Among his family and friends, Jake Wikoff was always knows as “Turtle.” But he was anything but slow when it came to motocross and paving the way in the air or on a dirt track.
The former professional motocross veteran, who called Hollister home for most of his life – attending San Justo Middle School and San Benito High – passed away earlier this month in a car accident. He was 37. He leaves behind a son named Ryder and three daughters named Alcin, Skylar and Chloe as well as his parents Jeff and Kerry Wikoff, brother Earle, Uncle Jimmy, Grandma Seena, aunts Sharon, Erin, Marilyn, Karen and Roxanne.
Well respected in the motocross community, Wikoff shared a lot of success in the sport, including earning a No. 8 ranking in the country and traveling across the country as a member of the American Motorcyclist Association. With the X-Games movement over the last 10 years on ESPN, Wikoff was one of the original bikers using his bike for tricks. He helped grandfather the movement in the first Moto XXX video in 1994. He took part in 11 videos spanning the 90s and even had a special on MTV.
And his involvement in those early videos is just one of the lasting memories and legacies Turtle leaves behind, his father Jeff Wikoff said.
“After the movies came out he was known by a lot of riders,” Wikoff said. “He was one of the first and nobody ever had a bad thing to say about him. It was surreal.”
As Turtle raced around the country, his father – who also rode motocross – was always by his side fixing his bike and helping him along the way.
“We would always be together,” he said. “We were racing all the time. We raced everywhere locally and all across the state.”
The Wikoff family – which has long-lasting ties to Hollister – lived in the area until 1992 when Turtle’s career started to take off. They moved to Los Angeles for five years, finding great success on the dirt. In 1997 they moved back to Hollister, where Turtle always called home. The family moved again, but he always returned to his home every few years and in October he moved back to where he was always most comfortable.
“We were always on the road but he always said Hollister was his home,” Wikoff said. “It was where he was the happiest and where all his homies were.”
Wikoff’s homies included a close knit group of friends that spent nearly all their time together when they weren’t on bikes. Affectionately called homies, Wikoff’s friends were his greatest tie to the area.
“Well, they were his homies,” Jeff Wikoff said. “He would do anything for them.”
Vinnie Narvaez grew up right down the street from Turtle, and they were inseparable growing up.
“We were compatible from the get-go,” he said. “We were the best of friends. We had wonderful times together. Every time he came back to town we would always check in. He was an idol to me.”
People were easily drawn to him because of his smile and good nature, Narvaez said.
“It was more than just he was a good person, his laughter and smile made everyone like him,” he said. “It didn’t matter the group it was, people just loved to be around him.”
But it was his hair and colorful personality that friends Narvaez and Mike Jimenez remember most.
“He loved his long blonde hair,” Narvaez said. “He loved for it to fly out of his helmet. But he always changed the style. He didn’t care what people thought. He was his own style.”
Turtle was one of the few people that always let his pants fall below his waistline, Jimenez said.
“Jake would get dressed, look at himself in the mirror, pull his pants down a bit and say, ‘Saaaggg-em.’” Jimenez said. “He always left my house looking better than I did.”
Regardless of what trouble Turtle and his homies found themselves in, they always found time for each other, Jimenez said.
“Jake was strong, fearless, funny, and compassionate but most of all he was a genuine down to earth guy,” he said. “His hair color may have changed, or the bike he was riding, but Jake was always the person you knew and loved. Man, he was fun. He was like the first drop on a roller coaster, like 5th gear pinned.”
Living life for fun and without fear was his greatest asset and what made him great on the dirt track and in air, Jeff Wikoff said.
“When you love motocross like he did, you have to live without fear,” Wikoff said. “Everybody that does it has that same thing – I still do as well. I can’t tell you one person that didn’t love being around him. He had a special spirit and you need that to live life in the fast lane.”
