The automotive reality series “Diesel Brothers” follows a group of experts and mechanics who repair and customize pickup trucks. The Diesel Brothers use their craft to remodel various trucks from their fix-it-up shop in Utah, which is the location where the series is filmed. The show premiered in January 2016, and has run for seven seasons on Discovery Channel, garnering a vast fan base for its interesting content, colorful personalities, and working dynamics.
Unfortunately, one of the regular members and co-founder of Diesel Brothers, Red Beard, disappeared from the show, alerting many fans who began wondering what happened to him. To learn more on this topic, stay tuned!
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Who are Diesel Brothers?
The bearded faces behind “Diesel Brothers” are Dave Sparks – Heavy D, and Dave Kiley – Diesel Dave. Despite the show’s name and the star’s physical resemblance, they are unrelated. However, the two grew up in Utah, and became interested in cars, prompting them to learn more about mechanics, welding, and fabrication. The two crossed paths for the first time at a Mormon Church event for singles, as they’d both been raised in the church of the Latter-Saints Day, attending an event hoping to find a date, but instead, they found life-long and loyal partners.
Heavy D said: ‘Kind of weird, I know. It’s where you go to find your future wife or a life partner. Definitely found my life partner; I wasn’t expecting them to have a beard.’ He invited Diesel Dave to hang out with him and his friend at a lake, and during the trip, Heavy D put regular gasoline in his diesel truck, a big problem; they bonded over this accidental mistake and their love of trucks, as they tried to siphon out the gas.
Sharing a mutual love for diesel trucks and mechanics in general, they came up with the idea to launch their online haven for diesel truck enthusiasts. They first set up a fix-it shop only for diesel vehicles, and were later joined by two experienced mechanics, Keaton Hoskins, the Muscle, and Josh Stuart, known as Red Beard.
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Who is Red Beard?
Josh Stuart is an automotive expert, who gained popularity by starring in “Diesel Brothers.” Nicknamed Red Beard for an obvious reason, he was born and raised in Roosevelt, Utah, and fell in love with cars and diesel trucks at a young age. Considering that diesel is king in Utah Basin, it doesn’t come as a surprise – his official biography states, ‘Everybody drove a diesel, and if you didn’t, you wish you did — diesel trucks are just part of the culture.’
Talking of his friendship with Heavy D, they always roamed in the same circle, and were acquaintances but not friends. They started socializing much later after one of their mutual friends introduced them, and Heavy D was in need of a skilled mechanic. Having a similar background and sharing the same interest and goals, they hit it off and laid the ground for future business projects.
How did they get their own show?
Thinking about how to promote their new business, to achieve that goal Diesel D came up with the idea to use social media, particularly YouTube. The group started posting videos of their lousy creations and stunt videos with their trucks, such as 1,500 horsepower donuts and burnout challenges. Several goofy videos went viral, and their site began attracting significantly more attention, reeling in potential customers and sponsors. Their new videos, which displayed their humor, colorful personalities, and excellent working dynamic, caught the attention of Jay Leno, who invited them to guest-appear in an episode of his show entitled “Prank You Very Much.”
Even though the Diesel Brothers were a new face which took YouTube by storm, Jay acted on more than just this information when he chose to invite them. As it turned out, Jay is an avid car enthusiast, who shares a genuine interest in their business and craft. Their performance on Jay Leno’s Show grabbed the attention of Discovery Chanel, who at the time began diversifying their content, moving away from scientific documentary series to reality shows, that were inviting and exciting but also shared a didactic element. The producers reached out to Diesel Brothers, and the filming began in 2015. The group has since made a name for themselves, and opened paths for upgrading, maximizing, and growing their company.
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What happened to Red Beard?
Ever since the show premiered, it seemed that Red Beard preferred less screen time than his fellow cast members; nonetheless, he was still one of the show’s regulars who helped pump the business from a simple shop to a multi-million-dollar business. Besides his shrewdness and sarcasm, Red Beard is known to reign in pranks on the shows when they escalate and go too far. He landed in the spotlight after failing to appear in the show’s fifth season, prompting fans to speculate as to whether he left the show and the business. Various rumors floated on the internet, indicating that he parted the team on bad terms, inviting some unnecessary drama. On the contrary, Red Beard was just taking time off from filming, and continued posting information regarding the show and their company. As a true family man, he wanted to spend time with his wife and children.
According to the official Discovery site, Red Beard is still a cast member of the series. Furthermore, his Instagram bio reads: ‘co-founder of DieselSellerz, Diesel Power Gear and Diesel Brothers.’ Therefore, it appears that he might have limited his screen time, or is just listed in the cast because of his affiliation and role with their brand. His last credited appearance in the show was in 2019, however, judging from his Instagram feed, he was very much part of the show and the business in 2020, as he often posted promotional videos and was seen with the other Diesel Brothers.
Other Theories: He Lost His Brother
Even though there was no official news of his parting from the series, fans developed theories that he might have withdrawn or lessened his role in the business due to his significant loss. In 2020, his brother unexpectedly passed away, which understandably might have influenced Red Beard to think about his priorities in life, and spend more time with his family. Red Beard wrote on his Instagram: ‘I consider myself extremely blessed to be his brother. And I pray that everyone gets a chance to know someone that exudes such authentic happiness all the time. I love and miss you Ryan, and I’m excited for you to continue on to the next part of your journey, whatever that may be.’
Another theory is that if Red Beard really parted ways with his crew, he would probably have posted it on his Instagram, or the official Diesel Brothers page would have announced it.
Furthermore, it’s well-known that the global pandemic and numerous restrictions and regulations hindered many productions and projects. So it is not out of the ordinary to think that Red Beard had trouble navigating his duties as a father, reality series celebrity, and business co-owner.
Where is he now?
Red Beard is not the most active social media user, but he occasionally updates his fans, and shares a photo or two. In March 2020, he was asked to appear in the “Mormons on Mushrooms” podcast. He doesn’t post any content related to the Diesel Brothers, which continues to arouse suspicion among his fans, stimulating the theories of his ‘departure’. On the other hand, he’s seen attending numerous weddings, as he posts photos featuring himself and his wife. Furthermore, he spends as much time as possible in nature, hiking with his wife April, or enjoying the company of his kids. Red Beard is a huge environmentalist and nature enthusiast, and has been involved in restoring a reservation area in Idaho.
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Do they really give away trucks?
Today, giveaways are very common, and many aspiring Instagram models, YouTubers, and bloggers use them to attract new followers, and advertise their content. While there are many fake giveaways on the internet through which individuals claim that they will reward one of their fans with a particular gift and never go through, Diesel Brother’s giveaways are 100% genuine. They began their giveaways in 2014, when they gifted a complete built-up 2012 Dodge Ram, which caused a commotion among their fans who dreamt of having such a beast. In fact, the giveaway went viral, and attracted so much attention that companies began reaching out to them to sponsor various parts for the trucks. Over time, they’ve continued this practice by giving away more than 50 vehicles, including a custom Jeep Grand Cherokee, ATVs, and motorcycles. If you follow their Diesel Power Gear YouTube channel, you might have noticed that the crew has stepped up the giveaway game, and expanded the contests to highly coveted and expensive trucks such as the Kenworth T800.
Scandals
Despite the crew’s enormous success and awe-inspiring accomplishments, they have also faced criticism and backlash for their actions, including how they acquire their car parts. Similar to many other mechanics and automotive experts, they often obtain what they need from junkyards, so it’s hard to determine whether they illegally attain the parts. However, they have never been sued over a car part with a suspicious origin, making these claims unsubstantiated.
Several years ago, Diesel Brothers, particularly Heavy D, made headlines for a video he posted on one of their numerous YouTube channels. Heavy D was looking to hire a painter, and wanted to do a video in Spanish because he was hoping to find a skilled Mexican painter. This caused a lot of backlash, and he was quickly labeled racist and xenophobic. Subsequently, the video went viral, attracting even more attention, and prompting many people to reign in on his video and share their opinion. In fact, he was getting so many messages and comments on his social media that he was forced to make another video to explain the situation and the reasoning behind his decision to hire a Mexican painter, saying he wanted to hire a Mexican painter because one of the best painters he had worked with was a Mexican, and his previous painter was Mexican. Over time, he’d employed various other people, but after several poor collaborations, he opted to find a Mexican painter, as Heavy D believed they perform the best, including being very creative. Enraged and exhausted, Heavy D disclosed: ‘After years of working, I’ve tried different races and guess what? Mexicans do a better job for me. I’m not against white people or other races, it’s just that Mexican do a better job for me. I just had better experiences with Mexican, South American, and Latino painters. ‘
Grab some popcorn.. 🍿We hope you're enjoying a special episode of #DieselBrothers! Here's where you can watch now → https://t.co/BQdMlae6Xr pic.twitter.com/aJqmTx2iRT
— Diesel Brothers (@DieselBrosTV) December 31, 2019
However, this was not the only issue with his job proposal. Many jumped the gun and claimed that he wanted to hire a Mexican to attain cheap labor, due to stereotypes that many Mexican live illegally in the US. Heavy D assured his fans and audiences that they are a serious and legit company, that is very respectful of immigration laws, disclosing that their current painter named Martine had been a citizen of the US for 20 years, and there’s been no foul play.
Lawsuit
In addition to their numerous nicknames, the crew was given another name – “Environmental Catastrophe”. While the term might seem damning for some, they have been known to disregard or circumvent certain regulations and laws. For example, in 2016, the Utah Physicians for Healthy Environment sued Diesel Brothers for violating the Clean Air Act. The group pointed the finger at Heavy D and Diesel Dave after they tampered with the vehicles by illegally removing pollution control equipment from their diesel trucks, and modifying them to produce black smoke. The physicians claimed that this was one of the most toxic pollutants, and the test performed on the emission backed up these claims, revealing that these newly modified trucks produced 36 times the pollutants and 21 times the particulate matter compared to a regular truck. After a testimony hearing, the Diesel Brothers and their companies were served a court injunction prohibiting any other modifications detrimental to the environment.
However, Heavy D defended himself and the crew by saying that they modified the trucks thinking it was legal, given that these vehicles would have been used only during off-road trips.
They tried to appeal the verdict but with no success. Finally, in 2020 a federal judge determined that Diesel Brothers, particularly Heavy D, Red Beard, and the Muscle, have intentionally violated the act over 300 times and ordered them to pay an $850,000 fine, as they’d profited from these modifications, and videos featuring these trucks. The whole ordeal put them in a negative light, but the crew remained cool, calm and collected regardless of this massive and costly mistake. As a result, many hopped on the bandwagon, reporting that the Diesel Brothers suffered an enormous hit, and that they would probably lose their companies. Even the Diesel Brothers could not ignore these rumors, and produced the video entitled “Wait Did we Get Cancelled? Diesel Brothers Almost Officially Ended After This Happened”, clearing the air about the lawsuit and these fake videos.
Even though Red Beard has gone MIA from the TV series, he’s still a key member of the Diesel Brothers, and a vital component in running their numerous companies. While many understand his obligations, fans still hope he will again grace the screens with his humorous personality.
