Conversations with Big Rich

Send us Fan Mail TV Personality, Brendon Thompson, enlightens on us on the finer points of being on American Chopper – the builds, the craziness; but that’s not all, we get insight into his early life and his parenting, throw in a little 5150 racing and you’ve got the full meal deal. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app. 3:24 – my older brother was always the helping hand for me, picking...

Send us Fan Mail FigSpeed honcho, Les Figueroa dishes about drag racing, off-road, and being at “that” level with the big boys. It’s a great listen, plenty of stories to keep you entertained. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app. 5:17 – I still have the car that my dad raced and bought in 1970  16:59 – knowing I always loved drag racing, I took the position at Mallory Ignition making min...

Send us Fan Mail All American racing family, we’d like to introduce you to Andy DeVercelly – numbers, 2,3,4, and 5.  #2 is 93 years young and raced in the first Baja 1000; #5 just graduated to go-karts from mini-dwarf cars.  It’s a fun listen of four generations of racers. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app. 3:14 – Andy 2 – the bullfighter is my car, I hit a bull on the highway just be...

Send us Fan Mail Our favorite pirate, Todd Young, shares life in the hood, work, rockcrawling, and unexpected life changes. This is a great one, if you’ve ever had a chance to be around Todd, you’ll appreciate that he tells it like it is. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app. 3:57 – My dad was always a brawler, So I was born with the expectation that you solved everything with a good fis...

Send us Fan Mail Mary McGee is a legend in off-road racing; solo’d the Baja 500 on a bike as the first person to do so; a woman who never learned to quit and always said yes to everything offered. She thinks she’s the luckiest woman ever, her history is a great story. Mary was inducted in the Off Road Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2023. Mary is why we say; legends live at ORMHOF.org.  Be sure to tun...

Send us Fan Mail Cowboy Matt Deas, one of the OG rockcrawlers hails from North Carolina where he raises kids and horses. Matt shares with us some great stories about rockcrawling in the early days.. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app. 5:16 – Man, I love my childhood going to school and stuff, there were 89 of us in my graduating  10:43 – Once I got healed, I started ordering parts and...

Send us Fan Mail Nicole Pitell brings her own brand of hype to every conversation, she shares the inside scoop of Total Chaos to the podcast. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app. 6:12 – at the end of the day, it’s what makes each of us individually happy is what’s going to elevate you and take you to the next level 12:05 – I want noted for the record, I suck at driving in mud           ...

Send us Fan Mail Glenn Classen made a big move from South Africa to the US to expand his market for shock absorbers – almost 20 years in, he’s continued to grow and develop Radflo for the off-road market. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app. 3:46 – as a kid, being aware of anything socially or politically about how the country ran you weren’t aware of until much later 11:44 – let’s fire...

Send us Fan Mail Stan Haynes has rock sports under his skin; a long-time supporter of both series and competitors, Stan shares life in a family-run business with us. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app. 6:07 – I thought I was getting drafted to go die in Vietnam 11:24 – 57’  Chevy, I hot-rodded the heck out of it              15:52 – we still continue with Branik doing foundry work and...

Send us Fan Mail Steven Adams is a lighting master; one of the founders of Rigid Lights, he’s stepped up again with Nacho Offroad Technology. The world is brighter with Steve in it, be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app. 5:33 – I’m sure he thought I would just throw my life away because I wasn’t being an airline pilot 17:16 – I pulled up Bender’s How to Bend Tech 101 and taught myself how...

Send us Fan Mail YouTube star Nicole Johnson brings a load of experience to her channel, she’s on a mission to drive everything – but we shouldn’t be surprised she’s already mastered race cars, rockcrawlers, and Monster trucks! Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app. 5:36 – Snow? People live in snow, that must suck! 16:20 – Frank would just…it was really cure, he would stand up and be like...

Send us Fan Mail Meet Emme Hall, off-road racer, Miata lover, cat herder, and freelance journalist. A woman of many talents and a bright personality, you’ll enjoy this one! Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app. 6:30 – I was never the ingenue; I’m way too weird for that! 10:42 – because life is too short to drive something that isn’t fun              19:22 – I was in my late 30’s. That’s...

Send us Fan Mail Don Amador has been a land user for a lifetime, and a land use warrior for almost as long. Don was inducted into the Off Road Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2016. Don is why we say; legends live at ORMHOF.org.  Be sure to tune in on your favorite podcast app. 5:24 – the happiest day of my life being a Native Californian was moving back to Northern California 12:00 – I guess my activi...

Send us Fan Mail Buggy builder, Joe Thompson lays it all out in Episode 190; self-taught welder and bike enthusiast, Joe brings his varied background to the winningest drivers. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app. 4:08 – I would think to myself, there’s a bada**, I want to be like that! 13:19 – even when I was a BMX grom, I was glued to ESPN watching the Baja 1000 21:24 – “Are you any g...

Send us Fan Mail Ed Pearlman was ahead of his time, creating the first Mexican 1000 which later translated into NORRA; he founded the Off Road Motorsports Hall of Fame, as well. Today we remember him with a conversation with his son, Mike Pearlman. Ed is why we say; legends live at ORMHOF.org.  Be sure to tune in on your favorite podcast app. 3:10 – we never saw a Land Cruiser before, it was a rea...

Send us Fan Mail I don’t want to say Val Douglas is a catastrophe because wherever she is, there’s a whole lot of fun going on.  Listen in on some great stories from this off-road maven; and her connections to some of the biggest brands in off-road. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app. 7:17 – I would take my 88 t-bird and follow the guys, my dad loved me for that. 20:46 – I was shell-sh...

Send us Fan Mail Rebelle Rally 3x champion, Melissa Clark, shares her life in off-road from Pritchett Canyon to the Glamis Sand Dunes. A Ford-sponsored driver, Melissa brings Tread Lightly! policies to everyone she teaches. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app. 5:00 – I still consider myself an OR nurse 9:05 – …it got me close to Magic Moab              16:56 – my real gateway drug was d...

Send us Fan Mail Some men are always motivated, Clyde Bynum, the godfather of rock-bouncing shares his best advice on Episode 186. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app. 9:17 – the truth is, I enjoy work 13:45 – we focused on mini-trucks until about 10 years ago              17:59 – climbing hills is something I’ve done since the days of the three-wheeler  24:52 – if it went bad, you were...

Send us Fan Mail A champion of vocational education, Scott Taylor is a winning short course racer, race shop owner, and manufacturer of performance competition parts. Congratulations to Scott Taylor, a 2022 inductee into ORMHOF; Scott is why we say; legends live at ORMHOF.org.  Be sure to tune in on your favorite podcast app. 5:41 – I would take things apart I shouldn’t take apart 10:38 – I advoca...

Send us Fan Mail Some personalities just transcend the airways; Chris Bolger is one of those. Always a storyteller at heart. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app. 7:26 – when I say I was a nerd, I mean mathlete, academic decathlon, and all the nerd stuff you could possibly do 10:12 – I never really got into breaking stuff off-road until I got in the army              16:05 – legal drinki...

Send us Fan Mail We can’t always plan our lives, an accident near the start of his career put Evan Evans in a wheelchair. But that didn’t slow him down; Evan went on to win 57 times and six Championships! Congratulations to Evan Evans, a 2023 inductee into ORMHOF; Evan is why we say; legends live at ORMHOF.org.  Be sure to tune in on your favorite podcast app. 5:40 – when we stayed in Ensenada as...

Send us Fan Mail What do glitter and rockcrawling have in common? Only the lightning strikes of Erik “Camo” Linker – Camo is the co-founder of Pirate 4x4 and a good friend; we are thrilled to have him on the podcast (finally!)  Buckle up; you are in for an adventure. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app. 7:26 – growing up in the era was magical; I tease my mom that we raised ourselves 15...

Send us Fan Mail Warning:  For mature audiences only. To say Jody Everding has a storied past is an understatement.  Jody tells it like it was and it’s a great listen, be sure to tune in on your favorite podcast app. 5:26 – I played a little flag football with the after-school kids, but I was always the last kid picked 15:34 – being a punk, skinny little kid, they used to call me Wormy           ...

Send us Fan Mail Land use warrior Matt Westrich brings his Army experience to the battlefields of organizational combat. Matt has great experience and knowledge to share with all of us. It’s a great listen, be sure to tune in on your favorite podcast app. 4:44 – Al Bundy is modeled after me 8:30 – Utah, where the heck is Utah?               22:36 – I get into announcing because nobody else in the...

Send us Fan Mail Advocacy and education are what ORMHOF inductee Jim Bramham, brings to the table. Leading the fight for years in preserving public lands, Jim does the hard part, a walking encyclopedia of OHV knowledge and land use, we are pleased to introduce him to more than California. Congratulations to Jim Bramham, a 2018 inductee into ORMHOF; Jim is why we say; legends live at ORMHOF.org.  B...