Cowboy Matt Deas, one of the OG rockcrawlers hails from North Carolina where he raises kids and horses. Matt shares with us some great stories about rockcrawling in the early days.. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.
5:16 – Man, I love my childhood going to school and stuff, there were 89 of us in my graduating
10:43 – Once I got healed, I started ordering parts and got me a trail rig
17:11 – from 02-03 the sport evolved more, more participants and stuff
22:07 – Jellico was always my favorite because that’s where it all started for me
29:44 – Probably the WE Rock in ’07 we ended up third, but I remember the level of competition was huge
38:56 – I want to say it was ’10 a lot of people were coming back, they caught their breath and was like, hey, we survived the storm
47:01 – I’m going to treat myself for a while, I’m going to treat myself for a while, I made it three weeks
57:44 – We ought to put a show on, get some sponsorship and really pump it up – you woulda been proud of me.
Special thanks to 4low Magazine and Maxxis Tires for support and sponsorship of this podcast.
TRANSCRIPT
[00:01:39.610] – Big Rich Klein
On today’s episode of Conversations, I get to interview Matt Deas, from Rock Crawler to Family Man to North Carolina Cowboy. Matt Deas, how are you doing today?
[00:01:51.380] – Matt Deas
I’m doing good, Rich. How are you doing?
[00:01:53.160] – Big Rich Klein
Doing excellent. Glad to get you on here.
[00:01:56.180] – Matt Deas
I’m glad you got… Glad to be on here. Yeah.
[00:01:59.250] – Big Rich Klein
Thanks for having It’s going to be fun. Remind us about those old days because you’re one of the O’G’s, you know?
[00:02:04.590] – Matt Deas
Yeah.
[00:02:05.140] – Big Rich Klein
Even though you’re in your 40s now?
[00:02:09.350] – Matt Deas
42, yeah. Be similar. I turned 42.
[00:02:11.750] – Big Rich Klein
You’re still a kid. You know, that’s when I started doing the Cal Rock events.
[00:02:16.810] – Matt Deas
Is that right? You’re 42, huh?
[00:02:17.900] – Big Rich Klein
I was 42. Yeah.
[00:02:19.300] – Matt Deas
Wow.
[00:02:20.930] – Big Rich Klein
It’s amazing.
[00:02:22.150] – Matt Deas
It’s crazy how fast time goes. That’s for sure.
[00:02:24.740] – Big Rich Klein
Absolutely. So let’s find out more about you. And where were you born How did you get raised?
[00:02:31.280] – Matt Deas
I was born, actually, in Bradenton, Florida. We moved to Western North Carolina. I think I just turned two years old. So been here, I tell everybody I’m from here. I’ve been here 40 years anyway, or a little over 40. I don’t even really remember. Besides going back and seeing family in Florida and stuff, I don’t even really remember anything about it. Just this is home to me.
[00:02:55.480] – Big Rich Klein
Right. And what created the move? Did your parents move because of work or family? Yeah.
[00:03:02.790] – Matt Deas
Or was it- Work and family. I’ve got an older brother. Even back then, like crime and drugs and all that. In that part of Florida, we’re starting to escalate and stuff. My mom and dad, they just elected. They didn’t want to raise two kids in that environment or whatever. They moved here. Let’s see, it’d be my dad’s parents. They had a summer home up here. We come here on vacation a lot, and it’s always just been a small, quiet town or whatever. Anyhow, that’s what brought us here in North Carolina.
[00:03:40.960] – Big Rich Klein
How many people are in the town you’re at now?
[00:03:44.480] – Matt Deas
Man, so now it’s a pretty big town. As far as overpopulated, it turned into one of the most visited. Brightson City is actually one of the most visited destinations in the world right now. Tourism just absolutely took this place over. Numbers-wise, now, I have no idea. I mean, really back in the ’80s and even early ’90s and stuff, there was really not a lot of jobs. It was a poor area. And there’s so many multimillionaires that’s moved in here, especially after COVID. When COVID hit, everybody wanted out the cities and they wanted to move here or towns like this. And, man, it’s just it’s crazy the amount of people just to get through our little town. The town hasn’t really changed the infrastructure of it. You can imagine it’s like a… It’s a Zoom, just trying to get through to the bank or the grocery store. It’s not the little quiet town I grew up in, that’s for sure.
[00:04:46.750] – Big Rich Klein
So is it artsy now? Is that what it is that’s attracting the business?
[00:04:51.220] – Matt Deas
Outdoor. So people that are big into fishing, like fly fishing or whatever, we have some of the best fly fishing there he is. Trout fishing. Mountain biking is huge. Whitewater rafting. Of course, we have the casino now. It’s just, yeah, a lot of it’s outdoorsy type stuff. Okay.
[00:05:13.610] – Big Rich Klein
So what was it like going to school there?
[00:05:16.980] – Matt Deas
Man, I love my childhood going to school and stuff. I don’t know, man. It was never really any issues growing up. I think I graduated. There was, I think there was 89 of us. Everybody knew everybody. To an extent, it’s that way now. You go to a restaurant or something like that, you look around, you’re like, Wow, I don’t know really anybody in here. 15, 20 years ago, you knew everybody in the restaurant. But no, my childhood was great, man. School was great. What I’d give to go back.
