Maya Gadbois – The Warrior Princess

 To place ninth in the world for any sport is no easy feat. The talent and determination you must possess to qualify to even compete takes dedication to the sport along with a very competitive drive. With Maya Gadbois, BMX riding is her passion and she hopes to make this her career as soon as she finishes second grade.
Since she was two years old, Maya has been riding BMX ­­alongside her dad and brother. “She’s pretty much been raised in and around the track,” commented Maya’s dad Chris Gadbois who has been a long-time BMX rider and competitor himself.  “I rode most of my childhood until I joined the military and picked it back up when my eldest was four,” he continued. For Maya, BMX started as a family fun pass time until she took it more seriously and began winning her first races. With guidance from her family and love for her sport gained Maya notoriety amongst the BMX community. She has competed against boys and girls, creating friendships and winning titles both at a local level and further.
At home she is Maya, the sweet girly-girl that loves watching cartoons and playing games with her brother Charlie like monopoly. “I love getting Board Walk and Park Place, you can make a lot of money with them,” said Maya.  On the track, she channels the Warrior Princess, her tom-boyish persona that has won her medals, accolades, and placing ninth in the world at the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) World Championship. UCI is an elite coaching and training centre that represents, for sporting and public institutions alike, the interests of 194 National Federations, five Continental Confederations, more than 1,500 professional riders, more than half a million licensed competitors, several million cycling enthusiasts and two billion bicycle users all over the world. “I want to say thank you for all the help,” says Maya. Through the help of community members and organizations like Mercedes Benz of Valencia, Frontier Toyota, Engine Dynamics, Chica Strong, Bucket List Adventures, Jason Gibbs, Ken Striplin and Frank Oviedo from The City of Santa Clarita Maya and her family were able to compete in the championship.
Maya is steadfast and is not afraid to speak her mind. Confident, clever and now, at seven she is well on her way to being a professional BMX rider. Despite her skills on the track her parents instill humility and virtue in their children allowing them to find and do things they really enjoy. “The biggest thing we hope for her, is to grow up knowing she can do anything she wants, be anything she wants, and to be a strong woman with her only limitation being her own imagination,” Chris stated. 

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