Finding the passion for Ford Broncos in the desert

Nick Martin and Daisy, his borrowed Bronco for the United By Bronco even in early March,take in the beautiful scenery.

One of the perks of starting and growing an aftermarket auto parts business like Mountains2Metal is getting out there and enjoying the outdoors with like-minded people. Doing grassroots research and interacting with the industry are some of the most rewarding and eye-opening things I have done in business.

You learn so much that won’t be given to you on social media, magazines, or emails. So when I got the opportunity to go to an up-and-coming event, I found a way to make it happen.

When it comes to the Ford Bronco community, events are becoming more common because of the latest-generation vehicle release. The community really is rallying around this sixth-generation truck.

One event that has been going on for nearly 18 years is the Bronco Super Celebration East held in Townsend, Tenn., April 17-20. It’s growing like wildfire, and I couldn’t be more excited to be taking our Mountains2Metal crew there for another year. If you are interested in Broncos, new and old, this is the place for you.

The Great Smoky Mountain Bronco Stampede in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., is gearing up for its second annual event in August. If it follows suit to its sister event, where it hosts Jeeps the week following, thousands of Broncos should be showing up in the years to come.

Not to be left out, Mountains2Metal is gearing up to host its second annual event called Broncos ‘N Brews this June in New Bern, N.C. So when I say that events are popping up everywhere, I mean it.

This past November, my dad and I ventured down to Austin, Texas, to attend the Bronco Off-Roadeo. The event organizers put you behind the wheel of a Bronco, similar to your own, and teach you the ins and outs of the vehicle. Getting an education is an understatement. This place is top-notch, and I couldn’t have been happier to get this experience.

While in Austin, my dad and I were lucky enough to have some free time to visit Hella Bad Broncos in Lakeway, Texas. They can do everything you could imagine with all generations of Broncos.

Jesse and Mariah Ornelas are the owners and have welcomed Mountains2Metal products on some of their personal rigs and SEMA builds. They are also the hosts of an event that is now a staple in the Bronco community, United By Bronco. They made it a point to invite my dad and I to the event in early March. Going into the event’s third year, I’ve heard great things. It sounded like a great opportunity.

Destination: United By Bronco

When we got the invitation, the event was a few months out. I really wanted to go but wasn’t sure how we could make it work. Being that we were on the other side of the country from Utah, where the event was held, it was to be quite a haul—especially if we were to try to set up as a vendor. Getting all of our products to display would require a truck, trailer, and definitely a Bronco to hit the trails with. We also had to consider that we would be out of the office for a few days driving across the country.

Kirk Stricker of Buck’N Bronco shows off his Olympia Beer Bronco tribute.

A couple months passed, and I got a call from Kirk Stricker, the owner of Buck'n Bronco Offroad Adventures out of Las Vegas. He owns a fleet of Broncos and had a couple shown at SEMA. The company also has a rental service and offers guided tours around the Las Vegas area.

He called to talk about Broncos and working with him on some of his current Bronco projects. One worth mentioning is his Olympia Bronco Tribute, on which we were able to put some Mountains2Metal products. He also is releasing some custom retro wheels that look very similar to the original Olympia Bronco wheels.

As we were talking, he mentioned United By Bronco. Las Vegas is only two to three hours away from where the event’s location in Hurricane, Utah. I told him I doubted I would be able to make it. He understood and said if I wanted to come out there, he had plenty of Broncos that were available for driving. I was excited at the offer, and my wheels started turning.

It looked like I could get out to Utah after all. I told my dad about the opportunity, and he said he wouldn’t be able to go but that I should consider it. After talking it over with my family and my co-workers, I decided to go through with the trip.

What did I have to lose, besides a few days away from work and family? I was up for the adventure. I’ve never been wheeling out in Utah and heard great things about it.

I booked my flight out to Las Vegas and reserved an Airbnb not too far away from the event. Getting any Mountains2Metal products out there was not going to be as easy, but I was determined to go out there and make the most of the experience. I wanted to meet some like-minded people and give them a change to put a face to the Mountains2Metal name. I knew I absolutely needed two things for the trip: my action cameras and an open mind.

Day 1: Time to Hit the Trail

After I arrived in Las Vegas, Kirk Stricker had a beautiful yellow Heritage Limited Bronco named Daisy for me to drive. It still smelled brand new, and I couldn’t believe it. I hopped in and typed my Airbnb address into the GPS.

A two-and-a-half-hour drive might sound like a pain after a cross-country flight, but my adrenaline was pumping. I took a back route from Lake Las Vegas, and the next thing I knew I was staring at the lights of Las Vegas coming down the hill side. I passed by the Las Vegas Speedway as well and enjoyed seeing that. I was on the last leg of my journey as the sun set and the shadows of the mountains engulfed the nearby landscape. I love the mountains, so the drive was very enjoyable.

I crashed pretty hard that night because I had to start early the next day. The next morning, I headed towards Sand Hollow State Park. The drive in was filled with gorgeous scenery, and I rolled the windows down to get some fresh mountain air.

I started to spot Broncos everywhere and was getting pretty excited. I got to the United By Bronco check-in and saw Jesse Ornelas with Hella Bad. He greeted me with “Dude, I didn’t know you were coming!” I told him it was a last-minute decision, but I was really excited to be there. I was grinning ear to ear.

Jesse and Mariah Ornelas from Hella Bad Broncos do a live video before she crawled up The Chute in their buggy.

I eventually met up with Kirk Stricker and his crew and got the opportunity to see his Olympia Beer Tribute Bronco. That was such a killer rig!

I was going to run one of the trails that was sponsored by his company, Buck'n Bronco, but I didn’t know the trails there. So I ended up being the tail gunner on the trail Razzle Dazzle. I was up for anything.

Daisy, the yellow Bronco, and I were ready for the trail. This wasn’t my Bronco, so I was pretty positive I was going to be a little throttle-shy on most obstacles. Just like my personal Badlands Bronco, it had all the tools, so I knew we would be fine.

At the beginning of the trail were plenty of sandy roads before we were met with beautiful rock formations and obstacles. The scenery was beautiful. The windows were down. The cell phone didn’t work. My smile was fully engaged.

This trail ended up lasting for hours and to be honest, I was getting pretty tired and hungry. At least I learned a valuable lesson: Bring some snacks and water for Day 2.

Once we made it back, we hung out in the parking lot for the rest of the afternoon. Soon after, they began setting up for drag races in the sand and I was going to be a part of it.

I raced three times and had a blast! I admit that the factory Sasquatch tires for the Bronco are not the best for drag racing in the sand. What do I know?

While racing was an incredible experience, I was about to get another hard-to-forget experience. As I was looking at my phone, and I heard a loud engine approaching me. I looked up and Loren Healy was driving past me in his famous El Bandito. I couldn’t believe it. He was heading toward the drag race area to eat a competitor’s lunch.

Everyone stopped to watch as he annihilated the sand with his paddle tires. You could barely see his vehicle as it moved like a sand tornado.

After the races, it was time for dinner, and I was ready to take a load off. I hung out at the Buck'n Bronco tent with Matt Jordan, who manages the Broncos and the business. It was great to talk shop and get to know each other.

This is the Bronco Nick Martin road in Day 2 at United By Bronco.

We had one basic thing in common, and that was the Bronco. Everything flowed on from that foundation, and we ended up having lots to talk about.

Day 2: Welcome to “The Chute”

The next morning, I got out there around 7:30 a.m. and was ready to see some more of what Sand Hollow had to offer. But what I really wanted to do was to go on trails with tougher obstacles, something spicier. I didn’t feel comfortable doing this in a rental, so I asked Jesse Ornelas if I could ride with someone. He looked down the hill towards the Broncos that had lined up and pointed at an older Bronco. “You can probably ride with Joe,” he said.

I looked down and saw a beast of a first-generation Bronco sitting on 42s. I said to myself, “Hell yeah, I want to ride with Joe!”

Joe turned out to be super friendly and told me to throw my stuff in the truck.

As I sat in the front seat of this beast, I asked him if I needed the harness. He replied that the lap belts should be fine.

We got out on the trail, and the first major obstacle quickly appeared. He waved at the line of Broncos he was leading to hold up for a second. We ventured on and he said, “I can’t let these sixth gens go up here.”

I didn’t blame him as I would have been very nervous to go with mine. His Bronco had about every dent and ding, and I’m sure there was a great story behind each.

As the trail went on, this machine I was riding in was ready to tackle anything you could throw it at. I loved every second of it. Near the end of the ride, a large stretch of dunes awaited, and I could hear the engine roar as Joe got on it. We were hauling ass now. Up ahead was a small drop off, and we got a little bit of air. The seat belt definitely held me in my place as I let out a little grunt. It was awesome!

We got back to the parking lot, and we parted ways before we were to meet back up in a couple hours for the challenge at The Chute. I had heard of The Chute and have seen pictures, but I’ve never actually been in it. I was looking forward to it.

I ran into the guys from Buck’n Bronco, who were heading home. Kirk Stricker left me with these words of wisdom about The Chute and his Bronco: You break it, you buy it. I didn’t feel like buying a new Bronco, so I went to find my new friend.

Here’s the view from the bottom of The Chute obstacle at the United By Bronco event in early March.

Joe had room for me, so off to The Chute we went. As we approached the obstacle, I started seeing people scattered all over the rocks. They were there to watch the festivities.

Joe told me to walk around the rock to the right for the best seat in the house. I grabbed my camera and walked around to see this crazy vertical climb. People that were equally crazy waited in a long line to take their turn. I was amazed and got some really great videos and pictures.

Jesse and Mariah Ornelas had their rock crawler buggy there and tackled The Chute with little problem.

It got a little windy and the sand had become pretty annoying. As I walked away from The Chute, I heard someone yell out Mountains2Metal. I looked up and saw the owner of Raket Designs standing on a rock above me.

He makes a killer roof rack for the sixth-generation Broncos and is trying to build his brand like we are. I talked to him as much as I could while chewing on sand. We had a ton of business challenges in common, and it was nice to know that other people are out there struggling like us. We both agreed to catch up later at the event as we were ready to get out of the storm.

It was only the second day, and Day 3 was going to be action-packed. The part I was looking forward to most about the last day was the vendor appreciation night. I wasn’t technically a vendor, but I wanted to get out there and meet some of the people from the West Coast who were involved in the industry.

Day 3: Appreciating the Vendors

Day 3 was very similar to Day 1. I ended up doing the same trail as I did on the first day in Daisy. We took a little different route, so it wasn’t a complete repeat. At least I had snacks and water this time!

At the vendor event that evening, I got to meet a couple other shop owners who were trying to get their feet planted firmly on the ground and grow their businesses. I learned a lot to say the least. On a simple subject like packing products, I got some great feedback and figured out that our company was on the right track by beginning to implement some of the same processes.

We talked about numbers and what their company cultures were like. Two owners that I met that evening, Lobo Off-Road and Turn Offroad, were really down to earth and had some really great products to show off. While we might have been competitors on some avenues, we all had other products unique to our own brands.

The front suspension that Lobo was offering blew my mind. The amount of engineering and thought that went into this product was beyond impressive. I will have to start saving up some cheddar to put that on my Bronco.

Nick Martin looks down from the top of The Chute.

The owner of Turn Offroad was a little younger than me with a couple kids. We had a lot in common and got our beginnings in metal fabrication very similarly—learning 3D modeling first and then working our way back to the shop.

It doesn’t make much sense to most people, but it was great to talk to someone with a similar life story as me. I’m looking forward to building on those conversations.

As I look back on this experience, every aspect exceeded my expectations. I was gifted with memories and inspiration to help grow Mountains2Metal, and it was great to see my long-lasting love for the Ford Bronco shared by others. Having a way to work metal fabrication into this passion makes it even better.

Forging the capabilities of a vehicle and building connections in the industry have really opened my eyes to what is out there. Sometimes I wish I would have taken steps to embrace what I truly wanted to do when I was younger, but it really is never too late.

United By Bronco, thank you.

No matter where Nick Marting looked in Sand Hollow State Park in Utah, he was gifted with beautiful scenery.