( CNN ) -- `` Pain is weakness leaving the body . '' It 's written large in ink on his upper torso , and , at the age of just 23 , Tai Woffinden knows all about pain -- and the strength needed to overcome it . As a speedway rider he has broken virtually every bone on the way to becoming world champion in what is surely one of the most visceral types of racing -- hurtling around a gravel track on a motorbike with no gears and no brakes . And on his skin you can see how just he has embraced the hurt that life brings . `` They say your body 's a temple , so why not decorate the walls , '' says Woffinden , who looks like any alternative skater kid with his backwards cap , skinny black jeans and gaping gauge earrings . `` I just enjoy pain , I guess . I like the art , '' he tells CNN 's Human to Hero series . His arms , hands , face , neck and shoulders are all adorned with tattoos , including the aforementioned quote about the departure of pain -- popularly attributed to a U.S. Marine Corps general -- emblazoned below his battered collarbone . His fingers bear the acronym `` DILLIGAF '' -- the calling card for rebellious teens across the Western world . But most revealing is the design on his back -- a portrait of his father and racing mentor , and one of the letters he wrote to his son before passing away in 2010 . `` I have tried to take you everywhere with me . We have had some wicked times together , '' it reads , above the epitaph `` In God 's Hands . '' Rob Woffinden , himself a former speedway rider , did not live to see his 50th birthday . Nor did he see Tai fulfill his great promise last year , when he became the youngest world champion in the modern Grand Prix era . But his legacy lives on , and he will not be forgotten . Following his retirement as a racer , he took the Woffinden family from the industrial English town of Scunthorpe to Australia . `` It was purely just to give me a better upbringing , '' says Tai , in his distinctly Australian accent . `` I think it was a great decision that they made . But , you know , it 's good to be back here and doing what I love . '' It was in Perth where he took up speedway riding at the age of 12 , having first got into motocross -- thrilling off-road racing that still has him hooked today . `` He did n't know if he wanted me to get into it , but we went ahead with it and I kept progressing and progressing , and when I was 15 and a half we made the decision to come back to Europe and show everybody how I ride , '' Tai says . `` We kind of left our whole life in Australia , we just stopped everything -- I mean , my dad was selling cars on a car yard . '' Quickly making his mark as a teen prodigy , Woffinden rose up the ranks , breaking records on the way . `` My progression over the last eight years has been pretty crazy , really , '' he says , at the home stadium of his British team Wolverhampton . Thick English fog rolls in over the concrete terraces , still strewn with remnants of a preseason exhibition for fans the previous night . The bleak surroundings are a far cry from the blue skies Down Under -- bike engines roar from the pits as the mechanics get ready for training , while groundstaff smooth out the stoney circuit . `` There 's only one year when I plateaued off , '' Woffinden continues , `` but apart from that , it was just upwards , upwards , upwards . I just kept going and going , every challenge that came in front of me , I conquered it . '' That `` plateau '' came when his father succumbed to an inoperable tumor . `` I had a really tough season , so a lot of people doubted me , '' he says . `` My father passed away that year and I had a lot of problems in the team . '' But his fortunes changed last year , when he was again given a wildcard entry into the Grand Prix series . `` The people that ran the series wanted a British rider in and there was n't really any British riders qualifying -- it gave me the opportunity , '' he explains . `` At the start of the year I was 500-to-1 at the bookies . We were just aiming for a top-eight finish to secure me a spot for next year , because I did n't really want to be one of those riders that gets a wildcard every year . '' Woffinden set his sights higher after an impressive start before breaking his collarbone in his home British GP . He returned to action just two weeks later , but broke it again in the penultimate round with the title in sight . `` There 's times where you 've got to dig deep and that was definitely one of the days where I did -- I was crying in between races , '' he recalls of the series , which involved 11 meetings across Europe after the opener in New Zealand . `` But I got another seven points and that was crucial going into the last round , and I clinched the championship in my second race . `` I did n't actually realize that I 'd won the championship when I crossed the finish line , the TV presenter was hanging over the fence going , 'You 've done it , you 've done it . ' `` When I saw him , the weight just came off and it was an amazing feeling . '' That success has moved him up into the big league of the speedway world . His protective suit is covered in sponsors ' logos and he is in big demand -- as well as Wolverhampton , Woffinden will also ride for clubs in Poland and Sweden , plus the Grand Prix circuit . It means he 's training , racing and traveling seven days a week , and he could n't be happier . `` Across Europe it 's pretty big . You know , Poland they get 20-25,000 just to a league meeting . Sweden 's pretty busy as well , '' Woffinden says . `` I ride Poland on a Sunday , England on a Monday and Sweden on a Tuesday . I can do Germany on a Wednesday or Denmark or Czech Republic on a Wednesday if I wanted to , but you can do too much . '' Despite his Australian upbringing , Woffinden has been named captain of Britain 's Grand Prix team this season , which kicked off domestically this month . `` I 'm definitely more British . I was born here and I ride for my country , but Australia is always going to be home for me , I go there every winter in the offseason , '' he says . The challenge now is to retain his world title , something that only two riders have done in the past 20 years . `` I did everything I could to make it happen . I was training hard , I was eating properly , I had the best bikes I could have , the best engines , a good team around me -- even down to my mum and my girlfriend booking flights and keeping all the logistics , '' Woffinden says . `` It 's like a thousand-piece puzzle and you 've got to have every single piece to that puzzle . Last year I had it and hopefully this year I 'll have it as well . '' For someone of his age , he has a great awareness of his responsibilities -- to his teammates , his fans and his sponsors -- but when it comes down to it , he 's still a kid going full throttle . `` Nothing comes close to it , except maybe skydiving . When you 're at the start line just revving your engine up , and you 've got the other boys on the inside of you and everyone wants to be there first ... going down the back-straight and you 've got somebody inches away from you and your elbows are rubbing and you 've got to get it into next corner ... it 's just a great feeling . '' And it makes all the pain worthwhile .
British speedway rider Tai Woffinden is defending his world title this year . The 23-year-old has won the World Under-21 Championship in 2010 and was runner-up at last year's European Championships. The 23-year-old 's father , also his racing mentor , passed away in 2010 . He keeps his memory alive through one of his many tattoos .