This Week’s Podcast Episode: A Nod to the Big Pete Crew

In this week’s podcast, we give a shout-out to the entire team behind Big Pete—past and present—who have all played a vital role in bringing Big Pete and the Grim Reaper to shows across the country for your entertainment.

For every team member, there’s a story. We briefly delve into memories of former crew member Peter, who over the years gave us pure comedy gold—like the time in Ireland, the journey back from near Inverness, or when he couldn’t get into his own bed.

We also talk about the early days of “slumming it” with no caravan or washing facilities, and how far we’ve come since—now a travelling circus of van conversions!

Plus, we catch up with Scott, a crew member from the early days of Swamp Thing, and CJ reveals thinks he is truly responsible for Swamp Thing…

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The usually quiet Paul Hannam is finally forced to share his story of how he got into the industry. As a young boy, seeing the famous Kangaroo Kid perform completely changed his outlook — from that moment, he knew he wanted a quad bike and to become a stuntman.

Paul got into quad racing relatively late in life, entering the Weston Beach Race alongside 500 other riders. He later struck up a friendship with the now-retired Kangaroo Kid, who was living back in Australia. This led to Paul flying out to spend time at Kanga HQ.

After returning home and getting back into racing, the Kangaroo Kid decided to come out of retirement and hit the UK show circuit once again — with Paul becoming part of his act.

Naturally, there are one or two classic Kanga stories thrown in along the way.

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Joining us this week on the Big Pete Podcast are Dan Whitby and Arran Powley from Bolddog FMX.

Dan shares how his over-competitiveness often gets the better of him — to the point he sometimes doesn’t even like himself! Starting out as a young lad working for Bolddog with no aspirations of becoming a freestyle motocross (FMX) rider, he was left with access to the FMX facility, over a weekend he taught himself several FMX tricks. When he told the team leader and owner, he wasn’t believed — until he demonstrated the tricks, and was thrown into performing FMX in a live show the following weekend.

Before long, Dan was gifted the FMX team and began developing new riders, while the team boss moved into stunt work for film and TV. This then opened doors for Dan and Arran to dress up and perform in major productions across the industry.

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Having been involved in drag racing (the motorsport kind—not men in dresses!) for over 40 years, we've collected a fair few stories. That’s right—drag racers, be afraid!

In this episode, we talk about losing a bin bag full of money, pairing up unsuspecting sleepers against so-called “fast cars,” and dealing with drunk racers using a massive JCB.

We also recount nearly being kicked out of our own venue by security hired for an on-site festival, upsetting bikers, a person sent to sabotage an event, and share a few legendary tales of an iconic drag racer.

wenny vs r8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQh7yZs-1Xw

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Our very good friend — and the painter of our Monster Trucks — Gary Lee from Mini Monster Truck Mania, joins us to share his incredible journey in the entertainment industry. Starting at just 13 years old as an exotic escapologist, Gary recalls some of the wild routines he performed, including hanging from cranes.

He later rebranded himself as a sequin-wearing stuntman, famously being "exploded" in a coffin by the Thai stunt team. Gary went on to develop a clown act involving a spinning ladder, which sadly led to a serious back injury that ended his performing career.

Refusing to give up showbiz, Gary purchased a classic act called The Battling Cumberland Giants, complete with iconic props, before developing Mini Monster Truck Mania. Today, he brings joy to children and adults across the UK by offering mini monster truck driving experiences, and he also serves as the Chair of the Amusements and Catering Equipment Society.

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Joining us is multiple British Truck Racing Champion Dave Jenkins.

We caught up with Dave at Convoy Cymru at Pembrey Circuit, where we were appearing with the monster trucks. We managed to get an hour of his time in his pit area, with the crew working away behind us after day one of racing.

Dave shares fond memories of our Wheelie Truck and Jet Truck, reminiscing about attending his first shows as a young boy with his dad—back in the early days of truck racing. In those days, trucks would finish their delivery routes, uncouple their trailers, and then line up to race with 20 others on a circuit.

He talks us through his journey from humble beginnings—starting his truck racing career with no money and relying on appearance fees to get to the next event—to becoming a superstar truck driver in India.

We wrap things up with some quick-fire questions and a surprise cameo from Ryan Smith, where their friendly rivalry makes an appearance.

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We do our first interview! starting with our very good friend Mark Stannage, who has been touring the UK performing stunts for over 40 years. He now runs two teams: Stunt World International and the Stannage Stunt Team.

From being inspired by the famous Evel Knievel toy to a chance encounter with a stuntman in a car park—and even rubbing shoulders with Eddie Kidd—Mark shares with us the highs and lows of the stunt industry, quite literally. This includes a high fall at Glastonbury that went wrong, as well as his all-time favourite stunt.

Also joining us is Mark’s right-hand man, Stu Shaw, who recounts one of his most memorable stunts: jumping through a curtain-sided truck

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