From heavy equipment in third-world countries to desert racing, Steve Sullivan has seen more than most. He’s a good guy to have in your corner on a bad day. Listen in on Episode 87 as Steve and Big share old stories of VORRA.
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4:15 – it was a nickel a day for all you could drink lemonade
8:23 – everybody that was in Cycle News was at that birthday party
13:30 – you’ve seen the movie Blood Diamonds, we were the real guys
20:45 – “Well, it’s not the same!” she was kind of mad
26:22 – I couldn’t beat that guy in the desert fair, he was too fast for me
40:17 – dang, man, it’s race day!
46:18 – told me I’d be dead by Christmas
50:04 – the rockcrawling mentality is just a whole different thing
57:34 – I’m going to tell you one more time – if you have 18” of usable travel
1:02:22 – I catch up to the guy in the race, and it’s just a local going to get some tacos
We want to thank our sponsors Maxxis Tires and 4Low Magazine.
TRANSCRIPT
[00:01:20.110] – Big Rich Klein
On today’s episode of Conversations with Big Rich. We have Steve Sullivan. While many of you that listen to this podcast right now do not know Steve. Some of you in Northern California will know him. I met Steve through Valley Offroad Racing Association, VORRA and found out after we started having four wheel drive guys come out the rock crawlers guys like Kevin Yoder, we found out that Steve actually knew some rock crawlers. So, Steve, thank you very much for coming on board and being part of conversations with Big Rich and discussing your history and how you got into offroad.
[00:02:06.910] – Steve Sullivan
It’s nice to be right here, Rich. Sure. Pleasure to reconnect with you again.
[00:02:12.510] – Big Rich Klein
Yeah, it absolutely is. You were a big influence in my life for at least four years, and I’ve considered you a friend from day one. So let’s jump right in. And, Steve, where were you born and raised?
[00:02:30.670] – Steve Sullivan
I was born in Hacienda Heights, California. It’s in Southern California between Whittier and La Puente. And down there, it seemed I was surrounded by a bunch of motorcycle racers. Okay, so I had the bug ever since I was just a kid. We were close enough to the beach. We could ride our bicycles about a couple of hours, and we’re halfway between the mountains and the beach. So we had a really good location to grow up.
[00:03:01.030] – Big Rich Klein
And growing up in Southern California, near the beach and out there in Hacienda Heights. That was pretty rural back then, correct?
[00:03:12.790] – Steve Sullivan
Yeah, I was. It was actually City of Industry. It was a break off of City of Industry. So my dad built the freeways. And whatnot? So they built the 60 freeway was right in our front yard. And prior to that, it was avocado Orchard and Orange Groves.
[00:03:31.020] – Big Rich Klein
Okay, now I know where you got your influence. Into construction.
[00:03:38.090] – Steve Sullivan
Yeah. Without a doubt, my dad was. He worked for the first Jerry Brown. And they were the guys who built California. Jerry Brown was a really quirky guy. But we met him several times, and he just had a vision for California. It was to make it the best Railways, the best highways, the best pipelines, best waterways, the best everything. He had really strange guy. But he had a vision like no other man ever had.
[00:04:08.930] – Big Rich Klein
And he passed down that strangeness part of it, at least to his son.
[00:04:15.170] – Steve Sullivan
Yeah. I don’t know. We would go and steal the tractors. Stealing. We borrowed me and my brother would get on tractors and ride around down the freeway, up the freeway, everywhere we could. And as a kid, I couldn’t help to be involved in what was going on there, I’m kind of a nosey little guy. But I stole my sister’s bicycle and my dad’s water jug. And we had lemons and my mom’s sugar and that kind of stuff. We made lemonade ride up and down the freeway selling lemonade. So it was a nickel a day for all you could drink to the guys working there for lemonade. READ MORE
