For 19-year-old Gabe Tesch, life has been moving pretty fast. The Spokane local has spent much of his young life pursuing his dream of being a race car driver, traveling around the world to take part in Formula 4 juniors series with the goal of one day competing in Formula 1.
Before he ever got behind the wheel, however, he and his family had to face down an unexpected medical diagnosis. When Tesch was 11, doctors discovered a tumor in the right side of his brain. Though an initial surgery removed it, it was later discovered to be cancerous. Starting at 13, Tesch went through weeks of radiation and chemotherapy. It saved his life, but his childhood involved a long road to recovery.
Now, he's doing everything he can to make up for lost time. His story is the subject of the upcoming documentary Do Something Extraordinary. The recently completed film will have its world premiere on Thursday, April 13 at the First Interstate Center for the Arts, followed by a Q&A with Tesch about his life. Fittingly, the screening takes place just before his 20th birthday on April 28.
Both occasions are milestones that Tesch does not take lightly.
"When I look back on where I was at, going through cancer and what my whole family had been through, now where we are today, racing in the UK and then even a whole documentary coming out about my life. It's been a really amazing, crazy journey that's had its ups and downs," Tesch says. "The main goal with this whole film, for me, is just to inspire people with my story. Especially kids that are going through the same thing that I went through."
The documentary features interviews with Tesch, his father, Jake, and his mother, Sherrie (a breast cancer survivor herself). They all speak at length about the years of work it took to get to where he is now, competing on a national stage. The film also includes home movie footage from Gabe's youth. For Tesch, the experience of opening up his life and dreams to cameras was something that took some getting used to.
"At first, it was definitely difficult. Just racing in general, there is a lot of pressure. Not just from the team, but from everyone. You can put pressure on yourself by just wanting to make your fans happy and prove yourself to other teams and prove yourself to your team that you're on right now," Tesch reflects. "Having the camera on you just adds to that because you know so many people are watching you and seeing your results. It was a lot of pressure that comes with that, but towards the end of filming, I really got used to it. I was able to block that out and not have that pressure."
Follow Gabe Tesch's racing journey at gabetesch48c.com
Shooting for the documentary took place over the course of a year with a film crew accompanying Tesch to the UK as he went to compete, and then sitting down with him for long-form interviews when he returned home.
The final cut provides a glimpse of not just the process it took for Tesch to realize what it was that he wanted to do with his life after beating cancer, but the high degree of difficulty that comes with competing in the motorsport. The opening to the documentary shows a couple of big crashes that could happen to any racer on every single turn.
When Tesch isn't working hard at maintaining his physical and mental toughness for racing, he is thinking about the release of the film and getting people out to see it.
"I've been so zoned in on the racing and this film. Just the past couple months leading up to the premiere, it's just been so crazy in getting the film ready. I've been doing a lot of going out there and telling people my story," he says. "Right now, life is fully involved around this film."
Having always loved watching racing documentaries himself, Tesch now hopes this film about his own life will move others just as he was. Whatever happens next, he plans to keep sharing his story with others however he can.
"My main goal is to make it to the highest levels of racing. The dream continues. This year I'm still racing, and hopefully next year I'll still be racing, just climbing the motosports ladder," Tesch says. "If that doesn't work out, I still hope to inspire people with my story some other way." ♦
Do Something Extraordinary Premiere • Thur, April 13 at 7 pm • $30 • First Interstate Center for the Arts • 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. • firstinterstatecenter.org • 509-279-9000
