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Crushing cars and rescuing canines
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Neighbors | Shaiyla Hakeem .Joe Sylvester takes his two American Pit Bull Terrier with him everywhere he goes, even to work. Duke (right) is a little camera shy, but Xena loves the attention.
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Neighbors | Shaiyla Hakeem.Joe Sylvester soars through the air in his monster truck at a show in Toronto. The oversized truck travels across what use to be automobiles.
By SHAIYLA HAKEEM
shakeem@vindy.com
Joe Sylvester isn’t your average Boardman High School graduate. He drives monster trucks, builds mechanical parts and rescues dogs.
Bad Habit, Sylvester’s business, is comprised of a monster truck team that helps him perform maintenance on his truck and prepares it for shows.
He is the only driver, but Brandon Pugh, Kyle Kunkle and his girlfriend Cary Thomas all lend a hand in Sylvester’s monster truck shows. The team constructs his truck from mechanical parts that are built in-house.
In addition to monster truck shows, Bad Habit provides service for mud trucks, street trucks and monster trucks. The four-year-old business focuses on maintaining trucks and of course, booking shows.
Sylvester performs an average of 40 shows a year in various locations across the U.S. He will be performing at the Covelli Center Feb. 26 and 27 showcasing his truck driving abilities and executing stylish stunts. For information on the event, visit http://badhabit4x4.com.
Sylvester says he’s always been fascinated with trucks and heavy machinery. He comes from a family that owned a construction company encompassing heavy machinery and trucks.
“I’ve always been involved in mud and trucks and building trucks,” Sylvester said, “I was building trucks before I even had my drivers license.”
As a 2002 BHS graduate, Sylvester has chosen to stay close to his family and hometown. In the past, he has raced dirt bikes, go-carts, dragsters and mountain bikes.
After sustaining several injuries from motorcycle racing, Sylvester decided to change his focus from motorcycles to monster trucks. He says he was interested in opening up a business so he decided to put his thoughts into actions.
“I just took the bull by the horns and put together a business plan,” Sylvester said.
Monster truck driving isn’t just rolling over mounds of cars. According to Sylvester, the monster truck sport has changed over the years.
He says that current monster trucks weigh up to 10,000 pounds — half of what trucks in the past have weighed. The lighter weight enables the truck to move faster and manipulate obstacles.
Emphasis has been taken from the traditional racing and placed on freestyle performances which raises the risk level.
Sylvester explains the trauma experienced on the human body during a typical performance is equivalent to being in an automobile accident. He says that because the obstacles and performance acts have elevated, so have safety measures.
“There is no other motor sport out there where drivers take the kind of abuse that we take in these trucks with some of the bigger obstacles and bigger shows,” Sylvester said.
The inside of the trucks are similar to that of a race car with padding and safety belts. Sylvester wears a fireproof suit while he is performing and takes safety precautions whenever possible.
Though bounding and crushing cars in an oversized vehicle is exhilarating, monster trucks aren’t the only thing Sylvester is passionate about. He has a big heart when it comes to canines. He owns two American pit bull terriers that he rescued from tragic situations.
Xena was a starving stray dog that Sylvester adopted. Duke, who was hit by a tow truck, was also adopted by the monster truck driver.
Sylvester believes that pit bulls are the most intelligent, courageous and loyal dogs anyone could own. Xena and Duke go with Sylvester almost everywhere, even to work and his monster truck shows. He would eventually like to put more effort into saving and maintaining the breed through establishing a pet shelter.
“One day, I want to start a rescue for the breed where we can take them in and give them a safe place to live until someone can give them a good home,” Sylvester said.
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Neighbors | Shaiyla Hakeem .Joe Sylvester takes his two American Pit Bull Terrier with him everywhere he goes, even to work. Duke (right) is a little camera shy, but Xena loves the attention.