Matt Adair sits down with Big Rich Klein to discuss a life shaped by cars, languages, and the off-road community. Beginning as an exchange student in Germany at 16, Matt’s fluency in automotive passion led him to abandon an Air Force Academy appointment for car sales. What started as a snowy day test drive of a Jeep Cherokee evolved into decades of off-roading, racing, and journalism—including pivotal roles at King of the Hammers and Crawl Magazine.
Matt shares stories of serendipitous friendships forged at lakebed campfires, a memorable medical emergency at KOH, and the profound impact of community members like Camo and Jesse Combs. Today, he runs a boutique Porsche dealership while still racing a home-built Cherokee at 24-hour endurance events.
Throughout the conversation, Matt emphasizes that the true reward isn’t trophies or milestones—it’s the remarkable people encountered along the way. As he prepares to write a book about his improbable adventures, Matt reflects on how following passions and embracing the unexpected leads to a life rich with meaningful human connection.
TRANSCRIPT
[00:01:13.310] – Big Rich Klein
My guest this week has been around 4x4s most of his life, but spent most of his working career selling cars, then racing them, including a road course-worthy V8 XJ he built He has worked as a journalist, which led him to the King of the Hammers as staff. Now he enjoys his love of German sports cars with those looking for Porsches. My guest is Matt Adair. All right, Matt Adair, it’s so good to have you on the podcast. I’m looking forward to finding out more about you. I know that you’ve done some racing and that you sell Porsches especially, but there’s a lot in there that I don’t know. So let’s find out. Thank you for coming on the, uh, podcast.
[00:02:01.620] – Matt Adair
It’s my pleasure. I— when you called me the other day, I was like, well, about damn time. There were 326 people before you called me. Okay, well, I know where I rank now, but okay, let’s go.
[00:02:16.050] – Big Rich Klein
Well, you know, there’s, uh— I just start hitting the Rolodex And what happens is that all of a sudden I’ll get some— what really triggers a lot of them is Facebook reminders that it’s people’s birthdays, you know, or somebody call, you know, will send me an email saying, hey, how come you haven’t interviewed this person yet? And it’s like, well, they’re on my list, let’s bump them up. And so I never really get to run through my list.
[00:02:45.740] – Matt Adair
I’ve resisted the urge to be that guy who’s like, Hey, um, you know, I’ve got some cool stories. Do you want to hear me?
[00:02:54.030] – Big Rich Klein
Well, we’re gonna find out how cool those stories are right now. All right, let’s go. Okay, so the first question I have for you: where are you born and raised?
[00:03:02.690] – Matt Adair
I’m from a little tiny town outside of Seattle, Washington. I’ve lived overseas, I’ve been to a couple dozen countries in 48 states, and, uh, Every time I come home from one of my crazy adventures, Seattle still just feels like home, and it’s, uh, it’s been where I’ve set my roots down.
[00:03:23.550] – Big Rich Klein
Excellent, excellent. And, uh, so you went all through your formative years, through high school, all that kind of stuff in Washington?
[00:03:33.270] – Matt Adair
Uh, yeah, I spent a year in Germany as an exchange student when I was 16. That’s cool. Yeah, that was an amazing experience, really. A lot of getting to learn about how the rest of the world operates and preconceived notions that we have in our little, you know, corner of the world and how different it is for other people really made me appreciate that kind of different perspectives. But yeah, for the most part, grew up in the Northwest and we’ve got some beautiful mountains and that kind of thing. So off-roading came naturally at a point. Right.
[00:04:14.040] – Big Rich Klein
And was it something that, that the family did, or was it something that you got into a little later?
[00:04:21.670] – Matt Adair
That’s, uh, yes and yes. Uh, when I was growing up, we had Land Cruisers. Uh, I think the first vehicle I ever drove was on my dad’s lap in a 1965 Toyota Land Cruiser LV45 wagon. 3-speed column shift. And, uh, you know, that— there was always a 4-wheel drive in our family. And then we had a ’60 and a ’62 and then an ’80. And I’ve always just had a 4-wheel drive vehicle of some capacity in order— just in case snowstorm or the power’s out or trees are down. We were always the family on the block with, uh, Coleman stove and lanterns and a Toyota Land Cruiser to go to the store if it came to that.
[00:05:09.570] – Big Rich Klein
So So I’m taking that as that you guys went camping and stuff as well? Yep, yep. Hunting and fishing, or just camping and hiking?
[00:05:22.360] – Matt Adair
I, I’ve enjoyed the outdoors in various different capacities, and, uh, I, I enjoy a good stroll in the woods, but a friend of mine was asking me why don’t I do more hiking, and, um It’s because I don’t need to hike 8 miles to get to a beautiful lake. I can take my Jeep, my Land Cruiser, my whatever to get most of the way there, and I get to see and enjoy nature without having to die on the way there. READ MORE
