THE BOTTOM LINE
JUST IN CASE ANY OF YOU THINK I TAKE THIS JOB FOR GRANTED, I DON’T. Being the ringleader here at Street Trucks is nothing short of an honor. I have been a fan of the book ever since I first came across it on the newsstand during the magazine’s first few issues. It was a different time, and there were numerous other truck publications sharing shelf space, which is not so much the case these days. But even with all of the competition, my eyes gravitated towards Street Trucks. The photographs of trendsetting trucks were amazing, and the characters behind the magazine were entertaining.
Though I was into Chevy S-10s, since I was working on one at the time, I was a big fan of any vehicle with a bed on it. At the time, I didn’t own a full-size or classic truck, but I still enjoyed seeing custom versions of them. It’s all relative anyway because the modifications you see on one truck can almost always be adapted to another. Street Trucks
has and will continue to have a variety of features and tech stories for all types of custom trucks, which was just another selling point for me when I was perusing the newsstand back in the day.
At the time, I was also studying photography and figured I would somehow make a career out of my passion for it. I didn’t have a game plan, until the day it dawned on me that I should go to work for a custom truck magazine. The more I thought about it, the more it clicked. I like all types of trucks and I love taking photos, so combining the two would make for an enjoyable job. I shifted my life goal to work at Street Trucks even though there were no open positions then.
After getting more involved in the truck scene, I met some good crews that educated me about the trends. The further I went down the rabbit hole, the more I was hooked. Talking trucks with other enthusiasts made for some great discussions and memories.
Not long after that, I met the original staff of Street Trucks. The first person I met was Mike Self when we were both at IF Customs, where they were finishing up the suspension work on a ’65 Chevy Suburban his girlfriend (now wife) Marisa owned at the time. I was hooked even more and shadowed Mike while we went to quite a few shows together. I even pulled an all-nighter to help him take the ’Burb to SEMA.
Mike invited me to the office, and introduced me to the rest of the crew: Courtney “Tito” Halowell (R.I.P.), Brian “BMC” Mccormick and Steve Stillwell. It was amazing; the office was filled with cover blow-ups and other truck memorabilia. During my visit, guys typed, logging their latest truck adventures, while Brian showed me some slide film for the next cover. I knew I had to be a part of this production even though all of the positions were filled. After some shifting around, the original staff left, and I ended up at Sport Truck. Years later, I finally landed here at my favorite mag.
I am astounded that I have made it this far when I was just looking to get a job, any job, here. Of course, none of it happened overnight; it took years of practice to get where I am now. I was given plenty of opportunities and help that shaped me along the way. I feel very fortunate because many of the folks who helped me grow continue to help me produce the mag. One of those individuals happens to be Mike Self. I hit him up a few years ago when I was looking for some talent to create material, and it just so happened that he was interested in contributing again. You’ve more than likely seen his funny and insightful stories in past issues of the magazine.
Speaking of old editors, I recently ran into another one. While at Total Cost Involved to shoot tech photos, I crossed paths with Steve Stillwell. I was pleasantly surprised when he praised the current look of the magazine. I was flattered as the man with decades of magazine experience, who started Street Trucks no less, was proud of what we are doing with it these days. Better yet, we might have enticed Steve to make a bit of a comeback here. We’ll see if he will be able to help out, and I would love to see him get in the game again. Either way,
I am grateful to be a part of
Street Trucks’ legacy, and I will continue to try to live up to my predecessors. I don’t want to let them down.