BMX
BMX Rider/Amputee Kurt Yaeger's Inspiring Story
Kurt Yaeger returned to BMX after life-threatening injuries, learning to thrive like never before.
Kurt Yeager twists an x-up in California
© Aaron Nardi/Red Bull Media House
Back in 2006, BMX rider Kurt Yaeger was exiting a freeway on his motorcycle when a car two lanes over blindly swerved to exit at the last minute. Yaeger was forced into the guard rail and hit a light pole, while the car drove on.
Yaeger was faced with incredibly severe injuries, and his left leg was soon amputated below the knee. He managed to recover and to thrive, returning to BMX riding against all odds and expanding into other sports and even the world of acting.
Recently, a music video from the band Rudimental -- inspired by Yaeger’s story and featuring him and his riding friends -- was released to an enthusiastic response, to say the least. Before you read any further, check the video out now.
We spent some time with Kurt to discuss the video, his recovery, and being an inspiration to others.
redbull.com: What drove you during your recovery?
Kurt Yaeger: I think it’s the same thing that drives any bike rider; you just push your own limits to progress beyond what you think you’re capable of. There were a lot of dark times; I was in the hospital for four months and had over 30 surgeries while I was there. Almost one every three days, it was brutal. After that, it was like six months before I even got out of bed. Not only was I missing a leg, but my back was broken, my ribs were broken, my ACL and MCL in my good leg weren’t working… I was just stuck there. You either make the best of it or you don’t.
It took going through a really dark place to come to the point where I realized it was time to stand up and get better.
Was there a point you remember when you had to consciously make that decision?
It took going through a really dark place to come to the point where I realized it was time to stand up and get better. At a certain point you think, I’m going to kill myself or I’m going to commit to getting better. It was a couple week process of figuring out which one it was going to be.
Once I got through that, it was like, “Okay, what can I accomplish? What have other people done? What can I do better?” I got lucky -- I had great family and friends who encouraged me and took care of me when I was down. If I hadn’t had that I definitely would have killed myself. I don’t mean that as a joke.
How long until you were back on a motorcycle? A BMX bike?
I got on a motorcycle first, because pedaling is a lot harder than just putting your foot on a peg. It was probably a year and a half after my accident. I got on after rebuilding it -- the same motorcycle -- and I rode down the street, then rode a wheelie on the way back. Once I did that, I was like, ‘Okay, I’m good, I don’t need to be on this thing right now.’
Within the next couple of months I got on a bike and I was trying to pedal around but my foot wouldn’t stay on the pedal. I tried duct tape, then I tried Velcro, and I thought about clips but that was a stupid idea, leg or no leg (laughs). Then I got those Proton Lock magnetic pedals and started escalating from there, getting better and better. It took me about a year of riding bikes to figure out how to make it work.
So how did this video come about?
The director, Nez, reached out to me after seeing my stuff online. We sat down and talked about the parameters of the story and artistic license, how to make it be as real as possible while also telling a better version of the story. He was really cool, he came in with his vision but was confident enough in his own skills to learn what our world was really like, instead of coming in and preaching, ‘This is what I want.’
So missing one limb doesn’t have anything on what that kid -- and a lot of other people -- are going through. It’s relative.
You’re definitely a busy guy; can you go through some of your projects?
I’m doing skeleton for the Paralympics, acting -- I just did a seven-episode arc for Sons of Anarchy -- I’m writing and producing some projects, I’m still riding a lot of BMX -- I really want to flip the MegaRamp...
Skeleton?
Someone from the US team contacted me, and they were basically like, ‘Hey, I’ve seen some videos of you and you seem like you’re dumb enough to want to do this (laughs).’ And I said, ‘Yes I am!’ So I gave bobsled and skeleton a try. Bobsled’s cool, but I fell in love with skeleton. It’s more like BMX: one person, one track, you’re all on your own.
This year I did four races and got two firsts and two thirds. They want us to do an exhibition in Sochi. They’ll have national championships for the next three years so they can have it in the 2018 Games.
When you were in the hospital, did it occur to you that you could end up being an inspiration to other people some day?
All I did -- I was presented with a problem and I made the best of it. You go into a children’s hospital, and those kids rip your heart out, man. One of the kids I've met in there has a skin disease where it feels like he’s burning, and his skin acts like he’s a burn victim. He can’t do anything and he’s 12. And he just wants to be a police officer and help people.
So missing one limb doesn’t have anything on what that kid -- and a lot of other people -- are going through. It’s relative. You help out where you can, and if it makes someone say, “Hey, this guy got over something, maybe I can too.” As long as it gives them some hope. There’s so much negativity, and there needs to be more people saying, “To hell with what people say you can and can’t do. Just try it; if you fail, who cares? Just figure it out.” Plenty of people will knock you down, because they couldn’t do it and they want you to stay on their level.
Anyone you’d like to thank?
I want to thank family and friends for being there in my time of need. I would also like to thank Ossur for building my legs, CTI for protecting my knees, etnies for providing shoes and Bern for protecting what's left of my brain.
I’ve said this in other interviews, but if anyone you know is in the hospital, just go visit them because it makes a world of difference.
Run for those who can't -- sign up for the Wings for Life World Run, happening May 4, 2014, which will help fund research into curing spinal cord injury.