We want to acknowledge and congratulate Sam Xuereb on his induction into the Australian Monster Truck Hall of Fame, forming part of our inaugural class. Sam’s sustained interest in motorsports began with the construction of billy carts fashioned from agricultural machinery in his youth, later advancing to include custom minibikes, buggies, 4WDs, and dirt bikes. In 1999, Sam’s involvement with monster trucks commenced following the completion of Sampson. This was one of the first Stage 3 trucks to be built in Australia, constructed fully in-house by Sam himself and featuring a steel Toyota Hilux body.

Sam’s involvement with monster trucks continued with the purchase of Tropical Thunder in 2003, an iconic international chassis that was imported to Australia three years prior and continued to run under his ownership for over 13 years. The team still runs the name, making it the longest-running international name in Australian monster truck history.

The construction of Devil’s Taxi in 2009 enabled Sam to pursue further accolades within his monster trucking career, most notably as the world record holder for the longest monster truck wheelie at the time. Various attempts were conducted between 2010 – 2012, and many cleared the previous record, with an official recording of 158m (518ft), and some attempts more than doubling this, going as far as 400m (over 1300ft). In 2022, Sam and his team embarked on the construction of ‘Six Foot’ to feature in Furiosa, a Mad Max saga. The truck featured six wheels and was one of the team's most unique builds to date, utilising the original Sampson chassis.

Sam currently operates a fleet of six monster trucks along with other mechanical marvels and continues to represent iconic local and international identities, such as Tropical Thunder, Sampson, and Devil’s Taxi. It is Sam’s longstanding industry involvement, paired with his inventiveness and ingenuity, that make him one of our proud inductees into the Australian Monster Truck Hall of Fame.