Truckers of TikTok
If you aren’t on TikTok, you might want to reconsider. Surprisingly, there is a trucker community on the social media platform, and they are picking up hundreds of thousands of followers.
Human connection can be scant when you live a life on the road. Many truckers have taken to social media to tell their tales from the road, usually Facebook or Twitter.
However, several truckers migrated to TikTok, a social media platform popular among the younger generation. Although many of these truckers are relatively young, some of them are the stereotypical truck driver – i.e., white males in their 50s. It turns out that TikTok users are finding these truck drivers are worth listening to.
Michael Lombard
9,400 followers
86.8K likes
Michael Lombard has a lot to say, and a lot of people are listening.
Currently living in Buda, Texas, as an owner-operator, Lombard is a second-generation truck driver and a member of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association. Lombard’s grandfather and his brother, Nicky, and John Lombard, started Lombard Bros. Trucking Co. with a horse and carriage in Waterbury, Conn. That company grew to be one of the largest carriers in the northeast, with 11 terminals from Baltimore to Maine.
Before becoming a truck driver, Lombard spent four years in the Marines. He takes that training and brings it to TikTok with workout routines for truckers.
“I can’t do what Lombard did back in the ‘70s and offer you a great job that paid you the equivalent of six figures and a pension,” Lombard told Land Line. “What I can offer you is my content, my motivation, and show you that I can do the same job as you and still manage to do things like run full marathons and to train for these and to work out and to do push-ups in 20 degrees. You can do that.”
Only some of Lombard’s videos are workout tutorials for truckers. Other videos include commentary on the trucking industry. In fact, Lombard runs a podcast called “Lombard Trucking Podcast.” He talks with fellow truckers about the ups and downs of being a truck driver.
Kodi Wilson
157,000 followers
734K likes
Being a young female, Kodi Wilson is the typical demographic for TikTok. However, her life as a truck driver is anything but typical for a young female on the social media platform.
Wilson’s TikTok account is full of wisdom for other young females looking to get into the industry. For example, one video explains five things she wished she knew before trucking:
- Trucking is very time consuming.
- Don’t overextend yourself.
- Take care of your mental health before anything.
- The money isn’t great starting out, but it is better than an average-paying job.
- Trucking is dangerous if you’re not attentive and only in it for the money, this isn’t for you.
- Although the industry is “Hurry up and wait,” you still will have some beautiful moments with trucking.
- Embrace the bad times and learn from them.
Currently a company driver at Navajo Express, Wilson has been driving for a year and a half. She is also a second-generation driver, with her father paving the way for her to become a trucker.
Barry Mathews
531,400 followers
10.3M likes
When people think of a trucker, they picture someone like Barry Mathews. With nearly 37 years of trucking under his belt, he has more trucking experience than the four other TikTok truckers mentioned in this story combined.
Growing up on a farm in Texas, Mathews began driving a Ford L9000 at a young age. His father owned a truck stop, exposing a young Mathews to the big rigs.
Mathews’ trucking life was pretty typical up until a few years ago.
“My daughter told me, she said, ‘Dad, you need a TikTok,’” Mathews said. “I said, ‘Baby, I got a watch.’ She said, ‘No, no, it’s an app.’ I said, ‘I don’t need an app for that. Hell, there’s a clock on my phone.’ I had no idea what it was. She said, ‘You are a moron.’ And I was like, ‘Well, thanks, baby.’”
Also known as Bear, Mathew’s daughter combined that with his distinctive voice to create his TikTok handle: BearTheVoice3.
In addition to talking about the trucking industry, Mathews uses the platform to express his opinions on a variety of topics. He also gives cooking tutorials from his truck. Mathews started the cooking tutorials to help young drivers, considering how expensive eating on the road can be.
Having a large following on social media comes with a lot of responsibility. On at least five occasions, Mathews has received a message from someone who was suicidal. In those instances, Mathews will reach out and talk to them on the phone. In fact, he had a conversation with a suicidal driver just days before talking to Land Line.
“There’s an enormous responsibility that goes along,” Mathews said. “I’m glad that I have it. I’m glad that I was able to help this lady and the four other people previous to this who have reached out to me.”
Bethany Hunt
84,400 followers
1.2M likes
Being a young female, she’s the typical TikTok user. What’s not typical for someone like Bethany Hunt is her career: truck driver.
Using her social media savviness, tens of thousands of people want to listen to what Hunt has to say about her job as a truck driver. After all, the face of a millennial is something most TikTok users can identify with.
With a large reach, Hunt is educating the younger generation about life as a trucker. Followers can witness how difficult the lifestyle can be.
“You know, place to place, where you’re going to sleep at night, where you’re going to get a shower, when you’re going to go to the bathroom,” Hunt said. “Stuff like that. I’ve had a lot of people in real life interact with me, and they’re surprised that I don’t have a bathroom in this truck with me.”
Jesse Baremore
135,000 followers
3M likes
Maybe it’s something in the water, but Jesse Baremore drives for the same company as Bethany Hunt: Central Oregon Truck Co. Although Baremore also talks about life on the road, he also gives a more practical look at being a trucker. Specifically, Baremore breaks down his paycheck each week.
Watch any trucker TikTok video, and one will get an understanding of what the lifestyle is like. However, someone who may be interested in being a trucker also wants to know what the pay will be like.
In his paycheck breakdown videos, Baremore breaks down where he went for the week, complete with photos of maps. He then totals up the miles, multiplies that by the cents-per-mile rate, adds any tarp bonus, and lets followers know what he grossed that week.
For example, in one video, Baremore drove 3,239.8 miles at 64 cents per mile and three tarps ($100 each). That week, he grossed $2,373.47.
“I feel like the pay misinformation is so huge,” Baremore said. “I’ve just seen it time and time again, where people start preaching numbers with no receipts, as the children say. I really like the transparency of it. I really want to be able to put it out there. This is the miles that drive, what I’m paid per mile. This is what my gross weekly pay is. Because I think that the more information we all have about what’s out there, the better choices we’re all able to make.” LL