Motorcross ‘Superwoman’ Backed by Dad’s Fibrenew Franchise
When Kassie Boone heads to Sturgess, South Dakota, in early August to perform at the iconic annual motorcycle rally, she’s likely to roll out her latest favorite trick. “Call it a one-handed Superman,” she says, describing the hair-raising trick shown in the photo nearby before correcting herself. “Or call it the Superwoman.”
She is one of just two women in North America riding Freestyle Motorcross (FMX) professionally as she tours the world with Monster Jams. A typical day at the office involves jumping 75-foot ramps, and in one recent 10-day event, the Calgary Stampede, doing so 500 times.
It all started with the encouragement of her father, Blair Boone, a 25-year franchisee with Fibrenew, a fabric restoration franchise, servicing London, Ontario. You could call him and his franchise Kassie’s earliest and most long-standing fan.
“My dad put me on a bike when I was five years old and then I started racing when I was 14, and I started freestyle racing three years ago,” said Kassie, now 29.
“It’s been my family growing up,” said Blair about the sport. “I rode since I was 10 years old, and it was something that Kassie’s brother, who’s a couple of years older,” started to do as well. “It became a weekend sport for us. It was a family thing. She just caught on to it and loved it. It was something to this day that keeps us together and conversations flow.”
His Fibrenew franchise has sponsored Kassie’s racing for 25 years, and he drives a trailer used to pick up furniture, with the Fibrenew name prominently displayed, to events around the country. Kassie’s bike, too, has the Fibrenew name on it.
“Everybody knows my name here. They see my trailer, they see it lettered and Kassie’s bike is lettered,” he said. “I’m very proud of my work and my workmanship that me and my guys do. We’ve made a name”for the business.”
For the Calgary Stampede in early July, which draws 1.2 million guests, Blair took a rare break from his business and invited 12 people from corporate to watch Kassie jump. “Being a business owner and I would say a workaholic, I feel guilty leaving, but I just spent a whole week with her and met a lot of her crew,” he said, adding his VIP guests, including the CEO of Fibrenew, “were shocked and grateful” to take in the scene.
Blair admits it can be tough to watch his daughter perform death-defying tricks, but “I’ve gotten better. I have more confidence in her than I have the negative side that’s the possibility of crashing.”
As for Kassie, she’s working on mastering her next trick. “Honestly, the whole thing,” she says when asked what she loves about freestyle. “My favorite thing about freestyle is learning, and every time I learn something else,” she said, adding she’s “always pushing to do more, always keep getting better.”
Source: https://bit.ly/30ctdvw
