Today we’d like to introduce you to Berto Treviño.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’ve been fascinated with Monster Jam since I was a toddler. The adrenaline, the speed & the air that these 10ft tall 12,000 pound machines achieve has always captivated me. Later in my teens I found myself scratching some of that itch through skateboarding. With skating I was able to go fast, go big, get creative and push my own personal progression while making some of the best life-long friends in the process. Through the years we produced several South Texas skateboarding films. The culture was thriving. The only thing I felt missing was a solid core skater owned & operated shop in the heart of downtown to help support & keep pushing our scene to the next level. In 2015 my good friends, David Canales & Ben Janshen joined me in getting the best beat-up run-down building space us kids could afford. For months on end we worked our regular full-time jobs by day followed by countless hours of demoing, building & creating our dreams at night. Eventually Overtime Skateboard Supply was born!
Our skate shop was everything we dreamed it would be! Our deck wall was an actual halfpipe ramp we built on the wall! Being able to create our own line of skate decks, host art events & promote live music was a blast! But most importantly we were able to serve kids with their very first skateboard. I remember how life changing that moment was for me, so we always made sure to give the very best experience to anyone who walked in our doors at any given time.
One night in 2019; while restocking inventory, I came across a podcast with Monster Jam driver Coty Saucier discussing how he made his way through the monster truck industry and in that moment it was like a light switched for me. I decided it was time to shut down the skate shop so that I can completely focus on my Monster Jam dreams.
Since then I’ve gone from volunteering, to video production, to safety official, to crewing, to finally landing the opportunity of a lifetime touring across the entire country driving the Monster Mutt Rottweiler for Team Throttle Monster in Monster Jam! Looking back to my teen years; I vividly remember being in the skatepark, pushing as hard as I could blasting melon grab airs pretending I was launching myself in a Monster Jam truck, wondering if this is what it feels like? ..and now I have the honor to do it for real. A literal dream come true!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
When it came to creating Overtime Skate Shop; luckily us skaters come from a very DIY mindset. We knew it wouldn’t be easy but we were determined to do it ourselves until we achieved success, and we learned so much along the way.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
The same can be said for my Monster Jam career; falling down & getting back up over & over is instilled in me through my skateboarding past. Thankfully I’ve always had the brotherly support of my teammates to learn from. I’m also motivated every time I get to meet all the little kids with the same awe-struck wide eyed expressions I had when I was little at the Monster Jam Pit Parties before our events!
What’s next?
I’ll soon be reviving Overtime Skateboards with the first new line of skate decks to be released since 2019, so be on the lookout!
After 6 years of consistently touring on the road I’m currently taking a break from the drivers seat to spend more time home with family and assist in care taking for my mom. Thankfully I’m still able to work a behind-the-scenes role with Monster Jam that allows me to do just that! When the time is right I can’t wait to get back in the drivers seat again!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.monsterjam.com/en-us/driver/berto-trevino
- Instagram: berto_trevino
