Red Bull athlete Mad Mike Whiddett has opened up on the support he received from his family so he could pursue a full-time career in drifting, with everyone eventually contributing to the growth of his brand. The 44-year-old New Zealander has made a huge impact in the drifting arena since he began in 2006.
His most notable build, according to Red Bull, was in 2014 when he created a 1,000 bhp Mazda MX-5 and named it RADBUL, following his successful stints with MADBUL, a Mazda RX-7, and a Mazda RX-8 called BADBUL.
Whiddett revealed how he was working three jobs while his wife, Toni Cook, studied and worked at the same time beyond midnight. He then quit his job to embark on his drifting career, while the family sustained itself on Toni's income. Eventually, after much struggle, when things began to work out for Mike, Toni joined him in building the Mad Mike Brand.
The drifter also revealed how their first child, Lincoln Whiddett, was with the family throughout their journey, providing extra motivation. Having watched his father drift at a very young age, he now aspires to walk in his father's footsteps to become a professional drifter. Speaking on his offbeat journey on Instagram, Mike explained his family's support in helping him become a drifting icon. He said:
"Just doing things different than everyone else, I've always been quite unique. I just believe in being yourself. Now it's a full time role. I even remember when I had to quit my job because, at the time to be able to fund just drifting alone, I was working three jobs. We knew we still had a steady income from Toni.
"She was working, she did uni, she's doing a lot of study and then working beyond midnight, doing emails and doing everything else. You know, we're doing all our own partnership proposals, all our deliveries, designs, like everything, merchandise. It had just become too many hours, so then that was the biggest thing was then, okay, now we're going to take Toni out of her employment and just start this like, Mad Mike brand.
"This is a job for the whole family now, like even with Linc, but the best part for me, is on a day-to-day basis, I just work with really cool people and my family. Obviously, Toni is a car fanatic herself. She was the first female to win King of Auto Salon, and then she showed me the little test stick that she was pregnant.
"From that second, I just want to be the coolest frickin' dad on the planet. Linc is just gonna come along in his little capsule and, you know, that same year we had the big meeting with Red Bull. He's just been there the whole time. And so for me, that is the goal."
English (US) ·