Chad had a nomadic childhood with nine moves across the US by age 10. Played competitive soccer through college; choosing sports over academics. Family of machinists and farmers influenced hands-on career path.
He started as a mechanic, working through transmission and fabrication shops. Became premier Hemi Jeep installer during the modification craze, but was laid off unexpectedly, then built first personal off-road buggy after failing a rock crawl in his JK. Chad still drives that original buggy.
Zeus Off-Road was founded in 2016 after his wife insisted on staying in Minnesota for family support. Chad built his reputation purely through word-of-mouth and community trust, he now operates on the philosophy of customer education and consultation before major builds, emphasizing proper driver training and understanding vehicle capabilities. He advocates for gradual locker engagement and self-recovery knowledge in off-roading.
TRANSCRIPT
[00:01:13.420] – Big Rich Klein
On this week’s episode of Conversations with Big Rich, I’ll be talking life with a longtime four-wheel drive enthusiast and friend that turned from mechanic to shop owner. My guest is Chad Roy. Hello, Chad. It’s so good to have you on the podcast.
[00:01:30.850] – Chad Roy
Yeah, thanks, Rich. Thanks for having me. I’m looking forward to this.
[00:01:34.880] – Big Rich Klein
Yeah. So let’s, let’s get started where I start with everyone. And where were you born and raised?
[00:01:42.930] – Chad Roy
I moved around a lot as a kid. I was born in Los Angeles and steadily moved my way east. I had a hippie mom and dad, so we moved and moved and moved and moved. My mother is originally from southwestern Minnesota, so that’s kind of where we kind of moved to when I was, gosh, 10, I think. And then I’ve been in Minneapolis ever since. So kind of in the metro.
[00:02:15.500] – Big Rich Klein
How many places do you think you moved in those first 10 years?
[00:02:19.380] – Chad Roy
Ah, let’s see. Probably close to 8.
[00:02:24.830] – Speaker 3
Wow.
[00:02:25.800] – Chad Roy
7 or 8. Yeah, uh, we were in, uh, Denver for a bit, um, Montana for a little bit, and then made it our way to, uh, Oklahoma for a bit. So we moved to a couple places in, uh, Bartlesville and Tulsa in Oklahoma, and then from there we kind of went north.
[00:02:45.350] – Big Rich Klein
Okay. And where did you spend the most time during those early first 10 years, do you think?
[00:02:52.850] – Chad Roy
Uh, uh, riding my bike and, uh, meeting kids. You know, when you’re, when you’re moving around a lot, it’s hard to, uh, meet people. Um, so you really kind of have to put your neck out there, and it’s, it’s pretty frightful and all the things. But once you kind of get over that, you meet some really cool people, and you just— I was an outdoor kid, so we were playing baseball, we were playing soccer, football, all the things. So that’s kind of where I met all my friends.
