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Beating the boys: Grave Digger's first female driver aims to win at Monster Jam

Beating the boys: Grave Digger's first female driver aims to win at Monster Jam

Every day women around the world are shattering the expectations of what a woman can do. Being the first of your gender to set a precedent spawns excitement no matter how modest the accomplishment may seem.

There’s pride in being the first woman to take over the family business — or being the first to get behind the wheel of a fabled monster truck in an arena setting.

“There has never been a female that has ever driven Grave Digger before in its entire existence,” said Monster Jam competitor Krysten Anderson. “I’m the first and only woman to ever drive the Grave Digger, and it was a really big deal for me.”

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IF YOU GO

Monster Jam 2020

When: 7 p.m. Friday, 1 p.m. Saturday, 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday

Where: Huntington Center, 500 Jefferson Ave.

Admission: Tickets start at $17. Children 2 and up must have a ticket.

Info: huntingtoncentertoledo.com

Anderson’s father, Dennis Anderson, invented the famous Grave Digger monster truck back in 1982 and drove it for 35 years before his retirement. Anderson grew up watching her father and brothers compete in arenas around the country racing and entertaining crowds, so she always had a passion for it, but it wasn’t until four years ago that the then 18-year-old decided it was her time.

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“My dad drove that truck longer than I’ve been alive, so I always had a passion for it,” she said. “At 18 I just decided to do it and race competitively and fell in love with the truck.”

Fans will get a chance to witness Krysten Anderson in action when she takes the wheel of Grave Digger when Monster Jam 2020 roars into Huntington Center for four performances this weekend.

Anderson admits she put a lot of pressure on herself to live up to fans’ expectations her first year of driving. While she now doesn’t feel her gender gets in the way of her success in anyway, in the beginning she felt she had something to prove.

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“Just because I was a girl that doesn’t mean I couldn’t be a competitor,” she explained. “It doesn’t mean that I couldn’t live up to the power of being a Grave Digger driver. That role comes with a lot. Drivers are always known for winning and being entertaining, so I put so much pressure on myself, but I still had a blast.”

Anderson said she’s felt the love from fans, but the support that matters most came from her dad.

“He was a bit shocked that I wanted to drive and probably thought I wanted to do something else with my life, but he was super supportive. He knew he wanted to add a female to the team, so it’s so appropriate that it's his only daughter.”

Though the number of male drivers significantly outnumbers the corps of women drivers, Anderson said being a woman competing was never a big deal to her.

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“I grew up in a house full of boys and those boys treated me equally,” she said of reporters constantly asking her gender related questions. “I wasn’t treated like the little sister or the only girl. So with Monster Jam I’ve never been treated differently because I was a female.”

Anderson notes there are now plenty of women winning high profile titles and competitions and said they are a force to be reckoned with.

“I’m the top five bracket in the point series, so that means I’m beating the boys,” she said. “When I put on that helmet and tuck my hair in I look just like them.”

At the same time women are taking center stage, they are also behind the scenes building the stage.

Bryanna Marcotte made the transition from film production to live entertainment years ago and is in her second year as production stage manager for the Monster Jam series.

She said while the atmosphere behind the scenes can be male dominated, she applauds the touring company that hired her for expanding the talent pool to include women.

“I actually get to work with a lot of very talented women behind the scenes,” she said of her production crew. “One of my audio managers is a woman and four tour coordinators are women, so it’s cool having a bit of diversity. We actually call ourselves the ‘Women Team.’ ”

Marcotte said one misconception of Monster Jam is that it’s an all boys sport.

“The fans are men, women, children, and grandparents,” she said speaking to the inclusivity of the audience. “There’s more female fans than I ever thought there was and everybody has a driver they relate to.”

When she first started driving, Krysten Anderson had no inclination she’d be a role model for young girls.

“I didn't even think about what my impact had on other girls until I was older,” she said. “We do our meet and greets and they’re telling me how much I inspire little girls and women alike. Now I think I come with a little more intention and purpose to break stereotypes.”

First Published March 5, 2020, 11:00 a.m.

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