Burn Survivor and Marine Corps Captain start charity ride in SoCal

“I knew I wanted to give back. I didn’t know how, I didn’t know what, but I loved riding motorcycles.”

In 1990, Harley Davidson rider Trevor Holtan suffered 3rd and 4th degree burns to over 40% of his body when his truck went over a cliff and exploded, killing his best friend. He was determined to realize the purpose of his suffering until just three years ago, when he approached the Grossman Burn Foundation and Firefighters Quest for Burn Survivors in Southern California about hosting a charity motorcycle ride.

Coincidentally, Marine Corps Captain and Motor City native David Kuntz, who had been assigned Motorcycle Safety Officer of his unit, had also had the idea of a poker run along SoCal’s iconic PCH. Knowing that many reservists are also firefighters, and having heard of the work the Grossmans had done for troops who had been burned in combat overseas, he too had approached the Foundations about hosting an event to benefit burn survivors.

On September 28th, 2014, in just under three months, the two co-founders and a team of committed volunteers from both organizations were able to put together the first SoCal Burn Ride. From Calabasas to Ventura, about three hundred participants joined these motorcyclists on the road to raising funds and awareness for a cause that many are fortunate enough to never have to think about on a daily basis.

This year, the SoCal Burn Ride 3 expects an even bigger crowd and with the help of sites like this, hopes to reach more riders, volunteers, sponsors and vendors so we can expand the route to embrace more of Southern California’s beautiful coast and show the nation that no matter what the skin you’re living in looks like, once that helmet goes on, bikers are bikers, and we’re all brothers.