‘MECHANICAL Mad Scientist’ Sam Xuereb’s Hazelwood home is an unparalleled menagerie of machinery.
Upon arriving at the property one can’t help but notice a trinity of terrifying toys lining the driveway: a custom 1000 horsepower tank, complete with World War II Stuart tank tracking, a Polaris Razor buggy and Xuereb’s most famous beast, the ‘Devil’s Taxi’ monster truck built from scratch.
An impressive standalone collection, but the rabbit hole goes much deeper.
Xuereb’s multitude of sheds contain innumerable creations from unicycles and pogo sticks to motorbikes, buggies and of course, monster trucks.
Not only does the former fitter and turner construct every oddity himself, he has a stunt, and often several, for each.
The 54 year-old was only too happy to rock a monster truck back on two wheels and drive circles, literally, around this gobsmacked journalist for minutes on end.
“I can wheelie anything; I might not be able to drive it well but I can wheelie it,” Xuereb said.
The veteran showman, who has performed at the Gold Coast’s Movieworld and featured in the Thunderstone television series, will be a headline act at this month’s national 4×4 Outdoors Show and Fishing and Boating Expo at the Melbourne Showgrounds.
Xuereb will showcase a plethora of tricks, including his trademark wheelie exploits, in the Devil’s Taxi and other vehicles at the expo, an art he has perfected over more than a decade in the spotlight.
His proficiency has led to multiple world records, including the longest wheelie in a monster truck (518 feet), longest reverse wheelie on a quad bike (500 metres) and 19 year-old son Michael achieved a 94-foot jump in the Polaris Razor.
“I’m an old dinosaur so I’m just happy to have a world record,” Xuereb said.
The daredevil has dedicated his life to working on machines, dreaming up new vessels to race, jump and flip through the air.
“At 12 years old I made my own means of transport out of milking machine parts, a motorised go-kart… and it just went on and on with bicycles and the buggies just got bigger and bigger until they were monster truck size,” he said.
“As a young bloke I liked going fast and I raced motocross for a while but I was more interested in tricks. In my paddock bomb I used to drive around on two wheels.”
In 1993 he invented a two-wheel drive motorcycle, capturing the attention of the world media, but Xuereb’s big break came in 1999 when his home-made monster trucks were thrust into the limelight.
Since his debut show in Perth, Xuereb has headlined every indoor stadium in Australia, and has been involved in high profile film work.
Despite all of his achievements, Xuereb’s repertoire continues to become more ambitious.
His biggest recent accomplishment was landing a backflip in the Razor ramp to ramp, a building block toward the ultimate goal.
“I’d been kicking that around in my head for four or five years now and to pull it off first go was a big feat,” he said.
“My dream one day is to backflip the monster truck ramp to ramp.
“I’ve been dreaming this stuff up all my life, so I can sort of see it happen… the sky is the limit.”
Beneath the surface, the high risk occupation is not all fun and games.
Xuereb has suffered multiple injuries over the years, including a broken femur, and is extremely safety conscious behind the wheel.
He also spends almost every waking hour on maintenance; he recently pulled the Devil’s Taxi apart and rebuilt it, and has to reconstruct its engine up to four times a year.
“It’s seven days a week in the background… there’s no end to it,” he said.
While retirement is not yet a consideration, the show will almost certainly go on after Xuereb steps down.
Already Michael is a regular participant in his father’s shows, and at 10 years of age Xuereb’s youngest son has already devised custom bicycles of his own.
Not surprisingly, he loves to wheelie them.
“My kids are following in my footsteps,” Xuereb said.
“How can I stop? I’ve got plenty of bodies I’ve just got to concoct the ideas, if I get too old I’ve got a 19 year-old and a 10 year-old (to take my place).”
To check out some of Xuereb’s world record breaking feats and incredible stunts, visit monstertrucks.com.au
The national 4×4 Outdoors Show and Fishing and Boating Expo will be held at the Melbourne Showgrounds from 23 to 25 August.
EXPO SNAPSHOT
More than 50,000 square metres dedicated to everything outdoor related – Melbourne’s biggest off-road touring, towing, fishing and boating expo
More than 220 exhibitors displaying a massive range of exciting and new products, including Australian premieres.
Special guests including television’s Paul Worsteling from iFish and 4×4 identities Pat Callinan and Peter “Spida” Everitt (former Australian Football League footballer).
Plenty of activities for hard-core outdoor enthusiasts, novices and families alike including the Yamaha Supertank, Young Guns Fishing Adventures and the Action Arena
