No matter your age, follow your passion. That’s what Toby Lavender has been doing for life. Automotive to hunting, Toby excels at all of it, and he’s not done yet. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.

8:15 – I always preach to everybody that real formal education in the automotive repair industry is critical these days 

18:17 – We flew in just so green to life and travel and didn’t know what the heck to expect and made the best of it             

24:01 – I remember the first time we did a Million dollars in one year in sales, my accountant said, yeah, but it cost you $999,000 to do it!

29:48 – My first 10+ years in off-road was in desert racing, I learned you better have a lot of money or you better be able to build your own junk.

35:51 – I didn’t set out to do any of this, but I loved it and we just went with it and grew; Lavender Brothers grew into this 99% four-wheel-drive off-road shop 

48:40 – One of my big life passions is hunting and everything related to that

54:19 – the paradigm shift was when I realized my employees were relying on me to provide the opportunity that they were showing up for

Special thanks to 4low Magazine and Maxxis Tires for support and sponsorship of this podcast.

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The original hot-rod kid is still playing with V-8s; but now he’s taking them off-road. Tim Ryan, owner of the V8 Swap Shop is revving up as your go-to guy. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.

3;36 – I got knives pulled on me daily because they knew I had a nickel for milk money 

12:08 – they organized the high school drags and all the high schools were invited to participate; me and my friends rand the show because we all had hot rods             

21:52 – A buddy of mine had a CJ5, it was an eye catcher; we’d meet girls like crazy when in his Jeep, I was the same guy as the one in the old car, but girls liked Jeeps.

28:48 – My wife says she only wanted a guy with a normal nose and a small truck. Maybe God had a reason to make me buy that truck so I could meet her.

38:49 – So, I ended up ultimately back in the automotive world which is where my heart always was. 

43:35 – When is it going to be your Independence Day?

51:22 – Each build is difference, we’re not a cookie-cutter shop.

Special thanks to 4low Magazine and Maxxis Tires for support and sponsorship of this podcast.

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 From the garage to where it is now, everything happens with hard work and innovation. Aaron Wedeking shares the PRP Origin Story and where they are going now, through the ups and downs and twists and turns. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app. 

9:58 – I did well in school, but mostly, I was just waiting for the weekends! 

16:53 – I’ve never set a goal, I just analyze the situation and think, What’s the smartest thing I can do today?             

20:00 – We made six seats, I put them in the back of my Ford Ranger and this guy says, I’ll take them all. That’s how we started. 

25:08 – I had two weeks of paternity leave from my CPA job, I ditched my wife at the hospital and picked up all the parts of that business to move it. A pretty crappy dad move and a real crappy husband move. 

31:54 – It’s either work hard or be really smart, and I’m not, so I had to work hard 

38:23 – it’s weird, when you’re in it, everything is stressful, it really fogs your vision. 

43:01 – Nobody has come up with a lab test that can recreate exactly what happens in an off-road vehicle. 

53:12 – We’re constantly innovating at PRP, and a lot of it comes from use. 

Special thanks to 4low Magazine and Maxxis Tires for support and sponsorship of this podcast. 

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We love couples that work together. Paul and Keri Porter have been together since high school, now with the kids grown, they’ve dropped into four-wheel drive with a vengeance. Training trips, shows, and adventures keep them away from home for more than half the year. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.

8:35 – It was definitely a struggle in those days, but we had a lot of fun. 

16:49 – I got invited to the Badlands with a girlfriend and came home and told Paul he needed to buy me a Jeep             

21:14 – They told us it had a lift on it; it didn’t but we didn’t know what we didn’t know

26:20 – During the club years we met so many who bought this adventure vehicle and didn’t know what to do with it

30:57 – Our business had two parts, we run adventure trips and offer training courses

37:23 – we’ve got big rig trips and beginner trips and not much in between, so we’re trying to fill that gap

46:22 – I love KOH, but I’m thankful we had something to do because we’re not people who just sit around 

Special thanks to 4low Magazine and Maxxis Tires for support and sponsorship of this podcast.

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Jeff McKinlay, a man of experiences, from milking cows to construction; building steel buildings and rockcrawlers. Jeff has the work ethic to knock everyone out of the park; he’s the best at all he has done. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.

5:38 – Wrestling was what I was good at; ended up four-time state champion, that’s what taught me a good work ethic is the wrestling and the training 

12:58 – I realized it’s really hard to get paid when you’re not the guy in charge of the money             

20:45 – Kevin was at his shop and had an old Twisted Customs rear steer buggy, I was like, “what in the world is that?”

26:20 – Anybody that’s crawled with Kevin knows that you don’t spot and you don’t help, you better keep up or you’re just getting left. 

34:10 – I remember at my youngest son, Kade’s funeral, people were saying, “you did more with that kid in 17 years than most people do with their kids in their entire life.” That was a compliment I feel really good about. 

Special thanks to 4low Magazine and Maxxis Tires for support and sponsorship of this podcast.

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Tuff Country has been through some changes, from the founding 35 years ago to it’s purchase by a private equity firm to being back in the hands of the founder, Kelly Davis. Kelly shares all the details and what’s coming next. We wish him all the best in his reboot! Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.

3:07 – I guess we’ve always been off-road entrepreneurs 

6:54 – He said, “swim or sink, it’s up to you. You control your own destiny here.”             

12:26 – we really engaged with grassroots events all over the country

16:45 – one thing we really tried to do was control our growth 

22:06 – we thought, if we can survive 2008 and climb back out of this hole, we’re going to be some tough dudes 

33:02 – they buy you because you are a well-earned machine, you’re profitable, you have value, and then they get away from your core values 

43:05 – we made an offer, they accepted and the work started, we had to reboot this thing.

51:13 – Quitten’s easy, man, so easy. The harder you work, the luckier you get. 

Special thanks to 4low Magazine and Maxxis Tires for support and sponsorship of this podcast.

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Blue Ribbon Coalition Executive Director Ben Burr gives the low-down on what BRC needs right now and shows us how we can be successful in our land use fight. It’s a fascinating take on what is going on in the real world. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app. 

4:16 – my ancestors settled the Moab area; the Burr Trail is named for them 

8:01 – I was always an advisor on these issues, I had pretty deep life experience working on public lands             

17:13 – If you would have said I’m going to go from restaurants to politics, I would have been like, how am I going to get there? 

25:16 – that’s the operating system running things now, it positioned lawyers to be the key players in this movement, especially on the environmental side 

30:19 – and so, it is time to install an operating system that works to the benefit of outdoor recreation users 

37:21 – you say exclusionist, I say elitist, it’s a very elitist movement 

47:21 – SUWA wants concentrated recreation in just a few areas 

53:20 – Call to Action – join BRC, a change in the public land system is going to happen because a bunch of people rise up and demand it 

1:01:15 – if everybody who owned an off-road vehicle joined BRC, I’d be bigger than the Sierra club, it’s a $300 million organization – the math maths out on that 

Special thanks to 4low Magazine and Maxxis Tires for support and sponsorship of this podcast. 

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“I just wanna go fast,” Chris Ridgway. Chris joins us from the road as he’s hauling multi-million-dollar cars all over the US. If it’s got wheels, Chris has raced it, from motorcycles to Porches. Some great stories in here. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.

6:35 – I wasn’t the most popular guy, I wasn’t the least liked guy, I was just one of the guys. 

10:38 – I was still getting lapped in the ADCC beginner class. I wasn’t good. I just wanted it.             

19:51 – It was a way of me feeling important and feeling like people like me, and the thing is, as you know about racing, that’s all that matters.

25:31 – I turned pro in ’91, and I got hurt. The big injury came in, I think, ‘95 

40:34 – He said, “someone needs to put you in a car.” And I said, “who’s going to put me in a car?” And he said, I will.

48:13 – I had my leg all bandaged up, and I remember smacking it on the dash and someone’s wife duct taped it back up! 

52:47 – He had so much more to lose, I felt like I didn’t have much to lose, and so I would take chances like that

1:06:50 – I was like, dude, we can do these doubles, he’s like, well, what happens if we come up short? 

1:14:55 – and when you go to SEMA with Jesse Combs on your arm as your co-driver, you get sponsorship

Special thanks to 4low Magazine and Maxxis Tires for support and sponsorship of this podcast.

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Helper should be his middle name; always one to give an assist, Bryan Crofts shares life from family Crofts to family Campbell and all the twists in between. Some great stories in here. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.

9:39 – when I was a young kid, I always wanted to be a garbage man; they make good money. 

15:51 – I had a buddy I went to school with, him and I would go out to Mt Shasta and do fireroads and mud wheeling, it got me interested in doing more             

22:53 – I worked for the Sheriffs Department in San Francisco, mostly in the jails. I saw things that I probably wish I hadn’t, it definitely changed my outlook on life

31:17 – “Hey, Jody’s looking to get out of the Stock Mod rig if you’re interested,” and I jumped on it 

35:11 – my brother goes, “Hey Bro, why aren’t you racing?”

47:14 – That’s what sparked the interest, it was way cheaper to build two cars at once 

53:17 – one of the coolest things that we do, we’re all racing against each other, but we’re all racing with each other, too.

1:01:18 – I was chasing him down and I didn’t see those two rollers, and I hit one and nosed into the second one, and lights out! It knocked me out!

1:12:29 – I’ve got people calling me after the race that that was the one spot they were worried about, as soon as they say me and Bailey there, all their worries went away

Special thanks to 4low Magazine and Maxxis Tires for support and sponsorship of this podcast.

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If International Harvester made it, Jeff Ismail knows about it. From printed manuals to Scouts and Travelalls, Jeff has his finger on it. A self-made man, Jeff understands that happy is a choice, join us for a conversation on episode 237. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.

3:29 – my friends were playing and swimming, but not me and my brothers, we were with Dad – raking leaves and edging lawns, doing what we had to do to earn a living 

8:50 –some grew up in Ford, some Chevy, some Dodge – we grew up in IHs             

17:17– You don’t forget people who race in Scouts; we won a couple of seasons, and it was always by attrition. It looked like the Turtle and the Hare

28:28 – my dad came to me and said, I want to take you back to the home country to get married; I’m like, I’m not ready to get married! 

36:36 – my dad goes, “why don’t you just fix up that pole barn out there and start working on Internationals again?” If I got Dad’s blessing, why not?

43:27 – we’ve always had this thing, “If the job makes sense, we’ll take it!” 

49:38 – people don’t know me, but they know my truck.

57:23 – Some people are like, Oh, I can’t wait for the future. I know good times, I’m living in good times.

Special thanks to 4low Magazine and Maxxis Tires for support and sponsorship of this podcast.

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