William Marvin Anderson doesn’t think much when his truck rolls over.
“It happens so fast...you don’t even know it’s going to happen,” he says. “You’re just racing and things happen.”
Anderson has rolled over more than the average driver. He pilots a monster truck. Roll-overs are part of the job.
Anderson drives a truck called “Identity Theft.” It got that name due to its similar design to the famous “Grave Digger” monster truck. Anderson, who’s been driving monster trucks for over 20 years, has worked with Dennis Anderson, the original “Grave Digger” driver, among countless others.
“[I] started at the bottom and worked [my] way to the top,” Anderson says.
Anderson is part of the “Monsters & Mayhem” tour, which roared through Yorkton last weekend. For Anderson, Yorkton holds a special place in his heart. 16 years ago, his son was born here.
Anderson and his wife were heading to Calgary, where they had scheduled a C-section. But when they drove through Yorkton, his wife went into labour and the rest is history. Since his son’s birth, Anderson hadn’t returned to Yorkton until last weekend.
The show attracted hundreds of fans to the Yorkton Exhibition Grounds. The drivers dazzled the crowd with spin-outs, races, and leaps over broken-down cars. Anderson loves to put on a good show so the audience gets their money’s worth.
The tour, which involves four monster trucks, has traveled across the country and into the United States. One of their upcoming stops is Alaska.
Anderson, even after all his years behind the wheel, still loves the pure thrill of driving a monster truck.
“I just live by the seat of my pants,” he says. “[I] just go out and have some fun.”
