HOW DID I FIRST GET INTO OFF-ROADING?

Growing up, my love for off-roading did not just appear out of nowhere, it was rooted in something much earlier. To understand how I got here, we have to start with my dad when he was 17.

At that age, he got into demolition derby, spending years behind the wheel smashing cars and loving every second of it. I grew up watching him compete, me barely old enough to remember standing on the sidelines. Some songs still bring me back to the feel of the stadium shaking as the engines roared and vehicles smashed into one another.

For a long time, demolition derby was a big part of our lives. The roar of engines, the smell of fuel, and the thrill of the impact, it was what my dad did. But as time passed, things changed. Families grew, priorities shifted, and eventually, the passion for derby faded. My dad still wanted something exciting but needed something more practical, something that would not destroy a car in one night.

During my elementary and middle school years, my family spent a lot of weekends riding ATVs together. I grew up holding onto handlebars, eating dust, and laughing through every bump and rut in the trail. Being out on those trails taught me early that adventure was not something you just watched, it was something you lived.

That is when off-roading came into the picture. It still had the fun of being behind the wheel and modifying vehicles, but it was less destructive and far more sustainable. Instead of smashing into other cars, it was about tackling tough trails, climbing rocks, and testing what the vehicle could do. The best part was that the vehicles did not get destroyed after one run (usually), they were built to last and could be used over and over again.

Watching my dad make the switch to off-roading, I naturally got hooked too. At first I was in the passenger or back seats with my family with my dad driving, hanging on as we crawled over obstacles that seemed impossible. On occasion riding passenger with my brothers in their XJ. But it was not long before I moved into the driver’s seat myself in the 1989 YJ. There was nothing like the thrill of guiding a machine over terrain that looked unforgiving and knowing I was the one making it happen. Off-roading became more than just a hobby, it was a way of life. Our family went from working holidays year after year to spending time together out on the trails every opportunity we got. This included my three brothers. We all launched into off-roading feet first.

Looking back, I never would have guessed that growing up around demolition derby would lead me here. I gave my parents a lot of push back as a teenager, just like most of us do. I wanted to do my own things like playing computer games or drawing instead of heading out on the trails. But as I grew up, my priorities changed and I started to understand the value of the experiences I was surrounded by. Now here I am, behind the wheel of my own rig, building, breaking, fixing, and pushing my limits just like my dad did. The love for adventure never faded, it simply took a different route, one trail at a time.