HUMAN

Name: Fabio Berlusconi
Age: 34
Residence: Lomazzo, Italy
Occupation: The last two years, nothing, since I started focusing on Iditarod
Years involved with Iditarod: 1

Iditarod Role: Dog Musher

Current Location: Finger Lake Checkpoint, Alaska at Winterlake Lodge.

Date of Photo: March 9, 2020
Temperature: 30F/Outdoors

What, who or how and when did you first get involved with the Iditarod?

I got involved with Iditarod basically in 2011, when I moved to Sweden from Italy and I started working for Mats Pettersson. And Mats Pettersson had this idea of one day doing Iditarod, and it really happened in 2014. And after that, he has done it for six years in a row while I was working for him. And when I was here helping him out for the start of Iditarod, preparing everything, and flying to Nome, that made me think like, “Oh, you know what? I might give this a try and I’ll do it myself.”

What is your Why?..Why are you here today and involved in Iditarod?

I’m here today and involved with Iditarod because it’s basically an instinct. When I started working with dogs, it was love at first sight. It went really quick. And I never thought I would one day even race, and then all of a sudden I find myself starting to race and coming over to Alaska. And when I was here and I saw all the atmosphere, seeing all the people and what Iditarod is all about, and what’s behind it, it was just too cool. It’s something so big. You just have to do it. I don’t know why. I mean, I never thought in my life I would have been able to do it, but, yet, here I am.

Tell me about just one of your most memorable Iditarod experiences?

One of my most memorable Iditarod experiences was basically the second when I crossed the finish line of the Kobuk 440, and the huge feeling of relief when I was finally qualified because I’ve been putting all my money, time, and effort into it. And if I didn’t finish that race, it would have maybe taken three, four more years, or at least one more season. And when I crossed that finish line, I say, “Okay, now it’s time to get serious and do it.”

What do you know for sure?:

What I know for sure in life is that when you have a goal, everything else doesn’t matter. And I found that out when I started focusing on Iditarod. I really didn’t care about anything else, and it made me just get over so much difficult stuff. You just have, okay, whatever happens, I got that in mind. That’s what I’m going to focus on. Forget about all the rest. All the rest is just not important.