LIFE & CULTURE WOMEN KICK INTO HIGH GEAR AT MONSTER JAM
Grave Digger driver Krysten Anderson on the (female) future of monster trucks
Monster Jam, the colorful monster-truck tour that has transformed countless tiny gearheads into lifelong motorsports fans, is most certainly a male-dominated arena. About 100 men drive the 57 official trucks listed on Monster Jam’s website, which feature aggressive names like Avenger, Devastator and Rammunition.
But look closer and you’ll also see trucks named Wonder Woman, Scarlet Bandit and Wild Flower. Overall, 15 of the popular brand’s drivers are women — including 20-year-old Krysten Anderson, who steers fan-favorite Grave Digger.
“I don’t really feel uncomfortable in a male-dominated setting or sport,” said Anderson, 20, who started driving Grave Digger last year. “My dad has had such a legacy in Monster Jam and my family has gotten so much respect from other drivers, so I don’t have to fight for anybody to count me in.”
Family matters to Monster Jam. Besides the fact that Anderson’s father is Grave Digger creator Dennis Anderson — he built the prototype in 1981 with a 1957 Chevy Panel Wagon and parts scrounged from junkyards — or that her brothers Adam and Ryan are monster-truck drivers, Monster Jam’s first point of sale is its “family-friendly” nature (as in, “the most familyfriendly, action-packed motorsport in the world,” according to a press release).
And on its latest Triple Threat Series tour, which visits the Pepsi Center Feb. 9-11, the gender of the drivers has become its own selling point.
“Monster Jam is one of the only sports where male and female worldclass drivers, some generational rivals, are equals competing for the same championship on the same track,” the press release said.
It’s also vital for Monster Jam’s continued relevance.
Founded in 1992, Monster Jam has
“My original plan was to study graphic design and get a job at Monster Jam designing trucks. But I got a phone call and the opportunity presented itself. I’ll probably be able to draw my whole entire life, so I don’t really think my talent is going to go away. But how I could pass up Monster Jam? I started touring when I was 19. That’s a crazy job for a 19-year-old kid.”
Krysten Anderson, Grave Digger driver
channeled and cultivated the enduring popularity of marquee monster trucks like Bigfoot into a multimillion-dollar touring, TV and toy brand. A decade ago, Feld Entertainment bought Monster Jam and other motorsports properties from promoter Live Nation for $175 million.
But Feld, which produces Disney on Ice, Disney Live and others shows, shut down its ailing Ringling Bros. circus in May 2017, while many of its other properties seem fixed in both age and gender appeal by their subject matter.
Monster Jam, however, has the potential to nearly double its annual global audience of 4.5 million by embracing female drivers — and fans — in the historically male culture of motorsports. Last year, Monster Jam held more than 350 shows in 134 venues spanning five continents, according to monsterjam.com, including first-time shows in Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Brazil and China.
Anderson isn’t the only driver of Grave Digger. On any given weekend, more than a half-dozen Monster Jam shows feature the distinctively neon-green-andblack truck, including one driven by her boyfriend, Tyler Menninga.
But with her family legacy, aggressive skills and fiercely competitive attitude in the arena, Anderson is arguably the face of Monster Jam’s future.
“Especially in the past year, as I’ve been on the road more, a few venues I’ve showed up to had little girls with Krysten Anderson signs, or pictures of me and the truck, that they want me to sign,” she said. “It’s been a lot of positive reaction.”
With more than 33,000 Instagram followers and 18,000 Facebook fans, Anderson has also become a Monster Jam socialmedia celebrity. But she takes the job seriously, having put college and a planned graphic-design major on hold to drive her family’s truck.
“In Denver, I’ll be driving the monster truck, an ATV and a speedster,” she said, explaining the Triple Threat part of the show’s title. “We switch back and forth throughout the entire show, so it’s a very fast-paced, physically demanding thing.”
However, Anderson’s nerves don’t come from the potential for a spectacular accident in her $250,000 vehicle. She’s more concerned about making fans, friends and her close-knit family proud. When she’s not touring with Monster Jam, Anderson works in her family’s restaurant, Diggers Diner in Kill Devil Hills, N.C., as a server.
It’s another reminder that despite the frenzied culture that surrounds Monster Jam, it’s just a stop on the way to somewhere else.
“My original plan was to study graphic design and get a job at Monster Jam designing trucks,” Anderson said with a laugh. “But I got a phone call and the opportunity presented itself. I’ll probably be able to draw my whole entire life, so I don’t really think my talent is going to go away. But how I could pass up Monster Jam? I started touring when I was 19. That’s a crazy job for a 19year-old kid.”