Robert Forto, MS
Highlights
- Started mushing in 1994
- Started working as a professional dog trainer in 1994
- Raced many mid, distance, and sprint races throughout North America
- Began training service dogs for people with disabilities 2003
- Started Denver Dog Works in 2006
- Started podcasting with Dog Works Radio and Mushing Radio (now Mushing) 2009
- Moved to Alaska and started Alaska Dog Works in 2010
- Entered university at the University of Alaska Anchorage in 2014
- Helped facilitate the first dryland event in Alaska 2016
- Created a first-of-its-kind kind multi-sport winter expedition course at UAA in 2017
- First million downloads for the podcast (currently over three million) in 2017
- Started Dog Works Training Company with plans to launch nationwide dog training services 2018
- Earned Bachelors of Science in Outdoor Leadership in 2018
- Elected to the executive board of Chugiak Dog Mushers
- Earned Master of Science in Sports Management: Outdoor Adventure Sport in 2020
- Started Doctorate of Strategic Leadership in 2020 (currently working on dissertation project)
- Started teaching dog mushing at UAA 2019
- Started teaching dog mushing at Alaska Pacific University in 2020
- Began speaking professionally on outdoor leadership, podcasting, business coaching, and social media around North America in 2020
- Purchased Mushing Magazine in 2023
Bio
Robert Forto, 52, grew up a military kid and lived on both the East and West coasts before attending college at Portland State University in the early 1990s studying to become a veterinarian. In the spring of 1994, his plans to become a vet quickly changed when he was introduced to Siberian Husky sled dogs and mushing in, of all places, Georgia. He was quickly hooked and over the next decade he quickly graduated college and moved to Duluth, Minnesota to “mush dogs.”
In 1999, Robert met his wife-to-be, Michele through a love of dogs and decided to move to Colorado to get married after a brief courtship and adopt her three kids; Kyle, Tyler, and Nicole.
Robert introduced his new family to mushing and they formed a team of mostly rag-tag Siberians rescued from other kennels. They started racing but quickly found out that little kids in school and sled dogs didn’t mix too well.
In 2001, Robert was also dealing with a gambling addiction which he had been battling for several years as a day trader in the tech stock market. His life spiraled out of control and he was forced to deal with his past just as he was starting life with his new family.
Over the next six years, with Michele, the kids, his in-laws, his family back East, and a handful of close friends by his side, Robert had to deal with the demons of his past. “Michele became my rock. She is my most ardent defender,” says, Robert. “She is the strongest woman I have ever met.”
In 2006, things had come full circle. By then Robert and Michele had opened a successful dog training center and bought a home in Colorado and the kids were doing great in school and excelling in sports. But he still dreamed of sled dogs. Over the next few years, Robert had paid back all those that were affected by his gambling and they had saved enough money to chase that mushing dream.
In March of 2010, Robert came up to Alaska to help his friend Hugh at the Iditarod start and his dream began to become a reality. By July he and his daughter, Nicole went to Alaska and they bought their new home in Willow. He let Nicole, then 12, decide to move to Alaska. She texted her mom who was back in Colorado, “Mom, we are moving to Alaska!”
By August Robert moved to Alaska while Michele and the kids stayed back in Colorado for a year to finish up work with their dog training clients. Robert worked for a kennel in the neighborhood for two winters and learned what he could about Alaskan mushing.
Fast forward to Christmas 2011. The family was together again in Alaska and they began building their kennel and their dream of one day running the Iditarod.
‘I know that my past will haunt me for the rest of my life, but I have done everything I can to redeem myself, ” says Robert. “All of us have skeletons in our closets, but life can only be understood backward, but it must be lived forwards.”
The 2012-2013 racing season was one of learning, trials, and tribulations for Robert and Team Ineka. While it was the first season on their own, their kennel was full of dogs that he had gotten from other mushing friends. He ran in only three races and had to scratch in one.
In the fall of 2014, Robert returned to school to pursue a second bachelor’s degree. This time in Health and Physical Education with a concentration in Outdoor Leadership at the University of Alaska Anchorage. In his studies, he is learning the ins and outs of expedition planning, leadership theory, and practice, and has gone on some amazing adventures including river rafting and sea kayaking.
2016-2017 was an interesting year for Robert. It was the first time in more than 20 years that Robert had a group of puppies and dogs that he had raised since puppyhood. This is the future of Team Ineka. A lot is riding on this still. He also coordinated an epic expedition with 12 of Alaska’s emerging outdoor leaders. This week-long trip combined dog mushing, snow machining, and fat tire biking in the wilds of Alaska. It is under the banner, of Dreamchaser Leadership.
2018-2020 Robert returned to grad school at Liberty University to pursue a degree in Sports Management Outdoor Adventure Sport and part of his thesis project was to plan and implement the 2020 Serum Run Trail Expedition which was held in February and March.
2020-2023
The serum run expedition in 2020 was a great learning experience and what NOT to do as an outdoor leader. If he were to do it again, he would be on a dog team, not an unfamiliar snow machine that he knows little about. Fast forward past the COVID epidemic and Robert and his multitude of business interests are flourishing. He has aligned with many like-minded business professionals from literally around the world to build a lucrative podcast platform and network and he began speaking at conferences around the country. In 2022 Robert began working on his doctorate dissertation project, researching transgenerational succession in a family firm with a focus on the emerging female leader. In the fall of 2022, Robert began working with The Timber Cross to produce a documentary about his life in the sport, his trials and tribulations, and the story of perseverance and resilience. In the summer of 2023, Robert and Michele were offered the opportunity to purchase Mushing Magazine and they hope to become historians of the sport with a focus on worldwide exposure in both digital and print media.
Robert and his family know there will always be questions about what happened more than 20 years ago. They are more than willing to answer any inquiries. One thing is for sure, any of the people who have gotten to know Robert and his family over the years have become some of his strongest supporters.
See you on the trail!
Follow Robert on his website RobertForto.com
Follow @robertforto on Twitter
Listen to Robert on Dog Works Radio
Follow Robert on Facebook
Follow Robert on LinkedIn
Some of the races to date:
2022 Eagle River Classic
2018-2022 Alaska Dog Works Dryland Derby
2016 Earl Norris Memorial Sled Dog Race
2016 Speedy Glass Dryland Race Series
2015 Earl Norris Memorial Sled Dog Race
2015 Tolsona 50/50
2015 Dryland races at Chugiak
2013 Nome Sign 40
2013 Goose Bay 150
2013 Tustumena 200
2012 Don Bowers
2001 Colorado Triple Crown
2001 Black Hills Race for the Gold
2000 Black Hills Race for the Gold