In October 2016 I told Racer X’s Jason Weigandt that come January, I would be completing #17For17In17 – meaning I had set a goal of covering all 17 Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship races in 2017. He looked at me with wide eyes brimming with disbelief. As someone who has been around the industry for quite some time, Weege has seen his fair share of ambitious wannabes give it a go to conquer the whole series. However, most would fizzle out a few races in after getting their “cool points” – rarely to be seen from again, especially when the hard work sets in.
Setting this goal only three years into my professional Supercross/Motocross media journey was viewed as outlandish by most, especially given the less-than stellar success rate of my predecessors. The fact that “THE guys” who had even had marginal success as a member of the media had been around for decades made the goal even more unrealistic. The barriers to entry for becoming a member of the professional Monster Energy Supercross media pool are nearly insurmountable, but that wasn’t going to stop me from running head first toward one of my most ambitious goals to date. And being a female entering into an entirely male-dominated field made it even more challenging. Well, #ChallengeAccepted.
What started as a goal that was scoffed at by most, became an opportunity to truly live the dream! I can now proudly state that not only did I make it #17For17In17 by covering all 17 Monster Energy Supercross races, I also became the first-ever female member of the media to cover every single AMA sanctioned professional racing event in a single season – that’s 29 races in total! In fact, not only was I the first-ever female to accomplish such a feat, I was one of only six people in the entire country who managed to cover all 29 events. Ironically enough, the season concluded with Weege’s familiar “wide-eyed and brimming with disbelief” look – only this time, the disbelief morphed from a look of “Yeah, good luck with that” to a look of admiration that said “Holy S***, you ACTUALLY did it!”
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So often, when I get to share about what I do, the response is “Oh my gosh, your job is SO COOL!” Now that 2017 has drawn to a close, I’ve had time to reflect on a year of immense personal and professional growth. Between new memories and friendships that will last a lifetime, learning how to overcome any challenge thrown my way, what it means to truly live my best life and yes – having a job that is indeed “SO COOL”, 2017 was one for the books. I’m so grateful for every opportunity that this year brought and look forward to an even more exciting 2018 season. Thanks to all of you, Freestyle Photocross has grown into a legitimate brand focused on a truly unique fan experience and will continue to grow in 2018 and beyond.
To start off the New Year off right, here’s a look into my Top 10 Favorite Memories from my first year as a hard-card carrying member of the professional media pool for Monster Energy Supercross and Lucas Oil Pro Motocross.
10. Witnessing the Crowning of Four Champions
The professional racing seasons in the U.S. are 17 races long for Monster Energy Supercross, immediately followed by a season that is 12 races long for the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship Series. As a member of the media for all 29 races, I had the unique opportunity to see the evolution of riders from first time winners to first time champions. Certainly an emotional journey for the riders who were crowned champion for the first time, or in the case of Ryan Dungey, his last time, as he retired from professional racing after the 2017 Monster Energy Supercross season. Witnessing these hard-fought victories in person is one of my favorite things about this sport.
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9. Championship Points Tie During Round 16 of Monster Energy Supercross
2017 was undoubtedly one of the most exciting seasons of racing in recent years. Eli Tomac won an unprecedented 9 races in a single Supercross season, with his 9th win taking place during Round 16 in Salt Lake City, UT. Leading up to Round 16 marked the first time in Supercross history that there was a tie for points in the Championship this late in the season and two riders, Ryan Dungey and Eli Tomac, both donned the coveted “Red Plates”. Having the chance to cover the lead up to this historical race is surely a memory that will stand the test of time.
8. Filming a SupercrossLIVE Segment on top of the Seattle Space Needle
Pacific Northwest native and 2017 250SX West Champion, Justin Hill, can obviously shred on a bike, but not everyone knows that he can shred on a guitar as well. To showcase his musical talents and pay homage to his “home team”, Feld Entertainment produced a segment featuring Justin playing the guitar on the observation deck of the Seattle Space Needle. Through a scheduling coincidence, I was invited along to shoot the stills for the segment. We had a blast listening to Justin play some PNW favorites, including Pearl Jam and Nirvana. This guy has mad talent on and off the bike.
7. Meeting Remi the Monkey
File this under the “Things You Would Never Expect at a Motocross Race”. During the final round of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship I met the most unlikely fan – a pint size capuchin monkey named Remi. You heard right, a MONKEY! A monkey complete with his own tiny clothes and a backpack to hang out in. Remi was the talk of the pits and got to live out every fan’s dream meeting many of the riders and even got to tour many of the factory rigs. He made sure to also introduce us to his “pet human”, Logan. Definitely can’t wait to see them again at Ironman 2018.
6. Eating Lunch on the Daytona Trioval
Daytona International Speedway is home to the famed Daytona 500 as well as Daytona Supercross, the only Supercross race that takes place at a NASCAR venue and one of the most beloved sports facilities in the country. Not many people will ever have the chance to even walk on the historic Daytona Trioval, let alone sit on it. So when the stars aligned and a very rare break in race day allowed me to sneak a quick lunch with some of my moto family we took the opportunity and plopped right down on the Trioval for our four minute lunch break.
5. Earning the Nickname “IHOP”
The first time I formally met Blake and Keleigh Baggett was at the Salt Lake City round of Monster Energy Supercross. I was recovering from a knee injury that had happened earlier in the season so my knee was in a thigh to calf immobilizer (more on that in a minute) and I was hopping around on crutches. Blake says to me “You should work at IHOP because of your leg”. His wife (fiancée at the time), Keleigh, immediately apologizes to me as I’m doubled over in laughter. I always thought Blake was this super-quiet and extremely focused rider. I learned that day that he also has a hilarious sense of humor and according to his wife, only jokes with people he really likes, so I’ll take it. This moment was the catalyst to the start of a remarkable friendship and gave me the “IHOP” nickname. Later in the season, Blake even sent me a very special and thoughtful gift of a signed jersey “To Krystyn/IHOP”.
4. One-on-One Interview with Chad Reed at East Rutherford Supercross
Many of you who have followed my journey from the beginning, know that I’ve been a moto fan since I was about 14 years old. During that time, I’ve followed Chad Reed’s entire professional racing career here in the States and it’s no secret that he’s always remained near the top of my list from a fan perspective. When the magazine I worked for requested a feature interview with the legend, I was equal parts anxious and excited, mixed with a side of fan girl. Chad was incredibly gracious with his time and the 14-year-old fan girl in me surely didn’t mind the opportunity to live out the craziest dream either.
3. Meeting Belgian Make-A-Wish kid, Witze Boyekens
I’ve always been passionate about the good work that that the Make-A-Wish Foundation does and have been blessed with the opportunity to work with the organization during multiple chapters of my career. When I found out that Feld would be hosting a Make-A-Wish kid during Monster Energy Cup, it was the perfect opportunity to combine my passion for Make-A-Wish with my passion for moto. The Boyekens Family were treated to a VIP experience of a lifetime at the 2017 Monster Energy Cup and it was an honor to be able to capture their experience and share it with all of my fabulous followers.
2. First Published Article
When I first got involved with moto, like many, I dreamt of the day that I would see my first by-line in print. At the start of this season, I was a rookie by every definition of the term, but determined to make it happen. Not only did I manage to accomplish earning my first by-line in a renowned moto publication, but I also built relationships with some of the top motocross media outlets in the industry. None of it would have been possible, however, without Motocross Performance Magazine in Canada who took a chance on the “new kid on the block” and hired me on for the entire 2017 season. Thanks to the MXPMAG team, I had the chance to have content published every week online and even wrote multiple features for the magazine. I was also trusted to contribute content to Racer X Illustrated, Motocross Action Magazine, and DirtBikes.Com. It’s awesome to have my rookie year under my belt and I look forward to strengthening my partnerships in the coming year.
1. That One Time I Got Hit by a 450
Yes, you read that right – I got hit by a 450! And if you followed along this season, then there is a good chance you saw the “redheaded girl on crutches on tv at the end of St. Louis Supercross”. Yup, that redheaded girl was me. Taking the checkers as my favorite memory by far for 2017 would be my run-in with Alex Ray’s 314 machine during second qualifying in St. Louis. Feld does an amazing job setting up guidelines that best mitigate the dangers that are inherently present when working around 20+ speeding motorcycles, but freak accidents are still a possibility and a risk we sign up for. On that crazy day in St. Louis, the most illogical freak accident you could think of actually happened. A catawampus ride, a whiskey throttle, a ghosted bike, and not enough real estate was the perfect formula for getting myself tangled up in a 450. Nothing quite like getting slammed so hard that your knee cap ends up on the wrong side of your leg causing you to end up in the Alpinestars Mobile Medical Unit with Doc Bodnar telling you “You are NOT supposed to be my patient!”. Call me crazy, but I’ll easily rank this as the best thing that happened all year. That injury opened up a ton of channels of communication with the riders I was too timid to approach, helped me earn the respect of my colleagues, and gave me major street cred when I didn’t miss a single race (including the rest of the St. Louis race), and even shot a handful of races on crutches. We’ll definitely file that one under “Things I’ll Never Forget”. Lucky for all of you, you can see the video for yourself.
I survived my rookie year and made some incredible memories along the way. Hard to believe the 2018 season of Monster Energy Supercross is already upon us, but I absolutely can’t wait to get back to racing. Thank you to all of you who continue to believe in and support Freestyle Photocross.
2017 was one hell of a ride and I can’t wait to see what 2018 brings. It’s almost time to #DropTheGate!!
