← Herm & Schrader
Herm & Schrader
The Incredible Life of Brian Deegan
01:15:30
Originally airing on March 6, 2024, motorsports fans won’t want to miss this episode as Kenny Wallace talks with X-Games legend Brian Deegan
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- [00:00]
A
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- [02:06]
A
Hello everyone and welcome back to Kenny Conversation, brought to you by jegs, the leader in high performance aftermarket car parts. Remember to go to JEGS.com for anything you need to fix your hot rods or just a plain vehicle. Fix it up. All right, well, before I introduce my guests, I know what you're all gonna say. Herman, where are you at? I am at brother Rusty's house, and he's got some badass stuff in the background. I hope it's not too blinding to you. He's got some killer trophies in the background. All right, listen, I'm jacked up on Mountain Dew about this one, all right? I've had my eye on this man that you're looking at for a long time. Basically, the greatest freestyle. I'd say motorcycle slash athlete. Just complete badass. The great Brian Deegan. Brian, welcome to Kenny Conversation.
- [03:06]
B
Yeah, yeah, thanks for having me. I have, you know, senior around many years, had our conversations, and, and I feel like, yeah, it's good that we could get together and actually have a, A talk about, I'm sure, a lot of interesting things, so, done a few things in my life, as you have so met a lot of interesting people. So it's, yeah, it's been pretty cool so far.
- [03:28]
A
You're, you're a lot more interesting than me. And, you know, listen, I admire you. That's my disclaimer. So I'm a big fan. You're awfully young. What are you. You're 49 years old, and you've already, you've already done it all, man.
- [03:44]
B
Yeah.
- [03:45]
A
One thing I, I, I noticed when I first met you is I feel like you and I are, are kind of the same. I was diagnosed hyperactive. They had me on Ritalin, and I noticed when I hang around you, you're kind of twitching all over the place like, like me. And I feel like. I feel like you're my brother, man. Did they have you on Ritland or anything?
- [04:07]
B
No. Well, you know, I grew up in Nebraska. Small town. My dad ran the school system, and he was one in this town in Nebraska. And he was the superintendent of the school system. And so he was always. He grew up on a farm, so they, they didn't believe in anything like, any of that. It was like, just gonna figure it out.
- [04:31]
A
Yeah, you're just weird, man. We got to deal with. Treat you like an old cow.
- [04:36]
B
Yeah, Usually I just got a lot of. Probably a lot of spankings from my mom.
- [04:41]
A
Yeah, well, me too. My, My dad beat my ass. And my mom. My mom would say, come over here so I can slap you. And I went older. She slapped me.
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B
Yeah, that's my mom for sure.
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A
I'll Never do that again.
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B
Yeah. Yeah.
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A
So, Brian, I want to brag on you right off the top, so your fans, I mean, I know your fan base is millions. What you got going on is big. But for a lot of people inside NASCAR that might not know about you, Terminator is going to put his two hundreds on because I'm 60 years old.
- [05:12]
B
Yeah, they're coming. Mine are coming soon.
- [05:17]
A
All right, let's go at it. Brian Deegan, 49 years old, the most recognizable name in action sports. That's pretty badass. Freestyle motorcycle rider. And we're going to get to the global rally cross later on. You went to four wheels around 2010, but first to ever do the twisting backflip360 in competition. The first ever to do something so wild. Ten medals in the X Games, two gold, seven bronze. And the only rider. Now, this is the one that you, if I got it right, okay, you are the only rider to compete in one event in every X Game ever. Is that right?
- [06:05]
B
Yeah. That's a pretty crazy stat considering all the injuries we went through. So, you know, Pastrana was my main nemesis, you know, Travis, and he really helped, along with me and Metzger, a few other names to build the sport, to create it. And when you create a sport, there's a lot of innovation. So, man, there was a lot of injuries, a lot of crashes. Learning how to flip a dirt bike, learning how to spin it, all this stuff. And man, you just get hurt a lot. And that was before the foam pits, so there was a lot of injuries. But somehow I figured out, I just knew I had to be at X Games every year for the, for the media. I've always understood media and I've always understood the value of it. So I just did everything I could never to miss X Games because we didn't have. There was no phones then, like, there wasn't social media. And so that was our moment to shine. You know, like it's. It's like you don't want to miss the Daytona 500 probably, right? Right. Yeah.
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A
I want to add one more thing onto this. You're. You're the co founder of the Metal Militia clothing line, which is incredible. Is that right?
- [07:14]
B
Yeah, that was a big, big movement there, you know, in the early 2000s kind of along with like no fear and action sports and all the movements. And there's a lot of brands that popped up in action sports at the time. And we had me and a couple buddies just really put that name on our group of guys and it started, it still is that today like it's just kind of if you ever looked at Watch Skate back in the day with Tony Hawk and the. It was called the Bones, the Bones Brigade and, and they were the original like group. It's just their group of skaters and it went on to be this legendary thing in a movie later. But either way, my point is we had our group of guys that we've had our own facility called the Compound Freestyle Motocross Jumps. And a long story short, we pretty much invented all that stuff back in the late 90s and, and that name on our group and it was just a group of friends and having fun riding dirt bikes. Rebel guys on dirt bikes wearing, wearing black, you know. And that was kind of the old style and it blew up and like everyone kind of got. Did get attracted to it and then ESPN ran with it and Travis was really, really was the good guy back then. Young all American kid. We were more the rebel guys in black and is good versus evil that old sane and, and man. So anyway, that thing blew up and we and I figured out through business and marketing and, and how to create the clothing line and turn it into this big business and it went on to make stupid money and, and you know, end up licensing it to big. It's a big corporation. And I learned a lot in business. It taught me. I, you know, I never went to college and I just, I think I've learned more than any guy in college when it comes to business marketing and business law, everything because you, you know, you have the goods and the bads and you know, anyway, it was a, it was a good run and it's still going today. It's still a seven figure online business which is crazy that it stood this. I mean it's been around. I don't know how long is it? That's like since 99. It started so, you know, almost 25 years now. So.
- [09:19]
A
Yeah.
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B
Crazy.
- [09:20]
A
Yeah. Well, I watched the videos. I watched it and I said man, what a gangly, badass hardcore group. I mean the things you all were doing with motorcycles were incredible. Now I got, you know, Kenny conversation. We, we call all these audibles. You know, we go every which way. So you've already brought up so much and I just want to piggyback on something you brought up now. This was from Jamie Little. We talked to Jamie a week ago and she says when. This is what Jamie said and I want you to respond to it. She said when you first came in, Brian Deegan was this quiet independent guy, won a race and then created this character, like this attitude. And she said every once in a while she felt like she could get the old Brian. But she said, you became this character. Is she right?
- [10:21]
B
Yeah, I get, I get because she was, she's been around our, our scene with action sports since the beginning. Yeah, she was one of the ones that helped really build it too with, with her, you know, social or with her marketing and her announcing and, and commentating. So that is true because I did come from, you know, a small town in Nebraska. You know, I had those roots. You know, I went through very tough times when my mom left when I was about 10 or 11, just got up and took off and I was more mama's boy than my dad was at work every day.
- [10:56]
A
Buddy, I'm sorry about that.
- [10:57]
B
Yeah. But that's life, you know, and my, my dad was a stern, like business guy. You know, it wasn't very emotional. Never, you know, it wasn't I love you or nothing like that. It was just like business. But he was very, very caring and, you know, really saw that I loved racing, so he took me racing. But my point is I ended up doing a documentary called Bloodline eventually with Paul Tobley, who, who is really good at doing documentaries, usually through monster energy. And it told the story of, of the small town kid coming out to California to chase his dream and my backdrop of where, why I was who I was. You know, I went through a lot of really tough family things I didn't realize till later. And it hardened me. You know, it wasn't until later that I had a family. Later that I was around a stable, stable family members and stable parents. And that I realized what I had gone through as a young, as young age. And it did, it did scar me and it did make me hard. And so like, you know, I, me being that character, the care character, the bad guy, I think it was real at that era of my life and I think I really was on a bad one. I really was angry and I was really taking it out on the world and then that's how, why this group fit me at the time. And you go through different chapters in life and I feel like that was one of my chapters. And yes, there was still this kid inside me that, you know, wanted to have fun and be, be nice and, you know, get the best out of people. And I feel like that was always in me. But I did go through a run of about 10 years where we were on a mission, like we were burning a lot of bridges. That was like, yeah, part of that
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A
era you know, but man, you've, you've done so good. So you, you've done what I call. You've overcome, prevailed, you made yourself. Don't know where your mom's at. That's a whole nother conversation. She'd be proud of you. And if she ain't, she's missing out because you've done all this on your own. And that leads me to this basically, and straighten me out. I, I feel like. And you gave credit to Travis Pastrana too. Do you ever remember that time? I mean, because I remember I was born in 1963 and I had never heard of X Games in my life and, and I remember when it started. So in my opinion, you guys started a new sport. Do you, do you remember when you said to yourself, holy crap, you know, there's baseball, there's football, and we're starting a new sport? Do, do you ever remember? Do you remember that time?
- [13:56]
B
For sure, yeah.
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A
Tell me about that.
- [13:59]
B
So I, I grew up racing dirt bikes. Supercross, motocross. I was a privateer, which basically means I didn't have the OEM support.
- [14:08]
A
Yeah.
- [14:09]
B
And I went to California, brought my dirt bike. When I graduated high school, I just, I didn't have much money at all. I had to live on my race winnings and I just chased that dream for like two or three years. I got, I got on a support team. I, I wanted to be a factory rider so bad and I just worked super hard. I remember training every day. It's one thing I could do with that didn't take a lot of money is I just really worked hard and, and end up going and getting. Finally had a chance to be a factory rider. They ended up giving the ride to someone else and it really upset me and I, and I had a bad attitude for sure. Like I didn't have a good attitude. I wasn't the social guy to cool that was cool to everyone. I was more like, why, why not? Why not me? You know, that attitude? And, and so everyone passed me up and I got really upset. And that's when I ended up teaming up with Team Moto Triple X, which is this edgy punk rock team. Went out, won the LA Supercross ghost, rode my bike over the finish and kind of, I've been fashion.
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A
I just heard this about your boy. That, that word right there goes road
- [15:16]
B
Ghost Road the bike. Which was. I, I don't know, I guess you could comparably say maybe like Chastain Rail in the wall or something that just, you know, it wasn't Legal. You're just like, ah, whatever. And so that's kind of the my, my was my going out of racing moment. And then I went. We were started doing tricks on dirt bikes at that point. So we were out in the hills doing like, you know, these BMX trips, tricks on our dirt bikes, but over like 100 foot jumps, big dirt jumps.
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A
That's the videos I watched. I was amazed.
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B
Yeah, so that's the original video series that helped launch Action Sports, which was Crusty Demons of Dirt. Their original VHS tapes is showing the riders partying, having fun. The real stuff behind the scenes and not just the racing. And those videos blew up like every, everyone had those videos. And so then once that started, that movement started going of us doing that. I started getting offers from companies to pay like sponsorship deals from like Aetney Shoes and you know, a Volcom by back then Vulcan was just starting. And so they're, they're often to pay me just to be a free rider. And I'm like, man, this is crazy. Like, and so I thought, okay, this, I can't make a living on this money, but it's at least keeping me going. And then we created this freestyle park in our buddy's yard. And ESPN ended up calling and said, hey, we want you to bring that to X Games and make an event. So as a group, you know, everyone put it together, did the judging system and brought it to San Francisco. 99X Games When I showed up there and rolled in and you see our freestyle park on the bay and next to BMX skate, Tony Hawk and Mira Nyquist. And I used to watch those guys because X Games. X Games was on since 95. So we came in at 99. Those guys were already heroes. Like I already thought like these dudes are big, big time that have been in action sports. And so we, we show up and dude, thousands of fans, man. And I was like, we started riding and they all came running to where we were because our jumps were massive. It dwarfed everything. And the dirt bikes, the dirt bikes revving and they all came running. And, and that's when I started riding that event. I'm like, dude, we've done it. This is it. Like we freaking are on the cusp of probably the biggest thing to ever hit dirt bikes right now. And it's snowball. And that's when I met, that's when I met Mark hall who originally went on to create Monster that that day. And he came to me, he's like, hey, do you want. Could I sponsor you with Hanson's energy. And. And I was like, we were anti corporate, all in black, like, kind of skater vibe, like, you know, f everyone. And. Yeah. And I'm like, no, I can't. I don't want to have some corporate, cheesy sponsor on my bike, you know?
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A
You really were a rebel.
- [18:12]
B
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
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A
I don't want your money.
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B
Yeah. And that was anti. Like, we were anti. Because we were the militia and we were like, so. So anyway, it turned into he. He was. Turned up being a really nice dude, and he was like, hey. He's like, I can pay you. And I. And I, we were just getting by, barely. And. And like, we hadn't started making the big money yet. And. And. And he's like, I can give you 2,500 bucks a month. And I was like, what? That was like, big money. I was like, we could party on that. That's like, good money. And so I ended up going to meet with him and we talked about everything. And he ended up putting Hansen's Energy like a helmet. Did a helmet for me with Hanson's energy on it, which was one of the first energy drink deals done, period, in the sport, which later moved on a year later to taste testing drinks and logo designs in those meetings with Mark. And it turned into monster energy because they wanted a more edgy brand.
- [19:10]
A
You really were there from the beginning,
- [19:12]
B
from very beginning, was the first athlete. They printed graphics for me, put them on my bike. They were like, off color. They weren't really with the correct color yet. And it was in the beginnings of the whole movement of that. Of the drink. So, yeah, that was. I mean, that's one chapter. One chapter in the story. But, yeah, it's like, when that was happening, we were starting making good money, and it was like, we made it, man. We. We made. We created this, and we made it like it was. That was the movement.
- [19:40]
A
You know, I. I think what my takeaway from that is, is you guys started being gnarly, big jumps. And you said the whole crowd left the skateboarders and ran over to you.
- [19:53]
B
Yeah.
- [19:54]
A
Was that a pivotal moment? You obviously. You talk about it. Do you think that's the moment that you became bigger than what they had going on?
- [20:03]
B
Yes. I feel like we. We stole the show for sure.
- [20:07]
A
Yeah. That's what I mean.
- [20:08]
B
Yeah. Yeah. And we knew how to run with it, right? Like. Yeah, yeah. Give me one sec. My little dogs.
- [20:17]
A
No, you're fine, man. The dogs. Dog's a great part of the show. Don't. Don't that's it. Hey, people like a look inside your life. And what's that dog's name?
- [20:27]
B
Come here. Audi. This is my wife's little dog. Come here, look. Oh, come here.
- [20:30]
A
Let me see. Oh, there's. There's one of your boys.
- [20:35]
B
Yeah, yeah.
- [20:37]
A
Hey, I even followed up on you, buddy. You're gonna be a motocrosser, ain't you?
- [20:42]
B
Motocross?
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A
What are you gonna do?
- [20:48]
B
I'm not the good one.
- [20:50]
A
Now, hold on, hold on. You all start with H. Yeah. What do you got? You got Haley Hayden, your Hudson. You're 12 years old, right?
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B
14.
- [21:00]
A
14. Now I'm two years behind. I think you're. Don't say you're not good. I think you're good. You're gonna be good at whatever you decide to do.
- [21:09]
B
Yeah, no, he's into a lot of things. We. We did. We did the dirt bike stuff with him for a while. He had a couple big crashes that were pretty scary and. Yeah, and he does a lot of stuff with. He's building an online store now, and. And he's really into marketing and the sales of everything. So you're.
- [21:28]
A
You're gonna be what we call the going to control all your family's money.
- [21:37]
B
Yeah. So he may actually be the one that's the smart one. So.
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A
So. So anyway, first of all, thank. Thanks for letting us see your youngest one. That's pretty cool.
- [21:51]
B
My community gives me the confidence to ask myself, what would you like the power to do? So every time I'm on the pitch, I play for more than myself.
- [22:01]
A
Oh, what a tackle from Naomi Girma.
- [22:05]
B
Absolutely brilliant. Bank of America champions U.S. women's national team member Naomi Girma. And everyone who dares to ask, what would you like the power to do? Bank of America proud to be the Official bank of U.S. soccer bank of America. NA member, FDSE. And Doug, there's nowhere I wouldn't go to help someone customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual. Even if it means sitting front row at a comedy show. Hey, everyone, check out this guy and his bird. What is this your first date?
- [22:35]
A
Oh, no. We help people customize and save on
- [22:37]
B
car insurance with Liberty Mutual together.
- [22:39]
A
We're married. Me to a human, him to a bird.
- [22:42]
B
Yeah, the bird looks out of your league.
- [22:44]
A
Anyways, get a'@libertymutual.com or with your local agent.
- [22:47]
B
Liberty.
- [22:47]
A
Liberty.
- [22:48]
B
Liberty.
- [22:49]
A
Liberty. So you. You accidentally go to school, you don't know you're in school? Doesn't make sense. And you create this social media empire. YouTube, slash YouTube. I talked to your daughter. You allowed me to interview Haley, you know, last year, 10. She gave you all the credit. She said, my dad, you know, started all this. Tell me about this moment. And you talked about the VH tapes, you know, years ago. Tell me about this moment that you understood the power of YouTube and creating all these shows. I admire you. And we're all doing, we're all following you now. We really are.
- [23:40]
B
Yeah. I feel like YouTube was something we got into. I mean, this had to be. 2010 is kind of when we, we were on, we were on the road and I spended so much time with my kids, taking them to the races, it really started. I had to almost forfeit my career because I was racing rally cars off road trucks, you know, my budget. There are seven figure budgets to go race. I mean, it was big. It was big legit deals and, and I mean, that's something I could still be doing to this day. You know, it's, you know, in cars you can race to, you know, you can race till you're, you know, a lot older and so 60. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. And if I look good, don't I? Hey, if you have the name and you have what you've built, you know, you can just keep racing and people love to see you. So my point is, I really sacrifice a lot of that to go focus on my kids development in their racing. And so along the way, I'm like, how can we tell this story, you know, and how can I keep my sponsors happy that we're still putting out media, we're still making a value? Because originally all my values were always in competing and racing or, or doing X Games. And so I thought, okay, my marketing mind's spinning. I'm like, well, we got to create a show on YouTube that tells the story of, of how I'm, you know, traveling the United States with the kids and building these racing careers and in with Haley. And that started with the cars and then Hayden was in the motocross and people really jumped into it and they enjoyed hearing the story because it was a unique race family story, which we see a lot of in our world. But it was enough to get views and enough to turn enough money to help offset the, you know, the loss of sponsorships and race wins to keep the machine going, you know, and just keep going to the races and. And you know, it was just turned into a good system. So either way, it helped us build a strong YouTube presence, very strong social media platforms, which, you know, years ago, I just know I Remember, just remember hearing many times like, so. And I listen to Gary Vee and other. Just a lot of other talking, successful men on podcasts. I got really into the podcast thing for a little while and just. So I just really knew that everyone's preaching the power of social media, the power of content, and that was 10 years ago. And I said, okay, I'm gonna go down that path. And we stack content for 10. I have hard drives of just content, so. Which will be valuable forever. And, you know. So anyhow, that was kind of our movement with YouTube. It's still going on our channel, the Deacons. That's our family channel. Haley's done her channel and then we created another channel called Deegan's Unleashed, which was just more throwing crap at the wall. See what works, what doesn't, and just kind of for fun. So that's kind of our movement.
- [26:43]
A
It's incredibly entertaining. You're the innovator. I want to say something strange to you. I think it's a little strange, but I want you to comment on it. So years ago, my brother Mike Wallace shared something with me. And, you know, years ago, you had traveling circuses and it was called Barnum Bailey.
- [27:03]
B
Yeah, I remember.
- [27:03]
A
And the man that created. The man that created Barnum Bailey, he says, and here's the quote, and I want you to comment on this. You know what happens when we don't advertise this? Deep pause. Nothing. And then barn and Bailey. So I like what you're saying there because you're saying that, you know, through the ups and downs, you. You're advertising your family. You're keeping your family out there. And if you don't do any of that, nothing happens.
- [27:35]
B
Yep.
- [27:35]
A
What do you think about that? That. That phrase he said, you know, 100 years ago, nothing happens if you don't advertise yourself.
- [27:44]
B
Yeah. And I agree. I've always understood the power of marketing. And once I got to California and was trying to make it racing and the racing wasn't working for me, I just couldn't get the good equipment and whatever the reasons were. And I just saw there's another value in the marketing and selling your image and building this Persona. And so that, to me became super relevant. And as my kids started racing, I'm like, okay, how do you become a top racer, a good racer, and have them grow? Marketing asset to it, too? Because those are the two things you need. And. And if you can have both of those, you're going to be the most valuable. And so that's why I really try to push into the marketing aspect of. But there's, you know, with the family, it's, it's a fine line, you know, you only, you don't only want to show so much. You want to show. Like for me, I just showed a lot of stuff at the races. I try not to do too much personal life a little bit here, there, you know, which now I think it's become more. And now the kids are older, so it's, yeah, it's the most valuable thing I think in motorsports besides winning because there's only one winner race, you know, and the rest had to figure out how to get their name out there. So. Yeah, I think marketing is probably the most important thing in business.
- [29:05]
A
Well, you know, I have people come up to me all the time, you know, and they say, my kids won eight championships, he's eight years old. And I tell them, I said, get in line.
- [29:17]
B
Yeah.
- [29:18]
A
Because the young thing is now normal. You know, like I said, I'm older than you, but years ago, you know, here's Jeff Gordon at 8 years old running a full blown sprint car.
- [29:29]
B
Yeah.
- [29:30]
A
Now they're all eight years old running full blown. So it's like, how do you stand out? And I, I. This is a statement.
- [29:36]
B
Yeah.
- [29:37]
A
I believe you have done the best job in the world at, at You're a winning family. You all win. You're a winner. Your daughter, your boys, you all win. So I just want to let you know, you know that. And I know I keep saying it, but you're an innovator man. And that's why I appreciate you being on Kenny conversation here. So listen, I want, I want to turn a little not dark, but I don't want you to get mad at me. I want to take a shot at this. You know, you made world news when, when you had a really bad wreck.
- [30:14]
B
Yeah.
- [30:16]
A
You know, you had a near fatal accident is what what story reads. I read the articles.
- [30:21]
B
Yeah. Yeah.
- [30:22]
A
And after attempting a backflip, you lost a kidney and four pints of blood. And I don't want this to be a long question, but I just want to say this. I see what a good Christian man you are and I see how beautiful you are to your family. It is said that that wreck where you almost killed yourself changed you. Tell me about that time.
- [30:46]
B
Yeah, for sure. It's. It's a moment in my moment in time. But it was one of the most pivotal moments. And I had. I'd grown up in a small town, went to church on the weekends, my dad would Take us to a Catholic church. And. And we. I felt like we just went because it was right. Like. Right. It just looked good, like, for the family to do that. I don't. We. There was really no ever super connection there. You know, we. I actually dreaded going, to be honest. It was so boring sitting in the pews and stuff. And. And so it really turned me away from it, let's be honest.
- [31:20]
A
Hyperactive.
- [31:21]
B
Yeah. And so I went out through my life. Eventually, we started racing every weekend, which canceled that out. Uh, and then. But I was always, you know, always intrigued by that. But I went through those, you know, tough times and was the rebel guy, and I really pushed away from it. And. And. But it was, you know. And then I met Marisa, which later became my wife, and she. Her parents were Christian, and they were real welcoming. And as much as I was like, the rebel guy or did whatever I did, they were always. Always forgiving and welcoming. I was so. I was intrigued by that. And so. But I was still that guy. And. And so we went through these. These years of. Of, I think, struggle, really, of just trying to find. Find my place. And. And then Haley, you know, Haley was born, and then that was a big, pivotal moment that I. I was like, man, I really need to be a dad. I really need to, you know, focus on, you know, that aspect, because my mom leaving, I just, you know, really taught me, like, you know, really need to be there as a parent. And so we. We go to. I go in. It was. I would say Haley was probably two. Two or three years old. And I go to do this show, mtv Viva la Bam. It's. It was kind of the big thing, like, Jackass style, I remember it, videos with Johnny Knoxville.
- [32:51]
A
Yeah.
- [32:52]
B
So they invite the militia out there to Pennsylvania to their spot. So we go out there, we're all riding dirt bikes. They're. They're skateboarding on the. On the show, and they have bands playing, and. And they wanted me to backflip over the band. And. And it was really, really windy that day. Like, crazy, like, crosswinds. And. And I wasn't gonna do it. I'm like, I ain't gonna do it, dude. It's too windy. And they just kind of said, I thought you could do it. Just kind of a little pressure situation that happens. And I'm like, all right, well, screw it. All right? So I go for it, and I flip and the bike under rotates and I hit the top of the landing, like. Like bounce off the top of the landing and. And handlebars end up hitting my stomach really hard and going up under my rib cage and popping my kidney and my spleen and basically exploding it. And it ripped it off the artery. And so I fell on the ground. I felt like I got shot in the stomach. It was burning hot. Stomach started growing, bleeding inside a ton. And they had no ambulance there. And so I end up Finally, 45 minutes later, get in the fire truck, and they take me to the hospital. And at this point, I'm barely. Barely awake, like, falling asleep. And I just remember I was chewing my tongue, trying to stay awake. It was. It was brutal. And I was just like. I knew if I fell asleep, like, that was it. And I. And I was, like, laying there, I'm like, oh, just. Just going, man, am I gonna really die right now? And thinking about, you know, my wife, my kid. At this point, it was just Haley, and she was 3. So we make it to the hospital. Emergency surgery, like, doctors are all around, and they rushed me in because I didn't have much of a problem. Pulse left, and it's real light. And I go in, and the doctor leans over me and just is like, hey. I just remember as an Indian doctor, and I just will never forget his face. And he had a mask on, and he's like, I'm going to go in and see what's going on. He's like, you have very light pulse. He's like, we're going to do everything we can. He's like, is there anything you want to tell your family? He's like. And I was like, oh, my gosh, dude. This is like, I'm going to die. And. And I said, just tell him I love him. And I was like, in that moment, and I just remember sitting, like, looking up and just going, please, God, like, if you're real, if this is the moment, I go, this is it. I'm changing. I'm all in. Like, I'm not just. I don't want to die. And I was like, I want to live, you know? And I was like, this will be my pivotal changing moment. And it was. Dude, it's heavy. Like, it's hard for me to even think about it anymore. So I'm.
- [35:32]
A
I'm nauseous right now. This is incredible.
- [35:37]
B
I, like, really think hard into it. It literally makes me tear up because. Because it's such a heavy moment, like, and I. It's easy for me to move on and. And have so much other stuff happen. My life. But that was probably the biggest moment of my life as far as like a reality. Like, nothing becomes more real when your life's about to end. Right? And not many people have that moment that helps them change. Right. A lot of people have to do it just on, oh, I should change. And don't, don't get put into, like, the final moment. And so for me, that was it. And I just prayed. I was like, God, please, you know, I don't want to die. Because at that point I really thought, I'm going to go under. I'm probably not going to wait, wake up. And so, I mean, it was. I was barely hanging on, like, chewing my tongue, like, falling, like, barely awake. And, and, but I remember what he said. And so. And I went to sleep and I just remember waking up and I was like, oh, yes. I was just so happy that I woke up and I was in the hospital. Tubes, tubes everywhere. They cut my stomach all the way down. They pulled all my organs out, put them back in. Yeah, like, laid them all out to, like, all, every organ, one at a time till they find what's wrong. And so. And they put everything back and I had tubes everywhere. And my wife was in the room. My dad was in the room. This was on the east coast, like, by the. That surgery was so long that they had time to fly from California to Pennsylvania. And they were in the room when I woke up. So that, that was like, it was like a 12 hour surgery. So. And the guy, like, literally after that, I just called the guy at the doctor and I said, hey, thanks, I saved my life. I go, because that was, that. That was a fight, you know, I'm sure it was not easy for that many hours to, To. To get my body going. And, and so that was my. That was a pivotal moment, man. I just, at that moment, I said, I'm done. Boom. Turn. And we were in the hospital. The story, isn't it done? So I'm in the hospital for weeks because the recovery and this hospital was pretty run down. Like, wasn't top, top of the line. And my wife's like, oh, man, we just got to get out of here. And so she started feeling sick and was. Got really sick. And then she found out she was pregnant with, with Hayden in the hospital. And I'm like, man, that's crazy. Like, imagine if things would have went the other way, right? Like, whole moment just pivotal. Like, I'm like, there's too many coincidence here to just blow it off, you know? And so that was every moment I was like, just. I feel there was God just showing me, like, Doom. Boom, boom, boom. All these things that are important and going, okay, here's your chance. And so, you know, I went home recovering, and. And I'll never forget. I got home, and I set stitches everywhere. That was a brutal flight home. And. And I. They. They. Because they told me not to fly home, and I'm like, dude, I'm going home. They didn't even want me to leave the hospital. This is probably wasn't the smartest. I called the cab and went down and left the hospital after two weeks because I'm like, I can't be in here any longer. This is brutal. So I go down. They said, if you get on a flight, there's a chance your insides could start bleeding. You won't make it till you hit the ground. And these are things I don't really talk about. I just remember now. So I'm like, we're going. And I remember trying to get on the flight, and I looked like. I look like death. Like, I was skinny white. Like. Like. Like, I was like. Been in the hospital for two weeks. I still have my gown on.
- [39:13]
A
No, you did not.
- [39:14]
B
Yes, and they didn't, because I jumped in the cabin failed. I just pinned it one day. I was like, I'm out of here. Boom. And. And they didn't want to release me. And so I basically went to the airport with me and Marisa, and I got on the flight, and they wouldn't let me on the plane. They're like. They're like, no. It was like, you okay? And I'm like, yeah, I just crashed on my motorcycle. And. And they're like, are you sure? I'm like, yeah. And this is kind of before it got crazy flying, you know?
- [39:40]
A
And.
- [39:41]
B
And they said, okay. So they let me on the plane, and I got on. I just remember flying. There's, like, turbulence, and I'm just laying there going, oh, man. I was like, don't. This is bad. And anyway, I land, get to the house. I just remember Haley hadn't seen me for a while, comes running over and jumps right on my stomach, and I'll never forget that. And I felt. Because I felt super Cheese got super scared. She started crying, and I was like. And I was scared because it jumped right on my. Right on my stitches, and I was like. Because I just didn't want to start bleeding again. Anyway, these are all little things that are popping back to me. And that was the. You know, that was my moment. Change. Boom. Going to church. I'm. I had a few moments before that that were near death. But it wasn't enough obviously, to change and. But this was. So I changed that kind of basically had to tell my friends that I hung out with that were, you know, not, you know, the best of quality friends. Like, hey, I'm can't hang out. I cannot go and do that. I'm, you know, I'm gonna go. I gotta start, you know, focusing on, you know, what the family stuff and everything I'm doing. It was a tough one that, you know, after being this certain person for so long and having this whole group of people for so long, that was a tough transition, but it had to be done. And there was moments that is like, you know, pull. It pulled me the other way. I got pulled this way and pulled that way, and I felt like, man, there was. That was a very tough battle for me. But eventually when I got through that, that was the best decision and I really started focusing on my family and. And I feel like it was the. The right. The right path, you know, and look where we are today. You know, not saying I'm perfect by no means. I'm still make all kinds of stupid mistakes and do dumb stuff all the time. But, yeah, that was a big, pivotal moment. My mom inspired me to dream big and work hard. What would you like the power to do?
- [41:40]
A
Bank of America proud to be the
- [41:42]
B
Official bank of US Soccer and FIFA World Cup 2026 bank of America NA Member FDSE and Doug, there's nowhere I wouldn't go to help someone customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual. Even if it means sitting front row at a comedy show. Hey, everyone, check out this guy and his bird. What is this, your first date?
- [42:03]
A
Oh, no. We help people customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual.
- [42:06]
B
Together.
- [42:06]
A
We're married. Me to a human, him to a bird.
- [42:09]
B
Yeah, the bird looks out of your league.
- [42:11]
A
Anyways, get a'@libertymutual.com or with your local agent.
- [42:14]
B
Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty.
- [42:20]
A
So that you just gave the definition of a real man.
- [42:24]
B
Yeah, a man.
- [42:25]
A
And that takes care of his family. I have three daughters. First of all, I've never. I can never relate with. Well, I mean, you know, I've had some pretty bad wrecks.
- [42:36]
B
Yeah.
- [42:37]
A
You know, but I'm not even going to compare to you. But so as I listen to you, you asked God to save your life and he did. So that would have been pretty stingy if you didn't straighten your. Yourself up because he saved your life. He gave Dr. The brains, the wisdom to save your life. Yeah, you know that you thank the doctor and you're still crazy. You escape out of the hospital with your hospital gown on. I feel like writing a script for a movie.
- [43:13]
B
Yeah, I know, right? Yeah, it's.
- [43:16]
A
There needs to be a movie made about you. Have. We do. We have. We had one.
- [43:20]
B
Yeah. There's a documentary that we did, and this was right. As Haley was probably 8, just turning 18 when she was with. With Toyota, like development programs. So that's what I remember. The movie ends in just her going to nascar. So that was four years ago. It was ended.
- [43:39]
A
Where can we find that at?
- [43:40]
B
So it's on. It's on. It's on YouTube now. It was on itunes. It's on all the platforms. Basically, just go to YouTube. Search Brian Deegan, Bloodline.
- [43:51]
A
Oh, wow. Okay.
- [43:52]
B
So Bloodline. And I'll tell you, it's a great story. It's not just, hey, these are things that happen in my life. It's actual story. And it starts with, you know, me as a kid in Nebraska and paints this picture with all these. All these old pictures from when I was a kid and tells the story of where I came from, my family. It interviews my mom, interviews my dad, and it gets interviews. Everyone memories parents, her, the kids. It's very, very well done. If you didn't know me and you watched it, I think you'd still be like, yeah, that's a good documentary. So it's definitely worth the watch. Everyone that's ever watched it is like, hey, that was a good story. And I. I've used it when I meet, like, say I meet execs, corporate guys that are, like, for a business deal, for a sponsorship, they don't have any idea who I am. I just send them a link to that movie. And it's a little risky because it tells a lot. Like, it tells some of my gnarlier moments. But I'm like, oh, well, they're gonna get to see who I am, and they're gonna either like me or not, and they're. They're gonna know exactly who I am. And. And most 99 of the time, they come back like, wow, man, that is a crazy story. And so. And it really helps. It just really helps people get to. To either jump on board or not. Really.
- [45:10]
A
I. Man, I. I have had. Not had nowhere near the success you have. But I can relate with you so much because, you know, I give motivational speeches.
- [45:21]
B
Yeah.
- [45:21]
A
And I'm like, nobody can introduce me. There's no way. So I had NASCAR productions make, like, a rather than a three minute video of me to introduce me. And then I look in the crowd and yeah, I relate with you because you're giving. Here, watch this. This is, this is my introduction in film and showing what you. I mean, that is so badass. And I want to say this. Obviously these are comments. I feel like anybody that knows your story is going to make them a better person.
- [46:02]
B
Yeah. Thank you. I feel like, you know, and I've had, I've had to get up in front of crowds and get, and tell stories and give speeches and you know, I've had people ask me to go be a mentor and I'm like, ah, man, that's crazy. Like, I don't, and I don't ever really think of that.
- [46:18]
A
You've seen the movie, you've starred in the movie, you know, you came out, you're, you know. Yeah.
- [46:23]
B
And it's, you know, if you live by example, then people believe and it's, you know, I have had multiple times opportunities to, to like, like start this mentorship group or be a men's group or. And I did a podcast for a while just because I felt like I wanted it. The dog's going crazy. I did a.
- [46:46]
A
That dog's indicative of who you and I are.
- [46:49]
B
Yeah, look at me.
- [46:50]
A
Look at me.
- [46:53]
B
For sure. So, but yeah, my point is I went down that, that podcast path because I just wanted it to learn more. I wanted to talk to people, just personalities and learn more about people and, and I've thought about that. You know, I feel like I could mentor parents on how to raise racing kids.
- [47:12]
A
Yeah.
- [47:13]
B
Because I can tell you I can, I can pretty much watch your kid in this sport and tell you if he's going to make it or not very quick. And I'm sure that's how you are in car racing. You know, you get to see someone, you're like, or yeah, I think they can do it if they have the drive. And so, you know, I've had a lot of people call me for advice on that and I'm like, I don't know, man. Right now I'm focused on my kids and I still have my thing going with racing off road. I still race can ams and I do King of the Hammers, which is this gnarly off road race in California. Once a year. Thousands of people show up. It's just a very difficult race. That's like a 12 hour race through the, through the rocks in the desert. And so I, I do that. I do do promotions with Can AM commercials and and it keeps me. It's fun for me to go race around in a can am. It gives you that.
- [48:03]
A
It's on my list. It's just. Yeah, yeah, I haven't got there yet. Your. Your story. And I thought to myself, I don't. You know, you know, you know when, when you, when we, when we do content, we know eight minutes is the mark. But when I do Kenny conversations.
- [48:23]
B
Yeah.
- [48:24]
A
You know, I understand a view time and all that, but your story is so unbelievable, you know, I mean, I don't even know if we can get to global rally cross is what you know, you're doing now and you've won gold and hey, I. I want to say this. I have a friend. His mother abandoned him and he's never been right ever since that, that, you know, when you started telling me that your mother abandoned you. This kid is. I love him very much and we've gone through a lot of conversations. But Brian, because I know a little bit about mothers abandoning their children, you came out a winner. How long, how many years do you think it took you? Have you ever forgiven your mother?
- [49:14]
B
Yeah, see, you need to watch the documentary.
- [49:17]
A
Okay, okay.
- [49:18]
B
Forget it.
- [49:19]
A
Forget it. I'll watch the documentary.
- [49:20]
B
Yes, I would say that's watch the documentary. But yes, there's definitely been closure there. For sure. Like there's. Yeah, there had to be. It has happened. Yeah. 100. Do I talk to her every day and still like hang out with her? Yeah, no, you know, I don't. She lives in Texas and she came from a very poor family and in the border down there's new Brunswills Texas. It's hard to pronounce, but yeah, she lives down there and I remember going there as a little kid and they were. That they're 100, you know, Mexican. They all live in the same like same house. They, you know, like I said it was a very poverty stricken area and. But I always had fun down there. I go down there and like there's cool. They cook super good food and you know, different culture.
- [50:11]
A
They roll them tortillas up.
- [50:13]
B
Yeah.
- [50:13]
A
Yes.
- [50:13]
B
Yeah. That's what I miss about my mom because she always cooked the best food, like the best homemade Mexican food. And. And so those are the things I think when I think of positive things. Yeah, I mean I really do miss that, the family and miss that culture when it all just one day ended. But at that point I was 10 years old and I just started racing dirt bikes, so. And my dad was the one who had the job, so I Knew if I left with mom to Texas, which was an option, right. Like, she was like, well, if you want to come with me, I can. And I was like, I don't know. I just, I. I used to visit down there and it was fun, but I knew that there's a different life and, And I would not be able to race anymore and racing would be done. And that's. It was another decision of a fork in the road that I had to make that decision to stay with my dad, which he was more of a business guy, but. And I knew I was going to lose that loving connection, but I wanted go down this path of racing. And it's kind of a weird thing how, how it pulled me this way, and it was the path that's taking me to where I am today.
- [51:24]
A
You know, I just made a note. I. I wrote the 45 minute mark. This. I'm gonna have my friend, when we, when we get this up, I'm gonna tell him to go to the 45 minute mark. So thank you very much. That was uncomfortable for me, but I, I had to ask it because I have friends. One thing, if you don't want to answer it, don't answer it. But the similarities, one rotation difference. Jo Archer, the Australian that did that, you did the double twist backflip. He does. He done the triple. He pulled it off and then he's practicing it and he died. When this happened, what went through your mind when you heard of him passing away two weeks ago?
- [52:16]
B
Yeah, that's the. It's the unfortunate realities of the sport, and that's the hardest part. You know, like I said, I. When I see people crash on dirt bikes, it's like, that's the part of the sport I hate. I just thought is like, I hate that part of the sport. And I've watched, you know, my best friend die on, you know, crashing Jeremy Lusk and.
- [52:42]
A
I'm sorry.
- [52:43]
B
Yeah. And it's, you know, in motorsports, sports, it happens. You see it. It's dangerous, you know, so, you know, I've had multiple friends die under bikes. So over the course of this many years. And with Jo, that crash, I mean, those guys are doing triple flips. They're hitting ramps that are like massive ramps now, hitting them at fourth gear fast as a 450 can go.
- [53:09]
A
Oh, my God.
- [53:10]
B
Going like 50, 60ft in the air. I mean, it's so crazy. My opinion, stunts like that should be done once a time. That's like a. That's like Evil Knievel. The. The Grand Caesar's job. You do that one big bam. Do it one time. But when they start trying to do things like that in shows every night, I mean, I. I just think certain tricks are so gnarly. Like, and people are gnarly. Like, every time I think, like, oh, that's too crazy. But to them, it's not. To them, like, when I did a backflip on a dirt bike, people thought that was crazy, you know, and now it's triples. And so I just feel like the sport's elevated so high that the tricks are just so, so death defying that I just. I don't know, it's tough for me to comprehend now the, the level of. Of bravery and, and mindset to do that. But yeah, I mean, like I said, it's the sports. It just, it just makes you realize how. How dangerous the sports are and the risks these guys take. So it's like if you think about guys going like, my daughter going 180 or 200 at a. a speedway, you know, like, oh, like it's nothing, you know, like, oh, 200 miles per hour. Just, you know, and then get spun out at 200 or whatever and hits the wall. Like, it's dangerous. Like, it's scary. That's gnarly. And so, yeah, I just, I think we're surrounded by all that stuff. So you, I guess you become a little, like, you see it a different way. But yeah, yeah, it's. I. I hate seeing it, dude. I hate seeing dudes get, like, hurt or even worse. You know, what happened. Like, it just sucks. Like, it's a bummer. But like I, like I said, pay respects and give them. Like, I've always given him a lot of credit for the levels that they have taken it. But yeah, it's definitely a scary deal. You never forget your first fan. So how was practice, kiddo? My mom inspired me to dream big and ask myself, what would you like the power to do? My answers helped me become the soccer player I am today, trusting my instincts and stepping onto the pitch without fear. Bank of America champions U.S. men's national team member Tyler Adams and everyone who dares to ask, what would you like the power to do? Bank of America proud to be the Official bank of US Soccer and FIFA World Cup 2026 bank of America NA Member FDSE and Doug, there's nowhere I wouldn't go to help someone customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual, even if it means sitting front row at a comedy show. Hey, everyone. Check out this guy and his Bird. What is this your first date?
- [55:58]
A
Oh, no. We help people customize and save on
- [56:00]
B
car insurance with Liberty Mutual together.
- [56:02]
A
We're married. Me to a human, him to a bird.
- [56:05]
B
Yeah, the bird looks out of your league.
- [56:06]
A
Anyways, get a'@libertymutual.com or with your local agent.
- [56:10]
B
Liberty, Liberty, Liberty, Liberty.
- [56:15]
A
Let's, let's lighten the load a little bit. It's been awfully heavy, but it's been award winning in my mind conversation. I've learned so much from you. First of all, let's start like this. We're going to go to Global Rallycross. But I want to congratulate you on Haley's great run at, at Vegas. I've raced 905 NASCAR races. It is extremely hard to run really good. The cars have got to be balanced. They got to be able to, you know, run, you know, so good, so balanced. She's a hell of a race car driver. I've always admired her because I have a niece, my brother Mike. His daughter was incredibly good. And then I want to congratulate you, boy. Your boy. I, I just love the nickname Danger Boy. You, you've had, you've had it. Is this a good saying? It's been a good week for you, don't you think? Or not?
- [57:16]
B
Yeah, I mean, Hayden, last week, Hayden freaking won his first supercross, which is pretty badass, I'm sure. Is that on your list?
- [57:25]
A
Yeah, yeah. And he, and he. Yeah. Well, I, you know, first of all, and I mean this from the bottom of my heart.
- [57:30]
B
Yeah.
- [57:31]
A
Kenny conversations all about the great Brian Deegan. But you had kids. Yeah, you know, so, and, and you know, we got rallycross and I know I gotta wrap it up pretty much because we're at an hour, but you've done an incredible job raising your children.
- [57:50]
B
Yeah.
- [57:52]
A
Did, did you ever see. Let's start with Haley, the oldest one right now. Did you, did you ever see your daughter? I mean, she's a beautiful girl, but she's got some tomboy in her. She's a badass. I've raced her. I've raced her up at Stafford in the SRX race and I raced her fare. But did, when did you, when did you realize my daughter is going, is going to be a good race car driver? When did you see it?
- [58:22]
B
So that's a good question. Because when she was younger, I was, I just started race. I, I left dirt bike competition after so many injuries, near death experiences, and I had all these great partnerships. I'm like, well, I can't just let These fade away. These are like multi million dollar endorsement deals. And so I'm like, what can I do? And at that point, I was actually with Rockstar Energy at that point. Long story. But long story short, when the Militia blew up, we went to Monster to try to sponsor Twitch and Feist and all the Militia riders, all the freestyle guys. And they're like, we just don't have the budget. They were just. Monster just started. And I'm like, well, I want to do the Monster Militia. And we were going to do a drink and. And it was all getting done. And I had a business partner that we just didn't see eye to eye for many reasons, which taught me a lot about business. So I see a positive out of that. But also the riders. I was like, well, I want to sponsor the whole team, the whole Militia. And that's when no Fear Energy came out and no Fear was blowing up. Remember, they were in nascar and so that was that moment. So they're like, we'll pay you hundreds of thousands of dollars. The whole team, all the guys. And I was like, oh, all right. Probably the worst decision I ever made in business. I walked away from the Monster as the first athlete. Probably the worst decision I've ever made in business. You know, from stock options, from all the stuff that could have been. Could have been. And I wasn't ready for millions of dollars at that age. It could have been the death of me, to be honest. It was probably for a reason. Good point. And so I ended up going to no Fear that ran his course. Those guys spent all their money, couldn't pay their bills, like everyone knows. And then I, and I end up going to Rockstar was always real interested in us, so they jumped on board. Tons of money, like months. It was the Rockstar Militia deal. We, we helped them so much build that brand in California. And so we, we blew up that whole scene. And then they, they said, hey, we want to take you to the truck races. So they. And I'm like, I never even heard of it. They took me to the off road truck races, which are short course, and I went out to Chula Vista, San Diego and watch. I'm like, this is crazy. These dudes are riding racing motocross tracks and thousand horsepower trucks. Yeah. And. And I'm like, they're like, you want to try it? I'm like, yeah, I've never raced four wheels before, but why not? So I jumped in that. And first race I got smoked. Like, I was like, menace back of the packer. And you and you know like how in off are in dirt racing everyone runs up on the cushion.
- [61:01]
A
Yeah.
- [61:02]
B
I was like why are these dudes leaving the bottom so open?
- [61:06]
A
Because you can't exit. And I tricked right back by and
- [61:12]
B
I was a moto guy. So everything was dive bomb the bottom.
- [61:15]
A
Yeah.
- [61:15]
B
So I dive bomb these guys and hit them coming off exit and they would get so mad and I was like dude, this is racing. Like I'm, I'm just taking the inside and like they wanted to like kill me, you know. And I. And so eventually I learned how to race. Studied it, focus, put a. When I do something like I really study it. I really. Who's the best? Why are they the best? I'm studying your video. I'm going to figure out why you're the best. What, what tires you're running, what equipment you have, what suspension, who's your tuner. Like I, I learned a study, study, study and I. Within the first full season that I raced I will end up winning the championship by the end of the year. And when I did because I invested a lot of my own money because I had to make that transition because I didn't want to go back to freestyle motocross because of the danger. That's when the double backflip came out. You know, I did the first360 on a dirt bike was very scary. Big moment at X Games with Pastrana and anyway the double backflip came out and I was like I'm dumb out, dude. I was like 30 some years old. I didn't want to take.
- [62:17]
A
You had a limit.
- [62:18]
B
I had a limit. So anyway I got into cars roll cage and I knew this was my chance to reinvent myself and so I did. I went all in and started you know, got. Got good at racing and off road and you know, started making money doing that and, and it carried me for another 10 years and I got in rally car, came to X Games which was like a gift. I went out there and studied rally car. Studied it as all wheel drive, you know, four cylinder engines and, and handbrakes and figured it out. Ended up winning exit one gold. Yeah. Which is hard like that you don't get like I raced against some of the best rally guys in the world there.
- [62:51]
A
Yeah.
- [62:52]
B
And these, these probably, I mean very tough accomplishments in these short amount of time, but either way and I actually went in 0809 race super late models at Irwindale for like two years because that was the talk when NASCAR was trying to get more name guys into nascar. So they were talking to me about like, hey, come race with us if you're gonna race. You know, we had, we had a movement, we had a name and some marketing. So. And I just remember, and Rockstar was paid, was gonna pay for me to go race. They actually thought I was gonna go race Xfinity. Yeah. And at the time I thought you'd
- [63:31]
A
already done everything, you were successful at everything.
- [63:35]
B
Yeah.
- [63:35]
A
So they're thinking, well, how he's just gonna go on.
- [63:37]
B
Yeah, that's what I thought later.
- [63:42]
A
Did I learn, by the way, I've never raced Irwindale, but it's got a sucker lane too. That bottom. Yeah, that bottom is the hardest damn thing to exit. And everybody just peels around the middle.
- [63:53]
B
Yeah. And I learned what a good car and a bad car is there. Yeah. So, but, but anyhow, so I did that for a couple of years. I actually was trying to race NASCAR for a little bit like when Pastrana was first coming in and they were trying to get some name guys, but that ended pretty quick. Once Rockstar. Right. When it came to actually spending seven figure checks and they saw that I probably wasn't going to be the next NASCAR champ. They, they are like they end up spending on that one kid from Arizona back in the day. The young kid in Xfinity that wasn't crafted. No, no. It was young, 17, 18 year old kid. I think he was from Arizona, but I forget his name. But he, they end up giving him the money, which they should have. He actually was fast. But. So anyhow, my point is my dad short lived career and then with Haley we knew she needed to be. I guess your question was with Haley racing. Yeah.
- [64:46]
A
But you got her in cage.
- [64:48]
B
Yes.
- [64:48]
A
Yeah.
- [64:49]
B
She started on dirt bikes to learn how to shift and do that. But I knew the future was in cars for her.
- [64:54]
A
Yeah.
- [64:54]
B
And so we put her into the. I started racing off road trucks pro day. They had a kids class in carts, little off road carts. She begged to do those cards. She was more arts and crafts. Like the girl that was kind of like that style. I'm like, I don't know, you're not really race material. Like you're a girl. She wasn't like the gritty like tomboy. She's more like playing, you know, in a dress, playing with her arts and crafts and toys. And in my, my wife Marisa's like, no, get her a car. And I'm like, like, she's like, no, you need to get her a car. And she was the big component behind it. And, and I'm like, and so. And I got her the cheapest, junkiest go kart. Five grand, dude. And she goes out, she's in the back of the pack and cruising around. And. And then by the next season, my wife's like, you get her a better car, like, so she can at least, like, race. And I was like, all right. So we invested in a nice winning car, and she went out and started getting on the podium, like, started beating the boys. And I was like, all right. Yeah. I was like, so then my interest, right? I'm like, okay, I think she wants to race. And so I got behind that and started getting the good parts. We hired our own engine tuner just for her. And. And. And she started winning all these races and championships, and it was fast drivers like Sheldon Creed, Riley Herbs, they all came through these karting programs that were an off road. And so my point is, it's no slouches. Like. Like, to win these, you got to be pretty good. And. And so she. I just knew she needed to go to NASCAR to make. Have a successful career as a female. And so we did everything we could to get her to the east coast and get her in front of the right people. Then Toyota heard about her, tested her, put her in that diversity program, which started the wheels turning. And that's when I learned my first thing about nascar. They're like, hey, come. We got this program, like, wow, you guys are going to handle everything and get her in a car. And we get there, and they're like, well, it's not really like that. You're going to be paying a lot of this. And the hook was already in, right? Like, we're already. The hook was in. So we. We ran with it, and she proved that she could race, you know, she could be competitive. And. And I feel like. I feel like I have. I've always had a lot of questions of, like, why has there been not a female yet to go into NASCAR and be, I might say a champion, but a fierce competitor that runs with the lead pack.
- [67:23]
A
Yeah.
- [67:24]
B
So why do you think that hasn't happened yet?
- [67:27]
A
I would say that the men give up on the girls too quick.
- [67:30]
B
Okay.
- [67:31]
A
Yeah. I think somebody badass like you, you know, they. I've been in NASCAR my whole life, and race teams don't like the parents around.
- [67:40]
B
Yeah.
- [67:40]
A
I can give you a lot of examples. You know, my. My brother Rusty drove for Roger Penske. You know, it's like, give me your child. Stay away.
- [67:50]
B
Yeah.
- [67:52]
A
And it's just that. It's just that Kind of deal. But my. My. My opinion. Well, I mean, it's like when I watch Danica Patrick and I watch Haley, they both. And listen, I'm a girl, Dad. I got three daughters. I'm in a girl. But I am telling you, I know what I'm talking about. The guys abused the girls on the racetrack. You see it all the time in all the videos. I mean, your daughter's been wrecked more than she's wrecked. I'm telling. They hit her in the left rear, but when, you know, you look at the races that she's won, like on dirt, she gets her right front underneath her left, or she moves them out of the way, they wreck her.
- [68:41]
B
Yeah.
- [68:41]
A
And there's a. There's an art to moving people.
- [68:45]
B
Yeah.
- [68:45]
A
And then there's an art, like you're in them because something happened. You just. You have to go ahead and spit them out, or else you're gonna get stopped.
- [68:52]
B
Yeah.
- [68:54]
A
So the reason that it takes the girls longer is the guys. There's a crapload of male chauvinists still, and they just can't believe that a girl's out running me. Oh, my God. You know.
- [69:09]
B
Yeah.
- [69:09]
A
And I just never bought into that just because I'm a girl, dad. And.
- [69:12]
B
Yeah.
- [69:13]
A
And my niece. Really good. Chrissy Wallace. But listen, you know, you asked me that question. I just want to remind everybody. So let's go to Danger Boy. I feel like he's a carbon copy of you. Hey. Now, when I interviewed Haley last year, she said something that shocked me. She says, my brother is just raw talent.
- [69:44]
B
He's just.
- [69:45]
A
He's just a God gift. She didn't say that, but she made a point to me that Danger Boy Degan is just good.
- [69:53]
B
Yeah.
- [69:54]
A
That's all there is to it. So he. He's gnarly, like you.
- [69:59]
B
He.
- [70:00]
A
Jamie Little. She imitated you said. She said when Brian Deegan, you. When you first come along, you had this grin. You're like. Like this with the face, and I kind of see that with Danger Boy. Yeah. Now, are you. Lee, are you letting him be his. Himself, or do you ever talk to him about the way he is?
- [70:25]
B
Because I'm his parent. Come on, man.
- [70:30]
A
What do you guys talk about? Because this is the hottest topic in motocross right now.
- [70:35]
B
Yeah. Yeah, for sure. I feel like he's a young kid. He's always been pretty. Like, he's always been kind of like. Like, more edgy and rough, you know? And, like, he's. He's always, like, he'll. He looks at something, it's a challenge and he wants to conquer it. Like that's where he's always been. He'll sit there and just, if he has a scooter and he wants to learn a trick, he'll stay there all day until he can figure it out. And so it's the way he is with racing too. He just, like he said, figure out how can I win? And he just hates losing more than he likes winning. I feel that's like his thing. He just like, I don't want to lose. Like I just. And so he has a grit and fire in him, which is very, very difficult to do. Coming from a family, let's be honest, that had all options, right? Like I came up, I didn't have much of anything, so I didn't have any way to turn back. I couldn't turn back. And so with him, he had a lot of options, right? He could go race cars. We wanted him to race cars. Like there's a lot of other things we want him to do. But he got focused on dirt bikes. He's like, this is what I'm doing and I'm gonna win. And I was like, all right, well, it's gonna be tough. It's a very tough sport. You gotta train every day, you gotta eat right, sleep good, surround yourself with the right people. It's an everyday, all day thing if you want to be the best. And he was like, all right. I said, all right, let's do it. I know, and I've been there, I've been around the sport long enough. I can help guide you through this. As long as you stay focused, you know, if you are in amen and we will go do it. And, and so that's kind of the vibe. And he's, you know, there's definitely things as a young, young 18 year old kid, he's, he wants to say or do and you know, you have to reel him in and be like. And you know that's, that's going to come. Social media is different nowadays. I'll come. Everything come back and bite you, you know. You know, so you got to be careful what you say and do. Where back in the day they'd be lucky to hear what we said because someone wasn't filming it or whatever he said, she said. But now everything's caught on tape. So you got to be careful with the way you act and the way you portray yourself. But I feel like what you see is him. You know, I try to let him just be him. He's. He's that kind of like edgy little, you know, attitude you got to be to be the best, man. You got to have some attitude, dude. That's the way I see it.
- [72:48]
A
I love it. Yeah, I love it. But.
- [72:50]
B
Yeah, let me finish on that. So I feel like, like going back to Haley. I feel like she. It's a fine balance being a girl in nascar. I stepping back as a dad watching, I feel like I wish NASCAR would have stepped in many more times and through the black flag and said, hey, you guys aren't crashing these hundred some thousand dollar trucks every weekend. So, okay, you know, if we care about the money, let's not crash these guys. And if you do spin, spin someone out on purpose, you're done. Go to the back, start. Like when I race rally and off road trucks, if you crash someone, you're going to the back. Are you doing a stop and go? Like, like, they don't just get to crash people. Like, they don't like. That blew my mind that that was so allowed to happen. And I respect nascar, so I don't like, jump in with my social media power and start like talking crap because I don't think it helps. But at the end of the day, as a father watching a female, I'm like, man, she just. A lot of people take shots at her and, and she's. I feel like they could have done a better job at reeling that in. And so, and, and I get it. She's got to earn her stripes, you know, she's got to earn her spot, earn her respect with the racers. And, And I feel like I would if, if I was in her shoes, I'd probably be a lot, I'd be swinging a lot more. I feel like you're a lot more like, hey, you take me out, I'm socking you, dude. Like, I'm gonna stand, like, get aggro, right? Like, but obviously that's gonna backfire too. But my dad, yeah, that's why I don't like, do that. That's why I can't be in the middle of it because I get too fired up. I look at these guys that clean her out, they won't even look at her. It's like, come on, bro. Like, when I race, if I take you out, you either knew I didn't like you and you had it coming, or I walk up to you and say, hey, sorry, I messed up. That was my mistake. Like, I shouldn't have took you out. That was an accident. And there's two ways to go about it. And if you go about the way of just don't look at the driver and walk by like nothing happened and you got hundred some thousand dollar truck destroyed and your weekend's wasted. Come on. Like, give me a break, dude. And we're okay with that. Like that's not racing, you know, that's not cool. That's not the old school way. Like so that's just what I see out of it. And you know, I think Haley has it in her to be a really top racer, you know, but it's like Hayden, you got to go all in every awakened moment, every day. You know, it's, it's a, it's an all in. Especially a female to beat the man. Like you got to be like gritty and everything you got, you know, and I think it's possible. And she's still young, it's young in that sport. So you know, like I said, I, I always feel like as a female you need to just a solid group around you and it just, I just picture this, you just need this tough group of, of, of guys and girls, whatever, just around you. Like the solid group that people just don't f with. And it's.
- [75:48]
A
We need the metal militia around your daughter. Let's, let's bring the crew back, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [75:54]
B
We'd probably get kicked out by the.
- [75:57]
A
As soon as the next guy hits her in the left first, turns out you go beat his ass.
- [76:00]
B
Yeah, yeah.
- [76:02]
A
And then you won't do that no more, you know. Hey, listen, back in the day, in my day, what we did is we, you know, you have the tractor trailers park, right?
- [76:11]
B
Yeah, yeah.
- [76:11]
A
Here's a tractor trailer. Tractor. We went, we say come here and we went between the tractor trailers and when we came out, okay, you just wrecked me. I'm gonna wreck you. And we're gonna keep doing this until you realize don't mess with me. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [76:30]
B
And that's kind of the unspoken rule of racing.
- [76:33]
A
Yeah.
- [76:34]
B
And I, like I said, I feel like in the last few years it got so out of control with guys just crashing guys and you know, I just, man, for me, I don't think that's great racing. You know, I feel like that should be handled on the track by the drivers, off the track by the drivers and it should be okay to do that. Like, okay, hey, these dudes are going to have words if it comes to a little scrap. Oh well, let's just move on and hopefully it's settled, it's done. You know. And I feel like the Old ways of many things were a little better.
- [77:05]
A
Well, they were because we. We did take care of our own. We took care of ourselves. We didn't wait for people to police it. I can tell you. So many run ins that we solved on. On our own. But. But yeah, I. Well, listen, you know, we can go for two hours. My brother Rusty's calling me right now. We're getting ready to go on a ride. I'm down here at bike Week.
- [77:30]
B
Yeah.
- [77:31]
A
And listen, there's a part two coming and. And. And we got to go on to Rallycross. You know, here I'm trying to cover your whole life in an hour and yeah, 15 minutes. It ain't gonna work. But you've given me so much, Brian.
- [77:47]
B
Yeah.
- [77:48]
A
I've always been a big fan of you. One. One thing I admired about you is you stay busy, you stay digging. And I want to thank you so much. Like I said, there's more, but we just. We got to sign off and.
- [78:01]
B
Yeah, it's cool.
- [78:02]
A
And I really appreciate you. You're a badass dad. I admire you for overcoming and prevailing. You know that? It's funny because out on the west coast, I learned. What's this word gnarly mean? And I learned it, and you're. You were gnarly, and you got a great family. Congratulations on everything. And you're still right in the middle of it.
- [78:27]
B
Yeah.
- [78:28]
A
So thank you being on. Thank you for being on Kenny Conversation.
- [78:31]
B
Yeah. Thanks for doing what you do, man. Appreciate it. I know it takes time and energy takes. You know, it's the connections of getting everyone lined up to be on the show. So. Yeah, thanks for doing that. It's good to have this positive voice. You always speak positive about Haley, which is good. And. And yeah, I'm just a proud dad of all the kids. All my kids.
- [78:49]
A
Yeah.
- [78:50]
B
Worked hard, and I appreciate the time, man.
- [78:52]
A
Well, I want you to know a little something about me. I'm a racer. I still race. And the man behind the camera right now, Charlie Marlowe, I moved back to St. Louis, and he said, Let me start you a YouTube show. I said, no, man, I'm too busy running my dirt car run 80 races a year. Yeah. And Charlie's listening to this right now. I haven't told many people this, so about a month later, he calls me again. I said, all right, all right, I'll. I'll do it.
- [79:17]
B
Yeah.
- [79:18]
A
And I'm nothing like you. You got millions and millions. But it's. It's been a lot of fun.
- [79:24]
B
Yeah.
- [79:25]
A
And I said, can I ever interview people, he goes, oh, yeah, I just thought you wanted to talk. I'm like, hell no. So, yeah, so you're about our 45th. Good, great athlete. And, yeah, I just, I enjoy it and I sometimes I get tired of studying up about. About it because I want to ride the motorcycle right now.
- [79:48]
B
There you go. Yeah, go have fun, man.
- [79:50]
A
Yeah. So listen, everybody. You've always asked about it. We are in podcast form. We are on itunes and Spotify and you can listen to the great Brian Deegan on your way to work. And it's long, so when you turn around and go back home, listen to him again. Once again, thank you, Brian.
- [80:07]
B
Yeah, thanks for having me on.
- [80:09]
A
All right, goodbye, everybody.
- [80:10]
B
Yeah, Check out Dirty Mo Media on
- [80:19]
A
Twitter, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram. I want to grow the game so every kid can fall in love with soccer like I did. So I asked myself, what would you like the best power to do? My answers inspired me to invent a pop up soccer goal that can turn any basketball court into a street soccer pitch.
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B
Bank of America champion street soccer advocate Kyle Martino and everyone who dares to ask, what would you like the power to do? Bank of America Proud to be the Official bank of US Soccer and FIFA World Cup 2026 bank of America NA Member FDSE.
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A
Out on the road, it helps to have a partner like the Love's Rewards Act. Download Love's Rewards and get great deals like a free Love's Coffee or fountain drink. Just buy any four, any size and get the fifth one free.
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B
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