Podcast: The Power of Community in Trucking with Mutha Trucker News’ Alex Mai

Having recently celebrated twelve years in action, Mutha Trucker News is one of the hottest communities for the trucking industry.

Founder Alex Mai shared the full story with our host and Truckstop Chief Relationship Officer, Brent Hutto. Alex talks about his lifetime connection to the industry, his mission to help others succeed, and redefining success.

Behind the Scenes of Mutha Trucker News

Twelve years ago, Alex and his girlfriend were living on the road, and they started vlogging their lives. Unbeknownst to them, this would become Mutha Trucker News, which now has over 900,000 subscribers.

Initially called The Asian Mai Show, the channel didn’t have much direction. Essentially, Alex was just filming his food and journaling his life. It didn’t really gain any traction for six years until Alex started regularly interviewing drivers. Suddenly, the views picked up, and it was clear that he’d found a niche.

He rebranded the channel to Mutha Trucker News and began talking with drivers regularly, sharing their stories. Over time, he also started attending trucking shows to gain a deeper understanding of the industry and work towards his primary goal of giving truck drivers, owner-operators, and fleet owners an overall better experience.

“I think there’s a connection, and there’s an underlining here that a lot of people just don’t understand. Because they don’t have the opportunity to get to the other side. So that’s why we’re here. Let’s build it. Let’s connect it. And let’s get people in the know.”

Today, Alex’s focus is helping drivers with their pain points by demonstrating how they should view their role from a business perspective. 

“There’s driving a truck and there’s being a business owner. And a part of what I do sometimes is I try to educate on being a business owner.” 

Alex further advises on how to best equip their metaphorical toolbox to maximize their efficiency and profits. He primarily recommends building relationships and using paid load boards to support this. Often, drivers are reluctant to do so because it costs money, but the benefits far outweigh this cost, and it will earn its keep, so to speak. 

Achieving Success Through Momentum

Throughout Alex’s journey, he’s learned some key lessons on not only how to achieve success in the industry, but also how to better define what that looks like. He’s no longer interested in working toward other’s definition of success, but instead of making his dreams a reality—and enjoying the ride along the way.

“I wake up every day with intention and I get to do 100% of what I like to do. How could you not smile? We all have bad days. We do. But I have less of them now because every time I do something, every time I try and someone says, no, Alex, you’re not good enough. No, we don’t like your big red tees, t-shirts. No, we don’t care what you’re talking about. Well, you know what? It’s fine because I’m working towards me and what I want to do. And I want to help truckers. I’m having so much fun.”

And when it comes to advice to help others grow their businesses, especially owner-operators, Mai stresses the importance of focusing on gradual growth through prioritizing people.  Mistakes are inevitable, but if you focus on building a strong community, you’re bound to succeed.

“I’m going to give like a real pro tip, do something, do it small, do it well and be real about it and be good to people and the world will take care of you. So that is where I’m at right now. And when you make money secondary and you make people first, things will come. Great things move slow. I can’t say that enough.”

To learn more about the story behind Mutha Trucker News, tune into this episode of Freight Nation: A Trucking Podcast on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform.