EDITOR’S NOTE
LOSS OF A LEGEND
Spring 2005, I was working at a small truck shop in Southern California, turning wrenches. The diesel bug had already bitten me, we were installing a few intake/exhaust/tuner combos a day and my paychecks were getting turned into truck parts for my 7.3L. The diesel performance boom was in full swing. Growing up I had always had a magazine addiction, in 2005 a new one showed up on the stands. It was probably the largest single influencer to my diesel addiction. That magazine was Diesel Power. The original diesel magazine, Turbo Diesel Register (TDR) had existed for a while, but Diesel Power (DP) was different. I read every DP issue cover-to-cover, several times. I can still remember some of the trucks that I drooled over then. Some of them are still around, but most seem to have disappeared. I still have one of my first copies, never left the drawer in my toolbox where it still is today.
About 5-years later I met a magazine editor through the aforementioned truck shop and started helping on a couple of DP’S sister magazines, RV Magazine and 8-Lug Magazine. That eventually led to me helping out at Diesel Power Challenge. First DPC for me was 2011. As a young diesel enthusiast that was like winning the super bowl to me. Every single truck there was eons ahead of anything I had ever seen before. Just sitting in the stands would have been epic, I actually got to stand on the track as the trucks competed, I was part of the crew so there was nowhere I couldn’t go, nothing I couldn’t experience. It felt so good to be a part of the team, no matter how tiny my role was. Shoot I’ll probably get black lung disease from standing deep in ATS’S dyno room during that part of the event, oh well I loved every second of it. That was an epic week.
That first DPC had me hooked. I had to find a way to make working there my career, everything else in my life took a backseat to that goal for a good long while. I ended up being a freelance contractor for DP and a few other sister magazines for several years, helping on shoots, doing my own articles, even ran a couple brands myself. Never considered myself a writer, including today, but that first article I got in DP was another highlight of my life thus far. Seeing my name in the magazine I had drooled over for so many years, it was a huge feeling of accomplishment. That article is framed and hanging in my office today. I got a few more articles in the book over the next 4 years, helped at a couple more DPC’S and met some really great life-long friends while working there. A couple of those friends are regular contributors to Diesel World now. In 2014 I was running RV Magazine when it was shut down. Shortly after that, Diesel World approached me and offered me the Chief Editor job. So of course, the dream of making a career with DP ended, and the DW one began.
At my first Scheid Diesel Xtravaganza with DW I met DP’S Chief Editor, KJ Jones. Over the years it’s been funny to see people’s reactions when they see us talking at events. “You guys aren’t going to fight, are you?” is a common comment. I consider myself lucky to call KJ a good friend. He’s a better editor than me in so many ways and has done such a great job with that brand. Even though I had stopped working for DP and the sister books, DP was still a big part of my life. While I’ve always wanted DW to be the stronger brand, I’ve always said I never want DP to go away. I’ve had this conversation with KJ as well. Sadly, as I’m sure most of you know by now, Diesel Power, as far as the print magazine is concerned, ceased to exist late in 2019 (at this time we don’t know what’s happening with the other aspects of the brand). A sad day for me and any diesel enthusiast. Tons of great people worked on that brand over the years. I’ll always cherish the memories Diesel Power Magazine fostered, the friends I met along the way and the massive influence Diesel Power Magazine had on my life.