The Oakley Podcast

This week on the Oakley Podcast, Jeremy Kellett sits down with producer Anna Belle Burrow and longtime Oakley team member Corey Huey to look back on how the show started, evolved, and grew into a 100,000-subscriber podcast. They walk through the early days of CDs, basic video shoots, and audio-only recordings launched during COVID as a way to communicate with owner-operators, and how partnering wi...

This week on the Oakley Podcast, Jeremy Kellett sits down with Bruce Oakley safety leaders Lee Huff and Phil Butler to explore the often unseen world of terminal safety and compliance. They discuss Lee and Phil’s backgrounds, their responsibilities across multiple terminals, and how they work with regulatory agencies like OSHA, the EPA, the Coast Guard, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Safe F...

This week on the Oakley Podcast, Jeremy Kellett sits with Michael and Leslie Hopper, a husband-and-wife team at Oakley Trucking, to share their late-career transition into trucking and eventual success as owner-operators. They walk through Michael’s move from multi-unit management and daycare operations and Leslie’s 31-year restaurant career into trucking in their late 40s, starting with carriers...

This week on the Oakley Podcast, Jeremy Kellett sits down with Owner-Operator Felipe Sanchez and his dispatcher, Sam Plafcan, to explore what makes a strong driver–dispatcher relationship at Oakley Trucking. Felipe shares his journey from growing up in Panama to moving to New York and Atlanta, working 15 years in warehouses, and finally becoming an owner-operator during the pandemic. Sam discusses...

This week, Veteran owner-operator Scott Erickson joins the Oakley Podcast to share his 44-year journey in trucking, from falling in love with big rigs as a kid to running his own authority, losing everything when a family member stole his wife’s lucrative business, and rebuilding life on a small Kansas farm. He talks about transitioning from reefer to Oakley’s hopper division, why bulk work, thoug...

This week on the Oakley Podcast , Jeremy Kellett sits down with Oakley owner-operator David Platter to talk about his 36-year trucking journey, from starting with a chauffeur’s license and running local loads in Colorado to becoming a successful owner-operator at Oakley. David shares how he and his wife manage the financial side of the business, including his “a third, a third, a third” rule for m...

This week on the Oakley Podcast , Jeremy Kellett talks with recruiter Dustin Eagle and new (and returning) owner-operators Brandon Childress and John Ostransky about Oakley Trucking’s recruiting and orientation process. They cover how referrals and recruiting cards bring in quality owner-operators, why it took John nearly two years to make the move, and why Brandon left Oakley, regretted it, and u...

This week on the Oakley Podcast , Jeremy Kellett talks sits down with Todd Venable, General Manager at MHC Kenworth in Little Rock, to break down the current truck market, from how COVID, fuel prices, interest rates, and freight rates have impacted new and used truck values to why now may be a better time to trade than a year ago. They cover the Kenworth order board and pent-up demand, owner-opera...

This week on the Oakley Podcast , Jeremy Kellett talks with Bryan “Bossman” Martin of 4 State Trucks and Chrome Shop Mafia to talk all things custom rigs, chrome, and the state of the trucking industry. Bryan shares highlights from their massive biennial truck show, including 600+ trucks, a packed convoy, and a popular “social media row” of trucking influencers. They dive into current customizatio...

This week on the Oakley Podcast , Jeremy Kellett takes the Oakley Podcast on the road to the Port 33 terminal in Catoosa, Oklahoma to introduce listeners to dispatchers Bennett Potter and Ray Steuber. They share their backgrounds from Bennett’s path through the Army and graphic design into trucking, to Ray’s move from Wisconsin and prior experience dispatching frack sand, as well as their personal...

This week on the Oakley Podcast , Jeremy Kellett takes the Oakley Podcast on the road to Oakley’s Port 33 terminal in Catoosa, Oklahoma, to introduce dispatcher team members Ethan Homberger and Jeremiah Sheneman. They share their backgrounds, Ethan from box trucks and a side hustle flipping jet skis, Jeremiah from hot shot trucking and a 40,000‑acre farm, and talk about transitioning into dispatch...

This week on the Oakley Podcast , Jeremy Kellett sits down with long-time Oakley owner-operator Tim Drake to talk about his life in trucking, from growing up in a trucking family and starting with a chauffeur’s license before CDLs, to running his own 379 Peterbilt with over 1.6 million miles. Tim shares how he transitioned from flatbed to Oakley, why he stuck with pneumatic tanks, and how careful...

This week on the Oakley Podcast , Jeremy Kellett takes the Oakley Podcast on the road to Oakley’s Port 33 terminal in Catoosa, Oklahoma, to spotlight terminal manager Justin Jolly and operations manager Kyle Haney. They share the origin story of the Oklahoma terminal, from working out of an RV on a dusty gravel lot to running about 150 trucks today, while explaining how the port’s barge, grain, fe...

This week on the Oakley Podcast , Jeremy Kellett sits down with Todd Amen, president of ATBS, to break down the 2026 trucking market, how recent tax law changes (including the Big, Beautiful Bill Act) impact owner operators, and what truck drivers should be doing right now in tax season. They cover extensions, quarterly estimated taxes, the power of the qualified business income deduction, and how...

This week on the Oakley Podcast , Jeremy Kellett sits down with Louis Ule, Vice President of Sales at TravelCenters of America (TA Petro), to discuss the history and growth of TA since its founding in 1972, its merger with Petro, and the expansion to around 370 locations, including many franchises. They dive into what TA is known for among professional drivers, including large parking lots, amenit...

This week on the Oakley Podcast , Jeremy Kellett sits down with David and Nathan Dunn and lead mechanic Travis Davis from Central Arkansas Truck & Trailer to talk about their partnership with Oakley, how new technology (including AI and the Full Bay customer portal) is changing truck repair, and the realities of running a small diesel shop in a dealership-driven world. They dig into common, preven...

This week on the Oakley Podcast , host Jeremy Kellett chats with Shannon Newton (Arkansas Trucking Association) and Mark Colson (Alabama Trucking Association) to unpack the federal and state crackdown on illegal CDL “mills,” non-domiciled CDLs, and English language proficiency enforcement. They explain how federal standards and state enforcement interact, why self-certified CDL training providers...

Key topics in today’s conversation include: Welcome to Today’s Episode with the Hogans (0:36) Jerald’s Oakley Story and 30 Years in Trucking (3:35) Jerald and Meka’s Long Relationship and Marriage Background (7:27) How Meka Got Talked into Driving and Her Early Trucking Struggles (10:52) Buying Meka’s Truck, Covid Pricing, and the Business Plan for the Family (14:53) Jermari’s Career Search, Weldi...

This week on the Oakley Podcast , host Jeremy Kellett chats with Oakley owner/operator John Burgess about his remarkable journey through trucking, health crises, and entrepreneurship. John talks about getting into trucking at 18, the ups and downs of being an owner-operator (including expensive breakdowns and a tornado-damaged home), and how a series of life-threatening health scares including blo...

This week on the Oakley Podcast , host Jeremy Kellett talks with Oakley Owner/Operator Bobby Prickett about his journey from small-town Arkansas to a successful career in trucking and owning his own truck. They cover his start in the industry, being in Canada on 9/11, why he left and later returned to Oakley, and what he enjoys about end dump work, fishing, and family life. Key takeaways include t...

This week on the Oakley Podcast , host Jeremy Kellett talks with Oakley Owner-Operator Craig Taylor about his journey from a long, successful career in wealth management to trucking and becoming a first-time owner-operator. Craig shares his past as a high-functioning alcoholic, a devastating 2019 single-vehicle accident that nearly killed him, the long recovery that followed, and the wake-up call...

This week on the Oakley Podcast , host Jeremy Kellett talks with Kirk Waidelich, Chief Commercial Officer at Road Ranger, about how the growing travel stop chain is evolving to better serve truck drivers and auto customers. Drawing on Kirk’s 40-year retail background, they discuss Road Ranger’s expansion, particularly in Texas, and the changes driven by driver feedback, including competitive fuel...

This week on the Oakley Podcast , host Jeremy Kellett welcomes Keith Wilson, Tasha Rinehart, and Joe Vulpone from Arrow Truck Sales to spotlight the successful partnership with Oakley and Arrow. The conversation delves into their 75-year history, the process of sourcing and inspecting quality used trucks, and Arrow’s customer-first approach. Key discussions include the impact of technology in truc...

This week on the Oakley Podcast , host Jeremy Kellett interviews Martin Garsee about the realities of truck driver training, the mission of the National Association of Publicly Funded Truck Driving Schools (NAPFTDS), and the evolving landscape of industry regulations. The discussion covers training program structures, student recruitment, job placement, lifestyle challenges for drivers, the import...

This week on the Oakley Podcast , host Jeremy Kellett interviews Major General Bob Walters, exploring his extraordinary career in the U.S. Army, the challenges of military leadership, and the profound impact on his family. Walters shares captivating stories from deployments around the globe, including operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the notable Abu Ghraib experience. The episode also touches...