Meet the nurse who keeps on trucking as Hot Wheels comes to Glasgow

As an emergency trauma nurse, Rebecca Schnell has had an intense couple of years.

The occupation is high stakes in normal times, but in the midst of a global pandemic the pressure is off the charts.

But the self-confessed adrenaline junkie doesn’t spend her time away from hospital enjoying the quiet life with a good book or taking a relaxing stroll. Instead, she is a Monster Trucks driver, taking control of the famous Bigfoot truck, performing stunts in arenas around the world.

“I’d just done my first European tour at the start of 2020, and the week after I came home I was in the emergency room, nursing all the way through until July last year,” Rebecca, from America, explained. “I’m currently on a break and it’s been nice to have that with everything that’s been going on.

“It’s an exhausting job, and while both occupations are adrenaline-focused, nursing is a different type of adrenaline compared to Monster Trucks.”

The spectacle of going to a Monster Truck event has long been a family favourite in the States, and the spectacle has grown in popularity elsewhere in more recent times.

For Rebecca, she attended events as a child, but her entry into the industry wasn’t planned.

“I was a senior in high school when a truck was brought to my hometown for a display,” she explained. “I’d never seen a truck close-up, so I climbed in – which you’re not supposed to do – and asked the driver to take a picture.”

The driver was Darron Schnell, who had been obsessed with the Monster Truck events since he was a toddler. By the time he graduated from high school, he was old enough to sign an insurance waiver and began volunteering with Monster Trucks, until he was given an opportunity 14 years ago to go on the road with the company full-time.

“He decided he liked the redhead who climbed into his truck and after we chased each other around the country, he put a ring on my finger,” Rebecca smiled. “We’ve been together since 2009 and married two years later.”

Darron said: “She would travel with me at the weekends when her schedule allowed. At the end of a show, there are broken parts, things needing serviced, and she would jump in and work on my truck. She wasn’t getting paid. She worked on my truck for a decade before she had the chance to drive her own.”

The couple now travel around the world competing in the Hot Wheel Monster Truck events.

“It’s a very family-orientated show,” Rebecca said. “We have lots of fun. We also have freestyle motocross guys and even a car-eating, fire-breathing dinosaur who makes an appearance.”

The couple insist any injuries usually come at the end of the night after the show has ended.

“The safety innovation has come on tenfold from when it started to now,” Rebecca said. “We wear neck restraints, helmets, fire suits and fire gloves to prevent injuries. We always say we get hurt more on the mechanical side rather than in the truck.”

Not just performers, the truck drivers also have to look after their vehicles and ensure they get from point A to B.

Rebecca said: “We were in the Middle East in December, so the trucks were flown to Germany from there. They’re transported in shipping containers.

“We have to bring a whole extra shop with us so we can fix the trucks – we can’t just go to a local autoshop for spare parts!”

The couple are looking forward to returning to the Hydro, where they appeared just before the pandemic.

“When we’re asked our favourite building, it’s the Hydro in Glasgow, because it has a circular floor and that presents a new challenge for us in putting on the show,” Rebecca smiled.

Hot Wheels Monster Trucks, Ovo Hydro, Glasgow, Saturday & Sunday