Hero Blog #1: Doug Henry

This is one of my hero's riding a dirt bike for the first time in several years. I had the opportunity to get his autograph at the AMA Supercross in Texas Stadium back in 1995. I don't know why I didn't, I was right next to him. Later that night he went on to win his very first 250cc Supercross main event - in the mud.





About 5 months later he was in the points lead for the AMA National Championship when this happened:





The result was two broken vertebrae. He returned to the same track two years later, only to break both of his arms. The following year though, in 1998, he came back to Budd's Creek (where both wrecks took place) and won both motos. Then followed it up by wrapping up the 1998 AMA Motocross Championship!

Doug raced a few more years, and then retired from motocross. He went on to race super-moto for a few years (super-moto is a hybrid form of motocross and road racing shown in the video below). I recall that he won the X-games in super-moto one year. I was so stoked for him! I had my second chance to meet him right before that. He was actually practicing in Norman, OK at the track right off of I-35. I remember thinking, "wow, that's the first time I've ever seen a super moto bike."

Later that day I got an email about Doug Henry being in Oklahoma, along with a few pics. I was pretty ticked off I didn't stop by to meet him, but at the time I had no idea it was him...

A few years after that (2007 I think?), Doug broke his back again in a super-moto event. This time it was much worse, and he has had trouble trying to walk ever since. I was pretty stoked to see him back on a bike though. But yeah, this guy has been one of my hero's and one of my favorite motocross riders of all time. Not only is his comeback story inspiring, but also his rise to the top story, in which Doug and his wife lived out of the back of a small truck during his early professional years.

Anyways, that is Doug Henry, and he is still a TOTAL BADASS!!! I've always thought that about him, which is why I decided to named my iguana after him, and put one of his Doug's posters in the iguana's aquarium when I was 11 years old.






Circa '98








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