Bad Habit Featured Interview
Date: July 2009
Interviewee: Joe Sylvester
Title: Owner and Driver of Bad Habit Monster Truck
Web: www.BadHabit4x4.com
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Introduction: At only 25 years old, Joe Sylvester is the youngest independent professional monster truck driver and team owner in the country. After competing all over the country and abroad for 2 years, with the help of Boardman Steel, Joe decided to build a brand new truck for the 2009 season. With a new truck, dedicated crew, and supportive sponsors, Joe Sylvester is ready for another exciting season behind the wheel of BAD HABIT!
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UR: Joe, thanks for taking the time to talk with us. First things first, congratulations on being the youngest independent professional monster truck driver in the country. How does it feel and what are your hopes for the future?
JS: Thank you. It Is pretty cool being the youngest independent because the largest percentage of our fan base is close to my age. It allows them to relate a lot more to me than with some other drivers. I try to bring a fresh, exciting, and youthful image to the sport with my attitude and driving style.
UR:did you get into Monster Trucks?
JS: I have been involved with motorized vehicles my whole life and have always captivated by things that went fast. I was about 5 years old and I drove my dad’s work van through a fence! Since a very early age, I have been involved in heavy machinery as well as all types of racing, from bicycles, to motocross, to car racing, and monster trucks were just always something I wanted to get into some day. From the time I got my driver’s license, I have had a lifted truck and been involved in off-roading and about 3 years ago I started my monster truck team.
UR: We love the name of your Monster Truck, Bad Habit, how did you come up with it and the overall theme?
JS: There were a lot of names we were considering for the truck and BAD HABIT actually wasn’t even one of them. My friend’s wife was paging through a magazine and saw an article titled “bad habit” and suggested the name and that pretty much ended the process of coming up with anything else. I am very much a hot rod enthusiast and I saw a car painted orange with purple flames one day and I thought it looked bad ass.
UR:What would you say is your own bad habit?
JS: Well I pretty much destroy anything I touch, especially if it has a motor and wheels!
UR: Driving a Monster Truck is got to be such a rush. What was going through your mind the first time you crushed some cars and were you nervous? How did the crowd react?
JS: It is definitely a rush. Throughout my whole life, I have been an adrenaline junkie looking for my next fix, I guess you could say. I don’t golf, bowl, or play video games. If it doesn’t offer a thrill or have some type of danger involved, it just doesn’t interest me. The first time I went over cars was definitely a rush. I was a little nervous, but only because I didn’t want something to happen to the truck. I actually put on a decent show and won the first freestyle competition I was in.
UR: Have you ever rolled over in the truck?
JS: HaHa! Have you ever seen the body? Yea, I have been upside down a few times. My driving style is wild to say the least.
UR: Do you prefer performing in the truck or doing display work?
JS: I most definitely prefer performing in the truck. There is nothing like putting in a ton of hours and hard work into the truck and then going out and ripping the place up!
UR: Tell us more about your truck and crew members? (Make/Model, Engine, etc.)
JS: The Truck is a 2009 Joe Sylvester Motorsports tube chassis with a 2001 Chevy Silverado fiberglass body on it. The engine is a 512 c.i. blown alcohol Chevrolet pushing out around 1200 hp. When the truck is all together and full of fuel, it weighs about 9,000 lbs and stands 12 feet wide and 11 feet tall. My crew and I worked 16 hours a day, 7 days a week to build the truck in 2 months. My crew consists of myself, my Girlfriend Cory, and a couple part time crew members. Cory travels with me most of the year and between the 2 of us, we keep the rig up and running, do all repairs and maintenance on BAD HABIT, as well as handle all the business side of things. Cory also handles the buying, selling, and designing of merchandise as well as keeping in touch with sponsors and updating the web site.
UR: How do you feel about the future of the sport? Do you think there is anything left to do to advance it any further?
JS: I feel very confident that the sport will continue to grow. It offers affordable and exciting family entertainment and is a great way for sponsors to showcase their products to a captive audience. I think that the sport will advance even more once more sponsors get involved, much like NASCAR and NHRA. That will allow more independent teams, like myself, to build more top notch machines and deliver the high flying, fast paced, performances that keep the fans coming back year after year.
UR: Joe, thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us. In closing, is there anything you’d like to say to our members?
JS: Thanks a lot for the support! If anyone hasn’t been to a monster truck show yet, get out there and buy a ticket. It is a lot more than big, heavy, trucks crushing cars. Those days are long since passed and monster trucks have evolved into fast, high flying, mechanical marvels and a monster truck show is one of the most exciting forms of entertainment available today suitable for the whole family. Check out the schedule page on our website (www.BadHabit4x4.COM) and see when we are coming to a town near you! I guarantee you will not go home disappointed!
Profile: Joe Sylvester
General Info:
Age: 25
Hometown: Boardman, Ohio
Favorite Music: Rock and Country
Favorite Movies: I love horror flicks, mafia movies, and comedies
Favorite TV show: I don't get a chance to watch it much but I like Sons of Anarchy and just about anything on the Speed Channel.
Favorite food: I am 100% Italian so I probably eat pasta at least 3 times a week, it's my favorite!
Hobbies: Motocross, Shifter Kart Racing, Hot Rods, Body Building, Building Custom Off-Road Trucks, Mountain Biking, RC trucks, and I am also actively involved with rescuing American Pit Bull Terriers as well as educating people on the breed.
Jobs besides monster truck driver: I am a carpenter by trade and also run an off-road shop division of Joe Sylvester Motorsports
Heroes: My family, I can never thank them enough for all they do for me. I also look up to the late, great, Evel Knievel.
" It is better to take a chance in life, to win a victory or suffer defeat, than it is to live in the shadow of life as some do. Never knowing a victory or defeat because they have not the guts to try neither."
-The Great Evel Knievel
Truck Bio:
Body: 2001 Chevy Silverado painted by Carl Beckett Body Works using all House of Kolor paint
Chassis: Custom DOM Tube Chassis designed by Joe Sylvester and Jerry Richmond built in house at Joe Sylvester Motorsports - 156" wheel base – Powdercoat by Capitol Powdercoating
Shocks: Front: 18" Travel TNT Coil Overs with TNT Reverse Accumulator Nitrogen Shock, Rear: 26" Travel TNT Coil Overs with TNT Reverse Accumulator Nitrogen Shock
Motor: 512 c.i. Chevrolet with 871 blower and HEDMAN HEDDERS
Transmission: Abruzzi Racing Turbo 400 -Horsepower: 1200+ -Weight: 9,200 lbs. -Width: 12'
Axles: Spooled F106 with Clark plantetaries and Patrick Enterprises housings
Tires: Custom Grooved 66" x 43" x 25" Goodyear Terra Tires |
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