When the Boss is an Adrenaline Junkie

Forget drinking scotch and smoking foreign cigars. These Inc. 5000 CEOs savor their success with speed and sweat.

By Andrew Dermont |

Ron Farmer is a speed freak. When his knees failed at 52 years old, he quit running marathons and began racing cars. Ten years later, he is headed to Ohio to drive his Corvette in the National Auto Sport Association's National Championships.

"I always wanted to race a car for the thrill," he says, "I had that need for speed."

But Farmer started slow, participating in autocross events—timed competitions where drivers navigate a course of traffic cones—in the same Mercedes he drove to work.

He found autocross competitions a way to bond with his son BJ, who also liked the sport. But it wasn't long before BJ moved to the high speed track and after five years of autocross without his son, Farmer decided to shift gears.

"I realized I was doing it because I wanted to do it with him," he says. "We need things to keep us together." Farmer learned enough on the autocross track to complete a high-speed certification course in a weekend and was off to the races.

The fear involved in wheel-to-wheel competition engrossed Farmer. The element of danger in turning corners at high speeds with other cars drove him headlong into the sport.

"I drive differently when I see someone in front of me," he says. "It's about the competition. I want to win." Farmer's attitude toward racing shows itself in his entrepreneurial approach at US LED, ranked No. 910 on this year's Inc. 5000 list, where he claims he would work for free if it meant thwarting his corporate competitor GE.

For now, however, he will focus his competitive spirit on the NASA Championships in September, where he hopes to celebrate his 62nd birthday with a victory.

Kirsten Bradford, Spohn Ranch

At first glance it's hard to believe Kirsten Bradford spends her free time powering a 220-pound dirt bike up precipitous desert terrain. But the CEO of one of the world's leading fabricators of skate parks says that despite her diminutive stature she is hooked on motocross.

"There's a real sense of accomplishment; for someone my size the bike is heavy and after an hour it's tiring," she says. "But it's the most exhilarating feeling I've ever had—I'd recommend it to anyone."

Bradford drove a street bike during her days at UCLA, but refused to join her brother Mark on his motocross trips until 1999, when she promised to tag-along if he shaved off his goatee. Within hours he was clean shaven and told her to pack her bags.

This wasn't the first time Kirsten partook in her brother's antics; she wouldn't be where she is today if she hadn't decided to tag along.

In 1990 Mark befriended Aaron Spohn, a 30-year-old construction worker down the street who -- to the dismay of his landlord and neighbors -- built an enormous half pipe in his backyard. "Spohn Ranch" soon became a hangout, not only for Kirsten and the neighborhood knuckle-draggers but for some of the most talented in-line skaters and skateboarders around.

"People would just show up with their bags on their backs," Kirsten recalls. "Japanese kids would be at the door and say 'Hey can we stay here?' There was no plan; it was all word of mouth."

When ESPN called Aaron in 1993 and asked if he could help build the ramps for an extreme sports competition called the "X Games" Spohn Ranch became more than a neighborhood hangout for Kirsten and her brother. Aaron, who held down his full-time job, needed the two to help him buy materials, take care of financials, and work with ESPN to plan the logistics of their event.

Kirsten was eventually so busy she dropped out of UCLA. Luckily, she never needed the degree. The first X Games went well and Spohn Ranch, Inc. was flooded with phone calls from municipalities worldwide looking to build their own hometown skate park. The company is now ranked at No. 4798 on this year's Inc. 5000 list.

Gary Davis, Davis Trucking

Most CEOs don't unwind on the weekend by strapping themselves to the front of a 522- cubic-inch boat motor and dropping the pedal to the metal, but for Gary Davis there is nothing more relaxing.

The regional trucking company owner travels the country with three of his best friends to compete in the International Hot Boat Association's yearly drag boat racing series.

Drag boat racing, much like drag racing, is a quarter mile straightaway acceleration race between two high performance boats.

Davis bought his first flat-bottomed drag boat at 26 after watching his father race as a kid. His father warned him of the addicting quality of the competition.

"He always told me you either get out of it or it kills you," Davis says, admitting his father was right, "Every year we just started going a little bit faster."