Carlo Oddo has diabetes, kidney failure and hidradenitis, but he just turned 51 this January and said his health is 10 times better than it was at 40. For him, it was as easy as riding a bike.

Oddo was into extreme sports as a teenager, and bicycle motocross, or BMX, has always been his favorite. He stopped for 30 years after a few accidents near his high school graduation, but he’s been back into the sport and has been sharing his passion with thousands of people for over a year.

“I used to ride halfpipes, and now I'm just flatland only,” Oddo said. “But I'm getting better daily. I've been taking it very serious for about the last year and a half, and I have been improving quite a bit. Now that I'm doing these tutorials, I have to make sure I learn quite a bit more to keep them going.”

Oddo fell back into his passion and made a Facebook group for old-school BMX riders on a whim. Then 10,000 people joined the group and Oddo realized how much interest there was in BMX. He decided to make a TikTok account, and his first BMX video got 1.6 million views.

“It just brings back good times in my life, when you're a kid doing what you love to do,” Oddo said. “Otherwise, like I said, I'd be sitting on a couch just getting fat.”

Oddo makes a video every day for his social media, @ogcarlobmx, and it has helped him lose over 100 pounds since he started. He records for hours each day and uploads his favorite and best tricks. He said sometimes it takes 500 tries to learn a new trick, and other times he surprises himself by getting it on the third try.

Oddo’s TikTok has over 84,000 followers and it reaches audiences young and old. He gets comments from younger riders asking for tutorials or help with pulling off a trick, and the older riders like to ask Oddo where he gets his top line gear.

Oddo put more time and energy into his bike at 50 than he ever did as a kid. He had more money to spend as well, and he put his bike together with his own hands. Since he referred so many people to different bike shops, he started to get sponsorship deals, which could lead to a career change for Oddo.

“My goal is to turn this full time and just ride my bike and it's getting close,” Oddo said. “Not yet, but I mean, I got a girl and a son, so I got to take care of them.”

Oddo has two bike sponsors and a sponsorship from Jones Soda Co. and Stoko, a company that makes apparel that rivals traditional leg braces. At the time of the interview, Oddo had just started a three-month testing period for another sponsor, and after he's tried it, he’ll tell his viewers about it.

Oddo had been referring anyone interested in bike parts to Dan’s Comp, and now he also has a local sponsor. Oddo sells and fixes guitars for a regular 9-5 job, and his office is off Palisades. He said one day, his business neighbor noticed the BMX stickers on his car, and they started talking and hit it off. Oddo got his foot in the door with Bullseye Cycle USA, which Oddo said is like Ferrari of BMX parts.

Oddo said Bullseye recently moved to town and was extremely happy to run into them. Oddo has lived in Fountain Hills for five years and was even recognized by a few local kids at a local fair last November.

“My big thing is trying to stick to Fountain Hills and do all my videos and everything from Fountain Hills,” Oddo said. “I don't know, I love this town and I kind of want to put it on the map that way. Plus, with the new skate park coming and all that, it's going to be neat in this town.”

Desert Vista Skate Park is being renovated and the town is investing roughly $700,000 into the park. Extreme sports are on the rise in town, and Oddo is not the only interested party. Caleb Dassinger offered a skateboarding school for youth last October, through his business Brilliant Victory Skateboards.

Oddo engaged with strangers online for years before he became a BMX influencer on TikTok. Hidradenitis is a rare but painful and long-term skin condition, and Oddo said he’s connected with other people with the disease and even helped talk several people out of suicide.

“There’re people with it that don't know what it is, that literally want to kill themselves because it's very painful,” Oddo said. “I kind of explain how you're going to be alright…so obviously, that’s the most rewarding thing that has probably ever happened in my life, but the goals of being able to do this, with those health problems, is what makes me feel rewarded.”

Each spin and wheelie attempt is a form of exercise, and the tricks push Oddo closer toward his goal. Oddo said he is nowhere close to doing all the tricks he used to do, but he’s having fun and taking control of his health every time he grabs the handlebars.