Ryan Villopoto has certainly built himself a reputation in the world of competitive motocross and supercross racing.
As a competitor in the AMA Motocross Championships from 2005 up until 2014, he pushed harder and harder in every race that he entered.
While he’s retired from the AMA series, he still competes in other races. Yep – he hasn’t given up on the roar of that 2-stroke weapon between his legs.
Ryan Villopoto Early Life
Ryan was brought up by his dad Dan Villopoto who sadly passed away in late 2018 due to a massive heart attack. Dan was a massive motocross addict who had to sacrifice a lot to allow his son to prosper in the sport of competitive racing. Even Ryan’s grandfather was deeply involved with the sport.
As a young rider, Ryan was on his junior motocross tracks early and riding around including jumping and stunt work. The twist of that throttle at an early age is certainly addictive.
Ryan pushed and pushed, often putting schoolwork aside for racing competitively. As a teenager, he won his fair share of titles.
Retirement from Motocross Racing
Ryan Villopoto retired from MX racing at the age of 26 due to a severe crash in April 2015. This left him with a nasty back injury and a very sore tailbone.
Yet today, he still continues to ride recreationally as well as professionally. He hasn’t gone anywhere – there are just other up and coming stars into the sport.
His net worth isn’t as strong as other competitors, sitting at just $5,000,000. Yet that’s certainly enough to retire comfortably in his early 30’s. That’s a result of more than 44 supercross wins.
Today he rides almost daily around his own motocross track while coaching others into the sport. Check out this WR450F project that he’s working on:
Our Thoughts
Ryan has earned a reputation in the sport for actually focusing on the prize. He’s sacrificed a lot and has been through his fair deal of hardship both on and off the track.
It’s that resilience that gets riders through the toughest of times. In a world of cotton wool, it’s refreshing to see someone making it happen, instead of hiding behind the computer screen.
