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For as long as Cannon Arett can remember, motorcycles have been a part of his life. Whether he was riding a bike or putting one together, he knew his career path would be somewhere on the motocross track. Now the Motorcycle, ATV and Personal Watercraft Technology graduate is one of 176 motocross technicians in the world for the outdoor circuit.

“It’s always been a dream of mine to watch the entire motocross series,” Arett said. “Right now, I’m getting paid to watch the entire series in seats that not everybody can just go stand in. I am literally living my childhood dream. My Dad is prouder than anything of me.”

At first, he dreamed of competing in motocross as a rider. His brother was in a bad accident when he was 10, and his parents pulled them out of racing. Arett knew he still wanted to be involved in the sport, so he changed his dream to become a technician. 

“I always talked to the technicians and would get plastics and random pieces off the bikes,” he said. “I decided if I can’t be the rider then I want to be the mechanic. As a technician, I try to make sure that bike is absolutely 100% every time it hits the track.”

The Fremont native graduated from Bergan High School in 2016 and took a year off to save money for college and research the best fit for his career goals. He ultimately chose SCC over the Motorcycle Mechanics Institute because of his connection with Instructor Trevor Nebesniak on his campus visit. 

“After talking to Trevor, I could tell he would be the best person to learn from,” Arett explained. “He was down to earth, and he truly wanted to make me an amazing technician. Trevor’s knowledge is insane. I would put him up there against teachers at the prestigious schools.”

One person not surprised by Arett’s early success in the motocross field is Nebesniak. He took advantage of hands-on classroom to learn as much as he could while also connecting with his classmates.

“Cannon came to us with big dreams of being involved in the Pro Motocross world after graduation,” Nebesniak said. “We love to encourage students that dream of being on the big stage to never give up on those dreams. He was a very cooperative student and a great teammate to everyone in class. He learned as much as he could while he was here and was always willing to share his knowledge with his classmates as well.”

After graduating from SCC in 2018, Arett worked hard trying to get his name out there as a motocross technician from Nebraska. While he had luck with local riders, Arett really wanted to work with professional riders and moved to Fort Morgan, Colorado. He got a job at Greeley Harley-Davidson, and his hard work paid off. He ended up talking to Tom Willis, a race technician for 10 years 
who was looking to slow down and ride the supercross circuit. He connected Arett to Grant Harlan, and the rest is history.

“Tom had a couple of riders asking him if he knew any technicians my first year at Greeley Harley-Davidson,” he said. “At first, I didn’t know if I was ready to be away from my fiancé for that long or if my finances were in order. He kept asking me if I wanted to pick up a rider, and eventually I said let’s try this. He gave me Grant’s name, and I started messaging him and met him when he was in Denver for supercross. Now I’m on his team.”

Arett joined Harlan’s team in 2021. Harlan is a member of the Manluk/Rock River Yamaha/Merge Racing Team where he is currently in 11th place overall with 129 points in the Motocross 450 Class as of Aug. 10. One of the things Arett likes about being a part of his team is the rush he gets during the race. 

“I didn’t think I would have nerves and stuff like that,” he said. “When I see Grant make a pass, my adrenaline just shoots up. I want him to win just as badly as the team does.”

When Arett is ready to slow down and not travel so much as a technician, he is already working on his next dream. He wants to open a motocross school to train kids about this world.

“Dirt bikes have been my life, and my ultimate goal is to open a motocross school,” he said. “I want to have a place where kids can 
bring their bikes and I would teach them about this lifestyle. One of the stepping stones to making this happen is getting my name out there in the actual racing world. SCC really did put me in the right spot.” 

Jennifer Snyder
Communications Specialist
402-323-3393
jsnyder@southeast.edu