Interview - Jeff Bodean - founder of Route 6x6

[Mike]

I recently had a great opportunity to interview one of the most influential individuals in our hobby. He single handily reintroduced the world to amphibious ATVs via the Internet and created an invaluable library of information for all of us to freely enjoy. His passion for our hobby was unmatched and if it weren't for him many of our favorite 6x6 and 8x8 ATVs would just be a distant memory. His great website was an inspiration for most of us and our hobby may not have an online presence today if it weren't for Jeff, the founder and creator of a wealth of AATV knowledge that we all know as Route 6x6.

There is much more to Jeff than just the creation of Route 6x6 though... more on that after the interview.

The Interview

Mike: How were you first introduced to amphibious ATVs?
Jeff: The first time was watching Banana Splits as a kid, I think. And then in my early teens, they used one as a moon buggy on Space: 1999, my favorite show at the time. Living in California, I never saw them here in person. I guess the terrain made the three-wheeled predecessor to the quad more popular.

Mike: What was the first AATV that you purchased?
Jeff: It was the Argo Vanguard. I came really close to buying a Max, but no one sells them here at least not back then. Found a dealer for Argos a few hundred miles from my house. I wanted to try before I buy, as I'd never been on one before.

Mike: How many AATVs have you owned and what kind were they?
Jeff: I only had two: the Argo mentioned above and a KIDD I found in Texas and rebuilt.

Mike: What did you mainly use them for? Work, recreation, did you just enjoy restoring them, etc.
Jeff: I used to have a ranch and I would buzz them around there for fun.

Mike: What was your favorite AATV?
Jeff: The Argo was the most versatile, but the KIDD was like driving a tank. And since it had a hydrostatic drive, it could literally rotate on it's axis.

Mike: Have you ever ridden with other AATV owners?
Jeff: No...like I mentioned above, there just isn't too many of these in my state. It would have been great to go on a group ride, though.

Mike: Are you still involved in the hobby? If not, do you think you may get back into it one day?
Jeff: I'm hoping to get another ranch in the not to distant future and if I do, I'll definitely get whatever is coolest at the time.

Mike: What was your inspiration for creating Route 6x6?
Jeff: The public adoption of the web was fairly fresh. I remember that it had come to a point where is was really useful for finding info. But alas, there was nothing on AATVs. I had collected a bit of information, but not that much. But I knew if I could create a place for others to share information, it could become a repository for AATV fans everywhere to enjoy.

Mike: When did you create Route 6x6?
Jeff: I launched the site on June 16th, 1997.

Mike: What did you like the most about running the site?
Jeff: It was fun to finally be able to correspond with others who enjoyed these machines. And being the first site gave me something of a "birds eye view" of the center of that universe.

Mike: What was your reason for selling and do you miss it?
Jeff: I didn't sell it. I simply pass the baton over to Richard Clark. He was the most adamant member of the site and seemed like a good choice. It was just too much work and I was getting into Humvees and robots at the time.

Mike: Would you rather have had Route 6x6 remain a soley hobby based website like you initially created instead of a commercial site?
Jeff: Originally, the site was completely just an information portal. I had made Richard his own section for selling stuff. When I passed the reins, I suggested that he keep a partition between "church and state." I haven't spent much time on the site lately.

Mike: As a software mastermind , have you ever thought of what Route 6x6 might be like today if you did not give it away?

Jeff: If I had the tools then that I have now, I would have set up the site using Mambo or Joomla. Then I could have had multiple admins and I wouldn't have gotten burned out.

Mike: It is funny how often I hear the same story from different AATV enthusiasts regarding Route 6x6. They all tell of how discouraged they were when trying to find AATV information on the web in the mid-to-late 90's. Then your site came along and there was finally a common place to share information freely and learn about AATVs. Your site was the turning point for so many people, either to stay in the hobby or to get into the hobby in the first place.

I think your passion for life in general really shows in everything you do, particularly in the original Route 6x6 site and it was that passion of yours that just carried over to anyone that visited. Your willingness to help people freely and get more people involved was crucial to where the hobby is today.
Jeff: Thanks!

Mike: After speaking via email briefly about the AATV industry / hobby and where it is at today, does anything surprise you or stand out?
Jeff: I'm somewhat saddened that a mainstream company hasn't created an AATV. I'm surprised the Japanese haven't made one. It's right up their ally and they tend to add unique and useful tweaks to items that were invented here.

Mike: On behalf of the members of 6x6 World, I want to thank you for taking the time to talk with us. On top of that, thank you for all of the time you devoted to creating Route 6x6 and for all of the information that you put on the Web. You developed such a great AATV library and you have been an inspiration to all of us!
Jeff: You're very welcome!

Jeff's Rides
Here are a few pictures of Jeff's AATVs. The Argo Vanguard that he talks about owning and the KIDD 8x8 that he fully restored. There are some before and after shots of it. Great restoration Jeff!

(Click on thumbnails for a larger view)



The KIDD before Jeff restored it:


The KIDD after Jeff restored it: