Jared Nichols – Rider. Father. Builder of Davey’s Speed Co.

My name is Jared Nichols. I was born in Minnesota to Dave and Teri. When I was three, we moved into the house I’d later buy back for my Parents. My childhood wasn’t perfect—behind closed doors, I carried pain that I wouldn’t speak out loud about until I was a young adult. I was sexually abused as a child. I buried it deep. I got bullied. I lost my confidence. But I also had incredible parents who did their best. I had dirt bikes. I had moments of pure happiness. I had motocross.

I begged my dad for a dirt bike after he took me to my first Supercross race. He showed up after school one day and said, “We’re going to Precision Line Motorsports.” That day, I got my first bike: a beat-up ‘96 KX60. It didn’t matter—it was mine. My first race was at Brookston. I pulled the holeshot by sheer luck and didn’t win a damn thing—but I was hooked.

Then came the race at Millville. Mud everywhere. I couldn’t make it up the hill during practice. I tried three times. Then I gave up and cut the track. Back at our pit, my dad—Davey—pulled me aside and said something I’ll never forget:

“Whether you make it up the hill or not, I love you. But if you don’t you wont sleep tonight with knowing you have to face that hill during the race. If you do make it—you’ll go to bed proud.”

I rode back out and faced it. I made it up the hill. That moment stuck with me for life. Sure, it was just a muddy hill at Millville but that moment stuck.

As I got older, money got tight. I had to choose one track to keep racing, and I chose Millville—the one where I learned what courage looked like. After turning 18, I stopped racing to work and pay my way. Later, I met my amazing wife and stepson Mason. We fell in love, built a life, and found out we were going to have a baby girl. Around that time, I fulfilled a lifelong dream of becoming a Firefighter for the city of Oak grove, MN. It was a dream come true. I got to jump on a truck with lights and sirens blaring. I was blessed to work with the best men and women I can imagine.

Then everything changed.

On November 8, 2022, I was on my way to work in St. Paul when I got the phone call that changed everything.

It was the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office.

They told me my dad had been found. He had taken his own life.

I don’t remember much after that—just a blur of numbness and a few days with family. It felt good to be surrounded by people, but then everything got quiet. And that quiet? It’s where the real pain settled in. The questions that will never get answered. The weight of wondering what his last thoughts were. The kind of silence that messes with your head.

Losing him like that shook something in me I didn’t know could break.

Add that to everything I already carried—childhood trauma, the pressure of new fatherhood—and suddenly the same thoughts started to creep in.

“Maybe it would be better if you weren’t here.”

“If you’re gone, the pain goes too.”

The weight of it all was unbearable. That voice in my head—the one that lies and whispers shame—kept telling me I wasn’t enough. That I didn’t belong. That I’d fail like he did.

But somewhere in the middle of that darkness, I made a decision:

I wouldn’t let his death be the end of the story.

I had to do something different.

I had to speak.

So, I started building. Not just designs. Not just shirts. A company. A message. A mission.

Davey’s Speed Co. was born from grief, from love, from the belief that we can talk about suicide, about mental health, and about the battles we fight behind the helmet. This company is about hope. It’s about healing. It’s about honoring my dad—and helping others stay alive for the next ride.

I’ve always wanted to own something real. Something that mattered. This is it. I’m chasing my dreams, not running from my past. I’m choosing to live in the belief that anything is possible. I’m a firm believer that if you talk about your demons, they get a lot smaller.

If you’re struggling, you’re not alone.

Let’s talk about it.

– Jared