This thread has been made a sticky...............
LOL J/k
I dont know what to say. Its funny to think that we started this site just to be an alternative and did it for fun really. Now it has changed my entire career and it has become my job, best part is its more fun than ever! I so burned out on my old job, I was in that line of work for over 10 years and it took until last year to realize the only reason I was in that career and industry was because I got started in it so young. At the end of the day I couldnt help but think WTF am I doing in Landscape Lighting? I did it because it was a paycheck, not because it was what I wanted in life. Sure it was a good paycheck but so what, when you wake up in the morning hating the drive to work, hating the environment your in, and driving home stressed out is the money really worth it? To me life is about enjoying the time you have here on earth and making the most of it. Of course I am thankful for all the was afforded to me during those years but it was not where I wanted to be in life.
UTVUnderground started in late 08 as an idea and by Jan. 09 it had launched. It only took a couple of weeks for it to explode and grow in membership. Fast forward a year and a half later and we are an industry recognized entity and respected voice of the UTV enthusiast. You dont attend any race events west of the mississippi and not see a UTVUnderground.com decal. We have done our best to make UTVUnderground not just a forum like all the others but much more like an interactive online magazine. We work hard to provide you all with valid and up to date content and that requires countless hours of networking, studying, and developing so that you can log on each and every week and read or see something different on our site then whats on the others.
When I speak to manufacturers or other industry professionals involved in the UTV world they all say the same thing, you seem to have the best group of members out of all the sites. There is no constant bickering or fighting, random schoolhouse bs'ing, and they all seem to be really knowledgeable. I agree 100%. I describe our members as the elite UTV enthusiasts and most all seem to agree. Of course I say that with all due respect as there are tons of very knowledgeable and respectfull members who participate on sites other than ours, but we do have a solid group here in general skipping the bad apples that tend to plague other forums. We will never attract the sheer numbers as some sites today because we are not a single UTV specific site meaning the guys looking for just a Teryx based discussion may not find us when searching on google. But what happens is as soon as they are alienated or burned out on those other sites they find us and gravitate to our culture that we have here.
Sure I drive the content and keep the site fresh, and believe me it takes more hours then I care to admit or my wife cares to hear me discuss but the real reason this site is thriving the way it is is strictly because of YOU, our members. Without you I am just a lonley Joe talking to myself. You guys make the site a solid online destination and you guys are the reason I have a career in the UTV off road industry which I can't begin to tell you just how much better my quality of life is since I made this change.
I also could have never of built this site without the help of Dan at Magnum OffRoad who helped me with the graphic content, layout, and site server. He from day 1 has been the single most behind the scenes helper of this site and for that I am grateful. Rusty5150 who I have known since we were like 6 years old is the most visual contributor and another founder who also puts in tons of work to make this site what it is and without him I would be traveling to a lot more events then I already do alone. He is always there to help and with a little luck he will join me in a career of Off Road! There are so many others in this industry who have helped put UTVUnderground on the map and they know who they are. Lastly I need to thank all the Racers, their teams, and all of our UTVUnderground sponsors who promote the site endlessly through their performance and marketing dollars. They truly are the glue that binds this site!
In all I am truly blessed to be a part of this industry and operate this site. I am 10 times richer in spirit because of it and I look forward to hosting and building this site for many many years to come. UTVUnderground was built to last and with the core group and foundation we have we are primed for a solid future!
Rep Points to all of you!!!
Joey D.
