Connect with us

Lists

Who is Jessica Heath in ‘Street Outlaws’?

Published

on

Season 4 of “Street Outlaws: Fastest in America” introduced viewers to a new cast member, Jessica Heath, who quickly made a name for herself as a fierce competitor on the track. As part of the new Team Insane, Jessica brought her years of experience as a street racer and her competitive spirit to the show, quickly becoming a fan favorite. But there’s more to Jessica than just her skills behind the wheel. She’s also a seasoned bodybuilder, with a passion for fitness and a dedication to pushing herself to the limit. Her vibrant personality coupled with her racing skills have struck a real chord with the fans, who eagerly await to see her on the track again.

Jessica Heath early life and career

Jessica Heath was born in 1983, in Maysville, North Carolina, where she developed a passion for cars at a young age, often being found around her father’s garage, learning the ins and outs of car mechanics, and became fascinated with the world of racing. As she got older, Jessica began to participate in street racing competitions in her area, honing her skills and gaining a reputation as a very talented driver in the underground racing scene.

In addition, Jessica is an accomplished bodybuilder and fitness enthusiast. Growing up, she spent countless hours in the gym, sculpting her physique and honing her strength and endurance, which eventually led to her competing in bodybuilding competitions across the region. Today, she’s a fitness trainer and member of the International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation.

Advertisement

Her success in the world of racing led to her becoming a cast member in the fourth season of “Street Outlaws: Fastest in America”. She was introduced as a member of Team Insane, which also features Bratt Bergeron, the captain of the team, Falcon, Kaci, and Matthew Daesleer. Despite appearing on “Street Outlaws” for the first time, members of Team Insane are all highly skilled racers and car builders with years of experience under their belts.

Jessica Heath love life and family

Jessica Heath is married to Issa, who can also be seen on “Street Outlaws”. The two share a passion for fitness and a healthy lifestyle, and can frequently be seen at the gym in their social media posts. Their love and admiration for each other has become a talking point among fans, who appreciate their relationship both on and off the track.

Jessica also has three children from a supposed previous marriage. However, any information regarding that relationship remains unknown.

Street Outlaws

“Street Outlaws” is a famous reality TV series that airs on the Discovery Channel, following various teams of underground street racers who compete in high-speed, high-stakes races across the country. The drivers use a variety of modified cars and trucks, many of which have been souped-up with high-performance engines, nitrous oxide boosters, and other aftermarket parts to enhance acceleration and top speed. The show has become a fan favorite thanks to its intense racing action, colorful cast of characters, and behind-the-scenes look at the world of street racing.

Since its debut in 2013, “Street Outlaws” has spawned several spin-offs, such as “Street Outlaws: No Prep Kings,” which focuses on no-prep races, which take place on a racing surface that hasn’t been treated with traction compound, requiring drivers to use their skills and strategies to navigate the course safely and quickly. The stakes are high, with cash prizes and bragging rights on the line for the winners.

Advertisement

Another popular spin-off is “Street Outlaws: Memphis,” which centers around a group of Tennessee. Racers, who have a unique style and approach to racing, with a focus on big engines and high horsepower. The show has become known for its colorful cast of characters and intense racing action, drawing in fans from across the country.

However, probably the most popular spin-off from “Street Outlaws” is “Street Outlaws: Fastest in America,” which debuted in 2020. This series pits teams from some of the most iconic street racing cities in the country against each other, in a winner-take-all competition to determine which team has the fastest cars and the most skilled drivers. Teams must bring their best cars and drivers to the track, using all their skills and knowledge to outrun the competition, and claim the title of “Fastest in America.” This show often changes its location and cast members, with its newest Season Four taking place in Memphis, and featuring new teams, some of which are Team Insane, 252 Outlaws, and Trailer Park Mafia.

In addition to its various spin-offs, “Street Outlaws” has also spawned a number of controversies over the years, with some critics accusing the show of promoting illegal street racing, and unsafe driving practices. However, the show’s producers and cast members have consistently maintained that they prioritize safety and responsibility, and that the races depicted in the show are carefully planned and controlled to minimize risk.

Despite these controversies, “Street Outlaws” continues to be one of the most popular and exciting reality TV shows on the air, drawing in millions of viewers each season, and inspiring a new generation of street racers to pursue their passion for speed and adrenaline.

Advertisement

Jessica Heath made a strong first impression

From the first episode she was introduced in, Jessica Heath began to draw attention due to her athletic looks and tattoos. Aside from Jessica’s strong physique, she can also easily be recognized by her car, which is a blue Chevy pickup. However, this is no ordinary pickup truck, as it sports a massive hood intake and bold racing stripes, which hint at the powerful engine that lies below. Her license plate, “INKDJES”, references her nickname Inked Jess, which she got thanks to the many tattoos on her body.

Still, it’s not only her looks and car that make her stand out from the crowd, but her actions as well. In one of the first episodes which she appeared in, Jessica arm wrestled Kye Kelley for lane choice before the race. She ultimately lost the arm wrestle, and JJ Da Boss flipped a coin for lane choice instead, following which, she returned to her car feeling confident.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CkRKT62PEBf/

Conclusion

Jessica Heath has quickly stood out among the crowd of cast members on “Street Outlaws” thanks to her vibrant personality and unique lifestyle. As a new member of Team Insane, Jessica has already shown that she has the skills and drive to compete with the best racers on the show.

Her love and support for her husband Issa has become a source of inspiration for many viewers.

With her impressive physique and her commitment to achieving her goals, Jessica is a true role model for anyone looking to pursue their dreams. Ultimately it’s uncertain whether Jessica will return in future seasons of “Street Outlaws” However, it will surely be exciting to see what the future holds for this talented racer and bodybuilder, in “Street Outlaws” and beyond.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Lists

Who is the richest of “Diesel Brothers?” RANKED!

Published

on

“Diesel Brothers” became one of Discovery Channel’s most popular reality automotive television series because of its engaging content and the unique personalities of its main hosts, David “Heavy D” Sparks and David “Diesel Dave” Kiley. From its TV debut, the series featured spectacular truck builds, adrenaline-fueled activities, and truck giveaways, which entertained their fans for the past six years. The two friends were later joined by The Muscle, and Red Beard, in the show. Fans wondered how much of their TV success translated to their financial growth – despite the controversies that the show was embroiled in such as the payment of huge fines to a government agency, the majority of viewers believed that they continued to accumulate profits that doubled their wealth. The only question that remained was who among the cast became the richest after they struck gold with reality TV.

Background on how “Diesel Brothers” started

Just like most auto-related shows today, “Diesel Brothers” was created when a production company was looking for a relatively exceptional automotive customization business, along with distinctive characters that they could feature in a reality-TV series for Discovery Channel.

The video that started everything

DieselSellerz was a small repair and customization shop located in Woods Cross, Utah, owned and operated by long-time friends, David “Heavy D” Kiley and David “Diesel Dave” Sparks. In 2012, when Diesel Dave sent a video of himself driving in California and making goofy jokes to Heavy D which the latter found quite funny, and uploaded it onto his Facebook page. When he woke up the next day, he was quite stunned that the video already had more than 100,000 views. He said it didn’t make sense, since he didn’t have many friends, but found out that it went viral after being shared many times. Because a lot of people found it hilarious, he thought to make more so they could use it to market their truck dealership business and created a page called “Trucks for Sale.” It was a major hit, and helped establish their brand, DieselSellerz.

Advertisement

An appearance in Jay Leno led to Discovery Channel

After discovering the wonders of social media, the DieselSellerz crew created more videos with content mostly about pranking their friends, and some of which attracted over a million views, not only on Facebook but also on YouTube. They gained a cult following that their channel was noticed by a passionate gearhead, Jay Leno, and were invited to appear in an episode of the late-night “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” which opened doors for Heavy D and Diesel Dave. The day after their segment was aired, their phones never stopped ringing. Several production companies tried to have them over to film something, but they thought it was just a con. Six months after they kept blowing off offers, they received an official email from one of the executives of Discovery Channel. Everything seemed to be legitimate, and the cable channel sent a producer to film for three days for a pilot episode.

Premise and premiere of “Diesel Brothers”

Everything about the Utah customization shop and its fun-loving crew checked the boxes of what the Discovery Channel executives were looking for. After approving the pilot episode, Magilla Entertainment, one of the production arms of Discovery Channel, filmed them for a year to produce the first season of “Diesel Brothers.” On 4 January 2016, the TV series premiered on Discovery Channel, and it became a huge hit. Heavy D said it was just the right timing, since the popularity of “Duck Dynasty” and “Gas Monkey Garage” was starting to go down, and the cable channel was looking for a new one to fill the hole, and had hit the target.

The TV series featured both truck customization and outrageous stunts by the DieselSellerz team. In each episode, they showed how the team transformed a generic truck into a one-of-a-kind masterpiece by modifying the suspension, upgrading parts for power enhancement, and tweaking the design to give it more flair. In addition, the show featured off-road adventures and races, which put the vehicles to the ultimate test. Initially, it was about building awesome trucks as the producers wanted to focus on getting male viewers aged 18 to 45, but the friendship and hilarious banter among the crew provided content that was well received by everyone, so eventually, it became a family show.

Get to know David “Heavy D” Sparks

Heavy D was the one who started it all, and the main man in “Diesel Brothers.” He was the type who didn’t like being stopped anywhere or get distracted. He could, however, entertain people briefly, say hello, and do the photo thing, but then had to leave immediately to attend to whatever his goal was at that time. He didn’t do small talk and didn’t like being cornered, but during interviews or podcasts, Heavy D would do all the talking, while his best friend Diesel Dave would just listen.

Early life and family

Heavy D described himself as a regular guy who basically started with nothing. He grew up in a lower-middle-class household in Utah, the youngest kid of four. His father was a Green Beret and was part of the top 1% of the US military as far as fitness went; people often described him as a machine. However, when Heavy D was three weeks old, his father was diagnosed with a brain tumor the size of a tennis ball. At that time, his mother recorded his father saying goodbye to the children on a VHS tape. Everything changed when his father had a “priesthood” blessing in their Church, which meant someone laid a hand on his head and was given a blessing of good health and that he would see his children grow up. His mother felt that it was some sort of an insult and that they were being given false hope, since the doctors had already told them that he was a done deal – however, three weeks later, the tumor melted away.

Due to many unfortunate incidents, his father started late in life and was around 35 when he decided to go to college. When Heavy D was five years old, his father was still delivering pizzas and installing car radios to make ends meet. His mother was a homemaker, but wouldn’t hesitate to do her husband’s jobs when he literally didn’t feel well. Heavy D grew up watching his parents deal with all sorts of obstacles, but they never complained. It was amazing that Heavy D didn’t know that they were having a hard time, because he thought that whatever they had or lacked was just normal and that everyone was experiencing the same thing. There was even a time that their family lived in a VW Bus for about two months because they were homeless. He saw his father get knocked down repeatedly, but never lost hope and bounced back, but his father had a stroke when Heavy D was 15, and died six years later.

Advertisement

Education and previous job

By the time he was in middle school, Heavy D knew how to weld and work on engines by taking all available shop classes. He learned things a bit more easily than his classmates, and even before graduating, he was already interested in becoming an auto mechanic. While Heavy D’s family was into academics as his siblings earned their master’s degrees, he wasn’t into it. He only had one half of a semester under his belt, and when he was in the middle of writing an essay in college, he had a realization that academics weren’t for him even if he was quite good at writing. The great thing about his family was that they were supportive of what he wanted in life, though his path to success wasn’t as traditional compared to his siblings. After quitting college, Heavy D worked construction with his uncle for a while and learned the basics. However, when 2008 came and the economy went down, the construction business just fell apart.

Get to know David “Diesel Dave” Kiley

Heavy D described himself and Diesel Dave as Ying and Yang. Diesel Dave was the most carefree person in the world, easy to talk to, and most people could relate and gravitate to him. For instance, he would meet a stranger at an airport, sit down and converse with him. Later on, he would be part of the stranger’s family reunions. Diesel Dave once shared, ‘I bounced around all over the place as a kid, which might explain the reason for my nomadic existence.’

Early life, education, and family

Diesel Dave was born on 17 June 1984, in Lubbock, Texas, so six months older than Heavy D. At that time, his father, Mike Kiley, was a US Air Force pilot who was based at Reese Air Force Base, although in their family of nine, only he and his younger sister, Kerstin, were born there. By the time he was four years old, the family moved to Beale Air Force Base in California, but when he was starting to like it there, his parents bought a house in Sacramento, just before Operation Desert Storm happened. After the Gulf War, his father left the Air Force to work as a commercial pilot for Delta Airlines and they all moved to Utah. He grew up in a comfortable middle-class home.

He attended Davis High School, the biggest rival school of Layton High where Heavy D went to. While the two of them lived not far from each other, but weren’t friends until after they finished high school. Just like Heavy D, he was into automotive as he seriously attended most of his shop classes in school. As a hobby, he liked wakeboarding, dirt biking, and playing rugby, which led to him making many trips to the hospital. He said that if he didn’t go away on his mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, he might not have survived his teenage years.

Advertisement

Traveling and his friendship with Heavy D

Diesel Dave and Heavy D met at a Singles Ward, an event in their Church, and instead of meeting a future wife, they hit it off and became virtual brothers. The two friends also spent some time together doing missionary activity for their church in Bolivia and Brazil, as both of them spoke Portuguese. While they remained in constant communication, they pursued different career paths. Diesel Dave went on to become a security system salesman but he gained more friends than clients as he wasn’t great in sales. His goal at that time was just to earn enough money so he could travel. He had several nicknames depending on the kind of social circle he was in, until he became Diesel Dave and it stuck. He never really had a solid career direction when he was single.

The Origins of DieselSellerz

After Heavy D’s stint in his uncle’s construction company, he started a small business with an excavation tractor, doing all sorts of work just to keep financially afloat, along with his best friend Diesel Dave. The business failed after they damaged one piece of the heavy equipment that they had on loan – Diesel Dave then left to pursue other goals. Getting loans from banks was difficult due to the effects of the 2008 economic recession, so Heavy D needed to become resourceful and creative in gaining financial backing through weird money lending companies. He eventually had around six cars on lease, and then called Diesel Dave to partner with him. Things seemed to be improving until the time came when the cars weren’t being paid for except one. They went on to repossess the other cars, but finances were so bad that they didn’t have enough money to get the cars back. Diesel Dave went traveling again after the business failed.

After cleaning up the financial mess, Heavy D had enough money to start another business, a truck dealership he called DieselSellerz. Business was slowly doing well, and he again reached out to Diesel Dave to help him out. Actually, Diesel Dave said that he received a photo of the coolest tow truck Heavy D bought at an auction with a text message, ‘Just come and run this.’ At that time, he was about to go to Arkansas to sell mobile homes, but returned to Utah instead. Ultimately, they became successful through a series of wild events.

On a side note, it was interesting that 10 years later, the FBI was still tracking Heavy D, and asking about the loans that he made. Apparently, at that time, he hired a company to do it for him, which later turned out to be involved in illegal activities that he wasn’t aware of.

Who was the richest in Diesel Brothers?

Determining people’s net worth could be tricky as not all of the information about their assets and liabilities was shared with the public. While “Diesel Brothers” had listed other individuals as part of their crew, it was mainly owned and operated by Heavy D and Diesel Dave. The following are their financial standings:

Advertisement

David “Heavy D” Sparks’s net worth – $8 million

According to authoritative sources, in June 2023, Heavy D’s net worth is $8 million. The money that he acquired was deeply rooted in DieselSellerz, of which he was the founding partner and CEO. The truck dealership and customization shop continue to provide customized truck builds and merchandise including apparel, accessories, and other licensed products to a certain niche market from when it was established. The TV appearance fees from Discovery Channel also contributed to it, along with endorsements, sponsorships and events that they were invited to participate in. One of the most telling signs that Heavy D made it to the top was the fact that he owned helicopters including a Black Hawk, which he bought in 2022 at a military auction. He was never complacent, even after achieving so much in life. He kept moving up with his new concepts and business investments.

David “Diesel Dave” Kiley’s net worth – $4 million

Based on what Heavy D said during interviews and podcasts, he and “soulmate” Diesel Dave may not be brothers by blood but they have been more than that to each other since the time they met. There was an era in their lives when they even lived and shared everything together. When DieselSellerz, which he co-founded, became successful along with the popularity of “Diesel Brothers,” Diesel Dave’s net worth grew to $4 million. Their brand expanded, after their reality TV series including merchandise, licensing, trade show, and TV show guest appearance fees grew significantly, the revenue stream has kept flowing to this day.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CtIw50AO8jS/?hl=en

In assessing the exact personal net worth of any individual, it’s important to note that financial circumstances can change over time. It’s highly advisable to take into consideration various factors such as new business ventures, investments, and market fluctuations. When Heavy D announced in Roman Atwood’s podcast in October 2022 that the eighth season would be the last of “Diesel Brothers,” people wondered if that would have any effect on their finances. Their fans need not fret, as their official social media pages continued to increase. There’s continuous growth in their YouTube channel, which has generated over three million subscribers, and close to half a billion views. Needless to say, they are still winning the reality series game, even when they are no longer on TV.

Continue Reading

Lists

Waited 10 Days for Help! How Sue Aikens Survived a Bear Attack

Published

on

Sue Aikens captured the hearts of viewers of “Life Below Zero”, as she chose to live on her own terms in the Alaskan wilderness. Alone, she manages the Kavik River Camp located over 300kms north of the Arctic Circle. Having bears as neighbors, it was said that an encounter with one was inevitable. True enough, she had a harrowing experience with one that left her seriously injured. Many were intrigued that she survived to tell the tale.

Meet Sue Aikens

Sue Aikens was born in 1963, in Mount Prospect, Chicago, Illinois. She was 12 when her mom left her dad and took her to a small town north of Fairbanks, Alaska, only to abandon her afterwards. Instead of dwelling on why her mother did that, she chose to accept the reality of her situation, and figured out how to live on her own. Fortunately for her, an old resident took pity on her, and gave her a rifle and bullets after telling her that she had to learn how to hunt to survive. She matriculated from high school, having learned how to fly a plane at 13, later saying that back then in Alaska, one could do that at such a young age. Over the years, she acquired skills and wisdom in overcoming adversities that fate threw her way. She had two children with her husband of 17 years; the couple remained friends after going their separate ways. In an interview in 2019, she said that her mother is still alive and in her 80s, while her children are in their 30s, with kids of their own.

Her Kavik River Camp

Sue craved isolation; she might love interacting with people and hearing their stories, but only for a limited time. She was averse to living in the city, and the games that people play in society, and so had a passion for the Arctic and the wilderness, founding the Kavik River Camp to be an ideal place for her. It was over 800km away from the nearest city, Fairbanks, and around 130km West from a road. Her address was a GPS coordinate: 146.54 West by 69.4 North.

The former owners were her friends, and they wanted someone to watch and manage the camp. At that time, she ran a trapline along the Jim River, and so they asked her if she could do it. She said that as long as she could bring her dogs and stay there year-round, she was willing to go there. The site was an old oil exploration camp, and was in a dismal state when she arrived. She had second thoughts about living there, but took on the challenge of putting it to rights.

Advertisement

Before long, she was the one leasing the camp; she was in her 30s then, and transformed the site into some sort of bed & breakfast for scientific researchers, photographers, hunters and eco-tourists, and provided them with logistical support from June to September. It also served as a refilling and search and rescue station. The Kavik River Camp had a 1.25-mile-long airstrip, fuel shed, trailers and outhouses. There was an internet connection so she could conduct her business, and contact her loved ones.

Alone for most of the year, she didn’t feel lonely as she said that she liked herself and found herself hilarious. She didn’t reveal how much money she was making, but did say that while it certainly wouldn’t make her a millionaire, it was allowing her to live the life that she wanted.

Her home away from home

The camp was 19km from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s eastern border. Sue might own the business and the structures at the camp, but she didn’t own the land. She said that her lease had been taken away by the state and was to be auctioned off, so she was only given a temporary permit. Competing with big corporations in a bidding war, it was likely that she would lose. In preparation for that, she bought a property that had two cabins, one old and one new, in Chena Hot Springs, Alaska. It was closer to town than she would have wanted, but it didn’t mean that she wouldn’t be happy living there. Through the years, she worked hard to make it her own, and stays there from time to time, but Kavik is still her home.

Background on “Life Below Zero”

National Geographic first aired the reality television series, “Life Below Zero,” in 2013, which documented the day-to-day struggles and triumphs of individuals living in the remote Alaskan Wilderness. While beautiful, the nature of the landscapes of Alaska was also unforgiving and could be deadly. Each day was a matter of survival, and only a determined few thrived there.

Sue Aikens in “Life Below Zero”

Prior to starring in the hit National Geographic series, Sue Aikens appeared on TV shows although not as a cast member or a guest. She had been in an episode of “Sarah Palin’s Alaska” in 2010, because Kavik River Camp served as the base camp for a hunting party in the show. The following year, she was in a few episodes of Discovery Channel’s “Flying Wild Alaska” when her airstrip was used by a pilot looking for a landing strip in the area. One of the executive producers, Tommy Baynard, became Sue’s friend. He was intrigued by her unusual lifestyle, so when the show was being conceptualized, he asked her if she would consider being part of it. She valued her privacy, but agreed to do the show because the producers were respectful of her, and didn’t try to change her – what made Sue ‘perfect’ for a reality show was her personality. Joe Litzinger, one of the show’s executive producers, said that Sue was quite vocal about her feelings and inner conflicts.

Right from the beginning, viewers realized the level of isolation and risks involved in Sue’s job. For the first episode, she was in Fairbanks preparing for her return to the Kavik River Camp. It had been several months since she had last seen the place, as she was recovering from surgery to repair her broken bone after she had a bad fall in 2011. It was 40 degrees below zero when the plane landed at the airstrip. She armed herself with a rifle as she walked towards her home and inspected the whole place. She also had a shovel with her to clear the way of snow. As the camp was left unattended for quite some time, she discovered that most of her fuel supply was stolen, so had barrels of fuel delivered as soon as possible.

Living at Kavik, one had to have the means to keep warm and to prepare for the worst in case of a storm. She used ropes as a way to get from one place to another when there was zero visibility. One time, the weather was so bad that the plane couldn’t get close, and dropped off 900lbs of supplies and gear by the perimeter. Sue had to move all that through the frozen ground with a pack of wolves hovering nearby. She divided the load into 20-pound packs that she could throw as far as she could, and then did it again and again until she reached the camp.

No matter the struggles, this was the life that she chose, as she said, ‘I love the life that I lead. There’s some twisted part of me that thinks that this is pretty freaking cool.’

Advertisement

Living in bear territory

Kavik River Camp was right in the middle of grizzly bear territory, so there was a constant threat of an attack by these lethal creatures especially when provoked. Back in 2014, she said that at least 80 bears lived within 10 miles of the camp, that were being monitored. Part of her routine each day was to check for animal tracks in the surrounding area. She would also go up on the roof of a trailer, and with a pair of binoculars, would scan the horizon to see if there was any bear or wolverine near her camp; if so, Sue would fire some rounds to scare them away.

Encounters with the Grizzlies

The first time she landed on Kavik, a bear came out of the fog at the runway and swung at her, but she somehow got to safety. Bears had an incredible sense of smell, and so she was careful with how she stored her food and burned the garbage. However, there must have been a lingering smell that attracted bears to come to her place. One time, as she was sleeping in her quarters, a bear crashed through the wall of her tent. She moved quickly to put some distance between them, and grabbed her rifle. She shot it, causing it to run away; come morning, she found its ear. Since then, Sue made sure that her handgun was within reach of her bed and she had baseball bats stashed in several places. It didn’t mean that she lived in fear of them, but she respected their ability to sneak up on her.

2007 Bear Attack – How did she survive?

She might have escaped her few encounters with bears, but there was one time that she was left at the mercy of one. In 2007, she noticed a juvenile male bear that continually buried its kills on her helipad every night. She called it an ‘alpha push’, as the bear tried to mark her place as its territory. Naturally, she dug up the caribou carcasses by morning and burned them, but believed that’s what enraged the bear.

One day, she went to the river to get water before it totally froze over. She had to use a water pump, and as she needed two hands for this task, she put down her rifle – some might say that she had gotten careless or wasn’t paying attention that time. She said that she did check her surrounding but the bear must have been hiding near the river bank where she couldn’t see it. Before she knew it, the bear attacked her and dragged her into the tundra somewhere between the river and the dining hall. She felt the bear’s teeth penetrate her skull as its jaws were locked onto her head and throat. As she was being mauled and thrown around, she played dead in the hope that the bear would soon leave her alone and that she didn’t bleed out; she wouldn’t have stood a chance had it been an adult grizzly or a black bear, and if that were the case, one shouldn’t play dead but fight back with everything that one had.

Advertisement

The bear bluff charged her many times before retreating and going back to the river bank. She escaped its clutches, but knew that she was just given a reprieve, and that she had to make her way to the safety of the dining hall. One could only imagine how she got there considering she was in pretty bad shape, with her head torn and her hips out of their sockets. The first thing she did was to clean her wounds to prevent them from becoming infected, and then stitched them up. She called for help from the troopers, but all she got was their answering machine; she tried other people, but wasn’t able to contact them either.

Sue knew she had to deal with the juvenile bear herself, because unless she left the area, it would come back to assert its claim to the territory. She cinched a gun belt tight to support her hips and grabbed another rifle. From past experience, she knew where the bear was headed, so went there and shot it. Her hips gave out on the way back to the dining hall, so she slowly dragged herself to get inside.

For some reason, it took 10 days before anyone showed up. The whole time she was just lying there, waiting. It was terrifying at night when she could hear the sounds of a bear feasting on another animal, and knowing it was only a tent that separated her from that; she was thinking that a bear could barge in at any moment and have her for its next meal. She said that as she was giving off an odor from being unable to get to a restroom as well as whimpering in pain, she was sure that a bear was aware that she was right there. Help finally came as a pilot friend found her and took her to Fairbanks to receive treatment. She had hip surgery and made a full recovery.

Many compared her experience with that of Leonardo DiCaprio’s character, a frontiersman, in the 2015 action-drama movie “The Revenant” in which he survived being mauled by a bear and left for dead. Sue’s friends had seen it, and told her not to look at that brutal bear attack scene. She said that she didn’t want to watch it as she was someone who would want to move on.

Advertisement

Facing her fears

What Sue experienced was quite traumatic, and many wondered how she coped with that, considering she continued to live with bears as her neighbors, but her fervor for living in the wilderness hadn’t diminished; she wasn’t someone who would hunt or kill just because she was afraid. That said, there were things she had to do to protect herself from animals encroaching on her territory. When a bear got too close to her camp, she had to take care of it before it became a serious threat.

Actively pursuing a bear was a big deal for her; it would only take a few seconds for a predator to become prey, so she had to act fast, especially if one spotted her while she was hunting it. A grizzly could run as fast as 56km/hour according to the National Wildlife Federation, so outrunning one was quite impossible. The first shot was going to make a bear mad so she had to make it count. She hit it twice and was quite shaken afterward. She approached the bear slowly and poked it with the end of her rifle in case it was still alive and only injured. The bear wouldn’t go to waste as she’d use the fur for warmth, and meat for food.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CcnilegLcjv/

Sue was proud of overcoming her fears, especially as the bear was moving closer to where she was. She said she did this to protect the camp and herself; she wanted her grandkids to still be able to come and visit her. This face-off with a grizzly was just one ‘skirmish’ in what she said was the battle on the Arctic.

In living in a remote place with below-zero temperatures and wild animals abound, Sue said she had to be comfortable with her own death; she’s not seeking it, but isn’t afraid to face it either – everyone has an expiration date, but just doesn’t know when or how it is going to happen. Also, it might take some time before help could arrive, especially during winter. As to whether she planned to stay there forever or retire somewhere else, she said that in having a raven personality, there might come a time when she would be unable to resist something ‘shiny’ on the horizon, and check it out. Until then, she was happy with her life.

Continue Reading

Lists

The Rise of Justin Swanstrom: From Drag Racing to Street Outlaws

Published

on

Justin “Li’l Country” Swanstrom was a rising star in the drag racing community, but his switch to “Street Outlaws” gave him global recognition considering how big the television franchise had become over the years. He developed a cult following due to his colorful and interesting character, not to mention his exceptional skills at the tracks. Many wondered how a full-time drag racer got into the Pilgrim Studios-produced reality show that delved into the world of possibly illegal street racing.

Get to know Justin Swanstrom

Justin Swanstrom was born and raised in the small town of Zephyrhills in Florida. His nickname was “Li’l Country” as his father, Corey Swanstrom, was “Big Country.” His family has several businesses including S&S Vac-Video since 2014, which provides CCTV Sanitary with depth measure, CCTV Lateral services, and CCTV Storm lines for joint measure & cracks. To put it simply, they have huge trucks equipped to operate as a vacuum cleaner but on steroids, and then they looked through all those pipes to check for damage or problems. Justin once said that work came first before racing, and when he later left the company to focus on racing, he did say that he would go back whenever his dad needed a hand.

He has been around drag racing his whole life, because of his dad. Corey loved muscle cars, and he used to street race with his gold Chevy before he got into drag racing – Justin often accompanied his father, and helped out at the race track. The first time he got into a race car was when he was 14; his dad bought a small-tire, single-turbo car and he messed around with it for about six or seven months before telling his dad that he wanted to race. Since he was quite young, they didn’t want him to go fast, so bought a naturally aspirated 520 big block Ford Mustang in California, and forged his birth certificate to get his National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) license so he could run at the tracks. Justin did a couple of burnouts, made his first pass on the track, and went 5.87 seconds – everything went well.

For Justin, racing was like a drug, but just to make it clear, he said that he didn’t do drugs and only drank every now and then. Unlike other race car drivers, however, he never formed any attachment to the cars that he drove during races. Over the years, he had a lot of cars that he sold and was okay with that. Justin usually keeps cars for radial vs world, grudge, and no prep racing.

Advertisement

He was a self-taught mechanic. When he was just starting out in racing, he didn’t know anything about a car, such as how to fix it and make it work. He wasn’t that interested, so he didn’t take the time to learn all that, but eventually realized the value of such knowledge. Justin wasn’t even in his 20s when he could do mostly everything on his car, such as taking apart the motor and putting it back together, or changing converters and transmissions.

Who does Justin look up to the most?

Justin respected and admired his dad, who taught him to give 110% in everything he did. It was instilled in him that if he couldn’t give his best, then he shouldn’t do it all. He also idolized Stevie “Fast” Jackson because of how competitive he was. He knew he may never be on Stevie’s level, running in NHRA, but Justin would always put himself in this guy’s shoes when he was at the track and it seemed that nothing was going right, asking himself, ‘What would Stevie do?’

His journey in drag racing

Justin started with junior dragsters, but outclassed the other competitors when he reached a speed of 88mph at age 12. He moved on to grudge racing, which was a type of drag racing in which two drivers would go head to head in a race without any predetermined rules. He did that until the end of 2018, because he was unable to get into other races. Justin figured that if he wanted to continue with this expensive hobby, he had better acquire sponsorship to afford it, and the best way to do that was to join the radial versus the world (RVW) class. This is a highly competitive class in drag racing in which vehicles have radial tires providing better grip on the road instead of slick tires. He did pick up a lot of sponsors that were of tremendous help to him, soon getting them on board with his grudge racing as well.

Truth be told, he preferred grudge over class racing because there was a lot of trash-talking and hustling involved in it, and he enjoyed all that. His main reason, however, was that he liked gambling. He felt that once he was off the line on a drag strip, he had a 50/50 chance of winning that race – those odds were a lot better than going to a casino. He went to a casino once and lost $800 in 20 minutes, vowing never to go back, but he would continue gambling at the racetrack.

Advertisement

At the age of 17, he was already a force to reckon with at the X275 doorslammer-class in 2013. He set the record for the best elapsed time at 4.86 seconds on the eighth-mile track and won Wild Tomato Nationals at Immokalee Regional Raceway, then scored a back-to-back win at the US Street Nationals held at Bradenton Motorsports Park. He might have lost in the Heads Up Madness event at the Florida drag strip, but set a record with his elapsed time of 4.710 seconds at 149.52 mph during the second round of eliminations.

His experience at the tracks wasn’t all good. There was a time when he had to overcome his fear of racing following a mishap at the Lakeland drag strip. He made the rookie mistake of watching his opponent instead of his lane, so didn’t notice that he was close to the wall – the car shifted into high gear and spun around before hitting the wall. He said that the accident was not that bad, but it was something he had never experienced before, and it shook him. His father fixed the car, and they took it back to the drag strip where it happened because his father wanted Justin to conquer his issues over it, and he did.

Background on “Street Outlaws”

The nature of street racing might be illegal, but it gave people an added thrill, so the fascination for it was never-ending. “Street Outlaws” made its TV debut on Discovery Channel in 2013, and its ratings soon rose to the top, and resulted in the launching of several spin-off series such as “Street Outlaws: No Prep Kings” (NPK) in which Justin Swanstrom would be heavily involved.

An NPK race simulates the condition of a street, which meant that the track isn’t prepared ahead of time. It would factor in on the outcome of a race, because the driver would be dealing with a lot of unknowns and would try to compensate for them. Viewers found this to be much more exciting than most forms of drag racing, in which the track was prepped. Many believe that NPK has since become the biggest platform in drag racing.

How did Justin Swanstrom become part of “Street Outlaws”

In a 2019 Dragzine interview with Wes Buck, Justin described himself as a full-time drag racer. He admitted to not having street raced before, and shared how he got into “Street Outlaws.” The previous year he chanced upon a video of an NPK race at  Bristol, in which the drivers ran for $200,000, and found himself interested in it. Justin wasn’t familiar with NPK, but the race that he watched turned everything around for him on the path he wanted to take, as far as his racing career was concerned. However, he had to talk his dad into it, because having a radial background, the latter didn’t want anything to do with big tires and wheelie bars. Justin did a lot of begging to get everything going, because he felt that it would be huge, so wanted to give it a shot.

Several months later, he finally convinced his father, and they got started on putting together a car, a 2012 Chevrolet Camaro Fifth Generation, for the 2019 NPK race. He was somewhat familiar with Daddy Dave and Kye Kelley from the show, because the two ran some radials as well, and he talked them into putting in some good words for him. They were instrumental in getting him there – not that everything was handed out to him; he worked hard for it and his crew put in the time on what was needed for him to qualify. He participated in the Future Street Outlaws Class, in which big tires battled it out for a chance to take part in the main NPK event.

Justin said that he wasn’t better than the rest of the drivers, but he was brought in to be part of the hit series, mainly because he and his crew were great for TV. They had lots of ‘exciting’ moments befitting a reality show.

Advertisement

Justin was introduced to NPK fans

“NPK” was in its third season when Justin made his first appearance, participating in several grudge matches. He won against NPK veteran Kye Kelley twice at the Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ohio, and took home $10,000. However, he lost to Lizzy Musi at the New England Dragway in Epping, New Hampshire, but then beat Larry Larson at the race track in Morrison, Colorado, and this should have been his ticket to the main event with $40,000 as the prize money. Unfortunately, his car had issues that his team was unable to fix in time. He was quite frustrated by this development, as he wanted to make a name for himself along with his team, the Swan Gang, and show everybody what he could do.

Crashed his $200,000 No Prep car in 2019

His foray into the NPK world was a tough one. Justin said, ‘I don’t know if it was paint color, motor combination, we just could not make it work. It was probably the worst luck I’ve ever had in racing.’ Everything culminated in a crash, but he said that it helped build his story for the show. He was up against Bobby Ducote from team New Orleans in a grudge race that took place in Norwalk, Ohio. After crossing the finish line, he was headed towards the center line and pulled a hard right, smashing onto the guard rail with such force that the impact propelled him toward the other lane and caused him to hit the concrete barrier there as well. The car went back to his lane before finally stopping. He was knocked out and only came to when the paramedics were there, telling them that he couldn’t feel his shoulder. Justin was banged up so badly that he was lifted onto a stretcher and taken to hospital.

His first full season in the NPK series

Despite the major setback that cut his racing season short, it didn’t deter Justin from coming back to the tracks for season four of the series. Fortunately, he accomplished the goals he set for himself with his ProCharger-boosted Lexus, which he referred to as “Prenup.” He won a couple of races on the 15-race tour and got enough points to finish third behind Kye Kelley and Ryan Martin. All in all, he considered it as a good season; it certainly put him on people’s radar as a serious contender for the top spot.

Maple Grove crash in season five

During the “Great 8” event for NPK at the Maple Grove Raceway in Pennsylvania, Justin competed against Dave Adkins. As they neared the finish line, Justin’s car caught fire and then his quarter panel on the passenger side was hit by Dave when the latter lost control of his car, and the two got tangled up with the parachute deployed. With the car still on fire, he got out and tumbled over the concrete wall. It was said that an intake manifold blew and caused a fire to ignite under the hood. After the fire was extinguished, there seemed to be a heated argument going on at the track, which led to various speculations.

Advertisement

Later on, Justin clarified things via his Facebook page. First, he shared that his face got hot, but other than that, he was fine. Next, his dad got ‘excited’ when a cop grabbed Justin for some reason, but it didn’t escalate. Lastly, Justin didn’t body slam a cop, but he did get angry at someone from the track who made a comment about getting tired of fixing the walls. His father addressed some issues as well through his social media account, admitting that the fire was their fault, as they’d overlooked something in the pits. The important thing was that his son and Dave walked away from the crash. He apologized to his wife, Melissa, for putting up with all the craziness of what they loved to do, but saying that racing had been his ‘crutch’, and that he let their son enjoy it as well.

Is he getting paid to race in the show?

Many were curious to know if Justin got paid to race in NPK events; he could only speak for himself, because he didn’t know what the arrangements were between the other cast members and the producers. In 2019, he said that he didn’t get paid to show up at the race – since he enjoyed racing, he just went there on his own. It cost him $3,000-$5,000 to run a race each weekend, saying that he spent around $800 every time he fired up his car. Whenever there was an opportunity for him to participate in a grudge race or shootout, he went for it, and tried to break even or get a little money before going back home.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CtE8ACAO08T/

Justin as an influencer

He put up his own YouTube Channel in May 2019, all about racing, with some comedy skits in it. He already had a big fan base on his Instagram account, and many suggested to him that he upload content onto the popular video-sharing website. He wasn’t too keen on the idea at first because he wasn’t computer savvy, but he later got into it. Justin thought to inspire others to get into racing, and shared a little information on how to go about that. He didn’t want to reveal everything he and his dad learned over the years unless he would be compensated for it, but he was willing to give some details that would be of help to an average person. His content was quite informative as well as interesting, so his subscribers grew to more than 80,000 and his videos garnered over 19 million views.

Justin’s life revolved around working, racing, and vlogging. He said that he was so busy that he didn’t have time for anything else; not that he had other hobbies. He didn’t have much of a social life either, because of the schedule he keeps. It didn’t mean that he isn’t having fun, because what he does for a living is excitement enough for him.

Continue Reading

Recommended

Actors4 mins ago

The Untold Truth Of Grant Cardone’s Wife – Elena Lyons

Contents1 Who is Elena Lyons?2 Early life and education3 Roles in TV series4 Roles in movies5 Love life and marriage...

Celebrity Spouses28 mins ago

The untold truth of Donnie Wahlberg’s ex-wife, Kimberly Fey

Contents1 Who is Kimberly Fey?2 Early life and education3 Kimberly’s career4 Love life and marriage with Donnie Wahlberg5 Hobbies and...

Celebrity Spouses2 hours ago

The Untold Truth Of Sara Ramirez’s Husband – Ryan Debolt

Contents1 Who is Ryan DeBolt?2 Childhood and education3 Ryan’s career4 Love life and marriage with Sara5 Hobbies and other interests6...

Actors4 hours ago

Kimberly Sustad’s Wiki, Age, Twins. Who is Kimberly Sustad?

Contents1 Kimberly Sustad Wiki Bio2 Childhood and education3 Roles in movies4 Roles in TV series5 Awards and accolades6 Love life...

Celebrities5 hours ago

The Untold Truth Of Halsey’s Father – Chris Frangipane

Contents1 Who is Chris Frangipane?2 Early life and education3 Chris’ career4 Love life and marriage5 Hobbies and other interests6 Age,...

TV Personalities7 hours ago

What happened to Andy Bassich from ‘Life Below Zero’? Wiki

Contents1 Who is Andy Bassich?2 Childhood and education3 Career as a TV personality4 Love life and relationships5 Hobbies and other...

Web Stars7 hours ago

Deestroying’s Biography – How much Deestroying worth?

Contents1 Who is Deestroying?2 Early life and education3 Football career4 Career on the internet5 Love life and relationships6 Hobbies and...

Celebrity Spouses8 hours ago

Naked Truth of Corey Taylor’s Wife – Alicia Dove – Age, Wiki

Contents1 Who is Alicia Dove?2 The Net Worth of Alicia Dove3 Early Life and Career Beginnings4 Leaving the NFL and...

Businesspersons9 hours ago

How rich is Albert DePrisco? Net Worth, Wife Lisa Niemi, Wiki

Contents1 Introduction2 Early life and Education3 Career4 Marriage to Lisa Niemi5 Personal Life6 Net Worth7 Physical characteristics Introduction Not all...

Actors12 hours ago

Keith L. Williams Biography: Age, Height, Parents, Net Worth

Contents1 Who is Keith L. Williams?2 Keith L. Williams Biography- Age, Childhood, and Education3 Career Beginnings4 Rise to Prominence5 Keith...

Actors13 hours ago

Who is Howard Stern’s Daughter, Deborah Jennifer Stern?

Contents1 Deborah Jennifer Stern Wiki Bio2 Childhood and education3 Career as an actress4 After Acting5 Love life and relationships6 Hobbies...

Athletes13 hours ago

The Untold Truth Of Shannon Sharpe’s Wife – Katy Kellner

Contents1 Who is Katy Kellner?2 Childhood and education3 Katy’s career4 Love life and marriage with Shannon Sharpe5 Hobbies and other...

Trending