Little did he know that he was beginning a journey that would eventually lead him to a desert thousands of miles away and one of the world's most demanding endurance races.

After leaving Kirkcaldy High School, Sean served his apprenticeship as a mechanic before deciding to move to Dubai in search of work in 1999 — and he has enjoyed remarkable success since.

Sean, now 38, has not only built his own motorcyle empire in the world's fastest growing city, he has also became one of the region's top sportsmen, having competed in the UAE Desert Challenge since 2001.

The remarkably tough race involves rallying across some of the world's most dramatic and inhospitable terrain on a five-day journey through the desert by motorbike.

The event is gruelling, as Sean explains. "You're racing in stifling conditions, often in heavy sand, with around 200kg of equipment.

"You have to be fit. Every day in the Desert Challenge you're looking at around 400km of competitive stage over sand tracks and rough roads.
"One minute you're riding in first great through deep sand and the next you're bombing flat out at 170kph."

Despite the deserts of Dubai being very different to the Kirkcaldy terrain that first honed his motorbike skills, Sean quickly managed to become one of the frontrunners in the Desert Challenge.

He finished first in his class in his debut in 2001, and had stormed to ninth place overall by 2003.

He has competed regularly ever since and in his most recent race last month, Sean finished fifth overall to great acclaim.

"It's a marathon not a sprint," Sean explained.

"The key is surviving the Liwa Desert, which is without doubt one of the toughest and most hostile places in the world.

"There are a lot of large dunes out there and often your heart is in your mouth.

"You've got to be mentally strong and positive. Once you get tired you start to lose concentration, that's when you're going to fall off."

Not satisfied with conquering the deserts of the UAE, Sean, who lives with his wife Carol and two-year-old son James, also raced in Australia last year — a nine-day event from Darwin to Perth.

Sean's parents, Andy and Rene, now live in Kinghorn and are proud of their son's amazing achievements. "He's always been into motorbikes," Andy explained. "He's built it up from what started as a hobby into a big business.

"He convinced me to buy him his first bike when he was 12, an old ramshackle thing that we used to walk round to the woods so he could ride it off-road.

"We couldn't have imagined he'd end up where he has. He's now told us he's into cycling.

"This coming weekend he's doing a 150km ride through the mountains of Oman on a pushbike!"

Sean's business interests, which started with BMW before he went on to set up his own company, Gecko Motorcycles, have even earned him friendships with some of the most powerful people in the Middle East.

"He's ended up on talking terms with the King and Queen of Jordan!" Andy added.

DESERT STORMER ... Sean powers through the desert on his motorbike