Conversations with Big Rich

Meet Michael Brassanini, the newly crowned WE Rock Unlimited Champion; all-in family man, keeper of dreams, and seeker of goals. Michael fulfills his kid's dreams, too. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.

4:07 – As a kid there didn’t seem like there was a lot to do, looking back, the world was our oyster. 

11:11 – It was hard as a kid being taken away from your family, but looking back, it definitely saved me             

17:28 – I got hurt a lot, but girls like cowboys, and I like girls!

23:17 – A lot of cold, lonely nights, but I had a drive and a focus and had goals. 

28:84 – Motors, big tires, and being outside, wheeling with my friends attracted me to rockcrawling

35:18 – we have a great community of guys and gals that get out, almost on a daily basis there are drivers headed out 

41:59 – there are moments in life when you have this epiphany, I had one in Boulder Canyon near Montrose

48:38 – And once you do that stuff in competition, you go out on the trail, and you’re like, oh, hey, maybe this drop isn’t as bad as I thought it was

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

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There are just too many stories to write notes about; Andy Myers is one of the believers, a man who knows what it’s like to try, to build, to succeed, and to try again. Much respect for a man who walks the walk. Join this self-proclaimed introvert for a wild ride around the world. Thanks, Andy. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.

12:56 – I’ve never had a job and I’ve never worked. 

22:16 – I dropped out of college after a beef with a marketing professor who gave me an F for a product I’d already sold and was receiving royalty checks on             

27:22 – We got into design and opened a factory in Mexico and started making clothes for some pretty big companies, REI, Columbia…

32:09 – I showed the product to Nora’s family and told them, this is what we’re going to make – they’re like, “you should probably go back to bed” it was pretty cute 

34:46 – this is the coolest motorcycle story of my life

37:22 – all my life, it’s all I’ve done – offroad and motorcycles and travel and design

44:33 – Wow, I don’t want to go back to living in a truck, I better pull back the reins a little and make some hard business decisions

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

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Mitch Guthrie Sr. was raised a cowboy and became a Champion UTV Racer. He shares life in the fast lane with us on this episode of Conversations of Big Rich. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.

3:27 – We were always riding horses, I was constantly getting pulled out of school. 

8:34 – I heard about Azusa Canyon, back then, it was a wide-open four-wheel drive place             

16:23 – It was a passion. It was all I thought about.

28:50 – Back then it was a little tougher without GPS, I remember going the wrong way around the wrong side of the mountain 

42:44 – my favorite is the week of KOH when Mitchie is going to race, we drive the sh*t out of those trails

45:40 – Any advice?  Yes, pay attention to those who are winning, listen, and be humble

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

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To keep up with Tracy Valenta, you’re going to need to step up. At 84, Tracy is still the ultimate salesman. On Episode 231, Tracy shares highlights covering the racing years with the Party Ice team. Tracy was inducted in the Off Road Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2016. Tracy is why we say; legends live at ORMHOF.org.  Be sure to tune in on your favorite podcast app.

4:20 – I bought a ’32 Ford for 50 bucks and was able to rebuild it in Auto Shop 

12:34 – I went to Scott McKenzie and said, “ If I could get Rick Mears to drive for me, would you put together a car for me?”             

17:01 – There are so many fish in the little bay right at the Bay of LA, I’ve never seen so many fish in my life 

20:26 – I bought 1000 seats altogether and sold them at cost just to help Mickey get people interested

29:33 – I felt like I had made it at the Coliseum, Phoenix was big!

Special thanks to ORMHOF.org for support and sponsorship of this podcast.

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Phil Rawlings has his hands in a lot of things, he has embedded himself in off-road, like many of us. You’ll find him at Salt Lake Off-Road Expo, At Your Leisure, and many other places where voices matter. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.

6:38 – I’m generally a very mellow and chill dude, but I definitely have an adrenaline addiction side 

11:52– I got busted for a fix-it ticket, but they’d been after me for a while             

21:13 – I have a photographic memory that doesn’t have any film now

36:02 – I found a job that was my favorite ever, I got to design and play with the coolest stuff 

49:26 – people said, “you’re from Utah – I didn’t know they had off-road companies in Utah” that bothered me, we’re like the mecca for off-roading!

55:53 – our guiding pillars – promote Utah off-road businesses, promote Utah, and unite the off-road community

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

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Mark Jensen, founder and engineer of Off-Road Innovations is on Episode 229. Without a background in off-road, Mark got launched into it accidentally. It’s been a heck of a ride. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.

4:32 – I lived in the mountains with redwood trees, coming to Toelle was like being dropped in the middle of the desert, left for dead 

11:56– I built an outside-the-box sandrail that was four-wheel drive – essentially the first side-by-side             

20:29 – “You know this would be more suited for the rock crawling world.” I said, “The what? What’s rockcrawling?”

26:45 – every time this rock crawling thing would evolve into something more violent, it meant more failures for me 

38:00 – Those two words, perfect perseverance and dedication to what you are doing, you will overcome!

51:33 – We’re learning a lot from the car, it adds credibility to actually finish races and be successful

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

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Bill Sanders on Episode 228, a legendary journalist who excelled in elevating off-road racing to worldwide recognition. At 92 years old, history was made and retold in this interview. We talk about all the racing, writing and sport that Bill has been a part of. Bill was inducted in the Off Road Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2014. Bill is why we say; legends live at ORMHOF.org.  Be sure to tune in on your favorite podcast app.

4:26 – my first true love was a 1936 Ford three-window coupe flathead 

20:21 – I went to Europe by myself and traveled around for about 11 months on $5 a day.             

29:04 – “Where’s the rest of the slides?” And I said, I’m not the photographer, I’m the editor. 

37:55 – any questions?  “Do the service stations in Baja take credit cards?”

49:15 – these guys from Mexico would bring $50,000 cash in a paper bag to California and buy a truck

1:06:42 – about halfway through the race, the suspension broke, but Jean Calvin had her thermos full of coffee that she always took with her

Special thanks to ORMHOF.org for support and sponsorship of this podcast.

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Whitewater to Off-road, the background of our guests is always fascinating. Join Rich and Chris Walker from Overland Training Canada for more adventure on Episode 227. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.

4:51 – very quickly, I found my passion was the outdoors – mountaineering, kayaking, flying, diving, caving and what have you 

12:34– Gosh, I hurt myself a lot, nearly died a couple of times             

17:37 – I’m not doing what I’m doing without their grit and determination to kick me into shape to be a good off-road driving instructor

25:14 – just jump out right here, grab your stuff, someone will come get you – I’m literally in the middle of nowhere, there’s no one in sight, I have no cell service and no idea where I am 

37:36 – that’s a really hard question, I’ve never found a concise answer…

55:01 – I’ve been doing a lot with a big expedition called the Transglobal Car Expedition

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

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From Slot cars to NASCAR, Mark Stahl has a storied past in racing, catch up with him on  Episode 226. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.

2:52 – I guess you could say I was a professional slot car racer 

7:29– We went to Tijuana and got a fake birth certificate so I could race at age 16; Cajon Speedway required you to be 18             

16:01 – Well, off-road racing, the motto was never give up

26:29 – I pull up at the finish line and Scoop is sitting there in the Blazer, and Parnelli Jones walks up and looks at the number on my hood and just starts cussing 

34:08 – If I ever want to race NASCAR, now’s my time – I need to make the move to the south

43:57 – my most memorable event from the NASCAR days was the ’87 Winston 500 at Talladega

1:01:18 – you go through a lot of wives in racing, not because you’re cheating on them, but because you like race cars more than them, race cars don’t talk back

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

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“If I’m going to weld, it might as well be for myself,” we couldn’t agree more. Join Todd Gronsdahl from Aqualu Industries and Big Rich on Episode 225. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.

6:57 – I took any job I could get because I really didn’t have any skillset 

11:15– Rich: I asked your wife, “Is that your boyfriend?” She says, God, no, that’s my husband, my boyfriend would be way older and way richer!             

13:30 – I bought a dilapidated Land Cruiser, and I was driving home one day when the roll cage fell through the wheel well onto the tire.

19:06 – the hardest part is just getting the aluminum body as close as you can to replicating the original 

30:18 – the biggest challenge of being in Canada and exporting is location, we are packed in a little town in the middle of the mountains, so transportation is a real pain

35:59 – my wife has plans for us to buy a diesel pusher, and hook the vehicle up and go have some fun

37:37 – my simple rule of thumb: don’t spend more than you make and be humble

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

Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.

Support the show