The Diesel Brothers is a automotive reality show distributed through the Discovery Channel. In each episode of the series, the bearded group of diesel guys shows how they transform old truck wreckage into incredible diesel machines that are heavy, strong, custom-built beasts.
They call their creations "badass trucks." They do all the metal and mechanical work in their repair shop in Utah where the reality show is recorded.
Since its premiere in Discovery, the Diesel Brothers have gained a lot of popularity with diesel fans all over the world. But at the same time, the guys on the show have won themselves some serious controversies.
From pollution issues to where they source some of their truck parts from, some fans have been skeptical about the whole structure of the show. Apparently, some of these issues even led to a lawsuit.
So, just to quench your thirst for facts, here's a list of things ever fan should know about the Diesel Brothers.
15 They Really Give Trucks Away
Yes, it's true. The Diesel Brothers really give away trucks in their show. It's a big part of their promotion. Just think how many people viewing the show hope to get one of the diesel beasts for free. Think also of how many people struggle to be eligible to get a free truck and even how many viewers get called even if they're not eligible.
Now, think of the cost. Even though their trucks are highly priced, their cost is much lower than the price tag of a similar truck you’d get from a manufacturer. Remember, they buy junk to refurbish. One can argue that they have to order special parts, take care of the costs of materials and labor, and so on.
But what makes those trucks special are the design, the highly skilled labor, and the brand. And those components are all theirs. Definitely, the cost of the giveaways is in the budget of the show. But the promotional advantage they get out of a single truck per show is way bigger than the cost of the truck itself.
14 Viewers Have Accused Them Of Getting Parts And Labor Illegally
Diesel Brothers viewers have done a lot of finger-pointing about how the guys get their parts and labor. There was a huge controversy when they posted a video looking to hire a new painter. Why? Well, in the video, the Diesel Brothers decided to use Spanish to make the bid. Many fans responded with xenophobic comments. In fact, the number of angry comments was so large that Heavy D had to post his own response comments on the same day of the publishing.
Heavy D said that the authors of xenophobic comments didn't represent the majority of the American people and that he and his team were respectful of immigration laws.
Apart from that, critics also had time to yell that the show's parts were being acquired illegally. Well, keep in mind that they use many different sources to get parts from, including junkyards. Nobody can firmly deny that there's been any breach of the law when dealing with junkyards. However, the Diesel Brothers haven't been charged for illegally sourcing parts for any of their products. So, these are just claims, but with no proof, we’ll just leave that at that.
13 They Got Their Own Show After An Appearance With Jay Leno
Heavy D and Diesel Dave have long been active in social media. If you're one of those fans who've been seeing the Diesel Brothers for a long time, you certainly know that they've been producing and publishing videos of their bad truck creations long before premiering in the Discovery Channel show.
Their videos have always been fun with short skits, pranks, and jokes. They've always used fun to present their products. When some of their videos went viral, Jay Leno decided to present a Diesel Brothers video in a session of his own show called “Prank You Very Much.”
But this wasn't just a mere coincidence. Leno himself is also famous for how much he loves cars and enjoys driving. And it was exactly this appearance on Jay Leno's show that attracted the attention of the Discovery Channel.
It was a great opportunity for both sides—for Discovery, because of their strategy of reinvigorating their shows, moving from the scientific documentary style to reality shows that are also fun while instructive, and for the Diesel Brothers, it was the beginning of their path to success. They got more resources to produce their shows and counted on the worldwide distribution of Discovery.
12 They've Done Mormon Missionary Work
The Diesel Brothers look nothing like Mormons. They don't follow the script of having Mormon looks. However, they're truly people of faith, and, as most of the youngsters in the Utah region, they've dedicated their time to spreading the Mormon word.
The long beards are part of the characters of the show, no doubt about it. As they're now completely dedicated to the show, they don't want to draw any attention to religion. But they don't deny it—quite the opposite, in fact. In the back pages of the Diesel Brothers book, they've included pictures of how they were before the beards and during their missions.
Heavy D had his mission in the jungle areas of Bolivia and Brazil, where he learned Spanish and Portuguese, becoming fluent in both languages. Diesel Dave has served his mission in Portugal.
11 They Really Have Fun Pranking Each Other On The Show
The Diesel Brothers have a lot of fun on the show set. The cast really plays hide-and-seek with their belongings, including hiding their own trucks. Think of it this way. The show happens in an actual repair shop. It's a large and very complete shop where they move, cut, weld, and paint tons of steel to create big, badass trucks. That's a very huge playground.
But we know that all play and no work makes Jack a lazy boy. So, amidst the hide-and-seek games, there's still serious work that goes on. Even though some scenes are made only for the show, most of it is actual work. It's their business to trick out old trucks and build wonderful machines from them. Dieselsellerz is an ongoing business, not just a show set. So, what’s the lesson? Work hard, play hard.
10 They've Authored A Book About Trucks And Life
Heavy D and Diesel Dave are the authors of the book titled “The Diesel Brothers: A Truckin' Awesome Guide to Trucks and Life.” The book is an easy read about how the business and, later, the show started. You can read about the behind-the-scenes of the show’s production and learn about how they work with their social media team. You'll also find it interesting to know the story of true entrepreneurship these guys have come through, including how David Sparks, aka Heavy D, hired his first employee and best friend David Kiley, aka Diesel Dave, to develop the business of custom-built trucks.
It's clear in the book that they're another important example of businessmen who started up from zero to grow a significant business—in their case, with the merit of building custom vehicles that are unique. You'll also see in the book how much they focus on internet traffic to their website because this drives the sales of parts and merchandise. One of the biggest pieces of satisfaction you'll get is getting to see how the guys looked like before they grew their legendary beards–this will fry your mind.
9 The Brand "Diesel Brothers" Has Grown A Lot
The Diesel Brothers brand is represented by a bearded skull surrounded by the name "Diesel Brothers" written in big, heavy letters. The background color is preferably black or gray. One thing we can agree on is that the bearded skull looks really badass. But apart from it, the incredible vehicles these guys produce are what really support this brand. And on top of that, this brand also survives on a huge array of other truck and diesel parts.
Yes, it's great to have a special vehicle with the bad bearded skull on the grille. Many people are eager for that. And many more are desperate to get one of those giveaways. But the fact of the matter is, you may need more than just that. Different kinds of parts are available for online purchase. They also sell clothes, boots, sunglasses, key chains, dog vests, and many other lines of products identified with their brand.
The bearded skull is also carrying a product line for beards. You can buy a beard-growth stimulator, or if you're already proud of your facial hair, you can take care of it with the balm they use. What’s even cooler is that each cast member uses his own balm, so you’ve got several to choose from.
8 They Actually Own Three Companies
If you only see the Diesel Brothers as big, bearded guys who cut and weld metal and adjust noisy diesel engines with only the sensitivity of their ears, then you're not getting the full picture. Those guys have a well-developed business acumen. They started out through a Facebook page in which they sold trucks. Which trucks? The ones they bought as a wreck and completely restored to make them look heavy and monstrous. On the truck-selling page, they added fun videos of their shop work, videos they were producing with their own means long before the Discovery Channel came in with a contract.
With the large audience they have today, their business has grown to sell parts and merchandise. dieselsellerz.com has become a portal from which you can go to four additional websites that are Sellerz, Diesel Power Gear, 4x4 Anything, and Legion Truck Armor. Each one of these websites has a specialized function. For example, LTA sells the Patriot Tires.
The activities of the four websites plus the revenues they get from the TV shows and advertisements are accounted for in three legal entities called "DieselSellerz," "Diesel Power," and "Sparks Motors." The latter carries the name of David Sparks, aka Heavy D.
Truck lovers all over the world are browsing the DieselSellerz web page. Of course, the majority of the hits are local American traffic, but the site gets visitors from many countries. These include Brazil, Canada, India, and France, totaling to more than 250 countries.
7 They Work Very Hard To Get Their Trucks Done
With all the humor and the pranking during the show, one might get the impression that it's all fun and games. But the fact is, Heavy D, Diesel Dave, and their crew work very hard. And that's not only in the production of the videos but also in the operation of the company. Their business of TV shows and parts and merchandise sales is supported by the heavy, powerful diesel trucks they build. The guys also work really hard in all the steps of the product development itself. First, they design the products they'll derive from the standard, used, old vehicles they buy. Then, they have to create the unique parts that'll transform the wreck into a powerful truck.
When the parts are ready, they have to assemble and tune the truck. Keep in mind that each vehicle is special, so there's no production line in the shop. Everything is custom built.
However, despite the multitude of knowledge they've accumulated about this kind of production, sometimes, ideas go wrong. Thus, they have redesigned and rebuild some of their output. Combined with the hard work on the shop floor, you have to add all it takes to produce a television show. It's months of preparation, takes, and re-takes that can make anyone go crazy. Instead, it’s the fans who go gaga with the impressive stuff these guys build.
6 Their Patriot Tires Are Made In Taiwan
Okay, here’s the assumption. The Diesel Brothers have searched for different tire suppliers to produce the special pieces of rubber they need. It's not an easy job because each vehicle they make is one of a kind. Thus, it's not a production line that yields economies of scale. So, they eventually reached an agreement with Patriot Tires, a company that apparently prides itself on being all American. As a matter of fact, Patriot is proud to say that they conduct the designing, the testing, the marketing, and the quality-assurance processes of their products in the United States.
However, the tires from this company actually come from Taiwan. It's true that Patriot does all the aforementioned things in the United States, but it's also true that, despite the ownership, the factory is located in Taiwan, and the tires are made using rubber from Malaysia and Thailand.
5 They've Created A Biodiesel-Powered Truck
We live in a time where people are a lot more conscious about the planet than they were forty years ago. It's true that the Diesel Brothers have been sued for the emissions of some of their machines, but that doesn't make them less conscious about the environment. And the evidence about that comes in the area of renewable fuels. As petroleum is a limited resource that one day will be fully consumed, a lot of effort has been exerted to develop fuel from renewable sources like plants. This fuel is biodiesel. Biodiesel can be produced from different grains, soy being one of them.
That's why Minnesota soy producers teamed up with the Diesel Brothers to develop a custom-built F550 that runs on soy biodiesel. In one episode of the series, Minnesota farmers become part of the cast to help the brothers explain how it works. Although the original fuel system of the Ford truck already supported alternative fuels, all the strong and heavy design created by the Diesel Brothers helped to show that a truck can run on renewable plants and doesn't need to roll coal to be a badass truck.
4 They've Been Sued For Damaging The Environment
A group of doctors known as "Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment" filed a lawsuit against the Diesel Brothers for damaging the environment.
Here’s the thing. You may think that the bearded guys who create and drive badass trucks aren't really environmentalists. Apparently, the physicians think the same, and with their lawsuit, they're seeking to have the Diesel Brothers punished for hurting Mother Nature.
The doctors argue in their lawsuit that the modified trucks roll coal. They say the exhausting systems are tricked to increase the volume of black smoke coming out. Why? Just to look really badass. To make matters worse, the New York Times has published an article saying that people interested in rolling coal should watch the show.
Both Heavy D and Diesel Dave have already stated in press interviews that rolling coal is bad. They've also said that their production works with the EPA agents and strictly follow the environmental regulations. They've also assured fans that they comply with the European regulations, as the show is very popular in Europe, where many countries have serious environmental protection laws.
3 The Truck Fire Was Actually Recreated
Each Diesel Brothers episode is as close as possible to a reality show. Fans really have the impression that the truck production is actually taking place as the cameras are recording the show. But that's not always the case. The content of each episode is previously thought of and carefully prepared. In the second episode of the series, a truck burned during production, and that actually took place off camera. The actual fire erupted by accident when the cameras weren't recording.
The production team found it awesome to have a truck bursting into flames in a reality show. Thus, the idea was to reproduce the accident but, this time, with the cameras carefully placed and recording. However, the recreation of a fire in a repair shop that has diesel fuel and combustible materials is dangerous. As Heavy D later reported, the planned fire got out of hand, and there were flames bursting on both sides of the white truck cab, destroying parts that had already been prepared in the production process.
So, the fire actually happened off camera, but the recreation ended up on the show. But on the flip side, the fake fire also did get out of control, so in some way, it did reproduce the thrill of the first one.
2 They've Sold Aftermarket Exhaust Systems
This is another accusation related to rolling coal. You've probably seen tweets from the Diesel Brothers suggesting that it's cool to have black smoke coming out of the trucks. This was even part of the show, apparently. However, such talk has landed them no favor with environmentalists. In addition to the lawsuit by the doctors, the Diesel Brothers have been accused of selling exhaust systems that carry modifications aiming to increase the black smoke of the truck engines.
Allegedly, they've designed and sold parts to bypass the original emission-control parts of the diesel vehicles. Why? Just because many of their viewers still think that rolling coal is cool. As you've already read in a previous entry, the Diesel Brothers have given press interviews in which they said that rolling coal isn't cool. This matter is especially important to them both in the American and in the European markets where the show has many viewers.
In the case of the exhaust systems being modified to produce more smoke, no evidence has been presented. The EPA, which is the federal organ responsible for the environmental regulation enforcement, hasn't filed any lawsuits against the Diesel Brothers or their companies.
1 Heavy D Claims To Fake Seizures
Heavy D posted on Instagram what he intended to be a tribute to his father. But instead of praising his old man for good memories, he preferred to thank his father for rather not giving a correct example.
He revealed that his father would fake a seizure whenever the police would stop him for speeding. To make matters worse, he also revealed that his father taught him how to fake a seizure well enough to convince the police.
However, several questions were raised by Heavy D's publication, as many viewers considered it exaggerated or directly false. How could it be that a person could escape police by always playing the same trick? People questioned him about how many times his father got away with his trick, but there was no answer.
In addition, fans doubted if a policeman would simply let go of a person having a seizure. Most likely, the officer wouldn't give a speeding ticket, but it's also most likely that a trained policeman would call emergency services to avoid risking the lives of the driver and also the lives of other people driving on the road.
Sources: dieselsellerz.com; screenrant.com; thedrive.com