“Diesel Brothers” is an automotive reality TV series that follows a group of friends who repair and customize pickup trucks, which they call ‘badass trucks.’ They work their ‘magic’ at their restoration shop in Utah, which is also the location where the show takes place. “Diesel Brothers” premiered in January 2016 and has run for seven seasons on Discovery Channel. Over the years, the series garnered a considerable fanbase, mostly attracting the attention of car and truck enthusiasts. One of the ever-existing questions regarding reality series is how much the cast makes per episode? To learn more, stay tuned.
Who are “Diesel Brothers”?
The show’s main cast members are Dave Sparks and Dave Kiley, widely known as ‘Heavy D’ and ‘Diesel Dave’. However, contrary to the show’s name and their physical resemblance, Heavy D and Diesel Dave are not actually brothers. Instead, the two launched the fix-it shop for Diesel trucks and later all types of cars, and later brought in two other men to help them out with their projects, Keaton Hoskins and Josh Stuart.
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Dave Sparks
Heavy D is a mechanic and restoration expert, who gained popularity starring in the “Diesel Brothers.” He was born under the Zodiac sign Capricorn on 6 January 1985, in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. Heavy D developed an interest in cars from a young age, and during his high school days, he spent most of his time studying fabrication, welding and mechanics, which equipped him for building custom pieces. After matriculating, he found employment rather quickly at a company owned by his friend and mentor, Rich Eggett, which rented out motorcycles and ATVs. After having displayed expertise and determination, he was promoted to the manager’s position, although at the age of 21, Dave enrolled at Weber State University, but dropped out after the first semester to continue pursuing his career.
Interestingly, he met Diesel Dave at a Mormon Church event, and later invited him with a couple of his female friends to join him for a ride – the event was held for single men and women looking for their special someone.
However, Heavy D stumbled on his future best friend instead of a girlfriend, later saying: ‘Kind of weird, I know. It’s where you go to find your future wife or a life partner. Definitely found my life partner; wasn’t expecting them to have a beard.’
Dave Kiley
Dave Kiley is a custom diesel vehicle builder, entrepreneur and TV celebrity who rose to popularity by appearing in “Diesel Brothers.” He was born under the Zodiac sign Gemini on 17th June 1975, in Utah. Similar to his best friend, Heavy D, Diesel Dave also displayed interest in vehicles from a young age, and started assembling and reassembling engines in his teens.
He worked at various automotive shops and garages in Utah, learning from experienced mechanics, and upgrading his skill set. Besides his famous nickname, Diesel Dave, which he got for his love for diesel vehicles, he is also known as “The Charm”, but it remains unknown quite why he got this nickname, although some sources suggest that it’s a reference for having such good luck with his career, and meeting the right people, rather than charming the ladies.
Diesel Dave is here to wish all of the mothers out there a very #HappyMothersDay!
Stream #DieselBrothers on @discoveryplus.
🛻 https://t.co/aRAbTBqEVQ pic.twitter.com/MjPKR0QxKJ— Diesel Brothers (@DieselBrosTV) May 8, 2022
Diesel Dave and HeavyD launched DieselSellerz, a site for selling their trucks, and Sparks Motor, the shop where they repair, transform and upgrade vehicles.
Josh Stuart ‘Red Beard’
Josh Stuart, best known as ‘Redbeard’, is a mechanic and reality TV star, and was one of the first to join DieselSellerz. He was born in Roosevelt, Utah, and harbored a love for cars and other vehicles from a young age, apparently raised on diesel fumes. In Utah Basin, where he was born, diesel trucks were among the most coveted, so he grew up watching these magnificent colossal machine beasts, and dreamt of having one someday. In his bio, he said: ‘Everybody drove a diesel, and if you didn’t, you wish you did — diesel trucks are just part of the culture.”
Interestingly, he and Heavy D roamed in the same circle of friends but never really developed a friendship. Instead, the two ‘met’ much later, when Redbeard had already launched and sold more than a couple of businesses. After a mutual friend introduced them, Heavy D reached out to him, who had already built his reputation as a wicked mechanic and skilled negotiator.
Their love for diesel, mechanical background, and knack for business tied them together and allowed them to hit it off.
Keaton Hoskins
Keaton Hoskins, known as ‘The Muscle,’ is a car enthusiast, mechanic, and reality TV star who became famous after starring in “Diesel Brothers.” He was born under the Zodiac sign Virgo on 5 September – year unknown but apparently in the 1980s – in Kaysville, Utah. The Muscle comes from a family of diesel fanatics which explains how they ended up in the business. Having an interest in cars, he began pulling apart and rebuilding vehicles, later learning to become a skilled diesel technician. If you watch the show, you know that one of the Muscle’s specialties is finding rare car parts. Besides his diligent work in the shop, the Muscle has a long history in physical fitness and gym training, which you might have guessed by his muscular, bulky body shape.
Reportedly, he has served as a personal trainer to over 2,000 clients, and thoroughly enjoys the process of helping people achieve their fitness goals and grow confidence.
The Muscle met Heavy D through a friend, and later joined him, Redbeard and Diesel Dave on ‘this crazy journey into the diesel world.’
How much do they make in 2022?
While it remains a mystery how much Discovery pays the bearded men per episode, some sources indicate that it’s likely between $15,000 and $20,000 per episode. Since they started the show in 2016, the shop and series has seen exponential growth in popularity and wealth. Their upward trajectory is definitely reflected in their net worth, and the fans are eager to know how much exactly?
As co-founders of three companies, Heavy D and Diesel Dave have wealth in the range of $2 million each. The two launched Diesel Power, DieselSellerz, and Sparks Motor. Furthermore, using Dieselsellerz.com, fans can easily visit four other websites: Sellers, Diesel Power Gear, 4×4 Anything, and Legion Truck Armor, which are for customized orders and demands. In addition to the websites, Heavy D runs a self-titled YouTube channel, which has nearly two million subscribers with over 175 million views.
He’s not only popular on that platform, but also has over three million followers on Instagram, which is a good sign that brands reach out to him for promotion and brand affiliation deals. Diesel Dave has also established himself on Instagram, on which he has over 1.6 million followers.
Redbeard, credited as the co-founder of the website Diesel Power Gear, has a net worth of over $900,000, and is also popular on Instagram, with nearly 500,000 followers. Like his two friends and co-workers, in addition to the revenues from the show and the shop, he earns through the official site’s merchandise, and possibly through sponsorships.
Last but not least, The Muscle has a net worth of around $700,000. Besides his numerous endeavors, he stepped into entrepreneurial waters and founded the supplement company entitled 1Mission Nutrition, which was built to support the heroes that serve the US. It has over 600 athletes in its program who, promote the brand through social media.
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Additionally, they have regular Transformation Challenges that reward participants for losing weight as a stimulant. According to his Instagram account, which has over a million followers, he also owns the Fitcon expo and Manahtc.com or Mana Health, a full-service hormone replacement clinic.
Do they really give trucks away?
Giveaways are a very popular practice on YouTube, and are part of many TV programs. However, there are many fake giveaway events, in which social media stars or promoters tend to organize a giveaway, but never actually go through with it, intending to gain new subscribers or viewers. Diesel Brothers also have these giveaways, in which they reward one of the viewers with several thousand dollars-worth of Diesel trucks, and apparently, it’s not fake.
They started doing it in 2014 to boost their viewer numbers, and for promotion purposes. The crew assembled the completely built-up 2012 Dodge Ram 2500 with a twin-turbo Cummins engine, which garnered so much attention that companies began reaching out to them, and offering sponsorship for the parts.
Since their first giveaway, they have given out over 20 vehicles and expanded the contests to ATV motorcycles and custom Jeep Grand Cherokees. Fans can enter the giveaway for every $5 spent on their Diesel Power Gear site.
How did the show come to life?
Both Heavy D and Diesel Dave have been active on social media since 2012, and are known for posting various pranks, short skits, and poorly assembled trucks purely for entertainment purposes. The charismatic duo began this trend to gain attention and rise in popularity, and over time they hit the jackpot. After one of their videos went viral, Jay Leno, who is also an automotive fan and car enthusiast, invited the two to guest-star on “The Jay Leno Show” in the episode “Prank You Very Much.” Given the show’s reach and colossal viewership, some of the Discovery producers spotted the two, and later approached them with the idea for a reality series. With their goofy personalities, laid-back working environment, and diversified knowledge, the show was a hit and a success for all parties.
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Heavy D and Dave co-wrote a book
In 2017, Heavy D and Diesel Dave published the book entitled ‘The Diesel Brothers: A Truckin’ Awesome Guide to Trucks and Life,’ which provides a behind-the-scenes look at the epic and inspirational stories behind the DieselSellerz business, as well as their personal stories. The book details how the two met, how they met their wives, and their struggles as they started the businesses, and various tips and advice that are folded throughout. In their interview for Build Stories, Diesel Dave talked about the idea and inspiration for the book, saying: ‘The reason we wrote a book stems from our social media. We had lots of fans asking question about our builds, and what they can do to build truck like ours, and also just tips in life in general. We were getting a lot of questions daily so we decided to respond in book form.’ Heavy D also explained that they wanted to connect with their fans personally, as they had people from various age groups asking about automotive items, to life and business advice.
Scandals
Even though the show has proved to be one of the most popular and fastest-growing TV series, the crew often gets criticized for the ways they attain their car parts, and their work performance. They use various sources to acquire the parts, such as junkyards, so it’s hard to establish whether there has been a breach of law. So far, the crew has never been accused of illegally sourcing parts, which makes these claims a bit far-fetched, and certainly unsubstantiated.
A couple of years ago, the guys posted a video looking to hire a painter, which caused a commotion among fans. Why? Well, the crew spoke in Spanish to make the bid, and their social media was flooded with racist and xenophobic comments. Their video went viral, and attracted even more attention, so Heavy D had to produce a video addressing the claims and clearing the air, saying that he used Spanish because his current painter was Mexican. He was one of the best to hire, so after employing various people, he opted to find another Mexican painter as they were also very creative, which some fans saw as racist.
Dave disclosed: ‘After years of working I’ve tried different races and guess what? I’m not against white people or other races, but Mexican do a better job for me. I just had better experiences with Mexican, or South American and Latino painters. ‘
Another issue with his job proposal was that he wanted to hire a Mexican as many of them live in the US without papers – many accused Heavy D and the crew of wanting to acquire labor illegally. However, Heavy D said that he and his team were very respectful of the immigration laws, and that their current Mexican painter named Martine had been in US for 20 years and had all the necessary documentation.
Lawsuit
In 2016 the Utah Physicians for Healthy Environment filed a lawsuit against the Diesel Brothers for violating the Clean Air Act.
The advocacy group accused Heavy D and Diesel Dave of illegally removing pollution control equipment from their diesel trucks, and modifying vehicles to produce black smoke from the exhaust system. This black smoke is said to be one of the most toxic polluters, and tests done on the emission proved that the trucks produced 36 times the pollutants and 21 times the particulate matter compared to a regular truck. Following a hearing testimony from an emission inspector in June 2018, the judge issued an injunction, prohibiting any other modifications. Heavy D released a statement saying that he modified their trucks only for off-road purposes, believing it was legal.
However, in March 2020, a federal judge determined that the company/site DieselSellerz had violated the federal law numerous times, including the issued injunction, and fined the firm $850,000, which was a massive blow to their company and the production team. What made this case even more challenging was that the judge stipulated that there was no way to get out of paying the fine, even if they would have filed for bankruptcy. Without a doubt, this whole situation cast a dark cloud over their company and their show, but did little to diminish the popularity of the reality TV series.
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