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?
My fascination with Monster Jam began as a toddler. The adrenaline, the speed and the air these 10ft tall 12,000-pound machines achieve has always captivated me. In my teens I found myself scratching some of that itch through skateboarding. I was able to go fast, go big, get creative and push my own progression through skating. Over the years & into young adulthood my passion for skateboarding fueled the idea of creating a core skate shop with the goal of pushing our local skate scene to the next level. In 2015 David Canales & Ben Janshen joined me on the task. Although we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into, our shared passion and dedication was enough to finally open Overtime Skateboard Supply to the public!
Our skate shop was everything we dreamed! The deck-wall was an actual halfpipe ramp we built on the wall for displaying our skateboards! Creating our own line of skate decks, hosting art events & promoting live music was a blast. Most importantly we were able to bring the community together & serve kids with their very first skateboard; that was most gratifying to me.
The shop was a great success, however one night in 2019 I had a sudden realization moment that completely re-ignited my deeply rooted passion for Monster Jam. The skate shop experience proved to me that even if I don’t know what I’m getting myself into, goals can be reached through hard work & dedication. I decided it was time to shut down the shop and fully dedicate myself to my Monster Jam dreams.
I then went from volunteering, to working video production, to safety official, to wrenching on monster trucks. Finally in 2023 I landed the opportunity of a lifetime touring the country with Team Throttle Monster driving the Monster Mutt Rottweiler in Monster Jam! Looking back to my youth; I vividly recall pushing as hard as I could, blasting melon-grab airs at the skatepark, visualizing that I was soaring through the air in a Monster Jam truck, wondering what it felt like.. 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?
Almost nothing came easy, but passion & teamwork has always been what persevered through everything. With the skate shop, skateboarders naturally come from a very DIY mindset. We got 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. That’s where the name Overtime comes from.
Naturally I applied that same DIY mindset to my Monster Jam career. Thankfully I’ve always had the brotherly support of my team managers & teammates to learn from. I’m also motivated when I get to meet all the little kids at the Monster Jam Pit Parties! Everytime I hand a child back his or her autographed toy, I’m met with the same wide-eyed awestruck expressions I would get from handing over a kid’s very first skateboard in my shop, there’s just no better feeling! It makes all the hard work worth it!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
If you’ve never been to a Monster Jam event, it’s a larger than life must-see sport for the whole family to experience!! Our tracks are like giant skateparks made of dirt, packed with transitions & obstacles to challenge the competition. The connections we make from drivers to fans is what fuels our excitement to push these massive one-of-a-kind machines to the absolute edge! Monster Jam truly is as big as it gets!
What are your plans for the future?
After 6 years of consistently touring the country I’m currently taking a break from the driver’s seat and spending more time at home with family to assist in caretaking 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 driver’s seat again!
In the meantime, I look forward to reviving my skateboard brand with the first new line of Overtime skate decks to be released since 2019, so be on the lookout!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.monsterjam.com/en-us/driver/berto-trevino
- Instagram: berto_trevino
