Michael Tabtabai
Founder, Creative Director
My father, Farzad Tabtabai, fought colon cancer, bladder cancer and breast cancer for 11 long years. But he never gave up hope. He never lost his optimism. He never stopped smiling. My dad saw the positive side of every negative situation, and through his battle he taught me more about life than I can express.
He inspired my younger siblings Sara and Ryan to become doctors. And he inspired my mom Lisa to completely reinvent her career, and put herself through nursing school so that she can help others too.
If there is a positive side to my dad having cancer, it is this: his life inspired a legacy that will do a lot of good for a lot of people.
Now I don’t have what it takes to be a doctor or a nurse, but I hope to do some good in my own way. I can’t treat cancer, and I sure as hell won’t cure it, but I can do something to help prevent it.
Andrew Hudon
Co-founder, Director Sportif
I started using my bike to combat cancer in 2006 following my mother’s battle with the disease. Since then I’ve ridden nearly 9,000 miles in four rides in an effort to raise funds and awareness to help prevent it. It has been a story of triumph and tragedy. I’ve met amazing survivors, whose stories are some of the most inspiring I’ve ever heard. Sadly, however, I’ve also dealt with the loss of others along the way.
When I finished The Resilience Ride in 2010, I really thought it was my final ride, that I was ready to leave it behind. At the end of that ride, I was greeted by Rick Trzaska. Rick was my elementary school teacher, the father of my best friend from childhood, and a mentor and friend to me in adulthood. He handed me a set of replica dog tags with the inscription “One drop of rain ripples the entire pond”.
On June 13, 2011, Rick passed away from a brain tumor. I was devastated. He had fought the disease with everything he had right to the end. I couldn’t understand how someone who had always been so full of life and happiness could be taken away so soon. The wonderful thing about teachers and mentors, though, is that while they may leave us physically, a part of them lives on forever in the lives they have touched and inspired. So I will take the lessons Rick taught me about perseverance, courage, and making a difference, and I will carry them with me on the bike.