Hello and welcome to good news York a very special
episode Matt's not with me. He is out He's trying
out all the porta potties in Syracuse to find
the best one and we'll get back to you on that
But it's me Mike Brindisi with you find me on
all socials at Mike B TV. This is a very special
episode I'm very excited. I would say that the
child in me is excited, but that's bullshit because
it's the adult in me is excited as well I grew
up with this. I went and took my son last year.
From Monster Jam, the one and only Bryce Kelly
is here, remote. Bryce, welcome to the show.
Hey, thanks, you. You got me on two things. Number
one, I didn't know that I'm second to port -a
-potty research with Matt. Listen. And second,
my last name is Kenny, Mike. That's what I said.
Not Kelly. But guess what? I have been called
a lot worse in my life, so I'll just forgive
you and Matt for both of those. No, I said Kenny.
Didn't I say Kenny? No, but it's fine. I promise
I forgive you. I'm pretty sure I did, but okay,
Bryce Kenny. Yeah, I promise I said Bryce Kenny.
All right, what do I what do I get if you said
Kelly? Cuz I know I wish I wish we had the tech
to roll back the tape real quick. I'm I am 90
% sure I said Kenny, but either way, I'm so excited.
You're here man. So much to talk about. You know,
I grew up we called it monster trucks back then.
I don't know. Is that still a thing? Is it is
it monster jam or did they get away from the
monster truck thing? Well, it's Monster Jam truck.
And it's for a reason because anyone can put
big tires on a truck somewhere and call it a
monster truck, but only a Monster Jam truck is
a 12 ,000 pound machine built in -house at Monster
Jam shop out of Florida. And we've got, I don't
know, maybe 60 of them in the fleet. And it's
the largest motorsports fleet in the world too.
So that's why you're right. You know, anyone
can use that term, but we call them Monster Jam
trucks. Yeah, because I noticed the name change.
I took my son, I think last year, and the sport
has evolved so much. You know, I remember being
a kid, and the first thing I think of when I
think of Monster Jam trucks is the line of cars,
and you ramp them and you try to jump the cars,
and if you're short, you smash them. But there
are so many different events that go on now.
It seems like the sport has evolved so much.
Do you? Want to speak on that a little bit? Tell
us kind of what's changed over the years. Well,
the, you're right. The evolution and the innovation
of the sport has kept pace as much as possible
with the actual innovation on the trucks themselves.
The fact that we jumped these trucks 50 feet
in the air and they come down and land and they
weigh 12 ,000 pounds. These are the tires weight
600 pounds. I mean, the fact that we're able
to land these out of the, out of that kind of
distance from the, and height is incredible.
Um, I heard a rumor at one point that the Air
Force contacted us because they could not figure
out how we weren't blowing apart the chassis
every time we landed because of what they go
through with landing planes on aircraft carriers.
Oh, right. So that tells you, I mean, the stuff
that we're pulling off, everything from back
flips to, like I said, huge air to just all these
crazy technical moves that we've come up with.
It's astounding to me and not just what we do,
but where we do it. I mean, this past week, we
were in Arlington, Texas, and at the same time,
we had an event going on in Australia and Mexico
City. And this is our off season. I mean, the
fact that what we're doing is so globalized is
incredible, and I'm just so pickled that I get
to be a part of it. Dude, that's, you know, listen,
you know you're doing something spectacular when
the Air Force is contacting you for advice. Speaking
of which, so it sounds like... You know, obviously
there's an athleticism to it. I know you played
soccer, Division 1 soccer at Campbell University.
I don't know if that translates to racing, but
I know the sport as a whole, there's athleticism
involved in, I'm sure, inside the cockpit and
everything else, but also it sounds like there's
a lot of science involved. Are there rehearsals
that go on during the week, or is it kind of,
how does that work? Man, it's totally unscripted.
and everything that we do, we don't really practice
during the week. We have a quick practice on
Friday, the day after we arrive. We usually get
in on Thursday. If we've got a Saturday event,
we get on on Thursday, we do media and a quick
race pass on Friday. But instead of practice,
we really kind of tend to call it a shakedown
pass because we probably had damage from the
weekend before the prior event that the guys
had to fix and make the truck get it back to
100%. And so Friday, we just want to do a quick
to make sure everything's working the right way.
And then Saturday, it's game on. It's totally
up to the driver and that team to come out and
put on the best performance as well. And so,
yeah, if we ever go and practice anywhere, we
do have a test field up in Illinois. I've been
one time in the last six or seven years. So that
means when I want to try something new, I usually
try it in front of 50 ,000 people. And you're
either... A hero or a zero. Yeah, man. Plenty
of hero moments and plenty of zero moments too
in my career. I'm so glad you said that because
that's part of the reason I asked because it's
almost like trying to think like like tattooing.
I always think of like, man, at some point, a
tattoo artist had to do this for the first time.
You know, there's always that first time or a
gymnast who does a triple flip you had. So a
lot of this stuff you're saying you're doing
there live. That is. insane to me. Do you find
yourself kind of coming up with different ideas
for new tricks you can do on the regular? No,
I'm bad about new tricks. I've realized that.
Know thyself. I think someone said that's important
to do. And so I'm not the creative guy. But one
thing that I pride myself in is I'm the one that
wants to roll the dice in the moment. my big
highlights have come from not trying to plan
something new because we've got some phenomenal
drivers. They live on simulators, I feel like,
too, at their house and they practice that way.
I guess I'm past the simulator age. I don't know.
But everything I do is like trying to just be
prepared in the moment to react to what the truck
does and what the track is giving me. And that's
where my best highlights of my career have come
from. And I always say You know, in Monster Jam,
sometimes you're lucky as a driver, sometimes
you're good, but the best Monster Jam moments
are when you're both. I love that. And I've had
plenty of those too. Yeah, I see, you know, with
NASCAR, IndyCar, I know you did drag racing for
a while. You know, they're going around to different
tracks and you guys are traveling to different
venues. But I feel like for the most part, it's
the same setup for the most part. Do you find
there's any sort of differences between venue
to venue that you make adjustments for, or is
it kind of like everything's the same? Well,
so the dirt is different in every city. And so
the one thing people don't think about is maybe
or maybe they assume is that we take the dirt
from one city to the next, but there's 300 truckloads
of dirt that are going to be right there in Syracuse
this weekend. And all of that dirt comes from
Syracuse, which also means that when we're not
in Syracuse and they dig all that dirt and bring
it out back out of the stadium, that dirt lives
in Syracuse all year long until Monster Jam comes
back. So I don't know how much dirt Monster Jam
owns across the globe, but I can assure you it's
a lot. But the dirt changes, right? So Syracuse
dirt, if I remember it right, it's pretty loose
in a good way. Then you go down to Georgia and
it's that Georgia clay, which actually is really
tacky. And so when you're trying to drift a 12
,000 pound truck around a corner, you got to
almost be a little bit careful so you don't hike
the truck up and roll it over accidentally. But
I remember Syracuse being kind of just a good
mix of both. It's not too loose where it's sandy,
but it's not too grippy to where it's tacky going
around corners. So I hope I'm right. If you see
me this weekend, roll over in the corner accidentally,
then you know I was wrong. Then I'm going to
blame the Syracuse dirt. You know, that's pretty
cool because I'm assuming the company pays for
the dirt. So you're actually injecting... money
into the local economy wherever you go, which
is, that's fantastic, man. That's a good way
to look at it. And think about all the dump trucks,
too. I mean, like I said, 300 truckloads of dirt.
So it's all those drivers, all the guys locally,
they help us out and pull it off. Now, how are
you transporting these trucks? Inside other trucks,
on flatbeds? I wish you guys just drove them
across. I think that would be the greatest thing
ever if you're just driving the tech deck, what
is it? deck, rep deck? Did I say that? You got
it, man. We'll talk about that in a second. If
I was on the thruway and I looked over and saw
it, I mean, that would be the way to go. But
how do you get these insane machines across country?
Yeah, each of those trucks, like I said before,
they weigh 600 pounds, but they're about 60 inches
tall. So they're about five and a half feet tall.
We have to take each of those off of our Monster
Jam trucks and we put kind of smaller loader
tires, we call them like tractor tires. It's
always funny to me, anytime I see a Monster Jam
truck on the smaller... travel tires is probably
the better word to use it. It looks like a muscly
guy that skipped leg day or something like that.
So what we shove them in the back of our race
rigs, and we usually get two trucks in each of
our trailers. And then the huge tires that I
just talked about, we put all eight of those
because we have two trucks per trailer in the
very front of that rig. So Monster Jam owns Usually
on tour, I think this weekend out of 12 trucks,
there's six Monster Jam trucks. The other six
trucks are independently owned. But that means
out of the six trucks, we usually have three
race rigs that take the trucks from one city
to the next. We usually have an additional parts
trailer. So there's usually about five or six
rigs just for our company trucks to get them
from one city to the next. That's amazing. And
I assume, I mean, these with what you guys do,
I mean, first of all, the size of the trucks,
the wear and tear you're putting them on at each
event, but it sounds like you don't really have
a home base because you're traveling so much.
Where do you guys work on these trucks and where
do you find the time for that? Man, it's incredible
what our technicians are able to pull off of.
Our shop is out of Sarasota, or I guess technically
Palmetto, Florida, so just south of Tampa. I
believe right now it was the second largest building
in the whole state of Florida. I think I heard
recently maybe it's third, but the point is it's
huge. Monster Jam is owned by a parent company
called Feld Entertainment, F -E -L -D. They own
the Ringling Brothers Circus, Disney on Ice.
I mean, they are the pro... They own super cross.
They are the pros when it comes to touring So
everything is housed and based out of Florida
and then goes out from there We do have a kind
of a second shop where a test facility is out
of Illinois But primarily everything's run out
of Florida and it is a huge operation. The stuff
that happens out of there is really incredible
what Feld Entertainment has done over, you know,
100 years, let alone just having Monster Jam
for the last 20 or 25 years. I mean, they've
taken it to a global scale that I don't think
any of us could have imagined. Man, Bryce Kenney,
Monster Jam truck driver. He drives the tech
deck, wreck deck. We're going to talk about that.
You started off, you played division one soccer.
That career cut short because of injury. And
then you got into drag racing, and then you made
your way into the Monster Jam truck. Can we just
talk about that? Tell us a little bit about the
drag racing, how that started, and then how you
got involved in the Monster Jam truck series.
And I'm always wondering is there, if you do
one, does it translate to the other? It's funny
because in professional drag racing, right? I
was driving a top -field dragster. So I was going
300 miles an hour in four seconds. If anyone
out there has seen those long skinny cars that
do that, that's what I was driving. But I grew
up kind of going to just a small local drag strip.
My grandfather owned it. So at eight years old,
I was driving a little junior dragster thinking
I was going a thousand miles an hour. And then
all week long, I'm weed eating the fence line
to like get ready for the upcoming race. So that's
how I... really grew up with that, that blood
flowing through my veins for motor sports. And
that was the goal was to do that professionally.
And before I got to, to, uh, to, to race our
top fuel car professionally, I was in college
playing soccer and got hurt at the end of my
sophomore season. And I kind of talked to my
team and my grandfather who owned the team. And
I said, well, why don't we give this a shot with
me driving it. It was the last big recession
2008, 2009. So it really became difficult. I
had three years of running that top fuel car.
I had seven streams of income trying to make
that dream happen. And I don't regret that effort.
All seven were legal, by the way. Good. I was
going to check that out. Yeah, you can fact check
me. I'm going to fact check that. But it was
fun just being able to pour your heart and soul
into a dream like that. But it didn't work. And
so I felt like I was a huge failure. And you'll
love the next step was after we sold off everything
in drag racing in 2010, I actually became an
executive recruiter. So I spent all day placing
CEOs and CFOs into private equity backed portfolio
companies. So I know that's exactly what you
were guessing. Something told me private equity
is where you were at. I knew it. But it was cool.
I loved it. I felt like I got an MBA while I
was working there. And about four years into
that, Monster Jam called me. And they said, hey,
look, you know, we've actually had your information
for four years. Timing is really good for us.
Would you want to go to Monster Jam University
and learn how to drive a Monster Jam truck? And
I went, well, first of all, there's no way that's
a real place. Monster Jam University. And then
my second question was, how much is this going
to cost me? because I had just come out of my
dream pursuing professional drag racing. And
I mean, it costs a lot to be able to do that.
And I failed. So I'm like, I don't know. My wife
and I just got married. We bought a house, started
a family. I mean, life was good. I was making
really good money doing private equity recruiting
and just enjoying it. And they said, well, no,
we've got everything that you need. And so my
response then was, so just a flight and a hotel?
In my mind, I'm going for a thousand bucks. I
might do something like this just for 10 years
to go by and be in a Buffalo Wild Wings somewhere
and get to nudge a buddy and go, dude, I drove
one of those Monster Jam trucks 10 years ago.
That's how far I thought it would go. And Monster
Jam said, no, we'll buy you a flight and a hotel.
Can you just be off work for a couple of days
in April to come up and test one of these? And
I went. Well, of course I can. Who would say
no to that opportunity? Right. So again, I didn't
expect it to become a career. I didn't expect
it to be something I would leave corporate America
to go and do, but that was 10 years ago. I've
been full time now, did decide to leave my corporate
job for Monster Jam, been doing this for 10 years.
And I think this is a good time for everybody
listening to go write a strongly worded email
to their high school guidance counselor. as I
did, who did not tell me that Monster Jam was
a viable career opportunity. You know what, man?
I love that because first of all, you're proving
a point that I always like to tell my own kids,
which is when you want something, go get it.
But when you kind of get it to a place in life
where you're in between and you're a little unsure
or maybe you're comfortable doing something,
it's not your passion, but hey, it's paying the
bills. That's usually when opportunities will
just come. When you least expect it and yeah,
that is a perfect example Speaking on that. This
is so interesting Because I'm one of my questions
was How does one get in to monster? You know,
this is a pretty exclusive niche thing I'm starting
to get the feeling that maybe do they do they
somewhat scout? In other racing leagues because
you were in drag racing. How do you get on their
radar? Man, that's a great question. And I think
everyone's path into Monster Jam as a driver
is very different. I like to joke that we're,
as drivers, we're the land of misfit toys. Like
we all kind of have different backgrounds. This
guy over here came from ATV. This girl over here,
she's gonna be in Syracuse. Her name's Kayla
Blood, driving Sparkle Smash. Hugely popular
truck. It's been insane what's going on with
that truck. It's a giant unicorn truck. It's
amazing. Oh, that's awesome. But her background
is in MMA. Right? So it's like, that's not motor
sports, but she has some ATV riding background
too. I'm coming out of drag racing. Another competitor
this weekend is still kind of pursuing NASCAR
stuff at while he's just absolutely crushed it.
No pun intended in monster jam, Camden Murphy.
He's going to be in classroom crusher. So, I
mean, there's just so many of us. But then you've
got Tyler Meninga, who's driving Gravedigger.
Yes. And Tyler came from, I mean, we'll call
it rock crawling, but I think he's got the most
relevant experience in his childhood for Monster
Jam trucks. Like that's the closest you're going
to get because you can't really drive Monster
Jam trucks when you're 10, obviously. So, I mean,
he does have the closest and most applicable
experience where I came from. you know, going
300 miles an hour on concrete, he actually has
an understanding of how these trucks can operate
and feel. And I think that's why he's one of
the best in the sport as well. So we all have
different backgrounds and I think we apply it
differently. You can see our backgrounds play
out as well, successfully and sometimes unsuccessfully
out there on that Monster Jam track. When we
hit a jump or do a backflip or keep pushing the
limits, we all kind of approach things a little
differently. See, I love this because I don't
know how old you are. I'm in my forties. So I
remember when MMA came out, it was, or UFC, I
think it was called Ultimate Fighting back then.
And one of the great things about it was you
would see, back then they would do a karate specialist
versus a wrestler, or a, you know, and then this
sport has kind of evolved to where everybody's
a hybrid of all sorts of different fighting styles.
And I feel like what you're saying is within
the drivers, the roster of drivers, Everybody
has kind of their own style and their own background
and and it's is that fair to say very much So,
I mean came to Murphy the NASCAR guy. I'll call
him He is so fast in racing. I mean, he was a
half a second faster than all of us last weekend
in Arlington at the Cowboys Stadium, even though
we're not going to let that happen this weekend.
We're going to kick Camden's butt, but he just
has that feel about him when he's racing. I'm
the big air guy. I don't know how that translates
to drag racing because if I was ever in the air
in drag racing, that was a really bad day. Yeah,
at work. But at Monster Jam, that's just another
day in the office now. But that's just kind of
what, and I think it comes from rolling the dice.
I'm comfortable at high speeds because I've been
300 miles an hour before. So I understand how
that works and feels. And I don't get intimidated
by having to hit these jumps. at 60 miles an
hour to get it 50 feet in the air either. So
I think that plays out. But yes, I mean, each
of our styles, our experiences, you can see how
we approach things a little bit differently.
And then you got Tyler Meninga, who is just a
wild man. I've called him the cheat code to monster
jam. If he was a, if it was a video game, he
would be the cheat code. I feel like, cause he's
so technical, but he just gets stuff out of the
truck. that could only come from being so comfortable
in it because he grew up around some of this
stuff. So yeah, you see the styles play out.
And that's a lot of fun for the fans because
it's not cookie cutter. Nothing's rehearsed.
Nothing is scripted. Monster Jam is as big as
it gets. And it starts right there with every
time a driver hits that throttle pedal a little
different way. You know, as you're explaining
all that, I'm sitting here thinking. you know,
what would be the most important skill to possess
as a monster jam driver? Because, you know, obviously
speed is, you know, speed's important for you
to get enough speed to make these jumps, but
it's not really a race at all times. Okay, maybe
you need to know how to get air, but I know that
there has to be something that's more, is it
more about control? What is the number one thing
when driving these things? What's the number
one skill to have? Well, I think that's a great
way to ask that question. I think one of the
things, it's not that you have to have an understanding
of physics, but the physics behind these trucks
are incredible. When we do a backflip and obviously
the truck is upside down, 20 feet off the ground,
you're wanting that truck to rotate a certain
way. And if you hit that container wrong, incorrectly,
too fast, too slow, if you're too much on the
throttle, if you hit the brakes too soon, Right?
You can under -rotate the truck. If you hit it
too fast and give it too much throttle, you can
over -rotate the truck. And I promise you, unless
you land on the tires, it can hurt. Yeah, sure.
If you land on anything else. So the physics
behind this stuff is incredible. But here's what
I've learned. To answer your question specifically,
I believe, and I'm trying to think about this
like if my son was saying, dad, teach me how
to drive this thing. And I'd say, okay, this
is what you got to do. You've got to learn how
to turn your mind off. And you have to trust
your muscle memory and almost your subconscious
to go out there and do what you're capable of
doing. To get to that point, it does require
a lot of seat time and experience, but at some
point in your career, you have to almost stop
thinking. I can tell when a driver's out there
in a two -minute freestyle and they're thinking
too much. You almost just have to flow with the
truck and let the run come to you. because we
do have different competitions. We do have our
racing competition. We're going to do all three
of these in Syracuse. Racing competition, we've
got our skills competition, which is a technical
move. We balance the truck on the front tires
and the fans, everybody in the stands, they judge
off of their phone, the one that they like the
most on a scale of one to 10. That's the winner.
And then freestyle is the two minutes where we
just get to go out there and create control chaos
as much as we can. That's where the back flips
happen. Usually a lot of the crashes happen there.
Not that we plan them, but... They happen and
but yeah, I mean for us to be able to shut our
minds off trust the equipment Trust ourselves
to be able to react in that moment You almost
have to turn that that your mind off a little
bit and just go out there and let muscle memory
take over I do think that's the number one Skill
that the greatest drivers in the sport are able
to do what a great answer Yeah, Bryce Kenny Monster
Jam coming this weekend to Syracuse this Saturday.
We're gonna talk about that On the trucks, I
have so many questions. I'm sorry. It's a fascinating
sport, man. You're asking great ones for the
record. Thanks, man. I don't think your co -host
would have asked this good. I agree. Especially
if he's prioritizing port -a -potties. Exactly.
So, you know, one thing I've noticed is that
the trucks change a lot. Um, there's some mainstays
like everybody knows Grave Digger and Bigfoot
since I was a kid in the eighties. Um, but you
do see different drivers and different trucks.
How often is the league rotating drivers and
or trucks? I would say it depends. So for instance,
you talk about a staple of the sport Grave Digger.
Tyler Meninga has been in Grave Digger, I want
to say eight years. I might be off on that. So
he has been in Grave Digger and only Grave Digger,
but he's one of the best in the sport. Um, Kayla
blood has been in a couple, several different
ones. Camden has, I have now, uh, I was in a
truck called Mohawk warrior for eight years.
And, uh, just this past season, our sponsor rolled
off of that. And, uh, I was in monster mutt for
just this past season, the 2025 season, because
we were trying to get to this point of coming
out with the tech deck wreck deck truck. Uh,
but I think that drivers, it all depends on what
the company as a whole is trying to accomplish.
and how drivers fit that IP. You know, we've
got Megalodon, that's a hugely popular truck
with the kids and with families and stuff like
that. And I've seen a lot of different drivers
go through that, but the staple is that Megalodon
is gonna be on that tour, except for, I guess,
this fall tour. We don't have one here, but they'll
have a Megalodon, I wanna say on... probably
every tour, uh, when we kick off the season again
in January. So they do, they roll off drivers
and different trucks, depending on the fit and
what they're trying to accomplish. We might have
some different sponsors that come in and get
involved. Uh, but you know, the ideal for any
driver is to stay with one IP and one brand ourselves.
That's kind of what we love to do, because then
you become known and associated with that. Just
like with Mohawk warrior, you know, I had a Mohawk
for the last nine or 10 years of my life. I've
been getting the flow hot going. I like it. It's
not flowing today. No, I like it. That's just
part of the identity and we want to kind of attach
that to so the fans associate us with that brand
as well. That's amazing. I always wondered. If
you can peel the curtain back a little bit, you
know, obviously it's pretty widely known in like
football, hockey, you know, the four major sports.
People talk about contracts and, you know, trades
and things of that nature. In your sport, are
you contracted to a certain truck? Do they give
you a certain amount of years in the league?
Because I feel like once they have you, why would
they want to let you go? How does that work?
How does the turnover work? I'll say Feld Entertainment
as a whole and Monster Jam. I think they hold
everything I think they hold their cards pretty
close to their chest, as I would if I was an
organization that large. And so every driver
has a different setup. They operate a lot more
like a corporation than they do a league, in
my opinion, and that's okay. I mean, when you've
got a family of a wife and three kids, I mean,
I love that I can kind of operate a little bit
from a corporate standpoint. But they also love
the opportunity to be able to change as the market
changes as well. So every driver operates a little
bit differently. Some drivers are on a full -time
deal. Some are just on a kind of a weekly pay
set up. And a lot of times it has to do with
yes, what's the company trying to accomplish?
And then other times it's what does that driver
want? You know, some drivers are just think of
it more as a part -time thing and not necessarily
a full -time setup and that's okay too. So yeah,
everyone's on different setups. That's awesome.
And you guys, who comes up with the names for
the trucks? Cause that's got to be, I want that
job. I want to be like bone crusher, metal eater,
you know, like who wants to do that? I want to
say I don't know if Bone Crusher is a truck,
but Metal Eater would be a good location. Metal
Eater, yeah. We're going to hire you. Let's go!
I don't know if you're for hire, but there you
go. But Feld Entertainment does. So Monster Jam,
of course, like we said earlier, owned by Feld
Entertainment. It's remarkable what they come
up with. Take, for instance, the Sparkle Smash
truck, this unicorn truck. It started off as
just a toy. So they have toys and names and brands
that are just, they just start off as toys. they
sold so many Sparkle Smash trucks. They all looked
at each other like, I think we got to make this
a real thing. That's amazing. And they did. And
they're celebrating. I should say we are celebrating,
but I'm like, it's a cool truck, but I'm not
celebrating it because I have to kick her butt
this weekend. But the company is celebrating
its one year birthday from realization kind of
turning into a real truck this fall. So here
in Syracuse, it is the Sparkle Smash Bash. It
is a Unicorn Monster Jam truck birthday party.
That's kind of how they have set this up, approaching
it this weekend. But it's because of how wildly
popular it's been globally, and it all started
with it becoming a toy. So Monster Jam, in my
opinion, I think that's why they're so much better
than any other motorsport. And I'll say that
confidently, because they understand not just
how to connect a fan with the experience, even
though I think they're the best in the world
doing that. They also understand how to connect
a personality both in the driver and the trucks
themselves with that fan. See, I love that. And
that's a remarkable connection. And then that
fan wants to go and buy the toy version of that
experience and of that truck and of that driver,
buy the toy off of a Walmart or a Target shelf.
I mean, it's just one of those life cycles that...
They have in my, they've not perfected it. Nobody
has a perfect business, but I'm very thankful
they operate the way they do because like I said,
it's a, it's on a global scale. They're a profitable
organization. And that means that they're going
to be here for years to come. That also means
I get to go out and run my tech deck, wreck deck
truck as hard as I can and get less pushback
when I have a little too much damage. That's
right. We pay for it. I'll tell you what I, uh,
Every question seems to come back to Feld Entertainment.
They sound like they're killing it. And what
a brilliant move. You sell it as a toy. It's
almost like a built -in focus group. You sell
it as a toy, and then the toy sells so well,
you go, well, guess we got to make it a truck.
I mean, I think that's just absolutely brilliant.
Bryce Kenny, this weekend, this Saturday, it
is Monster Truck Jam. Monster. Did I say that
right? Monster truck? Almost. Monster Jam truck.
But that's good. You are riding in the tech deck.
Wreck Deck. That is a mouthful. This is a brand
new truck. I know you drove the Mohawk Warrior.
I think you drove another truck after that. Monster
Mud, big dog truck. Yep. So you've got a brand
new truck. Tell us about this weekend. What can
we expect? Give us all the info. Well, it's going
to be a blast because Tech Deck, if you remember,
about 25 years ago, The finger skateboards were
really huge. I mean, they just popped. They came
out of nowhere. And really, the last several
years, they've had this massive resurgence in
the brand. Well, our largest partner, I want
to say, is a company called Spin Master. So they
own Paw Patrol. They own some really huge brands.
They also own Tech Deck. They make all of our
diecast trucks. They manufacture them and all
that stuff. So it's a great partnership. And
Spin Master came to Monster Jam and said, Hey,
we want to create a tech deck truck, but it has
to look like a skateboard. And so Monster Jam
worked on designing this. And they, they, I remember
having the first conversations with them, thinking
and saying to them, guys, how in the world is
that going to look cool? Well, they pulled it
off. It looks awesome. It's kind of an old school
style skateboard deck with the back lip only.
And man, it's just so cool because you're going
out there and you're doing these moves in a 12
,000 pound monster jam truck. It looks like a
skateboard. And now it's not a corkscrew or a
twist move. It's a kick flip. It's not a nose
wheelie. It's a nollie. And when I go out there
and pull that stuff off, it's no longer a nose
wheelie. It's a nollie. So we're kind of able
to have these two worlds of skateboarding. and
Monster Jam and this big extreme sports world
collide into this one truck. And the fans have
absolutely loved this truck and the skin underneath.
I mean, we've got so many ways to partner together
doing that, but it's exciting to get to Syracuse.
It's going to be only the third competition weekend.
that we've had with the tech deck rec deck truck.
And we want to make sure that we come out there
and earn everybody's respect. That's our tagline
and our theme song, by the way, it's respect
the deck. Yes. And I'm like, all right, well,
respect is earned. So we got to come out there
and earn it for everybody in Syracuse. But it's
going to be fun. We got a pit party. I believe
it starts at 1030. And we love that. I mean,
we just love the chance to meet everybody and
autograph stuff for fans and give people high
fives and let the fans see the trucks up close.
I believe the doors open at two o 'clock for
trackside and three o 'clock is when the actual
event starts. So it's a little bit earlier this
year on Saturday, starting at 3 p .m. But come
on, we've got DJ Molsky gonna be throwing a huge.
party going on throughout the whole event, but
specifically at halftime. Sparkle Smash is going
to come out there and smash something. The first
weekend, it was a motor home. Last weekend, it
was a little two seater airplane that she came
through and destroyed. I don't even know what
they've got planned for this weekend, but it's
going to be an exciting time and make sure you
get there because Tech Deck, Rec Deck. We're
coming for you, Syracuse. I love the fans of
Syracuse, and always got to hit some barbecue
while I'm in town, too. Man, we love you. I should
end it there, but this is too exciting. I got
a couple more questions. Actually, one I just
thought of. When the Sparkle unicorn truck, when
it smashes stuff, do you have it set so that
glitter bursts out everywhere? Man, I'm telling
you, you're about to be hired, okay? I'll let
him know. I'll let Matt know. So I think that
would be the the shit, you know if this thing
comes down glitter goes So instead of glitter
it is a confetti. Oh Yeah, there's a horn on
the truck and she hits a button and confetti
comes shooting out of a cannon inside that horn
So yes, you're all over it. You're all over it,
dude. You're all over it One thing that caught
my eye, I have to ask this before we go. I know
I want to be respectful of your time, but we
talked about how you get started in racing. Something
I read in your bio that was interesting is you
said if you were giving advice to people who
wanted to go down this path and possibly drive
in a Monster Jam truck, you said they should
possibly look for a degree in, was it business
management? Can you talk about that a little
bit? I thought that was really interesting. We've
got an amazing partnership with University of
Northwestern, Ohio, and they have a motorsports
marketing program, like a business degree in
motorsports. I think that's the best pathway
for anyone to go down that wants to get in motorsports
and specifically go to UNOH. It's an amazing
program. I might feel that way because I wrote
a book that got published, Geared for Life, that's
part of their curriculum. That was my next question.
If we go down that pathway, great. But if not,
that's okay. But University of Northwestern Ohio
does an amazing job at this. The business side
of motorsports is so difficult. That's why I
go back to, I think Monster Jam is kind of a
unicorn in and of itself, but it's specific.
It's not by chance. I mean, they are very strategic
and they understand how to make a profit in motorsports.
I don't see NASCAR doing that. I don't see F1
doing that, NHRA doing that. I don't see that.
I mean, they might have a resurgence. I mean,
the F1, you know, they had a great, that great
documentary series that came out on Netflix.
They needed that badly because they were losing
the fan experience. I feel like all other motorsports
are losing touch with the fan that's sitting
in the seats. But I think Monster Jam does such
a remarkable job at pulling that together while
still getting that return on investment for sponsors,
but then getting creative through things like
licensing deals and all the stuff that Monster
Jam is the best in the world at doing. And so
that's why I tell people, if you're gonna get
into motorsports, yes, you can and should learn
how to turn wrenches, fix trucks, fix cars, whatever,
and go fast. But if you can understand and wrap
your mind around, how to make a dollar in motorsports?
Because like I said, I had seven different jobs
trying to make my last dream work and I couldn't
make it work. So how do I create enough value
today in 2025? and to make it something that
attracts people, not just fans, but also sponsors.
That's why I think a business degree specifically
related to motorsports would be such a great
pathway for people. Such great advice. Bryce
Kenney, you're the man. Last question. You said
you do some keynote speaking. I didn't want to
leave the interview without talking about this
because I think this is fantastic. You're a keynote
speaker and you're also the author of a book.
Why don't we talk about that a little bit? Yeah.
It's why I never thought I would have written
a book by the way, let alone have anybody actually
pick it up and read it. So that was not a bucket
list item. Um, I did always love doing keynote
speaking though. Like that's just something I've
had fun doing. I think motor sports has such
a fun platform as well that creates that. And
so now it's, it's really cool. I get to travel
all over the, all over the country and a keynote
speak for some really large conferences, pretty
much everyone from about 500 people up to maybe
5 ,000 people. Um, so it's just really fun to
watch. that platform continue to grow. And then
the opportunity to hear people talk about geared
for life. You know, the whole idea of the book
is there's no formula to life. The people that
are most successful, in my opinion, the people
that make it are the ones who spend more time
outside of their comfort zones than everybody
else. I really think that's it. And so the way
to do that is I believe that there are gears
in life that we have to find. And it's about
finding a lot of times about finding just our
next gear. So it's about trying to say, look,
here's where I'm at. Maybe you've been stuck
for six or seven years. Maybe you've been a neutral
doing nothing, but maybe you've been trying to
make first gear work for too long. We got to
help you find second and then third and then
fourth. So it's one gear at a time. But the whole
idea is not to give you the answers to life.
It's to say, how can I just get outside of that
comfort zone longer than the one I'm the person
I'm competing with? And if you do that, you end
up making it. And everybody that I've watched
make it in life in their specific jobs or careers
or even as like a dad or a mom. They are the
ones that are somehow they spend the most time
outside their comfort zones. And that's what
I want to be. I want to live outside of my comfort
zones because that means I'm always pressing
forward and creating and doing. And that's something
I think that I can stand on. Man, Bryce, you
are inspiring, man, and much respect to you.
We're going to get to the plugs. But I do want,
what was the name of the book? Geared for Life.
Geared for Life, okay. One of the last things
I want to do before the plugs is, I know you
love nachos. Yes. Okay, so I, Danny or Amanda,
do you have any suggestions for nachos in Syracuse?
I don't live in Syracuse, I live close, I commute
every day. I could tell you Ithaca, but you're
not gonna be there. Off the top of your head,
do we have any suggestions for nachos? If not,
in the comments below, folks, give Bryce Kenney
your recommendations for the best nachos in Syracuse.
This man loves nachos, and that's... Oh, what
is it? Guadalajara, okay? Okay. Not the country,
right? The restaurant? Yeah. Okay, okay. Yeah,
we're not gonna send you there. Copper Top is
another one. Okay. They're different than normal
nachos. That's what I think he's looking for.
Yeah, he's different than most Drivers listen
it has been an absolute pleasure talking you
I could ask you a hundred more questions But
I wish you the best of luck Bryce Kenny He drives
the tech deck wreck deck at the JMA wireless
dome this Saturday for Monster Jam truck series,
or what's the actual name of the event so I plug
it properly? Just Monster Jam. At the JMA Wireless
Dome this Saturday, starts at 3 p .m. The VIP
meet -and -greet and all that stuff is in the
morning, so get your tickets for that. Any other
plugs, websites, social media handles? No, you
guys are great, man. I always try to hit dinosaur
barbecue when I come home town. Oh, hell yeah.
I always try to do that. So the nacho recommendations
are perfect. Appreciate that. I'll have to try.
I think you said Coppertown, right? Is that what
I heard? Coppertop. Coppertop. All right. They're
an Italian nacho. So that's something different.
All right. That's what I'm after. You got it?
You know what? You're going to be outside of
your comfort zone, Bryce. That's right. That's
what you want. And that's why I'm going to make
it. Dude, I'm a fan now for life. And I have
to work this weekend. We have an event. Otherwise,
I would be there. But I will be at the next one.
We are so thankful you came on. Bryce Kenny,
you can see him at the JMA Wireless Dome this
Saturday, 3 PM for Monster Jam. Bryce, thank
you so much for your time, man. And good luck.
Hey, I appreciate that. Thank you, guys. And
we'll catch you at the next one. And I hope the
Porta Potty surveillance went well. And I just
hope everyone in Syracuse comes out to Monster
Jam. We love the fans there. They always pack
it out, and they're loud. So we're going to come
out there. We're going to earn some respect in
the Tech Deck, Rec Deck truck. And we're going
to have a blast. But I appreciate you guys having
me on. Bryce, we love you, man. Thank you. And
with that, that is another episode of Good News
York. We will see you tomorrow. Actually, I think
we have another guest today. We've got Kam's
Pizza coming, so we have a double bill today.
So either we'll see you tomorrow or we'll be
back on Good News York, sponsored by ads on the
go, getadsonthego .com. Listen, I honestly just
had a blast, man.