Racing The Clock At The Expo!

From start to finish, the Off-Road Expo in Costa Mesa, California, is an event that I look forward to every single year, but 2025 was my favorite so far! There were many companies I have close relations with in attendance, like Maxxis Tires, Predator Tires, Fittipaldi Off-Road, PRP Seats, Terra Crew, and many more! There was no shortage of drama on the Proving Grounds course either with the excitement of rowdiness put on by the Terra Crew and Terra Drift Crew. Big names like Ruslan, Blake Wilkey, Eric Conner, Anthony West, and more got to party and jump their rigs for everyone to see as well as show off the capability these desert rigs have on pavement.

Saturday morning started off with an early wake-up call at 5:30 A.M. I woke up and got myself dressed and ready for a day out of the house and on the floor grabbing media content for friends and businesses. My early drive to Costa Mesa was about an hour and a half—not horrible, but when I’m tired, I just wish there was a way to teleport to places and back home instantly. I arrived at the gates before the show started, so I grabbed my media pass and immediately started setting up my camera and dialing in my settings for the harsh morning light of the show. I ran around and saw some familiar faces from both media and companies that I’ve worked alongside with for a long time during my off-road career. Before I knew it, there was a loud crash over at the Proving Grounds caged area where drivers were practicing. I didn’t think too much of it, so I kept walking and made my rounds, capturing some rigs before the fans and eventgoers showed up. The weather was shaping up to be perfect in every way with blue skies and a slight breeze winning over the California heat.

Circling back to the Proving Grounds hosted by Terra Crew, I found a good friend Ruslan’s truck broken down, which was an unfortunate sight as the show hadn’t even started yet. Luckily, Ruslan is a motivated driver. He instantly got to work and paired up with Anthony West and his fabrication shop to fix the truck and hopefully be able to demo it that weekend still. They tore down the bent and broken radius arm and made a game plan to get this truck back to partying within a day. For most, such an event would end the weekend, but Ruslan treated it as an opportunity to show his determination to himself and to all of those who support him! James from Terra came over and gave Ruslan some good news and talked for a minute, which seemed to motivate Ruslan a little bit more. Before we knew it, they left the Expo to get the parts needed to repair the truck.

I jumped back into the Expo just before the gates opened. As soon as fans were allowed in, they flooded the OC Fair grounds and covered all inches of the floor, grabbing their spots on the fence before the demo started. Drift cars and trucks go out to party at this show, and they usually burn enough rubber to create an absolute smoke show for all to take in! One of the demos that rings back to me is when Eric Conner put Vivian 2.0 up against the barrier and ROASTED his 40-inch Gladiator X Comp tires like it was nothing. That was one of the most awesome moments in Off-Road Expo history! When Eric is driving, you know something amazing is going to happen, and as a media hand, you better have your cameras ready because it’s something that can make you go viral!

We thank Terra Crew and all of their amazing people. From the start, you have Nick Howell with Terra Safety and his crew Inland Empire 4×4 Recovery keeping drivers and the crowd safe. The big dogs, Evan Walsh, James and Arshia, and Garrett Spicer, made sure everything inside the Proving Grounds gate was running smoothly, as well as taking care of getting safety wristbands for the media personnel. The Built To Destroy Live show was an awesome touch to take an in-depth look at these builds and see what it takes to be able to do what these guys do on and off the road. Day 1 was filled with action and fun times with friends and sponsors! Thank you to all for making the Expo’s kick-off so memorable!

Day 2 started with another early morning shooting a little more and covering some details of the event, beginning with the builds in the halls before the crowds showed up again. Heading back over to the Proving Grounds, we found Ruslan buckling up in his truck, ready to go party with a freshly fixed truck. He took his leap onto the course and demo area and laid down one of the best runs of the day, showing some of the drift guys up with a wall tap and dragging the bumper a little. I then got to meet up with our friends at Nacho’s 4xFour and talked with some of our sponsors and started planning for the 2026 race season to prepare for King of the Hammers! Day 2 was a bit slower, but the Proving Grounds were just as rowdy and exciting for all of us to watch. From blowing tires off and flying through the air to drift guys hitting tandems and getting close to one another’s doors, the excitement level was high all day long.

The true showstopper was when Eric jumped over Larry Edgar and Kylen Garcia in their drift cars while doing donuts around the ramp and timing it perfectly. Soon after this action came to a wrap, everyone started the pack-up process. I did my final rounds talking with friends and businesses to network a little for the media and line up more builds to shoot. Thank you, Off-Road Expo and the staff, for making this event what it is today and continuing to grow so much! Thank you Terra Crew and Terra Drift Crew for coming out, slaying tires, and laying down some rowdiness for the crowd and media hands out there! Thank you to all the safety and medical personnel in Terra Crew Safety. We can’t wait to see what is in store for next year because this 2025 event set the bar high for another year of organized chaos. Until then, keep the tread off the pavement!