Taj & The Athlete Recovery Fund

Keith Mulligan

• September 08 2009
• 1,192 views
• 5 comments

Taj Mihelich recently got help from the Athlete Recovery Fund with lowering his back surgery medical bills. After working with the ARF, Taj felt the need to help spread the word about what they are currently doing for riders and what they can do when an injury occurs and help is needed. Read on as Taj interviews the ARF’s Aaron Cooke and insurance consultant Amanda Savage…

Art by Taj.

“It’s obvious that every professional athlete needs medical insurance but not everyone has it.”

Health Insurance and hospitals.

Every time I turn on the TV lately someone is arguing about health care. It’s such a huge issue in the world of politics and news media. The current debates about government run health care are ones I’ll leave each of you to argue out as you please, but one things for sure; whether its crashing on bikes or catching the flu at some point we are all going to need health care.

When accidents happen the costs can be astronomical, EVEN if you have health insurance. And for a lot of riders even getting insurance is next to impossible. Thankfully there are some organizations and people out there helping BMXers. The Athlete Recovery Fund is a non-profit organization devoted to helping injured professional BMXers, FMXers and skateboarders. And, through ARF’s referral service anyone (not just pros) can get help finding a health insurance program.

I talked to Aaron Cooke, the founder of the Athlete Recovery Fund, and Amanda Savage, a ARF referred insurance broker, so everyone can learn more about some of the help that is out there.

ARF is a charity that is dedicated to helping professional BMX, FMX and skateboard athletes who are injured and in need. They do amazing things to help riders and their families. An important key ingredient is the donations that keeps ARF ready and able to help fallen riders. Below is an interview with Aaron Cooke and information on how you can help ARF continue to save the day for so many people.

Aaron Cooke- President/ Executive Director of the Athlete Recovery Fund

What exactly is ARF and why did you start it?

ARF is a 501(c)3 charity. Our mission is: To provide professional athletes in BMX, FMX and Skateboarding with financial support after a severe injury and granting funds for rehabilitation, equipment, long-term disability and educational scholarships.

I started it because of what I learned helping Stephen Murray.  It was amazing to me the amount of things that basic medical insurance didn’t cover.  Luckily for Stephen he received tons of support from fans all over the world but I asked myself what if this level of injury happened to someone who was a up and coming pro or just not as well known as Stephen?  The same year Stephen was hurt there where other injuries that made me aware of the needs for a support system dedicated to action sports.  Jake Brown took the gnarliest crash ever on his skateboard during the X Games Big Air, and Jason Fisher took a crash while riding FMX that caused him to have a severe brain injury.  I met with the main people behind Alli, the Alliance of Action Sports (then AST) and X Games and I asked them what I needed to do to get something they would get behind.  I did everything they asked of me and we continue to grow our relationships and with their sponsorship partners.

What is your job at ARF?

My job at ARF is a constant effort in many directions. I spend easily 40 plus hours a week focused on ARF but it’s not my main source of income. I travel to many of the events throughout the year meeting with partners and potential donors and running booths that range from fundraising to informational purposes.  In the past I have stayed in my brothers RV, slept on floors in spare rooms, etc to save a buck.  Most of my time is spent writing proposals to attract new company participation.  Of all the companies who have contributed towards ARF each and every one has been surrounded by a marketing campaign. A lot of time and effort goes into working side by side with our partners to pull off exciting and purposeful events. Some great opportunities have been had with Nike 6.0 and the final Lightning Bolts Show in L.A., Playstations “Player of the Year Award”, Nerf’s nationally televised commercial campaign, Paul Mitchell cutting hair for donations to our cause and most recently the PSA/Viral video project with Ball Park located at www.supportARF.com where Ball Park donates a dollar for every time the video is watched up to $100,000!  Once we gain the support of a partner there is constant follow up and relationship building as new people are appointed.  I work hard to make sure that each donation turns into an annual contribution and not just a onetime deal.  I work with the people responsible for Alli, the Alliance of Action Sports and ESPN’s X Games on a regular basis to try and come up with new and exciting ways to attract their partners and to keep them confident that ARF is delivering on our promise to the athletes.  That’s just the business side.

On the athlete side I am the person who gets the call when someone needs our help. I book flights, find hotels, doctors, insurance help, whatever it takes. Once an application comes through www.athleterecoveryfund.com I present it to my board of directors with as many facts as we can gather at the time and we all take a vote on the determination of that grant.  I talk to other families who have suffered through the same injuries so I can learn what needs to be done before it comes up. I try to use whatever experience I have gotten through this process to help a family through an injury.  It can be a very chaotic time where things you normally take care of without thinking twice can be so overwhelming.  I tell the families I help, “nothing is to big or too small, ask me for anything”.  I have been close to BMX for as long as I can remember.  I grew up racing with guys like Mike Hajek, Donnie Robinson, Randy Stumphauser and more.  My brother (Allan Cooke) has made his mark on the freestyle side and I used to announce every single BMX freestyle event for about eight years.  These guys are my extended family and I have found a purposeful way to help a lot of them out.  I get a lot of pride when a nonprofit organization who has been around for eight plus years tells me they can’t believe how far ARF has come in such a short amount of time.

Who can get help from ARF and how? And, what kind of help can ARF provide?

Our financial grants are reserved for professionals in BMX, FMX and Skateboarding.  We classify “professional” as someone who gets paid by a company who licenses their likeness to market a product.  This can be more than just a monthly check.  It can be photo contingencies, video riders, non-contest guys, etc.  There may be other opportunities for icons in our sport or people that have contributed a large amount to the industry to benefit from our help but each case is reviewed on an individual basis. The main purpose for our grants is more for severe or catastrophic injuries like a Stephen Murray or Mike Aitken situation, however being a 501(c)3 we are required to document what we do with every single penny that goes through our accounts. The more money that we accumulate through donations the more we can apply to each individual grant. The IRS does not want to see a charity raise a ton of money and not spend it though. In some cases we have been able to help out some qualifying athletes who had an extreme financial need with injuries that required surgeries.  An example of this level of financial need would be a hospital bill that was going into collections, a person’s gross annual income was so low that they would not be able to pay for their normal costs of living for an extended period because of the medical bill etc.  The first step for any qualified riders looking to get help is to go to www.athleterecoveryfund.com and complete a grant application.  Each application is reviewed and decisions are made quickly.  Not every application can be granted and ARF is not the end all support that will make every problem go away.  We are a successful support system and I am proud to have already been able to help so many in such a short amount of time.

What do you hope to accomplish with ARF?

When I started ARF we had some very specific goals. Our short term goal is to really be a first response support system.  ARF looks to provide flight for one family member if an athlete is hospitalized for several days.  Then we look to support them with hotel expenses.  These are things that a family member should not have to worry about when their athlete is hospitalized.  A couple of examples where we have been able to perform this is like when we assisted FMX rider Jeremy Lusks parents with flying down to Costa Rica and covering their hotel to be by his bedside in his final moments, or like Mike Aitkens family which we moved from a basic hotel to a location that provided kitchen amenities and a more home like atmosphere due to the fact that they had to completely relocate their lives from Utah to Pennsylvania.

Our midterm goal was to provide grants for rehabilitation equipment and care at specialty facilities and in home. ARF does not want any athlete to sacrifice treatment because their insurance will not cover it. Our purpose is to grant or assist in paying for treatment and rehabilitation after a major injury.  We accomplished this with Stephen Murray by contributing towards items that his insurance didn’t cover like wheel chair, air concentrator, home health care, etc.  Most recently we contributed towards an air ambulance that transported FMX rider Cam Sinclair from Spain where he crashed hard on a double back flip to Australia where he can continue recovering close to his family. These are only a couple of examples and we have been able to do more than just these. If you go to our website you can read through some of the updates to see what we have been up to and see some testimonials from the athletes we have helped.

Our long term goals include offering some form of group insurance coverage.  It’s obvious that every professional athlete needs medical insurance but not everyone has it.

ARF has also created a sort of a referral system that comes from us being on the front lines of spinal cord injury and brain injuries.  We have been able to meet some amazing doctors, facilities, insurance agents, therapists, etc. that helped our guys the most.  At ARF information is free and we look to share with anyone in need.  Because ARF referred Taj to Amanda Savage (who is a ARF referred insurance broker) she was able to save him over $30,000!  This cost ARF nothing, but proved to be very valuable to Taj.

Years of hard riding and some big crashes have taken their toll. This bail wasn’t the one that led to Taj’s surgery, but it certainly helped get him there. Photo: Zielinski

How you can help the Athlete Recovery Fund:

• Go to www.supportARF.com and watch the video to earn $1 for ARF from Ball Park Franks.

• Riders who compete in the Dew Tour can automatically donate 5% of their price purse winnings when they sign up at an event.

• At times we ask for rider autographed gear that we can use in auction fundraisers.

• If you have sponsors talk to them and see what they are doing or can do to support ARF.

• Buy an ARF T-shirt here: www.supportARF.com

• Make donations to ARF at http://www.athleterecoveryfund.com

Contact Aaron directly if you have questions about how you can help. aaron@athleterecoveryfund.com

BMX pros are usually paid as private contractors from their sponsors. This means that they are not employees and no health insurance or worker’s comp is provided. Aside from not being able to ride an injury can also mean huge medical bills and loss of all income. Health Insurance will help, but trying to find coverage for a professional athlete can be very difficult. As a result far too many riders have no insurance. Even if you’re not pro tracking down an affordable insurance plan can be a real headache. Amanda Savage is an insurance broker who knows the ins and outs of the business and is an invaluable resource as ARF’s referral agent.

Amanda Savage Consulting Agent for Solomon Insurance Group

What is your connection with ARF? And how do you help BMXers?

I’m ARF’s referral source for athletes who need insurance or help with their existing insurance. I go to events like Dew tour with ARF to meet athletes and let them know what I do and who I have helped in the past.  I have now insured over ten BMX athletes who thought they could not get insurance or were just intimidated by the process. I know insurance can be a pain but that’s why were here.

Who can contact you with questions about getting insurance? Or for help with an insurance company?

Anyone and everyone! I don’t just help athletes, I also work with companies and individuals. Solomon insurance group gives back a percentage to the Athlete Recovery Fund. Our goal is to make sure that ARF always has enough funds to help out every athlete in need.

I am also currently working with some of the ARF sponsors to help with their other insurance needs. Coverage for things like general liability and workers compensation are mandatory for companies so why not go through an agency that is going to give back to athletes?

How should someone contact you with questions?

Office phone: 818-874-9930

Email: Amanda@solomoninsgrp.com

I have my crackberry at all times!

Art by Taj.

To read more about Taj’s back surgery, see more of his art, and read his always entertaining and constantly updated blog, click here.