the symptoms and stuff
were that severe, even everyday
life wasn't that enjoyable. I would
do therapy and whatnot and then
I'd have to take long naps and
stuff after even just driving for the
symptoms to go away."
Though he retired from pro
racing in 2009, Hepler managed
to ride a few local off-road events
for fun.
"Once I decided to quit, still
I would have friends like, 'Let's
go riding.' Which I still could, but
when you're not pushing yourself
to the level to be a professional,
you're not taking the chances
and stuff," says Hepler. "So
that's why I was still riding a little
for fun at home and stuff. The
more I rode, then I was doing
