Skip to main content

Stone Edler's inspirational fight for success in Motocross

Eighteeen-year-old Stone Edler is a tough kid. No way around it. Despite suffering numerous injuries and broken bones, and despite having had to overcome Hodgkin’s Lymphoma at age 16, Stone still gets up every morning and embraces his role as a motocross rider. Perhaps this is why his father, Lance, says he’s “completely nuts.” Lance likes to say, “I don’t think you can really be all there to be a motocross rider,” so maybe being off your rocker is a good thing.

Edler started riding bikes when he was just five years old. Immediately, it was obvious that the “crazy gene” was in his blood. He broke his femur, the largest bone in the body, at age seven. That was only the beginning of a grocery list’s worth of injuries that includes broken collarbones, a broken tibia and fibula (at the same time), as well as broken wrists. To top it all off, Edler has knocked out teeth, broken his humerus (requiring a rod insertion for stability) and crushed three vertebrae.

At this point, Edler says that getting these injuries is “pretty routine,” and that he doesn’t cry when he gets hurt. However, Edler does cry when he hears that he can’t compete. He says, “I don’t cry, at least not until that part [when he finds out that injuries will keep him out of a competition].” 

Still, the fact that the injuries are “pretty routine,” combined with the boundless drive Edler has, means that they’ve never held him back. In fact, he has already been compared with the likes of Travis Pastrana and Jeremy McGrath—two men whom Edler has always idolized—and says “it’s a dream come true” even to be mentioned in the same sentence as them.

Stone Edler

Stone Edler

Such comparisons are why many experts in the sport are saying that he could be one of the greatest—maybe even the greatest—of all time.

Edler might say that it’s crazy that he’s compared with them, but he completely deserves the praise. He has won numerous junior championships, and going pro now is simply the next logical step. To name just a few of his titles, he won the World Mini at Las Vegas in 2008, a championship at the Ponca City Nationals in the same year, and the Daytona AMA National in 2010. But all of Edler's accomplishments pale in comparison to the disease he overcame.

Racing the Red Bull Mini Drome with New York City's top bike messengers

In February 2012, Edler returned from the Spring Nationals in Texas complaining of chronic fatigue. Subsequent blood work found an iron deficiency in his bloodstream, but that was quickly written off as a routine problem because several other junior riders at his training facility were having the same problem.

Fast forward two months or so and everybody’s iron levels are back to normal at the training facility… except for Edler's. Doctors couldn’t determine a cause, so it was dismissed as a non-factor. In retrospect, it turned out to be a huge warning sign that was evidence of cancer.

In July 2012, Stone was practicing at the training facility when he went off a jump and crashed. Normally when Edler crashes, one of two things happen: Either he gets up and he’s fine or he’s broken another bone. This time, it was the latter of the two. He broke his orbital bone. But he was also spitting up blood, something that had never happened before. His trainers figured there was some internal bleeding, so he was sent to a local hospital and given an MRI. It seemed like a routine process, but it was one that would change his life.

Comparisons of Edler's two MRIs.

Comparisons of Edler's two MRIs.

​Above is a picture of two of Edler’s MRIs. The first one (bottom) shows an 11.5 centimeter long white mass (the tumor) taking over his right lung and pressing against his windpipe. The second one (top) shows a significantly smaller growth after his first 21-day cycle of chemotherapy.

Eight months later, Edler’s chemotherapy and radiation treatments were complete and the hospital released him. He says it’s in remission with no remaining side-effects.

It’s well known that chemotherapy and radiation treatments are no laughing matter. They sap you of energy to the point that something as simple as smiling becomes a chore.

Since chemotherapy and radiation treatments are exhausting, most people don’t try to exert themselves too much until after a few weeks have passed following the treatment. With Edler, the exact opposite happened. He says that he went back to the training facility literally two days after being released. That was unorthodox, to say the least—especially considering that Edler says he had problems with his organs, mainly his liver, during the first four months after treatment.

10375692_239812379550371_1279896821_n.jpg
1b151c96225c11e398dd22000a9f3c77_7.jpg
a859ce5edd2811e29d7a22000a1f9d9b_7.jpg
b5fb685ef59411e2ab6822000a1fb191_7.jpg
aefabb749b5111e2b4bf22000aa80174_7.jpg
c2a218d4ae0111e39b35120dcfb1dcbc_8.jpg
9b7e1d12df7011e2a03a22000aaa0517_7.jpg
c6853710fcbd11e2a9ff22000aaa0374_7.jpg
7cb53072a65e11e3b537121692ccf9a6_8.jpg
5ed00354a4b311e3a24212df786a068e_8.jpg
c2452fce36e811e386b922000a9f14cd_8.jpg
da27f13414f211e39c2822000a1fbe4c_7.jpg
e92843d6ebfe11e29d0322000a1f97e3_7.jpg
016bf1d0f54211e2b19422000a1f9bc9_7.jpg
301f93180acf11e3bdb622000a1f9860_7.jpg
ec7fd598fbc811e19f0922000a1e9a7d_7.jpg
408aaf72339111e3845f22000a9f3c3e_8.jpg
492b47aafb0011e285ac22000a1faf5e_7.jpg
01205a9edd2911e28b9a22000a1f9d42_7.jpg
891275_574606592622587_1644994775_n.jpg
914304_1391692097719864_1050916760_n.jpg
ed4d1ef0182211e3aa2d22000a1f9a45_7.jpg
917078_234937930046766_745125226_n.jpg
918180_696865293708929_2105747542_n.jpg
924235_249832908511739_71282059_n.jpg
924969_676118609113943_662348465_n.jpg
925717_429706803822633_1998332136_n.jpg
926494_257151031142360_1004267215_n.jpg
926603_778705268811512_690654702_n.jpg
926676_457858724315045_2144949471_n.jpg
926767_1426930957569352_2068028730_n.jpg
928130_613027872068508_1639909763_n.jpg
1169848_270775209738895_45144171_n.jpg
1171785_181849352021295_86465734_n.jpg
1172565_528360377275481_877770823_n.jpg
ea80090ed30711e2917a22000a9f1587_7.jpg
1389685_744061658941454_1961107516_n.jpg
1527518_763063173722818_156053142_n.jpg
1530841_510077445775225_349091739_n.jpg
1689936_581126775308439_1038437988_n.jpg
1742901_591861897548974_585413223_n.jpg
1922240_217913068411239_1935250122_n.jpg
1962925_412931858841826_1491709600_n.jpg
10009865_227025450821441_613765981_n.jpg
10254257_1486572908221435_630695124_n.jpg
10424682_246248025565041_34302484_n.jpg
10432021_642735755795332_481409059_n.jpg
405578949da911e2be0d22000a9f14df_7.jpg
a7f11882a5a011e39c960adde94df5d6_8.jpg
4ecdac5068fd11e3bd0e123434e8f4f7_8.jpg

According to Edler, he would take in lots of water and, because his liver function wasn’t back up to speed, the water wouldn’t be processed by the organ and would just stay in the body, causing widespread swelling. However, despite the pain and discomfort that he experienced, Edler says that he was “passionate and dedicated” about getting back to the sport he missed so much while being treated for Hodgkin’s.

Father and son spoke about how, after the younger Edler’s release from the hospital, Lance decided to hang out with Stone by racing with him, just for fun. However, in classic Stone Edler fashion, his competitiveness was still very high, and, as Lance says, “He tried to run me off the road.”  This might seem a bit much, but Stone simply says that he was showing his dad some “tough love.”

Fast forward to the present and Edler still is racking up injuries like before, and just like before, that doesn’t stop him. He just competed in Loretta Lynn’s famed 2014 Amateur Motocross Championships in Hurricane Mills, Tenn. The event is five days long and is the most prestigious tournament in amateur motocross. That said, after years of being frustrated by injuries and dealing with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, Stone finally won the event, taking first in the College B/C (ages 16-24).

He now follows in the tiretracks of such stars as Travis Pastrana and Jeremy McGrath. Not only will he be mentioned in the same sentence as them, he is there to stay.

Renderings of the Moto-9 carbon custom-fit helmet designed for Edler.

Renderings of the Moto-9 carbon custom-fit helmet designed for Edler.

​Within the next couple of weeks, Edler will be flying to Scotts Valley, Calif., where one of his sponsors, Bell Helmets, is headquartered. Bell will be giving him something called a Moto-9 Carbon custom-fit scan. This is a new technology developed by the scientists at Bell, who will measure the unique contours of Edler’s head to give him a custom helmet that will fit only him. Normally, only elite riders get to go through this innovative process, so the fact that a non-pro is getting this special helmet underscores the expectations that major sponsors like Bell Helmets have for Edler.

The helmet itself represents a huge step forward in the field of concussion prevention and it’ll keep Edler from breaking his head, which is just about the only part of his body he hasn’t broken. (Edler laughs when he hears this.)

Before hanging up, Edler answers one last question: “Can anything stop Stone Edler from becoming the next great motocross rider?” With no hesitation, he replies, simply, “Nope.”

It seems that Lance Edler was right from the beginning: “I think my son is completely nuts.” But if that’s true, and being “completely nuts” is what gets you to the top of the motocross world, then Stone Edler will make short work of his obstacles to get there. Think about it: if Edler can beat Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in just eight short months, his opponents don’t stand a chance against him.

715138_10.jpg
609216_10.jpg
51752694.jpg
51723271.jpg
51723273.jpg
1978146.jpg
84835011.jpg
83662551.jpg
72498939.jpg
51149099.jpg
51228663.jpg
103195852.jpg
103239066.jpg
103239274.jpg
103195521.jpg
103239567.jpg
83263828.jpg
83263867.jpg
85259881.jpg
53334681.jpg
53337687.jpg
76258697.jpg
51038659_10.jpg
83263696.jpg
89193933.jpg
82255928.jpg
82141773.jpg
82141775.jpg
82151850.jpg
89617309.jpg
89617252.jpg
89617217.jpg
89539698.jpg
89549241.jpg
89549224.jpg
89677215.jpg
89672859 (1).jpg
89566464.jpg
89562825.jpg
103239557.jpg
103239538.jpg
103162117.jpg
103162380.jpg
103161640.jpg
103181949.jpg
gallery-lead.jpg
10414032_262784090573025_361431992_n.jpg
10362174_1424505357823567_1692448240_n.jpg
10424444_1432469600350793_1698364153_n.jpg
929123_758007774252219_2146087778_n.jpg
10453861_797547520256004_1047570878_n.jpg
10369346_747745728622407_1112692659_n.jpg
10467920_301501333348784_273441455_n.jpg
10387781_254976974704369_931604790_n.jpg
10424355_1415671115382359_573371402_n.jpg
925256_317517178407503_1551844673_n.jpg
10432064_1442795245978754_2112384310_n.jpg
10387991_649631991787333_80979595_n.jpg