Join Big Rich Klein as he sits down with Alan Johnson, President of the Rubicon Trail Foundation, in an engaging conversation about his adventurous journey from street racing to becoming a new We Rock rock-crawling competitor. Alan shares his personal history, the influence of his family, and how he transitioned from a life centered around fast cars to one focused on the off-road lifestyle.
Key Topics Discussed:
- Early Life and Influences:
- Alan’s childhood moves from Phoenix, Arizona, to various states due to his father’s job.
- His early exposure to cars and racing through family, especially his grandfather.
- Transition from Street Racing:
- Alan’s experiences with street racing in his early 20s, the challenges, and eventual realization that led him to change paths.
- His first off-road vehicle and the eye-opening experiences that followed.
- Off-Road Adventures:
- Alan’s journey into rock crawling and his first competitive experiences, including participating in CalRocs and We Rock events.
- The story of acquiring and preserving a significant 4Runner with personal and emotional ties.
- Leadership and Contributions:
- Alan’s involvement with the Rubicon Trail Foundation and his progression to becoming the President.
- The importance of maintaining and enhancing trail access for the off-road community.
- Personal Life:
- Alan’s family life, including his two children who share his love for off-roading.
- Balancing his career as a mechanic with his passion for rock crawling and family adventures.
Closing Thoughts: Big Rich and Alan discuss future plans, upcoming events, and the importance of community involvement in preserving off-road trails.
TRANSCRIPT
[00:01:12.420] – Big Rich Klein
My guest today is an off-road Enthusiast, President of the Rubicon Trail Foundation, and a new We Rock rock-crawling competitor. Alan Johnson, how are you doing today?
[00:01:24.420] – Alan Johnson
I’m good. How are you, Rich?
[00:01:25.760] – Big Rich Klein
Doing fantastic. Let’s get started right off. We’ve worked together a little bit with the Rubicon Trail Foundation. Now that you’re President, I guess we’ll be working a lot closer together. So I’m looking forward to that. But we’ll get into RTF and to rock crawling and all that in a little bit. But let’s start off with the easiest question, at least for me to ask, where were you born and raised?
[00:01:53.320] – Alan Johnson
So I was born in Phoenix, Arizona. Okay. We were only there for for maybe eight or nine months. Then we moved to Salina’s, California. That was where my dad was born and raised. We went back there. I’m not quite sure when we moved from there to Sacramento. We were in Sacramento for a little while. It’s about, trying to think when we moved from there, probably in ’95, ’96, we moved to Oregon, to Roseburg, Oregon, or actually Winston, Oregon, a little bit south of Roseburg. We were there until about 2001. Then my family moved to Reno, Nevada, and I’ve been here ever since.
[00:02:42.880] – Big Rich Klein
And the reason for so many moves, was it chasing a job?
[00:02:47.400] – Alan Johnson
Yeah, it was my dad chasing a job that he just followed everywhere.
[00:02:52.220] – Big Rich Klein
Cool.
[00:02:53.180] – Alan Johnson
He did manufactured housing stuff, and his uncle was the owner of the company, and just followed him around.
[00:03:04.050] – Big Rich Klein
Okay, cool. And what’s the first place that you can remember truly being home? Typically, when you’re about six or seven?
[00:03:21.140] – Alan Johnson
Yeah, it was in Sacramento or better yet, Rocklin, before Rocklin turned into Rocklin. I lived right off of 80 in a little trailer park that you can see. I see it every time I drive by Rocklin off of 80 there. We lived in a little trailer park, and I just remember riding bikes around the trailer park and throwing bread to the geese in the little pond they had there.
[00:03:51.660] – Big Rich Klein
When life was innocent.
[00:03:54.340] – Alan Johnson
Yes. Oh, yeah. Life was innocent, and that was better. READ MORE
