Media mogul, Fred Williams, having successfully migrated from Print to Video shares some insights on how to tell a story on Episode 34 of Conversations with Big Rich. From the farm to four-wheel drives, Fred continues to “cross-pollinate” the off-road industry on shows as he explores more Dirt Every Day.
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3:46 – What makes a Jeep most like a tractor?
8:03 – YouTube is the modern day service manual
10:31 –I’m just a kid that likes 4×4’s
16:53 – first rockcrawl- bunch of guys just all trying to figure it out
22:38 – first job at Peterson’s
29:25 – commitment to the cars
41:58 – like a bumblebee, cross-pollinating the off-road industry
45:39 – trying to get the scoop
50:08 – The early days of Dirt Every Day
55:54 – full scuba gear – see the #1 episode https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icp2Pb5uoME
1:07:22 – you have to tell a story
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TRANSCRIPT
Big Rich Klein: This episode of Conversations with Big Rich, we talk with Fred Williams. Fred has been on the magazine side of the off-road world, working with what became the MotorTrend group, which then morphed into the video and TV show Dirt Every Day. Fred was an enthusiast that chose to take his passion for trucks and Jeeps to the next level. On this episode of Conversations with Big Rich, we have Fred Williams, Fred, I’d like to thank you for coming on and discussing your life in off-road with our listeners. So, let’s get started by saying hello. And where did you, where’d you grow up
Fred Williams: Rich, It’s great to talk to you. It’s been a while since we’ve hung out. And I guess it’s been a while since everybody’s kind of hung out with this whole global pandemic thing. I grew up on a farm in South central Pennsylvania. My hometown’s claim to fame is the home of Three Mile Island, which is the worst nuclear accident in US history for any viewers, listeners, I guess that, haven’t heard of it. And it probably also explains a lot of things about why I’m the way I am. yeah, so I kind of grew up on a farm and at some point I just was really into four by fours and I kind of feel like the whole farm thing was the impetus behind that. Like my, my dad wasn’t into off-roading. He never took me Jeepin’, there were a few guys that kind of worked on the farm that were in to trucks and four by fours, they would, one guy had a Bronco and one guy had a Blazer and they kind of fixed it up. And I was always like, I am in to Jeeps. And I literally learned about all of that stuff as a kid, by reading like the Four Wheeler and Four Wheeler off-road magazines that I eventually would go on to work at when I grew up.
Big Rich Klein: Sweet. So what kind of things were you interested in school Were they automotive based or what were your interests I don’t really know.
Fred Williams: It wasn’t really automotive based in school. Like I kind of feel like the whole, I grew up driving tractors with big tires and no windshield, and I guess a Jeep just seemed like the most tractor, like vehicle out there. And I had like metal shop when I was in school, but I wasn’t, I remember buying these magazines and my dad telling me one day, like if you would stop buying those magazines, you would have enough money to buy a Jeep, which didn’t really stop me. I kept buying magazines, but I saved up my money and, I eventually bought a CJ five and it was a total pile. And in the state of Pennsylvania, there’s like safety inspection, which ironically they don’t have out West in some States like California, but I worked on that Jeep a long time to try and get it to pass the Pennsylvania state safety inspection.
Fred Williams: And it would never pass. READ MORE
