- Brian Deegan made his identify as an X Video games legend. Now he is dad to son Haiden, 19, and daughter Hailie, 23, and he is raised them to like racing as a lot as he does.
- Brian and his spouse, Marissa, additionally put his youngsters on digicam beginning at an early age, once they would put up YouTube movies as a household. Now the Deegan youngsters are social media stars in their very own rights.
- Hailie, Haiden and Brian spoke to ipromiseyoumedia about how they’ve managed to remain grounded as their racetrack wins, fame and follower counts have reached new heights through the years.
Competitors comes naturally to the Deegan household. It is the spirit that is made them champions within the motorsports world, and it is also pushed their fame at excessive speeds off the monitor.
Brian Deegan, 50, paved his personal path in freestyle motocross and rallycross racing. He was simply 17 when he grew to become knowledgeable supercross rider, and his expertise led him to be some of the embellished X Video games winners in historical past.
About 20 years in the past, Brian added one other coveted title to his listing of accolades: Dad. He and his spouse, Marissa, are the proud mother and father of daughter Hailie, 23, and son Haiden, 19. Brian did not brake altogether to begin a household; he raised his two youngsters to succeed in his similar excessive speeds.
Immediately, the Deegan youngsters have made their very own names in racing. At 15, Hailie grew to become the one youth driver to win the Lucas Oil Off Highway Professional Collection Driver of the 12 months award, and she or he continues to make waves in inventory automotive and Indy automotive racing. Haiden made historical past when he landed a backflip on a motorbike at age 10, and he is equally gone on to multi-championship glory.
Whereas the Deegans shine individually, they’ve collectively made an affect on the racing world by leaning into the ability of social media. Talking to ipromiseyoumedia completely, the trio appears again at the place all of it started, beginning with Brian’s presence on-line and later evolving into their Deegan household YouTube web page round 2009.
Brian says he initially used YouTube and Fb platforms to speak about his heyday in motion sports activities. He would look again on his biggest wins, recall his worst accidents or inform tales of his “insurgent” racing group, The Metallic Militia.
“As soon as I acquired married, had youngsters, issues change in life. Your paces change, and I really feel such as you simply develop up and have totally different appears on life and I really feel like that’s how the social needed to change with that,” he says. “The household story was simply such a cool story, so far as attempting to lift youngsters and racing.”
The dad of three continues, “There’s not a whole lot of different households on the market which have a number of youngsters which can be profitable in racing together with the grownup that is had it paved that manner … I can consider some households on the market which have achieved a superb job at it. There’s simply not a ton on the market which have a complete household motion.”
As social media has grown, so too has the Deegans’ presence on it. All three of the racers have their very own pages, and all three have over 1 million followers individually on Instagram. Hailie — who’s at present racing within the INDY NXT collection — tells ipromiseyoumedia that she appreciates how her mother and father set her up for viral success at an early age.
“My mother and father began our accounts once we have been younger, so we may have these names on the accounts and every thing and they’d simply progressively all develop collectively,” she explains. Then, as soon as she and Haiden grew to become sufficiently old to steer their very own profiles, they tapped into that inherent will-to-win woven into their DNA.
“Once I was youthful my sister and I at all times competed on who may get essentially the most followers, web page views and likes,” says Haiden. “Hailie had a head begin on me, nevertheless it was very aggressive with the 2 of us.”
The SMX World Championship collection racer provides, “We’re only a aggressive household in every thing we do.”
“I can not let you know what number of instances it was at all times like, ‘Oh, I’ve extra followers than you now,'” the main feminine driver shares. “We have been always in competitors with one another of who can have extra followers, and I believe that form of made a enjoyable facet to it.”
Nonetheless, the household “at all times grew collectively,” says Hailie. “We at all times did a bunch of stuff collectively. We have been at all times recording with one another and filming stuff collectively and I believe it is as a result of we have been simply round one another a lot.”
Behind all of the playful competitors and ensuing on-line engagement, Brian instilled in his youngsters a beneficial lesson in advertising and branding because it pertains to content material creation.
“One of the best ways I can describe it’s simply your identify is your inventory worth and also you’re at all times attempting to construct that inventory. And I attempt to at all times educate that social media is a enterprise … and also you’re attempting to construct model consciousness on your sponsors. The extra views and the extra consideration you get, the extra worth there’s,” he tells ipromiseyoumedia.
The racing veteran is not blind to the unfavourable sides of social media. He admits that his spouse was notably “protecting” when it got here to her youngsters’ on-line exercise. With their youngsters’ assist, they typically oversaw Hailie and Haiden’s channels till they have been effectively into their teen years.
“Simply because as a mum or dad you continue to need to shield your youngsters from the issues that the web can topic them to,” Brian explains. “You bought to assist educate them too, to construct thick pores and skin … it is simply a part of the method of constructing the community and you may’t take that [negative] stuff to coronary heart. I at all times say it is simply out and in. It simply comes and goes and also you simply cannot take an excessive amount of which means to it.”
He continues, “The which means ought to come from those you’re keen on and your loved ones. That is those you are going to take heed to. And aside from that, it is simply feedback.”
Brian maintains that the “good outweighs the unhealthy” if used appropriately, as his offspring do. “I really feel like the youngsters have achieved an awesome job with constructing their manufacturers by social and conserving it clear and conserving it skilled,” he says.
By means of all of it, Marissa and Brian have repeatedly evaluated the way to hold their youngsters grounded and shield their household’s privateness. There have been instances, he admits, once they’ve questioned whether or not or not they needed this stage of publicity within the media. On the finish of the day, nonetheless, the entire household owns the truth that they’ve chosen to be within the highlight.
Plus, the mother and father did give Hailie and Haiden the suitable to opt-out in the event that they needed to.
“I wasn’t like, ‘Hey, it’s important to do that.’ It was their ardour they usually loved doing it,” he displays. “Let’s do it and let’s construct it the farthest we will go, and I really feel like now it is simply us telling a narrative.”
Contemplating the tall platform they stand on, all 5 of the Deegans are devoted to representing their household in essentially the most genuine manner attainable. Typically which means admitting that they — like another household — make errors. (The siblings even have a 13-year-old brother, Hudson.)
“I nearly really feel an obligation to inform the story of this household that we have now our core beliefs. We attempt to put household first. And like I stated, we’re a household that has religion and we stick collectively,” says Brian. “And sure, we’ll screw up … Sure, it will get caught on digicam, however we additionally cope with that, should personal it. We mess up and we’re human.”
Haiden agrees that being within the highlight has at all times “simply been my regular,” he says, including, “Rising up like that taught me the significance of staying grounded and locked in on my objectives.”
Now the gifted teen says he considers filming a part of his coaching routine, profession and accountability for the job. In the meantime, Hailie says that having a lot expertise in entrance of an viewers has made it simpler to be herself and keep grounded in relation to creating content material.
“[I think] there’s a whole lot of influencer folks on the market who placed on a persona once they’re being filmed as a result of they did develop up with a standard childhood. And they also really feel like for social media, they nearly should attempt to be both excessive or totally different particular person,” she tells ipromiseyoumedia. “However with all of us, that was regular. Everybody was at all times filming. It was completely fantastic. You’d simply be how you’re usually.”
However whereas social media content material has turn out to be second nature to the Deegans, they’ve stepped round the potential of a actuality present, regardless of fielding some gives through the years. For one factor, all three of the racing relations have their fingers in separate fields of the business: Hailie’s concerned within the Indy sect, Haiden is using out Supercross and Brian remains to be driving for off-road collection.
One other issue, says Brian, is the query of artistic management. He says many actuality present gives have laid declare to the ultimate edit. That is a deal breaker for the Deegans.
Hailie does not even suppose she’d have the time for such an concerned stint since she’s fairly busy together with her profession on the whole.
“The second we might say we might do a pilot and take a look at one thing out, I could not do it. I couldn’t have that a lot time to be taken away from what we’re attempting to perform. And it modifications up your entire days. It modifications up every thing you might have occurring,” she says.
To not point out the truth that she is not positive the Deegans have the extent of inside battle essential to drive and feed viewership. “Loads of actuality exhibits are drama throughout the household, and I believe most of our drama is on the surface of the household, so the racing aspect of issues,” she provides.
All that stated, Brian is not ruling out the potential of TV sooner or later — as long as it isn’t on the danger of their ever-growing careers and types.
“If there was ever a present that got here alongside, it was an ideal setting and every thing labored out and we had ultimate management of the look of it and every thing, then who is aware of? Possibly,” he notes, and he does admit that regardless of their fame, the Deegans are in some ways relatable: “We share a whole lot of similarities with simply regular different households of simply attempting to be the dad and mother and attempting to lift the youngsters a sure manner.”
Nevertheless it’s what makes them such a standout group that may finally decide whether or not or not they’re proper to look past social media. “It must be the suitable timing as a result of racing comes first for the youngsters proper now,” says Brian. “Their objective is to be the very best at their racing.”
