This week on the Oakley Podcast, hosts Jeremy Kellett and Megan Cummings welcome third-generation truck driver and Oakley Owner/Operator, Donzell Rivers. During the episode, Donzell shares his background, family life, and experiences in the trucking industry, talking about his journey to becoming an owner/operator at Oakley. He emphasizes what has helped him become successful in his career including the importance of equipment maintenance and customer service. The conversation offers valuable insights into the trucking profession and the significance of family and community support. Don’t miss it!
Key topics in today’s conversation include:
- Donzell’s Background and Journey in Trucking (2:30)
- Family Life (5:14)
- Family Legacy in Trucking (8:04)
- First Trucking Experiences (10:52)
- Current Truck Details (12:40)
- Importance of Truck Appearance (15:04)
- Advice for Aspiring Owner-Operators (17:06)
- Learning Equipment and Maintenance (18:24)
- Future of Trucking (20:01)
- Importance of Customer Service (22:02)
- Safety on the Road (24:48)
- Having Respect for Truck Drivers (27:05)
- Health and Fitness for Truck Drivers (30:15)
- Final Thoughts and Takeaways (36:10)
Oakley Trucking is a family-owned and operated trucking company headquartered in North Little Rock, Arkansas. For more information, check out our show website: podcast.bruceoakley.com.
Transcription
Jeremy Kellett 00:15
Welcome to the Oakley Podcast, trucking, business and family. This show is brought to you by Oakley trucking, headquartered in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The purpose of this podcast is to communicate with Oakley owner operators and their families by giving them up to date information concerning Oakley trucking and the trucking industry, from business advice to safety updates to success stories, also to give an insight to outside truck drivers that might be interested in joining the Oakley family. Hey, welcome to the Oakley podcast, trucking business and family. My name is Jeremy Kellett. I’m Director recruiting at Oakley trucking. I’m your host for this podcast. On this episode, this week’s episode, me and Megan sat down with Don Zale rivers. He’s one of our independent contractors here at Oakley who pulls a pneumatic tank for us, and we sat down with him and talked to him about some, you know, interesting things I should say. I mean, we talked to him about he is a third generation truck driver, from his grandpa to his dad to know him, and how it’s in his blood and it’s in his family, how he trades trucks every four years, how he’s a Peterbilt man, how he exercises on the road, how important customer service and safety is to him. It was just a great episode, sitting down and visiting with him, and he’s such a good guy, and I appreciate him doing that. So we’re going to get to that me and Megan, sit down with him and talk to him about that. So I want to say thanks to our listeners. You guys have just been awesome. I appreciate everything you do and follow us on all the social media platforms. You know, we just got a great social media platform out there for everybody to check in and get to know more about Oakley trucking and who we are and what we do and our standards and our morals. And it’s just really good to get some good feedback from you guys. And I appreciate everything that you do. I want to say before we get to this episode, go back and listen to some of our episodes in the past. Maybe we’ve got such good ones in the past that I can’t even, you know, some of them with the owner operators. Luigi was good. I’d go back and listen to him if you’ve never listened to him. You know, I had Shannon Newton, Arkansas Trucking Association president on. That was really good. I’ve had Louis Pugh with OIDA on. We’ve, I’ve had the safety guys, yeah. I mean, we just had some good episodes in the past, and I think it just helps educate you and learn more about Oakley and to see maybe if you’re fit over here. So check them out. Appreciate everybody listening. Let’s get to this week’s episode. A used
Arrow Truck Sales Commercial 02:30
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Jeremy Kellett 03:16
So tell us about Don Zale rivers. Where are you from? You know, family, hobbies give me a little bit born
Donzell Rivers 03:23
and raised in Chicago, Illinois. I’m a Chicago kid. I’ve been living in Austin, Texas for the last seven and a half years, me and my wife, we look for a change, and we Texas. Austin was it, and I came down to Texas seven and a half years ago, and it’s a world different from Chicago. That’s what I was about to say. It was a big difference, big difference. But we wanted to change the scenery, warmer weather, and just made the move, and then wind up being the best move I possibly made a second to coming over to Oakley,
Jeremy Kellett 03:56
Chicago. So you were born and raised up there, born, you still have a family up there. Still have all my
04:01
family up there. Yeah, you
Megan Cummings 04:03
make trips up there often.
Donzell Rivers 04:04
When I can every, maybe once, every four months, I try to get up there to check on Mom, Dad. Well,
Jeremy Kellett 04:09
they probably think he’s a trader. He left and went
Megan Cummings 04:13
to Texas like no problem. Is it me before we get off the topic of Chicago, I just have to know, have you ever had Chicago pizza, like actual deep dish pizza? I’ve
Jeremy Kellett 04:26
never been to Chicago, well, been to the airport. Do
Megan Cummings 04:29
Do you have pizza in the airport? Is it really like all it’s cracked
Donzell Rivers 04:33
up to be Chicago deep dish pizza? It’s okay, but if you ask a real Chicago in uh huh, we love thin crust pizza,
Megan Cummings 04:39
interesting. Wow, that’s breaking news. Deep dish is more of a tourist
Donzell Rivers 04:43
thing. It’s a Chicago tradition. But most of the Chicago people, I know, we prefer thin crust, you know, interesting, yeah, hadn’t no idea we have great pizza. I mean, they always owe Chicago, New York pizza, and we have great pizza, great food, period. I mean, I’ve yet to be. Anywhere to have food like Chicago, not even in Austin, wonderful, beautiful, not even Austin. Have a great barbecue.
Jeremy Kellett 05:07
What they’re known for, barbecue, yeah, you
Donzell Rivers 05:09
want some barbecue, you come to Austin, Texas, or other places in Texas too, but yeah,
Jeremy Kellett 05:13
so you got a family,
Donzell Rivers 05:14
yes? Um, my wife, Alma, um, blended family. How
Jeremy Kellett 05:19
Have you been married? Three years. Oh, three years. Yeah,
Donzell Rivers 05:23
we just hit that three years on August, 28 five kids. All right, yeah, it’s two twins, seven years old, 20 year old daughter in college, LSU, my son, he’s a petrochemical operator for Exxon Mobil in Joliet, Illinois. And my 31 year old daughter is in California. She does acting jobs like they’re all over. I
Jeremy Kellett 05:50
wouldn’t have thought you’d had a 31 year old, yeah? Well, it
Donzell Rivers 05:52
my wife, but, you know, blend it family, right? Yeah, it’s the age all over. Wow. And I’m dad now.
Jeremy Kellett 06:02
You got your pulse on everything you got: one Chicago, one in LA. I mean, you can get the lowdown of all around the United States just by deck, texting your kids, texting them,
Donzell Rivers 06:13
and that phone rings all day long, you know? So they don’t want much, because, for the most part, they pretty much do their own thing now. And everyone you know calling to check on us more than we check on them, I guess, now.
Jeremy Kellett 06:25
So I guess just your wife at home with the twins? Yeah, she’s
Donzell Rivers 06:29
at home. She’s also a hair stylist. So in between, you know, work and being at home with them, and I wouldn’t be able to do what I’m doing without her, she’s her support is, you know, tremendous, yeah, you know, without her, I wouldn’t be able to function right on the road, off
Jeremy Kellett 06:47
of a little side track. What’s it like having twins?
Donzell Rivers 06:50
Listen, they’re both girls, both boys. They have their own personalities, but
Jeremy Kellett 06:54
Have you ever mixed them up? No.
Donzell Rivers 06:56
I mean, they have really little things you know about them, but you know they pretty much have their own attitudes and stuff. So you know who is who
Megan Cummings 07:08
I’ve always seen it. Have you seen those videos where they do the side by side like they can’t see each other, and they put twins, Oh, yeah. And they ask them to do random stuff, and they almost always do this,
Donzell Rivers 07:18
almost, almost do the same thing. Yeah, yeah, that’s a crazy twin. What
Megan Cummings 07:22
Do they call it that? Twin telepathy, yeah? Twin. Oh,
Jeremy Kellett 07:25
They like that. Some
Donzell Rivers 07:26
things they do, yeah, you can, like, hold on, they are identical with that. But some things they do not, night and day, that’s
Jeremy Kellett 07:35
great. Sounds like you have a great family? Oh, wonderful family. Now you got in this you’ve been in his trucking business for how long? 25
Donzell Rivers 07:42
years, June 9, 23 years as a CDO holder, and two years just driving with my dad,
Jeremy Kellett 07:51
driving illegally. That’s what he’s admitting. You feel safe enough to admit it,
Donzell Rivers 07:56
but 20 to five years driving total, I guess you could say, holy
Jeremy Kellett 08:01
Molly, get out of the truck and get your blood.
Donzell Rivers 08:03
Oh man, granddad, granddad, when I was a little boy, he was in dumb, always driving. And if you go to Chicago between Gary and Chicago in 8094, it’s a big Corey and I think it’s the biggest man made hole that you can see from out of space, I guess. And he just ran loads in and out of that Corey for years in the dump. And my father became a CDO driver, him and my brother, my uncle, and did everything from Dum recycling, driving reefers and everything. And I came along with it, yeah. I mean, Father, 367 cab over Peterbilt, first truck I know, since I was looting, we went up and down the road anytime I went to school. I wanted to be in that truck. His 359 Peterbilt. 379 Peter but I wanted you to know so to me, that’s why you know Trucking is in my heart. You know, there’s only one truck for me. It’s a Peterbilt.
Jeremy Kellett 09:00
Those grandpa and dad. Grandpa, Dad,
Donzell Rivers 09:03
uncle. And then later on, my mom got her CDL license. She never drove a truck. No, she went truck driving to school. Got her license, but then she became a bus operator for Chicago transportation. And then my grandmother got her license. So your whole family of CD air holders. We all have a lot in common. Thanks, don’t you? Oh, yeah, driving. Everyone drives. We talk about driving, even now that my dad and granddad are retired, we still call them. How’s everything going on the road? Is this? And my father, I come to Chicago, if I get a load going that way, he won’t see the truck. What kind of engine do you have? You’re doing this? Are you doing that? Yeah, Dad, I’m doing it. And, you know, we grew up in a truck scene, trucking shows, growing up going to mars. I think I was like, 12 years old going out to Louisville, and I was like, these guys take pride in their truck, yeah, you know. And I remember, in 2006 I took my son to. His first truck and show in Waupun, Wisconsin, to the big Waupun truck show up there. And that’s when the truck show bug hit me. Guy named Vinnie Del Rio from rolling transport. He had a flat top, 389, 379, that he just did. And it was like, Oh my God. He opened the doors of that truck, and I’m like, you drive this thing every day. He said, My word, I run it every day. I mean, he wasn’t a nut unturned in that truck. I mean, like immaculate. And we are talking 2006 over a $600,000 build. And I was like, and I said, One day, well, one day I want to deck my truck. I like that. And to me, he still is the man out there only. You look at somebody twice like, wow, but yeah, he got me that bug. He put it in. He got in.
Jeremy Kellett 10:48
So great segue. Tell us about your truck. Have
Donzell Rivers 10:52
I’m on my sixth truck in 25 years. Let me backtrack a little, just a little bit. I got my first truck. I was 21 Peter Bill 379, and at that time I was driving for four years. And actually I went and got my own authority. And I had been pulling reefer units out of Chicago, going Chicago to Miami, Chicago to Den, Texas, Paul and Tyson me producing out of Chicago. And I said, Man, I think, you know, they were like, Man, can you get more trucks? I’m like, the money was coming in so much. I’m 21 and I said, Yeah. So I went down there, buy two more trips. I got guys, and I need to drive. So I’m 21 years old, with two, two guys working for me. And yeah, my guy wrote
Jeremy Kellett 11:33
you something, yeah. And I’m
Donzell Rivers 11:34
like, Man, I’m, I’m actually writing checks to guys in the 50s, and I was 21 and but you know, my dad was guiding me along the way. And, you know, kind of the work, I would say, fell into my hand. But you know, they kind of knew me from the name and we were running all over. We were doing it. I mean, who’s making a kill and hand over fist? And then the economy hit in 2008 and I had, kind of had to back up from the drivers and equipment. And I went to one pony operation hauling reefers. And it’s another company. I don’t know if I can say the name of the company I went to drive for ANR transport. Drove for them for eight years. Great company and everything. And nice to see Oakley guys all the time bumping Oakley trucks. And they like, Huh? They tell me their story. And I’m like, you know, sounds good over there and dances. Just so happened, I moved to Texas, and I used to fill up in Hillsboro at all. They used to be my field station. Oakley. Guys come there all the time. Hey, man, this nice truck. Are you pulling the wrong wagon? Though, you know what? I will never forget. I can’t remember the guy’s name. I haven’t seen him in a while. Let me show you my settlements. Let me show you I’m like, guys doing that. I thought I was doing decent, yeah. I talked to my wife, and I called Dust and Eagle. And you say, man, it is what it said it is. And I was like, Let me think about it, Dustin was on me, and I made the move, and that’s how I wound up here at Oakley. But, yeah, but like, say, Now, six trucks later, I’m going back to what you’re asking at a 2024, 389, Peter Doe, all black, had it just a year last week. Made a year, and I’m loving it. Kind of swap out every four years. Now, stay up on a good warranty and everything. I wouldn’t like to but it’s just kind of the best thing to do these days. And I love to look nice and shiny. I love to take pride in my ride.
Jeremy Kellett 13:29
Are you able to keep it that way for the most part?
Donzell Rivers 13:32
I mean, we go to some places that, you know, it may get a little dusty with just some of the stuff that we haul, but I wash it once a week, twice a week, if necessary. I’m just that type of person. If I’m unloading, if I know I got my load started, you may see me out there, you know, going across the wheels or something. And the customers know me. They are like, Hey, man, you keep your truck clean. I’m like, you know, I
Jeremy Kellett 13:53
try to look at what’s unique about your truck that you think nobody else has.
Donzell Rivers 13:58
Everyone always looked at my truck and he said, How do you keep your exhaust so clean? And I say, well, because we called it a dummy exhaust. They like, oh, it’s not hooked up. I’m like, Yeah, I got it running out the back. So keeping pipes and everything clean from the deck, burning them all up and everything. So they like, oh, man, that’s a nice thing. And then they always get compliments about the color. It’s legendary black. So they look at the glass, the gold glass flakes inside the paint, and it just pops with the sun. And we, oh, man, that’s a nice color. This sun makes it pop real good. So, yeah, I kind of stand, I like to stand out amongst the rest, you know, I look at what everyone else is doing, and I kind of go the opposite. And I’m, I’m a less is more type of guy, yeah? So a lot of guys are like, they may want to put hundreds of lights. I kind of put the lights in the right place.
Megan Cummings 14:45
There you go. You know, talking about standing out. We get tons of comments from shippers, and, you know, random people too, about how nice the trailers look, how nice the trucks are, how. Us, you know, our drivers are dressed and mannered and stuff like that. So that means a lot to people. You don’t think it does, but
Donzell Rivers 15:08
yeah, people really can tell Jerry asked me last week, you say, Man, you like a sort of a celebrity. I said, What are you talking about? He said, Did you see the cron shop mafia out in Joplin, Missouri, and they post you on their Instagram and Facebook page. And really, yeah, I guess they kind of catch you coming in and out the yard when you go into the Chrome shop and they take shots. And I went on. I was like, Oh man, they got a shot to the tree with a truck me pulling out. I was like, Oh, wow. So yeah, the Chrome Shop mafia is a big deal. Yeah, four state trucks, yeah, that’s a boss man. Brian Martin, those guys, I mean, they are big in the trucking industry, so if they take a picture of a truck, that’s like a compliment.
Jeremy Kellett 15:51
Well, I told these guys in orientation, I said looking good makes you money. Yes. I mean, it may not be a line item on the settlement, you know, 100 bucks this week. But I’m telling you, it makes you money because it builds a reputation. It gives us the ability to charge, you know, and get the services done, right? I mean, it just, it makes you money, and so that’s great. I encourage everybody to keep their equipment clean. I mean, even the trailers, I tell everybody too, that, you know, we’ll pay for the outside trailer wash as much as you want to wash the trailer on the outside. I’ve never had to stop anybody from doing that, ever. I’ve never had to tell anybody, man, you don’t quit watching that trailer. She’s too many. It’s always the other splay, you know. Man, you got time getting the wash buddy and he gets the trailer clean. It’s a constant battle. So that’s good. You did it all right? Customers recognize it. Yeah, yeah, they do. So the owner operator is what you like to be. You’ve been that most of your career. It sounds like, yes, we have a lot of a lot of listeners out here that I think are company drivers, and I think that their goal is one day be an owner operator, yes, but they’re scared to make that step. That’s a big step, man, especially with these truck prices, and it’s just really hard for them to make that step. What would you tell somebody in that position? Val,
Donzell Rivers 17:13
I would tell them, Don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid. It’s like you say, it’s a big decision to make. It’s a decision that you think about but don’t think too long, because a lot of guys say, I wish I would have done it sooner. That’s what you always hear. I wish I would have become owned and operated sooner. And I would tell you guys, get your experience first, of course, feel comfortable before you make that move. Make sure you get your finances in order and make sure you get with a company like Bruce Oakley. I mean, Bruce Oakley makes it for the first time, owner operator. From what I see, they make it so simple, you know, as far as the paperwork, as far as the permits, as far as the truck registration and everything. So don’t, you know, life’s about taking chances. So you don’t want to, you don’t want to think too long. And years go by and you say, Man, I wish I would have done it sooner. You know, make the leap of faith. Everything you do, whether you are a company driver, is going to have challenges. So you might as well take that step on doing something you really want to do, or get to that goal you really want to be at, and go from there. What’s,
Jeremy Kellett 18:17
What’s the biggest challenge being an owner operator? You think equipment,
Donzell Rivers 18:21
equipment. To me, I would say equipment, learning your equipment, learning your maintenance intervals, learning how to stay on top of your equipment, take care of your equipment. That’s home away from home. You know, being a first time owner operator, your wife may look at you like you are spending a lot of money towards the truck. He likes it, but, you know what? Oh, you know she’s gonna understand that this is the bread and butter. So if I keep this up, you know, and I go out here and make a good living, we’re okay. I tell people, I like to over-mate in my truck. Some people say, Oh, you don’t need an oil change. Like, what? Like my oil changes with the newer trucks, commons, pack card. They may say, you can go 50, 55,000 between oil changes. Well, I’m old school. It used to be 10,000 miles with the old caterpillar in the Commons. But now, if they tell me 50,000 I’m gonna cut it in 25,000 they say, Oh, you may be wasting your money. I’d rather be over made. You know, some guys may try to get 150,000 miles out of a steer tire. Well, I’m gonna swap that steer tire out once a year. No matter what, you know, I just like to stay on top of them. That’s why I like to go down the road with a peace of mind and keep going. I’m
Megan Cummings 19:34
sure you’ll be able to reap the benefits of that in the future. Oh yeah, you know, it’s, it’s better to over maintenance than
Donzell Rivers 19:41
have something that, yeah, and things gonna happen? Yeah, I like to stay on top of it. If something goes wrong, let’s take care of it. Now, let’s get it done now, you know, you may be down for two, three days, but let’s get it done now. Let’s put it, take it to the shot, whether it’s on the warranty or not. Let’s get it done now, because I’m ready to get back trucking. You. You know, yeah,
Megan Cummings 20:00
Do we have lots of owner operators, years of donzale rivers in the future to look forward to?
Donzell Rivers 20:06
Oh, yeah, yeah, I’m gonna truck. I’m gonna truck. Does even
Jeremy Kellett 20:10
three generations,
Megan Cummings 20:12
you really don’t have a choice, yeah, unless you want to be disowned by your family. Yeah, my son
Donzell Rivers 20:15
Say, Dad, you’ve been driving for 25 years. You can retire now. And I’m 44 years old, so I’m like, I’m a little early for retirement, but you think about it, yeah, 2530 years, I guess you can retire, but we all think about retirement one day. But for now, even when I think I am retired, I think I’m gonna stay around, although here and there somewhere, yeah, I can’t sit around and do nothing.
Jeremy Kellett 20:37
Yeah, that’s what we were talking about with Brian. He said, same thing, hey, I’m more. I’ve got pictures of retirement, but that doesn’t mean sitting on the couch, yeah, maybe three or four days a week instead of all the time.
Megan Cummings 20:49
You know everybody I feel like, everybody that we talk to says that. I mean, it really is, like, it’s so much more than a career, it’s a way of life. People don’t just do it for a little bit and then drop off. You know, it seems like
Donzell Rivers 21:03
Even when I’m at home, I’m on YouTube in trucks. Take the remote, turn those relaxes like, oh, okay, let’s watch a movie.
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Jeremy Kellett 22:02
I want to talk about a couple things to get your perspective of stuff that we talk about all the time in this office. But I really, I want to know more of what our owner operators think out there, and that is one of them is customer service. And I you know, that’s something that we sell constantly, and we constantly sell it in this office, talking to all these customers of ours and telling them all this stuff about our own Robin, because they want to know our requirements, you know, truck requirements, all this kind of stuff. And, I mean, they check up on our safety ratings and everything. And then you guys show up at the gate, you know, and we’re like, oh yeah, they’re gonna, they’re gonna take care of us. We hope they’re supposed to. They were supposed to. So what do I mean? How serious do you take customer service? 1,000%
Donzell Rivers 22:50
you have to take it absolutely above everything. Because if you don’t have customers that can depend on you or expect you to go to their facility or plant or refinery to do a good job. You talk to billion dollar places we go to. I mean, it’s, it’s literally billions and billions, Chevron Exxon, Flint Hills, those type of so they trusting you to go put the product where it needs to be, do a good job, meet their requirement, as
Jeremy Kellett 23:21
as well as Oakley requirements. That’s, that’s the part, yeah, that can be tricky. You got to meet
Donzell Rivers 23:27
I mean, Oakley has their requirements for customer service to present in front of the customer, but then when you get to somebody’s fuel refineries. Now, you have to meet their requirements. You have to make sure you have your, your right PPE, your H, 2s monitors and your truck have to be grounded or certain. So you have to make sure you go in there and customer service once they feel comfortable with the owner operator or Oakley truck. And coming in there, it’s like, Oh, man. These guys are solid. These are the guys I want coming in here. You know, we got all this piping and fuel and crude oil everywhere. We want these guys here because we feel comfortable with them here. Yeah, it makes a difference, doesn’t it? Way. Big difference. That’s how you keep and a lot of these customers I talked to, they like, oh yeah. We Oakley, yeah. For years, 20 years, 25 years old, evidently, doing something right?
Jeremy Kellett 24:21
Well, we got the right owner operators, that’s what it comes down to. And the owner operators that believe in customer service. Because, I mean, as you well know, it’s not easy to get good customer service. No, you just can’t get it everywhere. Finding
Donzell Rivers 24:34
them the right and that’s the hardest thing about what you hear about any trucking company is finding the right drivers. The drivers can either make you or break you. Yeah,
Jeremy Kellett 24:44
Customer service is big. How important is safety to you? Oh, safety
Donzell Rivers 24:49
is big. Because, like, I say, a lot of stuff that we deal with, whether it’s non hazmat or hazmat, you have to make sure you’re doing it. You understand your Ps and Qs. Because, you know, you take it from playing to loading and unloading. But now when you get out here on what on what drivers call the big road, now you have four wheelers with a family of three and four. You have the motorcycles weaving in and out. So now it’s like my job becomes making sure I do my job and make sure I watch out and keep everyone else on the road safe around me. So safety is its major and just major. You know, especially what we do here at Oakley. You have to be careful. You have to always, you know, check once, check twice, check three times, if you have to, just to make sure. I mean, things happen, but try to stay on top of things as much as you can, so as to prevent it from happening as much as you can. Yeah,
Jeremy Kellett 25:45
it’s probably a lot harder than it used to be, as far as driving down the road. I mean, we’ve had multiple conversations about that with you know, you’re driving down the road, and here comes Megan up beside you, and she’s on her cell phone over there doing all this stuff. And
Megan Cummings 25:59
then I’d like to use a different example, and
Jeremy Kellett 26:01
you’re seeing right in your Yeah, and we see it, or in her mirror, and she’s accelerating, and she’s slowing down, and then she and you’re coming up on her, and you know what’s going on. And
Donzell Rivers 26:10
The thing that amazes me is how a lot of people, they’re not afraid no more, and you shouldn’t be afraid of big trucks. It’s the respect, the respect, I mean, they just cut right in front of you. They are motorcycles jumping. And it’s like, you know, maybe because I grew up in a truck and family, you kind of know, to give them this distance or whatever. And I don’t care if it’s the old truck, new truck, he takes the distance to stop that truck. And it’s like, man, you look at people now, and it’s like, they are not afraid or anything,
Megan Cummings 26:41
especially in the weather. I see that happen a lot too, because, you know, it already takes you guys a little bit to slow down and stop, much less when the roads are wet. But isn’t that kind of something that you assume after a while of driving? It just kind of clicks, even if you’ve never met, you know, somebody in person, I just feel like there’s not enough respect for them. On the road with trucks,
Donzell Rivers 27:06
The respect level I think is going down with truck drivers, you know, and I that’s what I take knee deep, too hard, because, like we were saying earlier, truck drivers are some of them, these guys, out here, they do all types of fundraisers. And raise money for children’s hospitals. And you go to truck shows. Some trucks show hundreds of 1000s of dollars guys raised for certain foundations and stuff. And it’s like, we the We the guys who bring it from point A to point B to you. And it’s like, yeah, you got a small percent of people out there, but, and that’s who everyone seems to remember, is that small percent, not the 85% who’s nice
Jeremy Kellett 27:49
guys? Yeah, yeah. Landed,
Donzell Rivers 27:52
you sacrifice a lot, you know, you know, just look at a truck driver and say, Man, that guy, he sacrificed time away from home or family. He’s protecting the four wheelers on the road, as well as riding for a sale, he’s sacrificing a lot to get that job done, to get that load there. You know,
Jeremy Kellett 28:10
Oakley Trucking is a 100% owner operator company. We specialize in Hopper, bottom end dump and pneumatic trailers. We provide the trailer free of charge, and you provide the truck. We have a large customer base that reaches the whole United States as well as parts of Canada. Our owner operators live anywhere from Texas to North Carolina to Pennsylvania to Wisconsin and everywhere in between, and we get them home weekends. We take it seriously when you join Oakley trucking, because we need you to be successful. Oakley offers great benefits and competitive mileage pace. So you know that when your wheels are turning, you’re generating money, no matter if you’re loaded or empty. We understand that you want to make a good living and that you make our living. We only take on independent contractors. And to be honest with you, we are very particular on who we lease on. You must have a good driving record, good work history, and clean, dependable truck. So if you’re interested in Oakley trucking, or just want some more information, you can go to Oakley trucking.com listen to our weekly podcast, the Oakley podcast, and subscribe to our YouTube channel. What’s some unique things about gonzal rivers that nobody knows?
Donzell Rivers 29:16
Unique? I’m pretty simple. I like trucks. And that’s that trucks is my number one thing
Jeremy Kellett 29:24
is that even your hobby too, what you do with your truck.
Donzell Rivers 29:26
I like messing around with the truck. My number one hobby is just hanging out with my wife. We live in Austin, so we always try to enjoy going out anytime we can. It’s a lot to do. Yeah, that’s my wife. Is my best friend. That’s my everything. I actually tried to pull in here. She’s at the hotel. She is here. She’s at the hotel. Now, I’m not glammed up. I gotta get
Jeremy Kellett 29:51
glam though.
Donzell Rivers 29:53
Yeah, she’s here, so you should definitely, you’ll see her tomorrow, but that’s my Yeah, Alma. Her name, she’s mine. That’s my best friend, and we, um, other than that, trucking, hanging out with my wife. I love to go to the gym on my days off, get a nice workout in. I work out a lot on the side of the truck, as much as I can to stay in shape, because without health, you don’t have a medical card these days. Yeah, that’s part of my career. I tell guys, you know, it’s all about staying in shape the way you eat. Because if you let that get out of control, the doctor is gonna, he’s gonna shorten that two year medical card up to a one year. In that one year it will be like, Okay, six months. Six months you don’t have a medical card. So what
Jeremy Kellett 30:32
What kind of stuff do you do to stay in shape? But there you sat beside your truck. I mean, just Yeah. I mean,
Donzell Rivers 30:37
if I’m out on the road, yeah, I love to walk. I walk on my weighted vest for maybe 45 minutes every other day. I have a jump rope in the truck. I may do a push up some burpees outside, but
Megan Cummings 30:50
turned on burpees.
Donzell Rivers 30:53
Yeah, it’s like a full body workout, yeah? But if I’m at home, I hit the gym doing light weights. I’m not into the heavy weights anymore, and I’m just trying to stay in shape as much as I’ve seen
Jeremy Kellett 31:03
many other truckers doing that. I mean, to take a 45 minute walk where you walk around truck
Donzell Rivers 31:08
stops. Yeah, you get some of these truck stops. Now that’s really big. And I just, you know, I look at my watch and say, okay, and I put my weighted vest on. I said, Let’s go, yeah. And, you know, just to get them to step in and, I mean, it’s hard enough to eat healthy on the road. My wife usually sends me out when I first go out, you know, maybe that first week or whatever. And this yet meal prep me, but that last stretch, you know, you really look like, Okay, I’m we can eat that, and I don’t eat that. I don’t shy away from the bad carbs and that type of deal but, yeah, just try to stay as healthy as possible. That’s
Megan Cummings 31:43
supposed to what is it? 30 minutes of walking is supposed to reset your circadian rhythm? Is that what it is really or maybe it’s when you put your you’re supposed to put your feet in the grass. Have you read that? Is it a real thing? I’m serious. Oh, wow. Yeah, you’re supposed to stand barefoot. No, I’m being
Donzell Rivers 32:01
serious, become one with her, yeah. Well,
Megan Cummings 32:05
you stand barefoot in the grass and it’s supposed to reset, oh, yeah, or help with your rim cycle.
Jeremy Kellett 32:14
Hey, can’t you see Megan? I know another place barefoot outside the apartment. People are looking at me. Are you okay? If you’re worried?
Megan Cummings 32:27
Yeah, there’s somebody that does that. I think it was Jimmy Evans, yeah, Jimmy works out a lot, and he had shared something somewhere. I can’t remember if it was YouTube or not, but he was just waiting to get loaded or waiting to get unloaded. And he said, I’ve got about half, at least half an hour, so I’m just walking, you know, and taking that extra time to, oh, yeah, walk around your truck, yeah, just get to move in, yeah,
Donzell Rivers 32:51
because you said so much you want to keep the blood flowing. Yes, the thing that truck drivers and pilots have to worry about is blood clot. Wow, you know, because we’re sitting for hours and hours and office workers and office workers too. Yeah. So every three hours I pull over, whether it’s a rest area or a truck stop, and I’m gonna, you know, I figure the first three hours I stretch, walk around for a couple minutes. The next three hours, I figure, okay, it’s almost time for an eight hour break in a 30 minute break anyway, so I might as well take a shower and, you know, just to get out and eat. So yeah, because some guys out there, they will stay like this for a long time. Yeah,
Jeremy Kellett 33:26
it’s not
Donzell Rivers 33:28
good for you. It ain’t good for you. I’ve been there before, and it’s like, wow, yeah, back in the paper log days, just you like, Man, I didn’t come from Tampa, Florida, back to Chicago.
Jeremy Kellett 33:40
Okay, wow, didn’t move the ghetto.
Donzell Rivers 33:46
Didn’t move this truck.
Jeremy Kellett 33:50
Well, that don’t it’s good story. I appreciate you sharing with any time you know being here, it’s just so good that we’ve got some really good rock players out here working for Oakley, and of course, you’re a great example of one, and we just appreciate it. We got so many of them, you know, we don’t ever get to thank them enough. I mean, they’re just so, so good, and they take care of our customers like you do, and take care of our equipment like you do. And, I mean, it’s not an easy job, you know, doing a pneumatic tank end up or operating, it’s a challenge. But we got some, we just were blessed with some really good owner operators too, to take care of us and we appreciate you sharing your story. And I bet you somebody out there is going, Yep, that was me. I am 25 years old too. 25 you know, that’s a great milestone, yeah?
Megan Cummings 34:34
Or maybe there’s someone watching that’s like, you know what? This is the push down and you need to get a truck.
Jeremy Kellett 34:41
Yeah, you’re what was the guy’s name? Vernon, no, that you said had the slick floor and the fancy truck. Oh, Vinnie. Vinnie, yeah, no, Rio, you’re somebody. You’re somebody. That’s it. Oh, wow. And
Donzell Rivers 34:54
I’m always willing to talk to people too. I get guys coming up to me all the time in the trucks, like, you know, that’s one of the things. I do. I wipe down and polish. And they come to talk to Oakley, you know, this and this, I thought, hey, come we can talk, man. I can talk your ears off if you want me to. Yeah. And I’m always, you know, like they always are, I’m thinking about doing this, and I’ve been there before, you know. So it’s like, I never want to, ever become that guy that’s unapproachable. Yeah, come talk to me about anything
Jeremy Kellett 35:20
Do you need to mentor something? Yeah,
Donzell Rivers 35:22
Everyone, a lot of guys tell me that, you know, I would love to, I would love to. Always wanted a mentor. Growing up, I never had one, but I’ll, it’s a lot of guys I always looked up to,
Jeremy Kellett 35:32
but you had two of them, daddy, yeah,
Donzell Rivers 35:36
that was true in house mentors,
Jeremy Kellett 35:40
even though we don’t want to obey our parents,
Megan Cummings 35:44
we appreciate you sitting
Jeremy Kellett 35:46
down with me. Hi, my wife. Next
Megan Cummings 35:48
time, welcome. We need to have an element. Yeah,
Jeremy Kellett 35:51
I need to have her. So thank you, Megan. Appreciate you hanging out with us again. It’s always good to have you and talk to these owner operators. It’s good times. I appreciate everybody listening to the Oakley podcast, you guys are awesome, great listeners, and we’ll bring you another one next week. Talk to you then thanks. Thanks for listening to this episode with Oakley podcast, trucking, business and family. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to rate or review the show in the podcast platform of your choice and share it with a friend. We love hearing from our audience. So if you’ve got a question comment or just want to say hello, head over to our website, the Oakley podcast.com, and click the leave a comment button. We’ll get you a response soon, and may even share some of the best ones here on the show. We’ll be back with a fresh episode very soon. Thanks for listening.