By Sarah Pleiman
Steve Maki was born and raised here in Newberry. After graduating from Newberry High School, he went into the powersports business. He worked for All Season Sports for several years, both before and after he opened the Napa store with Roy Lynn. He worked a while as a mechanic before working for Pike Distributors for 20 years. Steve opened S&J Sports in 1994 and worked part-time there until he was able to commit to his own business full time. Steve has been able to continue working full time at S&J Sports, and it’s been in its current location for the past four years.
Steve has always had an interest in powersports, even from a young age. He’s raced snowmobiles and motorcycles and loved both. He was very committed to winning; he once raced so fiercely that he froze the corneas of his eyes! Luckily his vision returned, and he was able to continue racing. He’s participated in the Soo I-500, as well as several other events.
The most memorable vacation he’s ever taken also revolved around powersports; he took his son to spend 10 days at the Loretta Lynn Ranch in Tennessee.
Steve has lived here all of his life and loves all of the seasons. His favorite thing about the area is the abundance of trails. Steve has loved riding the trails on snowmobiles and motorcycles for most of his life, and hopes to continue for many years to come.
