Monster Jam Anaheim #1 Jan 10^th, 2009
By Travis Brock

Throughout my adult life I have always wanted a way to prolong my youth, to do the things I did as a kid, to love the way it feels to just have fun and not worry about all the things I do on a day to day basis....and I think I have just found my fountain of youth.

You see, a few weeks ago I was invited to help ultimatehobbies.com and HPI Racing with a R/C demo at Monster Jam. To me monster trucks were something I left behind as a child. When I thought of monster trucks I remembered slow moving trucks rolling over cars and stopping every few feet to rev there engines and make sure they hadn't broken. Well let me tell you, the monster trucks of today are nothing like the monster trucks of my childhood.

When I first arrived at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, CA I was overwhelmed with everything. It all stared off by getting in a long line to sign in and receive my pass... and of course my name wasn't on the list. After that whole mess I finally got back in my truck and went in to unload my gear and help set up our demo area. We had a great selection of ramps including a nice kicker with a 30 foot gap that cleared somewhere around 35 feet of air, a nice floater ramp we had pushed back in the neighborhood of 50 feet, and of course our Protecta Parts large scale flip ramp that I had brought out. We also had a beautiful 30 foot wide landing ramp that was set up so all of the above mentioned jumps had a nice spot to throw the cars into.

As the crowd started to roll in, the realization of it all started to come to me..... not only do I get to drive my HPI Baja 5T today, but I get to do it in front of 60,000 people. Not just any 60,000 people, but 60,000 monster truck fans. You see, monster truck fans are not normal people... they are people who have found their fountain of youth. So picture 60,000 kids yelling as your R/C car flips through the air 30 feet above their head or clears a parked Ford delivery van that's in the middle of a 50 foot gap. It was pure insanity as the crowd got bigger and bigger as the day went on. At one point I believe the entire demo area was surrounded by a crowd that was at least 8 or 10 people deep.... and this was just our demo in the pits, not the full scale riot that we were going to bring to the floor of the stadium later that night.

After hours of talking with fans, driving my car, handing out fliers, and making new friends the pit party had to come to an end. As I started to put my stuff away and pack up my box I realized we were in a giant hurry to get all the ramps torn down, the gear packed up and get down to the stadium floor to do the big show. I had no idea how much preparation went into all of this and how much work Cliff and the ultimatehobbies.com staff has to put in each year to produce this kind of show. So as we finished up packing the last few items we headed down to our staging area in the basement of the stadium. We got a little pep talk, some do's and don't's for the show and then we were off! We were standing on the side of the main entrance of the tunnel as the loudest trucks rolled by just a few feet away as they exited the stadium... and that's when I felt 5 again. I had a smile that stretched my chubby face so much it hurt the next day. I've always been a motor head and to have that much American muscle so close to me, making so much noise and causing so much destruction it was just the coolest thing I have ever seen.

And then it was time. We took the field with fans screaming, lights flashing, and the smell of nitro burning in the night air. I was so overwhelmed that I didn't know what to do. I looked for a familiar face and followed them out to a jump of their choice and began to do what I do best. And that thing my friends, is to try and break my R/C car. At one point I was hitting one of the motorcycle ramps and clearing a gap that had to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 70 feet... and my Baja 5T just loved it!

Monster Jam was one of the coolest things I have done. Not because I got to go drive my car in front of a giant crowd, but because I got to share one of my favorite things in my life with a group of people that felt that same way as I do. I believe that some of these people were more excited to see our show and talk to us than they were to see the main attraction with the big trucks. There were hundreds of people asking what kind of truck I had, where they could get one, and how durable they were. In response I just kept hucking my truck and answering questions all day and I believe that cause of my hard work along with the work of the others, we have brought R/C into many new homes. And because of that there will be more fathers and sons hanging out playing with their new Savage or 5T. Every time they pull that thing out to go bash with it they will think out there evening at monster jam, and will both feel like kids again

Use your arrow keys to move through the images.	Use your arrow keys to move through the images.	Use your arrow keys to move through the images.	Use your arrow keys to move through the images.	Use your arrow keys to move through the images.
Use your arrow keys to move through the images.	Use your arrow keys to move through the images.	Use your arrow keys to move through the images.	Use your arrow keys to move through the images.	Use your arrow keys to move through the images.
Use your arrow keys to move through the images.	Use your arrow keys to move through the images.	Use your arrow keys to move through the images.	Use your arrow keys to move through the images.	Use your arrow keys to move through the images.
Use your arrow keys to move through the images.	Use your arrow keys to move through the images.	Use your arrow keys to move through the images.	Use your arrow keys to move through the images.	Use your arrow keys to move through the images.
Use your arrow keys to move through the images.	Use your arrow keys to move through the images.	Use your arrow keys to move through the images.	Use your arrow keys to move through the images.	Use your arrow keys to move through the images.
Use your arrow keys to move through the images.	Use your arrow keys to move through the images.	Use your arrow keys to move through the images.	Use your arrow keys to move through the images.	Use your arrow keys to move through the images.