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Shasta SuperMoto group uses 'Throttle Therapy' to heal trauma.
SHASTA COUNTY, CALIF. — Motorbike racing comes with a lot of thrills, but for one group in Redding, those thrills are a tool for healing.
Sheemotos has operated out of the Redding Motosports park for half a decade now, Using the high speed sport to help others overcome the trauma in their lives.We’re a collaboration of women that put on events and clinics to help have an outlet for PTSD and trauma.
Shiree Cano started the group ten years ago after losing her husband in a car accident. After meeting the team with Shasta Supermoto in 2019 she made her and Sheemoto's home in Redding. Since then Cano says over the years she's helped dozens of both men and women overcome grief through what she calls "throttle therapy", using clinics and exhibitions to show how a bike can be a vehicle for healing.
“A lot of people in the motorcycle industry have experienced traumas," Cano says. "And they get it, they get that throttle therapy. Coming out to Shasta Supermoto was just like coming home.”
While she caveats that she’s no psychologist, Cano says she has seen that the benefit of being on a bike is universal..“reat way to have that outlet.”
Coming back from that, obviously I had a lot of mental problems," Cano says. "I found motorcycling and racing as a great way to have that outlet. “We were able to see that there’s a lot of men in trauma and PTSD who find throttle therapy, that’s what we call it, as a great way to get the outlet,” Cano says
Hailey Makinson has been with Cano and Sheemotos since she was 13.
“I’m a trauma survivor, I had an abusive father, and then going through high school I was very suicidal," Makinson says. "I had a really hard time in high school, but I found that riding motorcycles was the one place where everything was ok.” Now 18, Makinson says she never imagined she'd be where she is now without Cano and her organization.
“I was really broken. I was really hurt, I was really quiet," Makinson says. "I didn’t speak much. I had a lot of struggles with my confidence but Sheemotos just being in the environment of ‘Hey you can do this, like hey come on.' Shiree really picked me up and put me under her wing and made me feel like I can do this.”
It's that sense of peace she now hopes to bring to others in her situation. “I go to high schools and I speak about my trauma and how I was suicidal and how I felt that I couldn’t do it," she says. "And how I was able to overcome that and come to the place that I love and have the passion that brings me out of the sadness.”
Sheemotos is open to anyone of all ages and genders. Their next clinic is on May 11th. Sign up under "EVENTS" tab on SheeMotos.com.
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Gone Slideways
September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month-a time to raise awareness of this stigmatized, and often taboo, topic. Shasta SuperMoto Club will be donating all proceeds from the September "SuperMoto Gone Slidewayz" event to the American Foundation For Suicide Prevention (AFSP).