All-American Badass, JT Taylor, on Episode 92. JT is currently the race director for American Offroad Endurance working with Mid-America Outdoors, but that’s just the latest feather in his cap. Former race director at Ultra4, racer extraordinaire in all forms of go-fast, especially Baja. JT has seen and done more than most. Listen in for a few chuckles, a lot of history, and more info on What’s Next.
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2:45 – the grease went outta my knees
9:21 – the e-brake came in handy when you passed a state trooper
12:39 – There’s a lot of Alphas in our sport
17:22 – they hooked me by showing me a video at the recruiter’s office – sign me up!
21:04 – I was cheating. Everybody was cheating
41:54 – racing the Elf
59:13 – setting up KOH…it’s like a deployment
1:16:51 – Mid America Outdoors and what comes with that!
1:32:10 – my goal is to break 200 miles an hour
1:35:23 – Mooneyham beat my record
We want to thank our sponsors Maxxis Tires and 4Low Magazine.
TRANSCRIPT
[00:01:20.470] – Big Rich Klein
On today’s episode of Conversations with Big Rich. We have none other than the American badass JT Taylor. Anybody I know, it always kind of drives me nuts when people call him that, but JT is really a good dude. Anybody that’s not met him, you’ll find that he’s got a heart of gold even though he comes across kind of gruff and he’s got a long history and off road and other various motor sports. Anything with a motor, basically. So we’ll get into that.
[00:01:51.760] – Big Rich Klein
And JT, I want to say thank you so much for coming on board and glad we were finally able to make this happen.
[00:01:59.470] – JT Taylor
Yeah. No, I really appreciate it, Rich. It’s an honor to be on here and chat with you about the stuff that we both love.
[00:02:07.240] – Big Rich Klein
Correct. So let’s get started right off with where were you born and raised?
[00:02:13.990] – JT Taylor
I was born in Bradenton, Florida, raised there for a while and then ended up finishing up growing up in Myaaka, Florida. So in between Bradenton and Washula, graduated from Hardy County High. There in Wasula, Florida.
[00:02:29.690] – Big Rich Klein
Okay, let’s talk about those early years. I know your dad was a pilot. How early did you get into flying?
[00:02:38.290] – JT Taylor
Oh, man, I can remember flying with my pops. Man. I was four or five.
[00:02:44.590] – Big Rich Klein
Okay.
[00:02:45.670] – JT Taylor
And I can remember standing up behind one of the front seats, hanging on to the back of the front seat, him flying and hitting a little dip. And I went down to the floor on my butt, and my mom was laughing at me, asking me what happened. I said the grease went out of my knees.
[00:03:05.390] – Big Rich Klein
That’s funny. So any instances like we had one, I can’t remember who it was right now that they went flying with their dad. It may have been Jack Bettio and the dad went inverted, rolled over and flew upside down, and he fell out of the plane.
[00:03:29.150] – JT Taylor
What? Yeah.
[00:03:30.150] – Big Rich Klein
And didn’t get hurt.
[00:03:32.690] – JT Taylor
Good Lord, no, dad. He like to fly low and slow.
[00:03:37.700] – Big Rich Klein
Okay.
[00:03:38.220] – JT Taylor
And most of the time, we never even had the doors on the plane. So it was kind of riding around on a Jeep, but just the sightseeing and low and slow. And he never really did anything too crazy. He’d like to buzz the neighbors, buzz my uncle’s aunt’s house, my grandma’s house, and let them know we were around. But that was about it. He was a good pilot.
[00:04:00.680] – Big Rich Klein
So I’ve been out to the property in Myaaka, and it’s pretty rural Florida. There’s not a whole lot of Hills, except for Ant Hills.
[00:04:13.970] – JT Taylor
Yes.
[00:04:15.950] – Big Rich Klein
What was it like growing up out there in that rural situation? That was the family home, correct?
[00:04:22.730] – JT Taylor
Yeah. It was awesome. It was a lot of hard work. I mean, we raise cows and we raise oranges. So anybody that knows farming, it’s not easy. And you’re always subject to the weather, and we’re always scared of a freeze because that kills your oranges, and then you don’t have a crop, then you don’t make any money, right? But it was awesome. I mean, riding around, driving on dirt roads, learning how to slide around corners. And I don’t know how many 22 shells I shot when I was a kid, but it was a lot.
[00:04:57.780] – JT Taylor
So we were always hunting and riding and shooting and just being country kids and chasing each other around Orange Groves on motorcycles, throwing green oranges at each other, knocking each other off motorcycles. It’s a wonder we live through it. READ MORE
