What Scott, Stephen, and Brian Teach Us About Friendship
One of the biggest lies in endurance sport iS….
that we are doing this for the races.
The longer you're around, the more you realize that this is simply not true.
We do it for the people.
The races might get us started, but the friendships keep us coming back.
This is the story of how four strangers became lifelong friends—and why the best thing you'll ever gain from sport probably won't be found on a results sheet
A Terrible Plan
Back in 2016, AP Racing had an idea.
We wanted to do cool stuff with cool people.
So naturally, we decided to host a training camp in a place we'd never been, with athletes we'd never met, in an area where we didn't know anyone.
What could possibly go wrong?
There was a Cannondale team bus. A questionable green school bus. More athletes than expected. More logistics than planned. And enough uncertainty to make us question whether this was a good idea.
Spoiler alert: it wasn't a good plan, But it was a great adventure.
The Not-So-Blind Leading The Blind
One of the only people we knew in Arizona was Pam Kallio, bless her heart for putting up with us.
When we asked for help, she connected us with two local triathletes: Scott Kadous and Stephen Campbell.
Scott knew the area.
Steve had just moved there but somehow convinced everyone he knew the area.
Brian actually wasn’t part of this camp, but to this day we could swear that he was there as he was ‘part of the wolf pack’ :)
No one, knew what they were signing up for; especially not us.
They helped with routes, rides, logistics, and everything in between. Somewhere between solving problems and creating new ones, friendships started to form.
More Than Training Partners
What started as camp volunteers turned into something much bigger.
Over the next ten years, we have shared races, road trips, camps, trucks on fire on the side of the road with 60 bikes in the back, celebrations, setbacks, career changes, growing families, multiple moves, and countless adventures.
Steve became AP Racing's first coaching apprentice and eventually a coach, helping launch what became our Coach the Coaches program.
Scott became the unofficial catalyst for many of our best bad ideas and greatest adventures.
Brian was the voice of reason while at the same time willing to FAFO any chance he got or Daniel got another crazy idea.
Somewhere along the way, they stopped being training partners.
They became family.
The Real Gift Of Sport
The Finish line is cool, but the greatest gift of sport is the people. You remember ‘the locker room’, the friendships, the shared experiences, and the stories you'll still be laughing about ten years later.
Friendship Doesn't Just Happen
Friendship is built. It's built through shared experiences. It's built through showing up.
It's built through adventures, challenges, road trips, races, and conversations.
It's built by creating a life worth sharing with others.
That's what Scott, Steve and Brian remind us of because they always show up.
The Whole Point
AP Racing has never really been about sport.
Sport is simply the vehicle.
What we have always been building is community.
We're building memories. We're building friendships.
We're building a life filled with experiences worth sharing.
And most times it all starts with a crazy idea and a couple of people willing to say ‘yes’.
THE CHALLENGE
So, if you are current member of AP Racing, I challenge you to take that extra step to get more involved in the community, with the people, with the ethos of what we are doing here.
If you are not, join up and see what we are talking about or bring this same approach to your club, your work, your community-
Do cool stuff with cool people.
You never know where it might lead.
