Views from the Fishbowl with Greg Poisson

By Greg Poisson

Bonjour! 

Billy’s been bugging me for a while now to put something together and write my own column. I figure I can talk my way in or out of any situation so I’ll try my hand at the written word. I figured this first instalment would be a bit of a bio and a who/what/where/when. 

As most of us can connect with, I started riding at the age of 5 on a Honda QR50. My dad worked for Honda Canada most of my life and he grew up as an avid motorcycle rider, so naturally he gave me the opportunity to try my hand at riding as well. My first laps were turned in our backyard in Pickering, ON and if you were to ask me, I was racing Ricky Johnson at various stadiums across the country. I remember watching the VHS of the 1986 Anaheim Supercross to the point the tape stopped working! I lived that Johnson/Bailey battle as if I was racing in 3rd and watching it first-hand. I even had replica Fox Honda gear to be just like RJ. 

My dad, Patrick Poisson.

My childhood was spent spinning laps at Gopher Dunes, RJ’s and Walton Raceway for various CMRC events. Part of my dad’s job was to be at the Ontario Motocross events so I naturally wanted to go with him. I grew up around some of our country’s best racer’s like JSR and Blair Morgan. I remember attending the National at Walton annually and hanging around the box vans of all the Honda athletes. I wasn’t very interested in traditional stick and ball sports as I found a home in racing/riding motocross.

My next few years were spent chasing races throughout Ontario with my dad and I moved up to a Honda XR70 and raced in the 60cc classes.  I skipped the 80cc class altogether due to a torn ACL and a massive growth spurt.

I made lifelong friends from this sport and some of them I still speak to regularly. Even now at 33 years old I still watch every Supercross and attend as many Nationals as I can.

I look forward to sharing my thoughts on the sport and talking about stories from my past through this column and I hope you enjoy reading it as well.

Please feel free to reach out on any of my social media channels to discuss topics or give ideas on what I should write in this space. 

A huge “thank you” to the great people at Carlson Racing MX and the infamous Hammertime for supporting my media exploits throughout this year. Brent Carlson and the rest of the team at Carlson Racing MX can be seen supporting many racers and teams throughout the Canadian motocross scene. It’s true, you’ll find some of the best people you’ll ever meet in this sport. 

Keep your stick on the ice. 

Fish