We are joined by trucker, country music singer, and songwriter Tony Justice, whose life has always run on two parallel highways: hauling freight and writing songs about the people who do it. Growing up around coal trucks in eastern Kentucky with a truck driver dad and a gospel-singing mom, Tony learned early how closely the road, family, and music are tied together.

In this episode, Tony talks about chasing two childhood dreams at once, turning an independent music side hustle into a full-time business, and how faith, grit, and the trucking community carried his family through financial disaster, his wife’s breast cancer diagnosis, and the uncertainty of Covid. From viral hits like “Last of the Cowboys” to Facebook Live merch marathons and packed truck shows, he shows how old-school trucking songs can still move people, pay the bills, and inspire the next generation to grab a CDL. Tony discusses:

-Growing up in coal country, riding in Mack coal trucks with his dad, washing and greasing equipment on weekends, and playing bass in his mom’s gospel group by age eight, with trucking and music shaping his earliest memories. -Balancing life as an over-the-road driver and working musician, booking loads around truck shows, cramming guitars and merch into the sleeper, and putting in 2,300 to 2,400 mile weeks before working the stage all weekend. -The dominoes of adversity: a distributor bankruptcy that wiped out payment on thousands of CDs, his wife’s breast cancer diagnosis, and then Covid canceling Mid-America Truck Show, and how a viral “Last of the Cowboys” video and creative Facebook Live sales kept the business and their family afloat. -Using his platform to give back, from Operation Teddy Bear for a young boy on hospice to Joy Ride school events and the Large Cars and Guitars show that has raised around $200,000 for Susan G. Komen, all while inspiring new drivers who say his songs made them want to get behind the wheel. With stories that run from hand-me-down CB radios to 60,000 pound tour buses, Tony shows how trucking songs still matter, giving voice to a brotherhood on the road and connecting generations of drivers and their families.

What’s next? Tune in weekly for new episodes! Visit the Mack Shop to use your discount code: https://mackshop.com/ Book a virtual truck tour! https://www.macktrucks.com/live-tour/