The Story

Hello, my name is Steve Green and this is Wildfire Moto.

This whole idea was born out of my experiences leading up to and following the loss of my brother, Tommy “Wildfire” Green, in a motorcycle accident. That bond of brotherhood is one that can never be replaced, and when it is broken you have to be careful as to what type of person you're going to become. For years, I struggled with addiction and alcoholism, and in the aftermath of Tom’s passing I found my mind wandering to places I’d never imagined.  Losing someone so dear to me, and with alcohol to escalate it, I felt like I was going down a hole that I would never come out of.  

When things in the mind go so dark, you look for a light- a way to see the good in things and a way to experience them. This is where the motorcycle took over my life.

Let’s get a little backstory...  

Motorcycles came a little later in life for the Green Brothers. In my 20’s, I attempted to build a bike myself, but, not making enough cash or having any real sort of building mentor, turned my attentions to other endeavors.  Tom was just hitting his stride with his Rock N Roll bands, so we were kept busy partying and making bad decisions (Okay, so they maybe weren’t ALL bad) I moved to Austin, Texas, where I finally got my 1976 Hardtail chopper.  For my first ride, a couple buddies and I headed back out west to my hometown in California, breaking down and meeting people all along the way. It was a crazy experience and an addiction was born- I was hooked.  Tom took note and decided that he wanted a bike, too.  After burning through several crappy choppers, I found a bike suitable for my brother and Tom came out to Texas to ride with me. I will never forget our first ride together.

I ended up riding that bike from Austin to Portland, Oregon, where Tom lived, to drop it off at his place. It was a long solo ride through extreme weather conditions, and it put a real passion for riding deep in my soul.  I was happy to pass it on to Tom. The harsh reality is I would only get to ride with him 1 more time before he was in the accident that ultimately ended his life. Tom was riding near his house when a car turned out of a side street in front of him. Tom survived the hit but sustained severe injuries and was going to be on a long road to recovery. I was in the process of moving out to Portland to live with and care for him when the next blow came- on the day he was to be released, I got a call that Tom had returned back into the ICU and was bleeding internally. He went into coma and the outcome was me and my parents having to pull the plug on his life. At this moment I went numb.

The Aftermath

I’ve always been a drinker, and a pretty good one. Bars were my brother’s and my places to hangout. “Rock n roll and shots ‘til the wheels fall off!” is what Tom would say. Well, after he passed, I took that into practice pretty literally. Nights of drinking turned into days, which ran into weeks, until it just became the norm. Alcoholism, which was probably already there, now was in full throttle. Shakes in the morning and the need of a drink to cure them. I looked 10 years older; my face was constantly flushed bright red, I was wracked by stomach pain, developed an ulcer and also put on a ton of weight. Not a pretty site, I knew, but the whiskey kept the pain away and I was masking all of my troubles. It was tearing me apart. It started to take over, deep inside, and I felt it turning me into an evil person.

Motorcycle  Zen

When going down a path of destruction, most of us are always looking for a way out. I finally just looked at my life one day and asked, What makes me happy? Motorcycles! came the immediate response. It sounds cliche, but that’s what I did. After a week-long bender that I thought (hoped?) was going to kill me, I went cold-turkey and the journey began. I was lucky enough to be working with Indian motorcycles and had access to their full line of bikes, so I took advantage of my good fortune and spent most of my waking hours riding. This kept some of the demons at bay, but I was still looking for another way to get truly lost in my riding world.

On a trip in Monument Valley, I looked out past the tourists in the spot on the road where everyone takes a picture and saw the curves of the dirt roads leading into the wild landscape. Those dirt roads hit me like a brick in the head with the idea to get a dual sport- so I bought an Africa Twin.  My friends all looked at me like I was crazy; “What the hell is this?” Chopper Harley and Indian guy buying an oversized dirt bike was, in many ways, pretty comical- it was definitely a 180 in what I was riding. I have to say it’s been the best decision I’ve ever made.

Let’s Ride!

So this is what brings us to Wildfire Moto. I put all this into play so that every time I ride, the memory of my brother will always be on my mind and push me to go further to see things his eyes did not get to see. I’m living for the both of us now and not gonna waste one more minute sitting on a barstool telling people all the things I wish I could do. With blogging and a Brand it opens me up to meeting more people and creating new friends and family along the path of my new Adventure with a clear and new found mindset. So lets ride everyone and I hope you stick around and enjoy the ride till we cross paths on the DIRT!!