When Dawson Newby was 3, he told his dad he wanted a dirt bike.

A home builder who was missing a laborer on his crew, Jason Newby took the opportunity to teach his toddler a life lesson.

“I talked to him about … the reality that bikes are expensive,” Jason says, “and if he wants it, he’s gonna have to earn some money.”

So Dawson did.

“Every day I went out and worked for him,” says Dawson, now 14.

The 3-year-old accompanied his dad every day that summer.

“I couldn’t leave to go to work without him being ready and wanting to go,” Jason says.

When Dawson’s hours were tallied, he had earned $840.

“I looked at his mom and said, ‘We gotta get him a motorcycle,’” Jason recounts.

Today, Dawson is a professional motocross rider out of Eaton, Colo., where he trains at CrossFit Eaton. Like many other athletes in specific sports, Dawson has found CrossFit helps him perform better, and his dad says the improvements are significant.

“It’s been night and day, honestly, since then,” Jason says, “in his lap times, in his ability to handle the machine, his confidence.”