Why This Motorsports Legend Raises His Kids in Front of the Camera
By Movieguide® Contributor
Motorsports legend Brian Deegan and his wife, Marissa, knew from the beginning they wanted to raise their kids in front of a camera.
One reason he did this is because he was able to look at YouTube and Facebook to see all of his old stunts and competitions, he wanted the same for his children.
“Once I got married, had kids, things change in life. Your paces change, and I feel like you just grow up and have different looks on life and I feel like that is how the social had to change with that,” he told PEOPLE. “The family story was just such a cool story, as far as trying to raise kids and racing.”
“There’s not a lot of other families out there that have multiple kids that are successful in racing along with the adult that’s had it paved that way…” he added. “I can think of some families out there that have done a good job at it. There’s just not a ton out there that have a whole family movement.”
The couple’s oldest child, Hailie, currently races in the INDY NXT series and has over 1 million followers on Instagram. The same goes for her two younger brothers, Haiden and Hudson.
“My parents started our accounts when we were young, so we could have those names on the accounts and everything and they would just progressively all grow together,” Hailie said.
Ever since Haiden and Hailie were kids, they would compete to see which one had more followers than the other.
Despite the healthy competitiveness in the family, Brian helped his kids to build thick skin and to build their own brand in themselves.
“The best way I can describe it is just your name is your stock value and you’re always trying to build that stock. And I try to always teach that social media is a business … and you’re trying to build brand awareness for your sponsors. The more views and the more attention you get, the more value there is,” the X-Games gold medalist said.
On the flipside, Brian knows of all of the negative effects social media can have on someone.
“Just because as a parent you still want to protect your kids from the things that the internet can subject them to,” Brian explained. “You got to help teach them too, to build thick skin … it’s just part of the process of building the network and you can’t take that [negative] stuff to heart. I always say it’s just in and out. It just comes and goes and you just can’t take too much meaning to it.
Related: Motorsports Legend Brian Deegan’s Daughter Takes on New Racing Challenge
“The meaning should come from the ones you love and your family. That’s the ones you’re going to listen to. And other than that, it’s just comments,” he added.
Haiden and Hailie both competed in Indianapolis this weekend. Hailie finished 14th in her race and Haiden finished 3rd.
Haiden is currently the 250 West points leader in the Super Motocross World Championship Series.
After his race on Saturday, Haiden talked about his mentality and credited God for the position Haiden is in after a rough start to his third Supercross season.
“I just want to win,” the Pro Motocross champion said. “So, I work towards it during the week and it’s paying off at the race. But, thanks to the team, thanks to God. You know, you gotta put some of the blame on Him sometimes, He’ll support you.”
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