I came to Prime in the summer of 2008 through the Prime Student Driver (PSD) program. My instructor/trainer was great and my experience in the program exceeded my expectation. In the first two months, however, I gained 15 lbs. That was my wake up call. I realized that if I didn’t take responsibility for my weight and my health, I was going to end up like a lot of truck drivers – fat and out of shape. I don’t mean to offend anyone, but let’s keep it real. National statistics show that 83% of truck drivers are overweight and 57% are obese. I did not want to become a statistic.
So I started exercising. Push-ups and sit-ups evolved into complete, total body workouts utilizing every possible fitness equipment and digital technology available. And that’s how I started my consulting company, Fitness Trucking LLC. Other drivers started coming to me asking for help on how to lose weight. But it didn’t stop there. Once I lost the extra pounds and got into pretty good shape, I realized that I could do more. To have fun and keep motivated, I began to visit state parks and go mountain biking, trail running, and do some open water swimming in lakes. During the winter, I started delivering loads and then go snowboarding. As a truck driver, I wanted to take advantage of my mobility and do all the outdoor adventure things I read about in magazines and saw on television. Then, I decided to enter different athletic events around the country. At first it was United States Masters Swimming (USMS) competitions. In 2011, I became the USMS National Champion in two events. Then I started competing in triathlons. I did eight triathlons in 2011 while still a lease operator with Prime, winning two of them and competing in the United States Triathlon National Age Group Championships. As a result, Pilot’s Challenge magazine featured me in their April 2012 edition, and some people started calling me “The Fittest Truck Driver in America”.
When I started Fitness Trucking, I set out to revolutionize the world of long-haul truck driving by reversing the trend of poor health among commercial truck drivers AND creating a culture of fitness within the industry. Prime’s award winning Driver Health and Fitness (DHF) program is doing just that – reversing the trend of poor health among the driver’s in Prime’s fleet. But that was just a start. We now have drivers carrying bicycles on their truck and competing in month-long bicycle challenges. We have a group of Truckers-To-Triathletes that compete in triathlons around the country. And now I am working on my biggest project yet – “The Fittest Truck Driver in America” competition.
Most really big things started small, and to make the Fittest Truck Driver in America competition become a reality, I had to start somewhere. So, on August 31st of 2013 at Prime’s annual picnic, Prime will be hosting the 1st ever “Fittest of the Fleet” competition. At the time of this writing, 18 men and 1 woman have registered for the competition to compete for bragging rights. There will be three events that test strength, endurance and agility in a trucking environment. Event One will begin at 8:00 am, event Two will begin at 10:00 am, and Event Three will begin at 12:00 am with an awards ceremony during dinner. We still have two spots remaining for the men’s competition and nine spots remaining for the women’s competition, so if you want to compete, there is still time. Register now!
If you will be attending the annual Prime picnic, come out and watch some of the competition.
