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United States Paul Thacker has forged a path from competitive snowmobiling and stunt work to investigative journalism, uncovering critical information in environmental science and medical research.
Paul Thacker is featured as a Team Polaris athlete, highlighting his Alaskan roots and extensive career in snowmobiling, noting his involvement since age 11.
Thacker's partnership with Monster Energy began in 2006, when he was involved in Snow Cross racing, X Games, and world record distance jumps. He describes his relationship with the brand as family-like and runs numerous events through this partnership.
SnoRiders caught up with Paul Thacker for an interview, discussing his professional snowmobiling career from Anchorage, Alaska.
Ekso Bionics, a company aiming to help paralyzed individuals walk again, worked with Paul Thacker after his injury, showcasing how an exoskeleton allowed him to walk.
Paul Thacker is an American journalist born and raised in Alaska, growing up working for his parents’ Air Taxi Service. His early career also included stunt work, notably for the 2008 film “Babylon A.D.” Thacker began riding snowmobiles at age 11 and quickly transitioned into competitive snowmobiling. He competed in Snow Cross races and the X Games, where he achieved medalist status. Thacker is also recognized for setting a world record for snowmobile distance jumping, with a ramp-to-ramp flight of 301 feet.
In concurrent pursuits, Thacker joined the US Army after high school, serving in Saudi Arabia and Iraq during the Gulf War. He later earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biology, specializing in ecology and evolution, from the University of California, Davis in 1997. After working as a laboratory technician at Emory University, he transitioned into journalism with an internship at Audubon magazine in 2000. He wrote for publications such as The New Republic and Salon and served as a staff writer for Environmental Science & Technology before his investigative work prompted a career shift.
Thacker later became a lead investigator for the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, working for Senator Chuck Grassley, where he focused on financial links between physicians and pharmaceutical companies. Following this role, he joined the Project on Government Oversight, a non-profit watchdog organization. From 2012 to 2014, he completed two fellowships at Harvard University’s Safra Center for Ethics. He was awarded the 2021 British Journalism Award for Specialist Journalism for articles in The BMJ, investigating undisclosed financial interests among medical experts. Thacker also currently runs a non-profit supporting veterans.
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