With the days getting shorter and shorter it's really hard to accomplish everything that we need to accomplish. This month was an especially hectic month since I flew out to Tennessee just to shoot this SEMA issue cover truck a week before it was due. The only thing that even made this possible was a collective group effort from everyone involved. The reason why we've been able to really turn this magazine around and put out some of the best-looking issues to date has everything to do with the dedication and friendships that we've developed over the years.
It all started with Alan's commitment to us here at MT by letting us be the very first to aim a camera at his creation. This means a lot to us because when a high-caliber ride comes out everyone and their mom's magazine/website/video wants to shoot it. Unfortunately, not a lot of people out there are aware that in the world of first-rate print magazines we strive to give our readers the very best of what's out there, and we do everything we can to be the very first to shoot a truck so we can stay ahead of the game. Because mini-trucks are a smaller niche, we're very limited to what we can shoot, so we are constantly thinking of new ways to stay ahead. (Just check out next issue for our worldwide coverage!) And with such an oversaturated custom media market it's nearly impossible to keep track, so when someone dedicates themself to the only magazine fully dedicated to mini-trucks it means quite a bit to us knowing that they're truly die-hard mini-truckers. This is the group of people we write to each and every month, and we strive for the very best mini-truck coverage and can easily obtain this goal when our readers are as dedicated to us as we are to them.
After Farva's commitment it still took quite a bit more to pull off this month's issue in time. As you all are aware by now, I have the very best right-hand man to thank for his dedication to this magazine. Chad has consistently stayed ahead of the game by pulling many late nights right alongside me and whatever else it takes to put together the mag month after month. The only reason why we've been able to pull off such badass issues is because while I'm running around trying to do all sorts of crazy stuff that's never been done before (like fly to Japan), Chad takes care of business and backs me up 125%. This two-man team (with help from the rest of our talented staff, including Gabby Lee, our amazing art director) has really stepped up to the plate to knock issue after issue out of the park. And we haven't skipped a beat yet; we just keep pushing to put together the absolute best possible issue we can each and every month.
Last but not least, it took the commitment from a few more people to help pull off this month's issue. The Silver Star Customs crew not only did an amazing job building one of the sickest Blazers to ever grace these pages, but they also pulled through for our photo shoot by building us a last minute studio right in their shop! This enabled me to fly out on short notice and snap thousands of pics just for the 15 or so images we needed for this issue. Not only did they build a studio, but they also were on hand to tend to the truck and take apart the entire front end just for photo purposes; talk about dedication. Farva even got in on the action and cut off his core support for us. This leaves us with one more die-hard mini-trucker to thank: Nick Crouch. When I asked Nick if he could help out with the art for the cover and poster, he was down just like he always is. Then when I told him I'd need it in two days, he didn't even flinch and said, "No problem." Well, anyone that knows the amount of work it takes to pull off what Nick did in two days knows that he is just as much a part of this crazy magazine staff as the rest of us. So in closing, I want to thank each and every one of these people and everyone out there who shares friendships, commitment, and hard work to come together to achieve something great. This is truly what the spirit of Mini Truckin' is all about! Now go get your truck ready for the show...L888888888!