Lost & Found: Tyler Kalisiak	PDF | Print | E-mail
	Author: Scott Parkinson

Lost and Found will be a new interview we feature here on the PanicREV website. We will be interviewing both riders and people in the industry that have been off the radar for a while. This month we found Tyler Kalisiak. Tyler raced the AMA Supercross series from 2006 until this year when an injury forced him to hang up his boots. So he has been off the bike for a few months, but he is staying busy working for the Christian clothing company Truth Soul Armor and putting together a motocross training program.

We couldn't resist publishing this photo of Tyler getting ready for a workout at a local beach with his Uncle Rico and buddy Napoleon.

PanicREV: So Tyler we haven't seen you racing any Supercross this year. Why not?
Tyler Kalisiak: Well, after the Houston Supercross last year I was only riding the 450. I was hoping to race it this year in 09. I felt really comfortable on it and was planning on racing it for Supercross. Things were looking good and I was getting really close to start getting back on the SX track to train for the upcoming year.

The thing that really put a stop to it this year was waking up in the hospital one day out of nowhere. I knew right away I was there as a result of a bike crash, but I didn’t know how, when, or even where. After hearing the stories, I found out it happened at Starwest early in the morning; a week and a half before I woke up. I was meeting Mike Sleeter and Ryan Morais there at the track that morning to do some laps with them, or so I thought. I ended up warming my bike up and getting on the track. I did one corner and one jump and was on the ground! I ended up breaking my femur, collapsing my lungs, and had bleeding and swelling in my brain, which put me in a coma. What great information to wake up to a week and a half later!

PRev: How has recovery been? You itching to ride again?
TK: The recovery was a long process. I was in the hospital for a whole month on bed rest, which sucks! I couldn’t leave the bed unless I was in a wheelchair getting pushed outside to see the sun. My leg healed up quickly and I was on the stationary bike as soon as I left the hospital. My head took a bit longer to get back because of the bruising and swelling.  At the beginning of each week I would check up on myself somewhat and notice huge improvements on everything.

As far as the riding part goes, yes I’m itching to ride! However, I have to take blood thinners daily, which makes me unable to ride.

PRev: Now that your Supercross career is over, what is next for you Tyler? You are still working in the industry, tell us a little about that.
TK: In 2007 I was racing the East Coast Supercross Series, I ended up getting hurt in Orlando while having the race of my life! After the injury I ended up deciding that I needed to make consistent money that I can rely on. I ended up searching around and found a home working at Truth Soul Armor clothing 2 years ago. I’ve been having a blast helping with the marketing and managing the team. I love being involved in the industry and wouldn’t want to leave it!

PRev: The word on the street is that you want to start pouring into up and coming riders and training some kids. How do you hope to see that play out?
TK: I’ve been thinking a lot and came to the decision to start doing it again. I used to train a few kids; one was from Canada, which was rad. Another, the dad paid me monthly to be dedicated to his son privately which worked out. I gave him instruction on the track, gym and diet weekly. Right now, I am definitely looking to get back on that schedule as a part time gig. I wouldn’t limit myself, but what is in my mindset is to have about 3 kids a week that I spend time with.

PRev: Tells us a bit more about your racing days.
TK: Well I started when I was really young, just riding on weekends. I later started doing summer schools with Marty Smith when I was 12 and 13. Shortly after, I made the move down to Southern California. I trained a bit more with him and then looked for something more consistent. I trained all together with about 3 others trainers including Ryan Hughes. I spent about  5 years traveling to all the amateur nationals, hitting all the stops. When I was ready to move up to pro, my dad and I were talking with Randy Lawrence (Ryan Villopoto’s trainer) about training together. He ended up leaving Kawasaki and I was the first to hop on Randy's training program.  He trained me at the track and at home daily for about 3 years. I was totally blessed to make it to Supercross in 06’ and continued to follow Lawrence’s instructions the next two years. That same year, once Supercross was over, I enrolled in a Sports Nutrition course at a Jr. College. It was nice taking that to have a lot more knowledge on how to take care of my body and how to prepare it for the events each week.

In 2007 I raced the East Coast Lites Class and had an awesome year. There were 79 riders signed up every round and I was always finding myself qualifying in the low 20’s. In Orlando I had a great race in the heat starting in 5th, passing Mike Alessi for 4th then having a mishap happen to take me out. I raced Supercross again the following year in 08, but struggled finding the time to ride and train during the week working at Truth full time. That year was the most stacked I’ve seen it with 83 riders signed up. Racing Supercross was an amazing experience, something a rider will never forget!

PRev: Any final thoughts?
TK: I am excited to get back working with amateur riders and watch them improve. I get really happy for people to see or hear about them doing well. I hope to hear from riders or parents coming up to allow myself to inform them and show them my knowledge on not only the riding skills, but the nutrition and workout routines as well.

I also would have to say that I am completely blessed with what God has given me the opportunity to do racing and to keep me going after my last crash.  If you’re up in the air on if you believe or not, then maybe this might help. I crashed on a bike breaking my femur, collapsing my lungs, and had bleeding, swelling and bruising in my brain and was also in a coma. A month after leaving the hospital I was back at Truth working, riding my road bike, and at the gym.  It’s unreal how quickly I came back up to speed and getting my brain to even function properly.  Tell me someone wasn’t there with me ...

For more information on Tyler as his motocross training please click on the flyer below: