About Us
ENGAGING, INSPIRING, AND IMPACTING YOUTH TO “PUSH YOUR LIMITS”!
Our Story
Shehan Strong is the direct result of Ryan surviving his near-death motorsports incident in early January 2020. A major incident in testing left Ryan severely injured as he was taken by helicopter to a local hospital. With injuries to his head, jaw, back, arm and legs including major burns, the fact the Ryan survived is a testament to the fast-acting medical responders and the first responders to the scene.
After the incident, not only the karting industry, but the motorsports community rallied behind Ryan. With donations coming in from around the world, Ryan’s progress was documented by the #ShehanStrong hashtag. Fast-forward a few months and countless doctor visits, Ryan returned to the seat of his Team Crosslink prepared kart and began his road back to the top step of the podium. Only through the support of his family, doctors, coaches, teammates, and the motorsports industry was Ryan mentally and physically prepared to return to competition.
Over the last several years, Shehan Strong has supported a number of missions, but in January of 2022 the organization and Ryan found their true calling. It was a request from a local Austin PTA President to speak to 800+ kids at her son’s middle school and its success that cemented where Ryan and Shehan Strong could impact the community. His ability to engage, inspire, and impact youth to find and pursue their dreams and passions was recognized.
Now the organization is hitting it stride with regular releases of Pathfinder interviews, speaking engagements, “Push Your Limits” stories, and our scholarship program. Learn more about these below and of course, “Push Your Limits”!
What We Do
Speaking Events
Ryan is always looking for schools, hospitals, nonprofit groups, etc. where he can share his message that pursuing your dream takes passion, hard work, and discipline and that starting the journey will bring support from the most unexpected places!
“Push Your Limits” Stories
We want to hear your stories about how you have pursued your passions and dreams! Tell us who was important in that journey and what challenges you had to overcome. We will use these in our social media, website, and we may even ask you to be interviewed by Ryan!
Scholarship Program
Ryan’s grandfather, William Shehan, started a scholarship program to help kids find their passion and pursue their dreams like Ryan has in racing and his sister Kaitlyn “Kat” has in theatre. In 2023, the first recipients of the scholarships will receive from $100 – $1000.
Pathfinder Program
Ryan interviews leaders about how they found their passion and followed their dreams, who was instrumental in helping them, and what challenges they overcame. These are published via his Social Media and websites, as well as used in his speaking events.
“Push Your Limits”
See how Ryan engages, inspires, and impacts the kids of DeerPark Middle School in the video.
“We had the opportunity for Ryan Shehan to address our 800+ students at Deerpark Middle School with the goal of expanding their horizons and inspiring them. He spoke with our kids about how math, science, art, mental health and discipline are involved in something like Motorsports. Ryan also helped our kids learn how his team of engineers, coaches & trainers work together to help him succeed. He is a great example of a young person, close to their age, that is pursuing his dreams from an early age and we are very excited that Ryan will continue to impact and inspire young people in the Austin area.”
– Ruchi Messick, PTA President – Deerpark Middle School 2021-2022
“It has been an absolute joy working with Ryan Shehan this year. When we received the news that he would be willing to work with our campus to host an assembly about his F4 career, we were thrilled. Our staff created racing themed lessons tied to all core content and elective curriculum.
Ryan took the time to share about his journey to becoming a F4 racer. He was poised and clear in his communication and really inspired our students to think about their goals and ambitions. This was a fantastic opportunity for our students to learn about more than racing, because Ryan shared information about the science, mental health, fitness, and business areas that all support his career.
We were so lucky to have him visit and connect with our students. We hope he continues to develop as a racer and know he will do great things! “
– John Manning, Principal – Deerpark Middle School
