MANKATO—The DieselSellerz, stars of Discovery’s “Diesel Brothers” show, appeared at MN AG EXPO Wednesday to meet fans and preview the truck the foursome is building for the Minnesota Research & Promotion Council.
“People will go crazy over this truck,” said Dave Sparks, aka Heavy D. “Normally we work with ad agencies and now we’re working with farmers. For me, that’s my favorite part. At the end of the day, the main people driving this project are farmers, and we love that part of it.”
On May 1, 2018, Minnesota moves to B20 (20 percent biodiesel), once again remaining a leader in the biodiesel industry. Sparks said when MSR&PC approached the Utah-based DieselSellerz last year about a possible partnership, it made sense on several fronts because both parties share a common interest in promoting renewable fuels and dispelling diesel myths.
“Biodiesel is the future of fuel,” Sparks said. “This is something that’s sustainable and has a lot of technology and science behind it. We’re working on innovation and technology and trying to improve the diesel industry and so is MSR&PC. So it was a natural fit.”
The DieselSellerz plan to unveil the truck they’re building for MSR&PC next month at Commodity Classic in Anaheim, Calif. Sparks says Discovery has been excited about the truck build and the DieselSellerz have been receiving interest from across the globe.
“The amount of love and attention that this project is getting over any other project we’ve ever done is unbelievable,” Sparks said. “I’m telling you, it’s a jaw-dropper…What we’re building is much, much more than a truck, and (the Council) is going to be the first one to have it.”
The DieselSellerz, accompanied by a Discovery film crew, first visited Minnesota last August, when they appeared at FarmFest and toured a local farm and biodiesel production facility in Brewster to glean a firsthand look at soybean production.
“We went and saw how the soybeans process unfolds and how a seed turns into fuel,” he said. “It’s new and exciting and something we’ve never done. Our viewers are going to get a taste of something completely different. … It’s a project I’ve wanted to do for a long time but was waiting and waiting for the right time. When this partnership rolled across, I said, ‘This is the one.’”
MSR&PC director Jim Willers said the DieselSellerz teaming with MSR&PC was an ideal collaboration in promoting the B20 rollout.
“Having the TV show is a big plus,” Willers said. “We’re just very grateful as an organization for the exposure.”
Sparks anticipates the show featuring the Ford F550 will air on Discovery this spring.
“You couldn’t buy a Super Bowl commercial that can tell the (biodiesel) story that we’re telling,” Sparks said. “That’s why this partnership has turned out to be such a good fit.
