On a scale of 1 to 10 of ‘nice guys’, Joey Evans is an 11! Under his affable exterior, however, hides a steely will and level of grit and determination that is truly mind-boggling. We (ZA Bikers) were instrumental, in a small way, in getting Joey to Dakar 2017. Against all odds, Joey triumphed and came away from Dakar with an incredible story to tell.
This was after being paralysed in a hare scramble in 2007 and being given a 10% chance of ever being able to walk again. Joey’s hugely inspirational book, “From Para to Dakar“, which documents this journey, is an absolute must-read. I caught up with Joey recently over a brekkie to find out what has happened in his life post-Dakar.
Typical of Joey, his first thought was how he could in some way repay KTM and the KTM Dealers, who had been so instrumental in getting him to Dakar. He started doing talks at dealerships and also at the SA launch of the KTM 1290 and 1090 at Arabella in the Cape. At this point, in typical humble Joey fashion, he saw no commercial value in telling his remarkable story. This was about to change radically!
Also attending the Arabella event was the KTM (and Mazda, Ford, Bajaj and Moto Guzzi) Importer from Lebanon. This chap was so captivated by Joey’s incredible story that he arranged for Joey to come to Lebanon to tell his story. A prominent member of the Public Speakers Association of South Africa, Steph Du Plessis, a successful public speaker in his own right, hooked up with Joey and helped him to fine-tune his story. “Joey, you’ve got this” he encouraged.
What followed was a growing book of engagements as a motivational speaker at corporate events. The likes of Old Mutual, Sanlam, ABSA, FNB and Nedbank Wealth, to name a few, were all wowed and inspired by his story. In the years that followed, Joey spoke at events in 20 countries on 6 Continents. And then along came Covid…but first the African Eco Race.
Joey met Lyndon Poskitt, well known in Dakar circles, at Dakar, and they became firm friends. Lyndon invited Joey to be on his team to contest the African Eco Race. Joey’s first thought was “I’m retired from hectic races”. As we all tend to do, the fear of failure was a disincentive to do it all again, thinking that if things didn’t go well it would reflect negatively on him. And in some way detract from his Dakar success story. Little did he know… Learning that the Eco Race followed the original Dakar route from Monaco to Dakar he overcame his apprehension and agreed to race. He would then have ridden both the South American and North African Dakar routes.
Now for any of you that have followed Joey’s race endeavours, you will know that he has a thing for second last day drama. He managed to get run over by a car at Dakar on the second last day and the Eco Race threw him another curved ball on the penultimate day.
Joey originally delayed his Dakar race by a year due to injuries suffered after hitting a cow in a training race. Feeling that he should up his game, he, together with two other competitors, hit a camel on a liaison section on the second last stage of the Eco Race. His injuries were seriously debilitating. A huge gash on the forehead, a broken left wrist and a torn rotator cuff in his shoulder. Injuries that make riding a motorcycle almost impossible. For most of us, that is, but this is Joey Evans we are talking about.
His bike was recovered by the team while he was hospitalised for his injuries. To cut a long story short, he fled the hospital in the early hours of the next morning, got to the start and rode along the beach for 22 k’s to the finish. For Joey, it’s never over till it’s over!
Thankfully Covid is also getting to a point where it is generally over, and the latest variants are far less severe. As such, Joey is again going full steam with his motivational talks, which take him all over the globe. One of his recent engagements had him speaking at the UK Adventure Bike Rally attended by over 10,000 Adventure bikers, where he got a standing ovation.
In December 2020, the Evans family went through a particularly harrowing experience, when their daughter Jenna was the victim of a horrific head-on motor accident, with the driver of the other car dying from his injuries. Jenna fought for her life, with the doctors treating her giving her little chance for her survival. By God’s grace, she survived against all odds and is slowly but surely putting her life back together again.
With her life hanging in the balance, Joey was able to elicit essential help from one of the doctors who he had met when he visited the spinal unit to encourage spinal injury patients. When I asked him if, with the wisdom of hindsight, he would choose to walk the path that his life has taken all over again, his answer is a resounding ‘NO’. Having said that, his positive attitude, even when faced with impossible adversity, has stood him in really good stead. Without his spinal injury, many doors would never have opened for Joey and, in hindsight, it may have cost him the life of a precious child. We just never know the direction that our lives will take…but so much depends on how we handle adversity.
After having his bike run over in the Dakar, Joey faced riding through the inky blackness of a South American night on a badly damaged bike, getting to the Bivouac at 2:15 in the morning. He recounts that as daunting as that was, lying paralysed in his hospital bed after his spinal injury, facing the prospect of a shattered life, he sobbed just thinking that “he just needed to make it through that night”. So he has learned that we all face trials that seem overpowering. The fact is that in most cases, no matter what the challenge, we “just need to make it through that night”.
The new day will inevitably bring new hope. Being grateful for what he does have, is one of Joey’s mantras. “Gratitude is a muscle. The more you work it, the stronger it becomes, and the higher the probability that you will pick yourself back up and keep going”. Such is the impact of his incredible story, as well as his personal charisma, that KTM has appointed him as one of their brand ambassadors. And rightfully so. Joey has always flown the Austrian manufacturers’ flag with pride.
Joey has a new initiative. It’s called ‘Those That Ride’. When he visits places to deliver his life-changing address, he takes a little time out to go riding with the guys in the country he is visiting. The rides are documented and posted on YouTube as the Those That Ride series. Check out his Amman, Jordan and Kenyan rides.
This is just so typical of the man. He grasps life at every opportunity, by choice, making new friends everywhere. Students at Harvard Business School were once asked what the definition of a good business is. After any number of suggestions, they settled on this one. “If you have a product or a service that is so good, that if people could, they would pay money for it”. What is so awesome about Joey is not that he does what he does because people will pay money for it. He does it because it is what and who he is!
Spending time with Joey has you re-evaluating your outlook on life and your attitude in general. Quitting should never be an option for any of us. With enough guts and determination, we can face and overcome most things. Do yourself a favour, try and get to hear him speak. Encourage your employer to cough for his services. The message he brings is one of general human appeal. Literally, everyone who hears it, irrespective of their station in life will feel inspired and motivated.
We live in a world that desperately needs this kind of motivation. We seem to be staring at the blackest of nights. Spending time with Joey just reminded me that we must just hang in there and surely we will start to see the glimmer of a new dawn… Thank you bud, you are an incredible inspiration!
