ORLANDO, Fla. – “It’s kind of humble beginnings” is how Bari Musawwir described the beginning of his childhood dream career.
He was just 6 years old when his mom took him to his first event in Pontiac, Michigan. It’s where he fell in love with monster-sized trucks.
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“I knew at that moment I have to get involved with this. I didn’t know how. I wasn’t raised on a farm with tractors or, you know, big rural areas with ATVs or dirt bikes or anything,” Musawwir said.
So he turned to radio-controlled cars.
“Eventually I convinced my mom to take me to a radio-control monster truck race actually in Montpelier, Ohio,” Musawwir recalled.
Little did he know, his newfound hobby would land him in the backyard of the legendary Grave Digger at a RC Monster truck race in 2006, even catching the eye of a Monster Jam official.
“He came up to me, he said, ‘Man, if you can drive RC that well, you could probably drive the real deal,’” Musawwir said with a smile.
His childhood dream of becoming a monster truck driver was coming true. Monster Jam gave Musawwir a shot at driving a truck on the test field, a moment that remains vivid in his mind.
“Man, I think my heart rate was through the roof,” Musawwir said. “I didn’t have an Apple watch at that time to tell me what my heart rate was, but I’m pretty sure it was very high.”
His time to shine had come.
“I was living out a childhood dream a week after basically being discovered by this guy,” Musawwir recalled.
Four years later, a truck was available. Musawwir was hired, becoming the first professional African American monster truck driver since the sport started trending in the ‘70s. The position holds its fair share of weight.
“But you know what? I’m here for it all the time. If I can just inspire people that look like me, or that don’t look like me, it doesn’t matter. Just know that I want to be able to use my story to inspire people to do something positive. Follow your dreams and it’s not like the status quo,” Musawwir said.
Not only is he living out a childhood dream, but he says his truck is pretty cool, too.
“The zombie truck has always been a fan favorite because it was voted in by the fans and it’s got crazy zombie arms on it. I say it has a face for radio, you know, it looks just like a zombie,” Musawwir said.
Even the fans get zombified.
“We do the zombie arm wave for the whole crowd and we get the whole crowd to do the zombie arm wave,” Musawwir said.
Originally from Ohio, Musawwir now calls the City Beautiful home, establishing roots and even inspiring his 8-year-old son, Cairo, who has big dreams of his own.
“He’s already told me and he hasn’t wavered. He said, ‘Dad, this is what I want to do, too,’” Musawwir said.
So, with two monster truck drivers in the family, is there a father-son race in the future?
“So if I can hold out driving for another 10 years, we’ll see if we can father and son race,” Musawwir said.
Until then, the monster truck driver says representation matters.
“It’s important that we get that image out there to as many people as we can to show that diversity is here to stay. It’s where it’s at it. There’s definitely something that, you know, any cultural background of people can offer to the world for the better of the world. So, I’m here for it, I’ll always be here for it and I’m looking forward to, you know, the future of it all,” Musawwir said.