When people ask how I ended up where I am today—covering some of the biggest motorsports on the planet, from Formula One to Monster Energy Supercross to American Rally and more—I always give them the same answer:

“I broke my leg.”

Before I ever stepped into the world of photography and social media, I was chasing a very different dream: becoming a professional athlete. Motocross was everything to me. I’d been racing in the Nevada region for about five years when, in 2020, I suffered two back-to-back injuries, the worst being my leg injury. I broke my tibia, fibula, and three places in my ankle, which left me bedridden for six weeks.

It happened in November—while I was still in middle school—and under any normal circumstance, it would’ve been a disaster academically. But with the COVID-19 pandemic forcing every school online, being stuck in bed wasn’t as disruptive as it could’ve been. In fact, it ended up changing my life. Being a fourteen-year-old kid trapped in bed for over a month is exactly as miserable as it sounds. It was mind-numbingly boring—but without that injury, I might’ve never picked up a camera. By the time I could walk again, around Christmas 2020, I had slipped into a slump. I had no motivation, and I knew that my racing career was probably a thing of the past.

Then in March 2021, my mom got me out to the racetrack for the first time. Our local track, Utah Motorsports Campus (formerly Miller Motorsports Park), had a karting championship that received zero media coverage. Years earlier I’d bought a Sony A6000 so I could take photos at my moto races, and my mom figured it might be the perfect excuse to get me outside and doing something again.

I shot my first karting race on March 10, 2021. I consider that day the beginning of my career. For the next three months, I lived at that track every weekend—karting, superbikes, cars, anything that looked worth while. I’d found a new passion, this time behind the lens.

June 21, 2021, at fifteen years old, I decided to turn it into something real. I launched my motorsports photography and production company: Drive-By Shootings. Great name, right? My grandpa thought so—mostly because he came up with it. The name did exactly what it needed to do: get attention. For years, my branding leaned into the irony. My first logo was literally me hanging out the side of a car “shooting” with a camera. Eventually, after it had served its purpose and then some, I rebranded to something more professional: Drive-By Media.

From 2021 to 2024, I kept pushing—building my portfolio, chasing bigger events, and skipping so much school I’m surprised I was never expelled. One recurring problem: I couldn’t get media credentials. Most tracks wouldn’t approve a minor. My first real shot at the pinnacle of motorsports came when I was fifteen, but once they realized my age, it fell through. Apparently sending a teenager to the Middle East to cover Formula One is a liability or something. Still, I kept applying. Sometimes I was denied. Sometimes I convinced them otherwise. One of those times came in 2024 when I covered the entire Formula DRIFT season. With little reputation before that year, I ended up shooting the full season for free. But it was the first time seventeen year old me truly got to prove my skills and work ethic on a major stage. Some of my best work ever came from that season.

Another group of people I met along the way was the Block family. I had always looked up to Ken Block growing up, and even more so when I started photography because I was able to appreciate his work from a more creative standpoint. Early on, we didn’t work much together. I was just the kid who had photos of his kids racing karts. Occasionally, he’d ask for content for social media. My first real gig with the Blocks came in 2023, after Ken’s passing. I covered Nitrocross Utah for his three kids—Lia, Kira, and Mika—and that one assignment quickly turned into covering the rest of their season in Phoenix and Glen Helen. At the Phoenix event, I shot Lia’s F1 Academy announcement with Williams Racing. Those photos remain as some of my most recognizable work.

From there, things kept growing. A gig here, a gig there, more work with the Blocks, more events in Utah… until eventually, I found myself working full-time for Block House Racing and 43 Institute, helping document Ken’s legacy as it continues with his kids. These days, I shoot more video than photos, but I’ll always hold firm that this entire path wouldn’t have started without that day in 2020 when I snapped a few bones in my leg. Looking back, the pain was absolutely worth it.