Prime Inc., North America’s most successful refrigerated, flatbed and tanker trucking company, continues to attract drivers who pursue athletic interests while on the road. On September 6th, Cr
ystal Logan competed in the Tough Mudder Wisconsin, her second such event in that series. That same day, Adam Hamner won his first professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fight against Mitchell Haight at the Fight Circus event held in Kansas City. The following weekend, Jeff Schmid, Mario Almendarez and Matt Buchanan competed in the Revolution 3 Triathlon in Cedar Point, OH, covering the 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.2 mile run in six hours, thirteen minutes and twenty-three seconds. To start the month, Prime Inc. hosted the “Fittest of the Fleet” championships, which was won by 27- year-old Randee Lewis, and its month-long Bicycle Challenge continues through the end of the month.
“Prime realizes that drivers want to pursue their hobbies while driving. It’s a quality of life issue. Word is out that you can do this at Prime, and we are attracting 
a new breed of drivers – young, tech savvy, athletic and active,” said Prime Driver Health and Fitness Coach Siphiwe Baleka. “We are getting former college football players, professional bicycle motocross racers, runners, cyclists, triathletes, para-gliders, rock climbers, and now even MMA fighters. We have an Olympic track and field medalist as well as a former professional female basketball player. Our driver athletes are inspiring other drivers to health and fitness and changing the image of the American truck driver.”
In 2012, Prime launched its award-winning Driver Health and Fitness program. This intensive, voluntary thirteen week program uses digital health devices to monitor and improve drivers’ metabolism so that they burn fat while driving. Hundreds of drivers have completed the program, averaging 19.6 lbs. of weight loss. Many drivers lose up to sixty pounds while eating five to six meals per day. More than a thousand other drivers have lost 10 lbs., and Prime even has a $1,000 raffle every three months for drivers who report their weight in a program that tracks the body mass index of the entire fleet.
“The fact that we have so many programs to help drivers stay fit and active on the road has definitely helped recruiting and retention,” said Ben Wicks, Prime’s Director of Recruiting. “There’s a lot of talk about the so-called driver shortage. Who wants to sacrifice their time with families, their health, and their hobbies to drive a truck? So we are showing drivers that that doesn’t have to happen. Now we are growing so fast we can’t take everyone who applies. We are becoming like the Ivy League of truck driving.”
If you would like to learn more about the Driver Health and Fitness program, go to www.driverhealthandfitness.com.
