The big thrill: At home with stunt rider Lukey Luke
The words “stunt rider” and “family man” are not exactly synonymous, but in the case of Luke, “Lukey Luke” Follacchio it’s the perfect pairing.
The Motorcycle Stunt Rider for BMW Motorrad Australia has been professionally stunt riding for over 16 years and has performed and stunt doubled all over the world. But in perhaps his most daring and challenging stunt, he’s also plays husband to wife Bianca, and father to their two boys, Freddie and Leo. Here, he shares his parenting adventure with The Goat Skincare Journal.
Describe your family…
“Our family is absolute chaos! LOL… in the best way possible of course. My wife Bianca is a stay at home mum, and she does an amazing job at it. My eldest, Freddie (aka: Monkey Butt – don’t ask, we don’t even know where it came from!) is in kinder and our youngest, Leo is now walking so is keeping Mum busy running around the house all day. It’s is a mad house to be sure, but there’s lots of love, so many jokes and there’s always a game on the go!
I’m sure many would say this but I truly have the best family in the world! There is just so much love between us all, we do everything together and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I think part of what makes us unique comes from the relationship my wife and I share. We’ve known each other our entire lives and have a very special relationship. The love we have for each other definitely has a knock-on effect to our kids.
She’s the best Mum in the world, she makes me proud everyday, and for my part, I do everything I can to make sure they have everything they need.
What do the days look like in the Follacchio home?
Well, if you walked into our home, the first thing you’d see would probably be many, many toys on the floor! There’d likely be a one-year-old nipping at your feet, a dog (Speed) jumping on you trying to get kisses, and a three-year-old trying to show you the latest thing he’s into. There would definitely be the smell of a delicious meal being cooked by Bianca and you’d probably find me lying on the floor buried by (or hiding from) the kids while we play. It’s beautiful chaos.
Each day we wake up when the kids do, or at least Bianca does, I’m usually up and showered before them as I go to work weekdays. Fridays we always have swimming lessons… it’s so important to me that they learn how to swim. On weekends if I’m not away performing, I like to wake up when they do so we can all lay in bed together watching cartoons and eat breakfast in bed. And Sundays are always reserved for dinner at Nonno and Nonna’s house!
We have big cuddles on the floor – after they run and jump on me that is – and that to me is happiness.
We ALWAYS try and do something fun on a weekend, whether it be a visit to the children’s farm or a park visit, the movies or just a walk and a ride on the bikes, it’s always done as a family. When I was growing up I remember always having chores and having to work around the house – but not in an annoying way. I was always helping my stepdad and Mum build things, maintain the garden, feed the animals etc. At the time you don’t realise the impact it has but some of the best memories I have as a child are those when I was helping the family, which is why it’s so important to me to instill that sense of family into my kids. We’re a unit who always work together.
I get to do some pretty amazing things at work every day, and I love my job, but my favourite thing in the world is coming home and playing with the kids immediately each day. We have big cuddles on the floor – after they run and jump on me that is – and that to me is happiness.
