What kicks butt on two wheels, is filled with adrenaline, shreds at 60 mph and a 190+ BPM heart rate through tight turns, dirt, flies over jumps all while fighting off an aggressive pack of enemies in 100+ degrees Fahrenheit?

Allow us to introduce you to our latest addition–MODe Athlete Kai Aiello!

Two wheels have been part of Kai’s life from an early stage on. He learned riding a bike around the same time he learned walking and his family has been involved for a long time with motocross (MX) and racing. Now at 17 years old, Kai is focused on much more than senior prom. Most MX racers in Kai’s field are homeschooled in order to accommodate the training and time it takes to compete at the highest levels. However, Kai graduates tomorrow ranking 3rd out of 627 students in his class academically. He’s been accepted to USD and UCSD, but for now will defer to focus on his chance of a lifetime–racing pro. He currently competes in 250B, 450B and Schoolboy classes and looks to earn a top spot in 250 A Professional Supercross/Motocross class later this year.

No doubt MX is where his heart is but he feels pretty passionate about anything on two wheels. Kai recently took 1st at one of his favorite MTB races in Vail Lake for the SoCal Enduro in Expert class. He cross trains and puts in often more than 100+ miles per week on his road bike in addition to plenty of hours on the motorbike–shredding on at least 6 days a week. With a max heart rate of 202 BPM he is in top condition and tallied 5,000 miles last year, between riding road and MTB. A common training regiment includes riding Los Gatos with a 27% grade and putting in several thousand feet of elevation gain every time he climbs up Mt. Palomar.

Kai ranks nationally in the Intermediate 250F, Intermediate 450F, and Schoolboy 125/250F classes. 

Right now he has his eyes set on a big win at the 2018 Mammoth MotoCross on June 23rd - where he barely missed taking 1st last year. Mammoth Lakes hosts the oldest continuous motocross event in the US as top racers battle it out on its world-class track.

Although Kai is one of a kind, he still makes time to be a teen and hang out with friends and family given the strong support from his community in Temecula and SoCal. Anyone riding locally in SoCal should keep an eye out for him on his favorite MTB trails – Vail Lake, Greer, and Big Bear.

Regardless of how long Kai continues to race competitively, he plans to stay in the sport and study mechanical engineering to design bike products and equipment.  

“I’m super excited about my partnership with MODe! Races and training are just grueling and to go the distance and win you have to put the right fuel in the tank–that applies as much to my bike as it does for me. And the motocross community can really use some MODe.” - Kai Aiello #110

So how does Kai think he kicks-butt best? Well, we asked him and here’s what he said:

“My work ethic is results driven. I keep my eyes on the prize and put all my energy into winning...amped riding is always fun and when you perform well it all gets addicting.”

Cheers to that and some kick-butt results in the works, we are as excited to have him be part of MODe as he is! You can follow Kai @kaiaiello110 and join our MODe Blog as we follow along with Kai’s journey!