There are a lot of people behind the success of a top rider on a top team, but one of the more unique roles in the industry is that of the man friend. Yeah, laugh at it if you want, but a training partner and confidant can be key at the very highest level, which is very much a mental battle. Seth Rarick is now running in that role for Cooper Webb.
Despite past success racing in Canada and the United States, Rarick has put his career on hold—at least for the time being. At just 23 years old, Rarick was quick to tell us he’s not completely hanging up the boots, though: “they’re not hung up yet. I will still be racing this summer.”
He’ll be racing the Nationals, but for now he’s helping Webb. “I had nothing going on for this year for racing or anything like that. I didn’t really know what the future held,” Rarick said of the decision. “To be honest with you, it was a pretty easy decision.”
We called “Sethro” recently to talk about his new role, racing, and what the future holds.
Racer X Online: You were a pretty good pro racer yourself over many years in both the US and Canada. Why did you decide to kind of hang up the boots full-time?
Seth Rarick: Well, I need to start by saying they’re not hung up yet. I will still be racing this summer. But pretty much I was at the point where obviously you can’t really pay your bills racing without having a ride or anything like. It’s not like we make the greatest money. It’s something we love to do, but the risk versus reward thing, at some point you’ve got to start thinking, is it really worth it? I was having a lot of fun at home just doing local stuff towards the end of last year. I was at a crossroads I guess you could say. I wasn’t really sure what I was going to do in the future. All I’ve ever done my whole life is race.
My dad owns a construction company but I didn’t want to do that the rest of my life. I was a little bit nervous as to what was next. I’ve been good friends with Cooper [Webb] for a really long time. He called me a few times last fall mentioning that he wanted me to come out and help him with some stuff. I didn’t really take him that serious. He called me at the end of October and he was serious about it. It was kind of a no-brainer, really. I had nothing going on for this year for racing or anything like that. I didn’t really know what the future held. To be honest with you, it was a pretty easy decision.
You had some good success up in Canada. Did you enjoy doing that?
Yeah, I loved Canada. I would go back in a heartbeat if I could get a solid ride. In 2013 I just went up with a buddy and we did the East Coast series. That was a blast. Immediately I was competitive. I really enjoyed the laid-back feel of the series. But that turned into a ride for 2014. 2014 I was fifth overall in the series. I had a blast. I loved it. Obviously last year things went a little sour. But overall I loved Canada. It was awesome.
What was your greatest success as a racer? What are you most proud of?
That’s a hard question to answer. I would say the 2014 season in Canada. I had a major shoulder injury and came back from that and did well in the series. So that was cool. To be honest with you, in ’13 when I got my shoulder fixed, at that point I wasn’t sure if I was going to race anymore. To come back from that was pretty cool.
We make fun of guys that are man friends or whatever, but in all seriousness, at the level Cooper’s at, there’s a lot of stuff that you can help him with. You were never on Cooper’s level as a racer, but you raced at a high level. So there’s a lot of stuff that you can help out a guy like him with, right?
Oh, absolutely. To be honest, I didn’t think there was that much stuff going on. I didn’t really know until I got here. I’ll be honest with you, when he first asked me to come out I kind of laughed a little bit to myself. I’m like, man, what can I really help with? In my eyes you’ve got the team, you’ve got the trainer, you’ve got the mechanic, you’ve got basically everything. So my biggest thing was I did not want to move to California to just be a buddy hanging out. If that was going to be my role then I would just rather stay home. It would be cool to get paid to hang out and be a friend, but I wanted to actually make myself useful. And it’s actually been really cool to see that I can be a big help. It’s cool to actually be a part of the program. There is a lot more than people think that goes on during the week, a lot more.
And with the DNF in Oakland and some crashes, practice issues, I imagine there’s a lot of late night talks too that you can help out your buddy with. It’s just so mental with these guys.
Oh, 100 percent, it’s all mental. And this year unfortunately with the bike problem, the past few weeks were… obviously we would have liked them to go a little bit better, but at the same time I’m a big believer everything happens for a reason. I don’t want to take any credit at all, but I think it definitely helped. When something like that happens you need kind of all the help you can get, I guess you can say, or support. So it is cool to see that I actually can be of help. At first, I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t know what to expect. I knew I was going to be a training partner and everything like that, but I said I didn’t know how much of a help I could be. But it’s pretty cool to see that I really can help out with some stuff. It’s been cool.
Like we said at the beginning, the retirement isn’t official because you’re hoping to do most of the nationals this summer. You’re training with Coop—you’ve got to be in killer shape. You’re going to have some fun again riding nationals.
Oh, absolutely. The plan right now is to do eight rounds. No pressure type thing. But definitely the first thing I told Coop when he asked me to come out is, I still want to race. I’m having more fun than ever. I’m on a bike I really like for once. It’s not like I’m that old either—I’m only 23 years old. So for me to just stop entirely right now, I think I’d regret it for a long time. I just want to give it a shot and see what I can do. That’s another thing; I don’t want to say I’ve never done it right but I’ve never had a trainer or I’ve never had all the tools. I’ve always had some of them. I think honestly this is my best shot to do it now. I have all the pieces of the puzzle in place, so now it’s up to me to make it happen.
I know you listen to my one-on-one podcast with all the moto legends. It’s really cool that you’re a racer and you’re into those old guys. Which ones did you like the best? Which ones do you still want to hear?
I would have to say the best one I heard was the one [Kenny] Watson did with Brian Swink. That was deep. That was probably the best one I’ve heard. That one was crazy. But I love ‘90s moto. I honestly think I was born in the wrong generation. I think it’s a great idea what you’re doing. I would say the best one I’ve heard that you’ve done would have to be MC [Jeremy McGrath]. That’s the king. Who doesn’t love MC?
