Be the IMPACT - Makieva and his IMPACT BMX Racing Team

Little bit of Intro here, Makieva Hopson has been around BMX since he was a little Mini Hulk of ( 5 years old ) and has been a part of the Supercross BMX Factory Team for the last 3 years now and has been running the local Whitney Mesa BMX Track with his Father Big Mac Hopson for the last ( 3 years ) and has stepped up to do a bit more for BMX. You can see Makieva believes in the you have to fill the well to take from the well mantra, and he is overflowing his.

Last year in 2019 Makieva started the Impact Racing Team, and we wanted to dig a little deeper and find out a bit more.

Supercross BMX: Makieva, how did the idea of Impact Racing come about?

Makieva Hopson: Throughout my racing career there has been a lot of people who made an impact on me to get me where I am today and I am tremendously thankful every day, so I wanted to do the same and give back. I wanted to create an impact (hence the team name) on riders to take them to the next level on and off the bike. The local BMX community has to be more than just racing. Local BMX communities need to support their local riders and push them to be better individuals. I believe that riders should be making an impact on the track and off the track. I wanted to use my knowledge and experience to help guide riders into a different direction with our focus on more than just BMX. It isn’t about being the best on the track! To be the best version of ourselves we have to push ourselves physical, mentally, and emotionally. If I can push riders to get out of their comfort zones and push them physically, mentally and emotionally then the sky is the limit for them.

Supercross BMX:That’s awesome, so it’s all about giving back and helping the local community. And you had to be extra stoked that your sponsors, Supercross, Speedline and FLY were all eager to help you. Were you surprised that they were so ready to help you with the new venture?

Makieva Hopson: I was extremely surprised only because I’m a full-time college student, track operator, professional athlete, and a coach and I knew that a lot of people thought I was insane for adding more on my plate. Because of this reason I wasn’t expecting anyone to jump onboard so fast, but I was definitely wrong! Of course, the first people I reached out to were my own personal team sponsors: Supercross, Speedline, Fly Racing, along with Whitney Mesa BMX, and they had my back believing in me and what I could do for the local community. I was both relieved and thankful to have such great people behind me.

Supercross BMX: How many kids do you currently have on the Impact Racing Team?

Makieva Hopson:  I started with a total of 7 at the beginning of 2019 and ended with 14 for the 2020 season. Every single rider that I picked up all had one thing in common, heart! I didn’t care if they were the best or even the worst.

Supercross BMX: We notice that the kids on your program have gone from newbie, to pretty well recognized National riders in a short period of time. Congrats, that is a huge feat, but we hear you run your program a bit differently than other teams, can you share the secrets?

Makieva Hopson: I give all the credit to my amazing riders and their parents. Everyone is dedicated, supportive and ready to tackle anything I ask of them! We have a game plan and they all step up to make sure we succeed as a program which is pretty amazing. Another big key to our success is having a training facility that we are able to use at any time. I have to thank Whitney Mesa BMX for that!

Supercross BMX: Wow, that’s awesome, so you have weekly training for the team, so there is an actual plan and purpose for them getting better. Did this come from your personal training?

Makieva Hopson: We have team practice every week when we can. We don’t do anything without a plan or purpose. No different than my own personal training. We approach everything with a main event mentality. I was once told that goals without a plan are just dreams. Not only do we shoot to turn our dreams into reality, we also plan on crushing our goals every single week! No settling in this program!

Supercross BMX: So, we hear that you have had kids outside your team looking to get into these training programs, and that you and your Supercross BMX Teammate have teamed up know to form the IMPACT Academy to help train BMXers. Can you tell us more about that?

Makieva Hopson:  Kamren Larsen actually moved to Las Vegas and is rooming with me. It’s been so much fun so far! We made this big change in our lives so that we can work together and really IMPACT the BMX community nationwide. All the coaching that we do is now together hence our program, Impact BMX Academy. If anyone is interested, we do private training along with online coaching, video review, and help at all the nationals that we attend. We are tired of sitting back. We want to be a part of the change and the journey. We want to help anyone who has goals to grow as an individual or an athlete.

Supercross BMX: Is it only local at your Whitney Mesa BMX track, or do you guys plan to take this on the road to other tracks as well?

Makieva Hopson: We are out of Whitney Mesa BMX and plan to do most of our work there, but we do plan on making a few stops across the country to share our knowledge to local riders and tracks all over. If you would like us to stop at one of the tracks near you, contact myself or Kam. You might even catch us at the amazing Apple Valley BMX dropping a clinic sometime soon!

Supercross BMX: That’s awesome, how can Riders get in touch with you to sign up for the Impact Academy? Or other tracks to have you guys come on out?

Makieva Hopson: Simply email myself at makievadhopson@gmail.com, Kamren at kamren.larsen@yahoo.com, or our Impact Academy email impactbmxacademy@gmail.com.

Supercross BMX: Anything else you want to add?

Makieva Hopson: I want to take this time to send a huge shout out to the people who have been in my corner to make this all happen. Thank you, Whitney Mesa BMX Track, for giving both my riders and I the opportunity to improve and ride at a top-notch facility. The Impact BMX Team and the Impact BMX Academy is so fortunate to have full access to this facility. Thank you Supercross BMX, Speedline BMX and Fly Racing for providing my riders and I with the top of the line products. ISo, thank you to again Supercross BMX, Speedline BMX, Fly Racing BMX and Whitney Mesa BMX for the continuous support and love.

Supercross BMX: Thanks Makieva, we appreciate your time, we know that you are super busy, and appreciate you sharing all of this with the readers.