BABYDBLOCKS - COVER STORY

Ten-year old Julio Santana III is known all over the world as YouTube and Instagram sensation BabyDBlocks with over 1 million followers and growing. He lives with his family in upstate New York. His love to ride began at the age of two when he begged his father to take the training wheels off his bicycle. As soon as the training wheels came off , he began to ride. At the age of three, he started watching YouTube videos of New York City’s infamous cyclist RR DBlocks. He began working hard to try to copy his bike tricks and started doing wheelies. With the blessing of RR DBlocks he soon took on the name BabyDBlocks. He would love getting on his dad’s big motorcycle and dirt bikes so he got his fi rst motor bike, a 2000 Honda CRF50 with training wheels, at the age of three. Immediately he showed great balance so the training wheels came off . Over the past six years, his dad has built his Instagram page to document his bike skills and his journey. Many can’t believe that he can actually wheelie such big bikes. Every video of him riding and wheeling huge bikes has gone viral. He was the fi rst nineyear old to wheelie a Harley Davidson (thanks to his dad and uncle Shane). He now has his own Harley, dyno-tuned and all set up for him at 72 pounds to put on one wheel. When some of his sponsors and supporters saw the video of him on the Harley, they were so blown away that they had a customized Harley Davidson built just for him. The bike includes parts from Bassani, Legends Suspension, Lucky Daves, Hulten Speed Sports, and a few big local shops like Capitol Customs, Ronnie’s Motorsports, and Quinn’s Custom Coatings. In 2022, his video

riding a kx250 on one wheel was featured on MTV’s Ridiculousness and he’s been featured on World Star. He is currently preparing and practicing for a Guinness world record. The fi rst time falling off a bike was around the age of three. The throttle stuck and he ran into a parked car. Since then, he has only fallen a few times. Last year was the only time he broke a bone. He was trying to hop off a big bike, slipped on gravel and landed on his ankle. Two days later, he was making videos riding wheelies with a cast on. His entire family rides, including his parents, brother and four sisters. Besides his family, his biggest supporters and teachers are his uncles, Shane and Markee. BabyDBlocks has his own

brand name, “Start Em Young”, because his journey began at a young age. His merchandise includes t-shirts, hoodies, stickers, keychains and posters, designed by Nabi Syed. He has a very busy travel schedule, receiving several invitations a year to appear as a special guest for events all around the country. He also loves surprising his fans at birthday parties and other special events. When he travels, other young riders in the community are often invited to join him. This gives them the opportunity to go outside of their local area and meet others, young and old, who share their love of riding. This is the reason that BabyDBlocks now has his own bus. His dad purchased a mini school bus and thanks to Jesse, Capital Customs, the bus is custom built inside with bench seating, 40-inch TV, custom stereo system, back up camera, a train horn and room for several bikes. His dad, who is an airbrush artist and custom painter, took care of the outside with the help of his uncle Markee and Gonzalez Auto Repair. BabyDBlocks rides a 2005 Harley Davidson, 2022 Honda 150RB, a 2017 KX65, a 2019 KTM 125, Surron Light Bee Ebike and his new dream bike gifted by his mom, a 2023 YZ125. All of his dirt bikes have custom graphics and are one-of-a-kind designed for him by one of his sponsors, The Wrap Junkies. He’s been taught to always stay humble and let your talent and hard work speak for you. Always be willing to speak to your fans and the ones that look up to you. He’s learned from personal experience to never push a person away that may be excited to meet you because it hurts. He works hard and loves the feeling of just being on one wheel. He knows to never give up on your dreams no matter who tells you that riding a bike won’t amount to anything. He has multiple sponsors both local and nationwide who believe in his dream to ride: Gonzalez Auto Repair,

Ronnies, Capitol Customs (Jesse), Icon, Lucky Daves, Hulten Speed Sports, Dirt Bike Kidz Clothing , GBNY, Bikestrike, Absolute Airbrush Designs, The Wrap Junkies, Collective Bikes, Built eBikes of Florida, Kareless, NLB MX Racing and Sin City Lids.