We at 10-4 Magazine strive to bring you the best – not just the best trucks, but the best in everything. Our roving reporter in Colorado, Troy Miller, who has always had an interest in big trucks, is a fine example of this commitment we have to bringing you the best. When we first met Troy he was only 11 years old, and he already knew as much (or more) about trucks as we did. Since he could first formulate words, trucks have been his primary interest, even though he did not come from a trucking family whatsoever. This month, we thought that we would turn the tables on Troy and write a story about him, just to let you know who he is and where he came from.
Growing up, there was little else that Troy cared about other than big trucks. In addition to having hundreds of Hot Wheels and Matchbox toy trucks, Troy also built amazing rigs out of Lego bricks at a very early age. Our first contact with Troy was in early 2003 when he sent us a few pictures of some of his Lego creations, which impressed us so much, we later did an article about them (September 2003). To help educate himself more about trucks and trucking, Troy spent much of his time reading and researching big trucks, both the old and the new.
In those formative years, his knowledge of trucks was encyclopedic (he’s not sure if the same could be said today), and it truly amazed us at the magazine. In fact, early on after Troy contacted us, we had him helping us identify certain models of trucks for some of our articles! And that’s how we came to know Troy – he simply started e-mailing us 
with ideas for articles. Little did we know at that time that we were talking with an 11-year-old kid. Eventually, in June of 2003, we would have our opportunity to meet Troy in person at the truck show in Las Vegas. We were impressed with not just his knowledge, but his knowledge at such a young age. Not long after that, we decided it was time for him to begin writing for us, so we started a new column called The Kid’s Page. After just a few articles, we quickly realized that this kid could do far more, so we started giving him truck feature assignments in and around his home state of Colorado.
Troy will admit that those first few articles were tough – he was pretty much flying by the seat of his pants, trying to figure out what to ask people, what to write about, and how to take a good picture. But, he persevered, learning on the job (and from us), and eventually started writing some great stories and taking simple photographs. In high school, Troy began taking photography classes, learning on 35mm film cameras, and really began to hone his skills. Today, he has a passion for photography, and a great eye, but he is still learning. Troy strives to bring together not only the best trucks and photography, but to exhibit the artistic nature inherent in both. Known as a bit of a control freak on photo shoots, for Troy, photographing a truck is not simply cataloguing the truck’s features, but finding the best and most unique features that truck has to offer and then figuring out how to best showcase them in the most attractive and artistic manner possible.
Having just turned 21, Troy’s passion for trucks and trucking is as intense as ever. In fact, through a trucking operation he met through the magazine, he recently obtained his CDL the old school way – first hostling trailers in the yard, then eventually moving on to bigger and better things. Troy has spent much of his free time during his college years swamping and training, learning how to properly drive (and load) those heavy trucks. Currently an English Literature major with a Media Studies minor at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado, Troy will be entering his senior year of college this fall. Believing that a strong education is key to success in any industry, Troy’s intellectual interests have often seemed nothing short of unusual for the trucking industry (at one point he was a Philosophy major at a big university back east). We haven’t met many people in the industry who can sit there and converse about small-bore Cummins engines and Albert Camus’ The Stranger in the same sitting!
Beyond trucking, Troy has strong interests in photography in general. If he isn’t taking pictures of a truck or driving one, he can often be found researching and/or practicing new photographic methods. He has a particular interest in landscapes and portraiture, but he hates photos being taken of himself. Troy also loves teaching other people about photography, and always jumps at the chance to help someone with their skills whenever possible. Beyond photography, as indicated by the degree he is pursuing, he also has an interest in literature, specifically modern American literature.
When he first contacted 10-4 Magazine, we had little idea of Troy’s age and the correlating expertise he had of trucks, but we are so glad that we met him and brought him into the 10-4 family. Covering trucks and shows in a unique region of trucking that many other magazines seem to ignore or give little attention to, Troy is our secret weapon, being the first to showcase many cool Rocky-Mountain rides. So, if you see a young kid with a big camera out there at a truck show wearing a 10-4 shirt, introduce yourself to Troy – he’s always looking for the next truck.
