Tony Hoffman Motivational Speaker from Clovis, CA

A native of Central California and a graduate of Clovis High School, Tony Hoffman's life has been defined by the highest peaks and the lowest valleys. As a gifted athlete, Tony spent his high school years traveling the country racing BMX. He achieved the status of a top-ranked amateur along with multiple contract endorsements. Unfortunately, he started using alcohol, marijuana, prescription pain killers, and other drugs. A downward spiral of addiction led him to commit armed robbery in 2004. At his sentencing, Tony was given probation and the opportunity to achieve sobriety in lieu of prison. However, he was not yet ready to make changes in his life, resulting in a probation violation, which landed him in prison in 2007. Every cloud has a silver lining. During his two-year incarceration at the Wasco, Tehachapi, and Avenal state prisons, he started planning a way to use both the positives and the negatives of his life to help kids avoid the mistakes he had made himself. Upon release from prison, Tony immediately re-entered the BMX racing circuit, winning five races as pro and competing at the Olympic level for two years. But he never forgot his dream to help kids. In 2010, he achieved his goal of starting the Freewheel Project, a non-profit organization devoted to developing healthy life choices in youth through action sports. The Freewheel Project mentors youth with action sports, such as BMX & skateboarding, imparting them a multitude of valuable life tools such as financial literacy, leadership skill building, academic mentoring and substance abuse prevention courses. His summer camps have grown in popularity, attracting hundreds of kids yearly who earn free name brand bicycles and skateboards upon graduation.