Former fight gym owner on 65k mile charity ride
Former fight gym owner and promoter Adam Sandoval is Scootin’ America, driving 65,000 miles to every Harley dealership in the lower 48 for charity.
Former fight gym owner and promoter Adam Sandoval, 36, regrets never having served his country. So starting last month he is Scootin’ America, driving 65,000 miles to every Harley dealership in the lower 48 to raise funds for the American Legion Legacy Fund. Through the scholarship program, the American Legion aims to ensure higher education is a possibility for children whose parents have been killed while serving the country.
Sandoval and his sidekick, a his 6-year-old Chihuahua named Scooter, intend to break three Guiness world records, including longest charitable ride.
Speaking from a warm Texas motel room after a cold, wet day on the road, he was basking in the kindness of strangers — in this case, members of the Temple American Legion, which decided to put him up for the night.
“I’d been searching for a church to sleep in,” Sandoval said, “and then the post surprised me with this room.”
Such nights are a rarity; since he left Nov. 10, it’s only the third time he’s stayed in a hotel. For the most part, veterans or Harley dealers put him up, he says.
As Sandoval travels from place to place, he posts Instagram photos, Facebook updates and Tweets. For a $5 donation (though more is always welcome) anyone can join him for a day.
So far, on his 6,000-mile trip, the coolest thing to happen was hooking up with a crew from Animal Planet’s “Pitbulls and Parolees” in North Florida for a couple of days.
“We got police escorts and they shut the roads down,” the Wisconsin-born Sandoval said. “It was unreal.”
Six-pound Scooter, a puppy mill rescue, takes it all in stride from his specially designed canine rumble seat.
“He’s so calm,” Sandoval said. “He just loves it all.”
Along the way, Sandoval has forged connections with soldiers that have only deepened his commitment to their cause.
“I was at a dealership in Pensacola on Veterans Day and I went out back and there was a deck with all these old trees and rocking chairs and I met a guy. He was suffering really bad from PTSD, but he’d heard about me and came out. He wanted me to hear this song he wrote, called ‘Thunder Child,’ which was super moving,” Sandoval says. “That’s the kind of moment that sticks with me.”
He’s broken down twice, but Harley dealers have spotted him the repairs, and a kindly massage therapist helped put the mixed martial arts expert’s back in order after it got to hurting.
So far, he’s raised about $8,000, “And I’ve donated every dollar,” he says.
It’s a major lifestyle change for Sandoval. Once upon a time, he ran Mixed Martial Arts centers and produced MMA reality shows; now, his office is the open road.
“I have less than I’ve ever had, but I also have more satisfaction than I’ve ever had,” he says. “Every day, I have people tell me, ‘Thanks for your sacrifice,’ but I’ve never been happier.”