Introducing Tyler Leary

Local Heroes Northwest recently came across this young ripper from up north. Tyler Leary wreaks as much havoc on a sled as he does on a quad and from what we can tell, he’s an outstanding citizen to boot; exactly the kind of person LHNW wants to represent.

Born and raised in Lewistown, Montana where the cattle outnumber the citizens almost four to one, Tyler first hopped aboard an ATV at the age of 16 and caught the bug. Bad. Toting his stock Kawasaki KFX 400 in a horse trailer, still leaking horse manure, Leary placed first in both motos taking the overall in his first ever amateur race. Addicted to the thrill and adrenaline that comes with racing, he went on to win the pro class championship the next two years battling his friend and fellow pro racer, TJ Dietrich.

Now attending college, he’s forced to drive 150 miles to find a track that will allow quads so to save time and money he was introduced the sport of freestyle motocross. Riding in Racetrack, Montana with pro FMXers Coy Cooper and Keith Sayers, Leary found a new passion in floating through the air barely attached to the quad. His offroad crew consists of Cooper, Drake Johnson and super fast local Drew Duncan. When the weather is not conducive to riding ramps, the boys head for the dunes where none of them hesitate to air it out at over 100 feet. LHNW photographer Ethan Strauser joined Leary for a recent dune outing and his report was simply, “Tyler is a madman.”

As mentioned, Leary is as crazy if not more so on a sled than he is on a quad. He fell into snowmobiling by chance as he tagged along with a high school friend on a family sled run. He picked up his first sled while still in high school and it didn’t survive its maiden voyage. Not long after he attracted the attention of an Arctic Cat dealer run by Dan Killham. Killham offered him a spot racing snocross which thrust Leary headlong into the sport. Still relatively inexperienced on a sled, his head down wide open approach paid off as he took third in his first race of the MWR series.

A true enthusiast, Leary is most at home filming and free riding in the backcountry with his friends. His shredding has attracted numerous film producers including 3SW films, MontanaRush.com and he even rode in a pilot episode for Fuel TV with iF Productions.

Leary has opted to remain out of the spotlight as much of the scene allows the outrageousness on sleds to pour over into their lifestyle and he’d rather go without. Not that he would have time for it anyway. The senior at Montana State University is working towards a degree in Industrial Technology with an Associates in Metallurgy as well as earning his personal training certificate for kicks. Outside of the classroom Leary works as an equipment operator and vies for the occasional midnight study break on a street bike.

Family is of utmost importance, while they wish he would choose safer hobbies they support his ambition toward something he loves. He hopes to ride an FMX show someday just for the experience of wowing a crowd and offers special thanks to his Arctic Cat teammates Steven Winkels and Jate Heaps of PFR Suspension.

We’re confident there’s a lot in store for this overworked, under paid athlete from up north. His passion for life and his hobbies is contagious and we’re excited to see what the future brings.

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