00:05 You know, in 100, 200, long jump, high jump. And all the guys that used to beat me, I come back and I beat every one of them. I beat them so bad that I had a record of 9.81. Wow. That is still there today. Welcome to Six-Figure Trucker, the podcast where we share advice on how to be successful in trucking and have fun while doing so. We’ll share stories, news, and advice on how to earn six figures in trucking. And we’ll speak to guys and gals that are already doing so. Let’s get to the show.

00:44 Hello everyone and welcome to the Six-Figure Trucker brought to you by Norton Transport where each and every week this is a space a format where we elevate and celebrate the drivers that make our company in this country go round and round. They are pivotal part of what we do. It’s a tough job out there. We sit behind a computer and guide and organize with them but they are the boots on the ground. They do the hard work and when the situations are faced so that’s why we lift them up in this program. We have a very very special guest for you this time around. It is Mr. Leopold Ruddock. Leopold, how are you?

01:20 I’m good. I’m doing good. Really good.

01:23 Okay. Now, are you on the road right now or are you at home getting ready to go on the road this coming week?

01:29 I’m at home getting ready to go. I was just going through the load board.

01:34 I got you. Now, home for you is Stone Mountain. Is that right?

01:38 Yep. Stone Mountain. Right. Right below the Stone Mountain Park—

01:41 There in Georgia. Stone Mountain basically in the Atlanta area for those of you not familiar with Georgia. That’s where Leopold lives with his family. Now, many times when we have our drivers here on the Six-Figure Trucker brought to you by Norton Transport, they’re recommended by their dispatchers who are in such contact with them, they know them better than anyone because they talk to them day daily and many times they talk to them several times a day. Leopold’s case is different. And the reason I say that is a couple of weeks ago, one of our supervisors and myself had flown up to South Dakota. We flew into Sioux Falls on a business trip. And from Sioux Falls, we went to Watertown, South Dakota, which is about roughly a 100 miles north of Sioux Falls. And lo and behold, Leopold Leo Ruddock was there in Watertown looking for a way to get to Sioux Falls. And he at the moment there was no transportation.

02:43 I think it was Leopold, correct me if I’m mistaken, it was 2 days before the next bus.

02:49 Yes.

02:50 And so we coordinated with Leopold’s dispatcher, Tanner, and we got in touch with him and we’re like, “Hey, we’re in Watertown. Hey, we’re going back to Sioux Falls.” Leo, get in the van. So, Leopold joined us in the van on the ride back to Sioux Falls, and that’s when we learned all about Leopold, and it was a very engaging ride for about an hour and a half, two hours through the cold weather of South Dakota. Leo, how was that ride for you?

03:18 It was very interesting. It was very interesting because due to conversation, the time did not really matter—

03:27 Right? The ride just flew by.

03:29 Yeah. The ride was just by and we were able to have a, you know, a very comfortable conversation, you know, on that ride. It was over before you think about it.

03:41 Right. Exactly. Exactly. Now, Leopold has been with the company and he has been a driver. He is very familiar with the open road. He’s been driving for 36 years now. We’re going to get into his driving next week, but Leo’s got a fascinating story that led him to that point. Now, you may or may not have picked up on Leopold’s accent, dialect. He is this is not his first country. Leopold, tell us where you’re from originally and how you got to the States. But let’s first hear where you’re from.

04:12 Well, I’m from St. Andrew, Jamaica. That’s where I grew up. I did spend one year in West Milan because my mother and father divorced. So I would spend time with my father in West Milan who was a dentist, you know, and then I would then I come I came back to my mom’s house with my stepfather because my father was relocating to California to pursue his job.

04:48 I gotcha. Now, we were talking about 36 years experience driving a truck commercially, but you actually got some experience there in Jamaica driving a heavy piece of equipment. Tell us about that.

05:02 Oh, yes. I basically lived in Jamaica up until I was 31 years old. I started with the airport authority, the aircraft firefighters. I started that in 1977. Before that, I spent two years working with the orthopedic department and when in my pursuance of the fire department, I basically have access to driving the fire trucks and that’s what I did. We have the ambulance, fire truck, and then we also have training that I have I was also a part of. For most of the time that I’ve been a firefighter.

05:50 How did that experience driving the fire truck that was basically the basis or the building block of your career as a commercial driver?

05:59 Yes, it was the building block. It started that what started it. But I also had I used to also drive buses because my stepfather had buses for the tourist and buses that would go from Kingston to Montego Bay.

06:16 I got you.

06:17 I grew up buses also. So it’s not just a fire public transportation.

06:22 Now what was life like in Jamaica at that time period for you?

06:26 I tell you it was a mixture. It was pretty good. My mother was a very is was an entrepreneur, you know, my father who was a dentist, you know, my stepfather who basically had business. My mom had the first Kentucky Fried Chicken store in Jamaica. So I and she had several restaurants.

06:57 Okay.

06:57 And so I was very busy—

06:59 I guess. I guess so. Yes. So my life was very busy, you know, working as a cashier from a little kid, you know, you know, clean up the yards, this that that you always got something to do. So that mean I was basically almost busy, always busy as a young man coming up.

07:16 Now you straight out of high school, you went to the airport authority, is that right?

07:22 No, straight out of high school, I went to the National Youth Service for the government. So I worked for the government for two years.

07:32 I got you. I got you.

07:33 And I worked with the orthopedic department at the ministry of health in the x-ray department and the orthopedic. So that’s what I did for two years before I went venture into firefighting at the airport. Now while working with the airport authority as a firefighter and driving the fire truck, you also started moving into instructing firefighters. Is that right?

08:02 Yeah, I was mostly in administration. I was used in that section because during my time there I started my studies with aircraft with what do you call with the institution of fire engineers in London. The airport authority paid for my studies for the institution for engineers. So because of that and my ability, they wanted me to be in administration. So I spend a lot of my time in office official public work.

08:42 Now in that ride that we had from Watertown South Dakota down to Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Speaking of training, we heard a fascinating story that you shared with us about your training in track and field so to speak while you were in college. Tell us that story. That was a fascinating story.

09:08 Well, it’s strange that it was in high school when I at St. Mary’s College. What happened was that I used to come last in every race and in my last two years in high school, you know, people used to clap me coming in last, but I always finish the race, but I was also involved in soccer. So I used to travel from Kingston to St. Katherine every day to go to school every morning. So I wake up at 4:00 in the morning, 4:30 in the morning to go to school every day. And what happened was that when I come in at in the evening, I used to I had training to do in my neighborhood. So before I do that training, I would run on the sand for three miles and then I would run on the asphalt for three miles and then I would go to the soccer field and then I would climb the mountain which is about a mile and a half up and down before I start training.

10:19 So doing that it kind of build me up different more stamina more you know more strength and more lift. So when I started to run again at St. Nearest college. I realized that I was just leaving everybody. Everybody that used to beat me, I used to I just clean up the whole field—

10:42 You know, in 100, 200, long jump, high jump. And all the guys that used to beat me, I come back and I beat every one of them. I beat them so bad that I had a record of 9.81.

10:56 Wow. That is still there today from 1974.

11:03 9.81 and 100 yards.

11:06 Yeah. 100 yards. 9.81. And it’s the reason why I know it’s still there is that I met someone I you know now I’m into sports cars. So I met someone that tracked me down. Someone tracked me all the way down to the gas stations. And say, “You no longer been trying to catch you.” Okay. You know, you want to see my car. So—

11:34 So when he caught me and he said, you said to me then we start to talk. You said you’re from Jamaica. I said, yes, it’s from Jamaica. All right. Said, where in Jamaica? When you said above rocks said St. Katherine. I said, what school did you attend? He said he went to St. Mary’s College. I said, what? Said I went there, too. He said, “What’s your name?” So I told him my name. So he said, “Your name is Ruddock.” I said, “Yeah.” He said, “Which one Ruddock are you?” Cuz there are two of us, two Rucks that went there.

12:06 Mhm.

12:06 And we both have records in track and field. Both of us.

12:12 Wow.

12:13 My younger brother has record in long jump. As a matter of fact, he’s he also helped to train some of the athlete for the Jamaican athlete. Even today, my younger brother, you know, cuz he’s into sports.

12:29 Wow.

12:30 And which one of the are you? So I told him who I was and he said, “What?” So you are said then he told me that my record is not broken.

12:39 Wow. That is amazing. How proud does that make you?

12:42 And that was recently. And I said, you know, oh man, I can’t believe it. But it’s it I really did run. But the reason why I did not continue into sports is that there was no money in sports—

12:58 At that time.

13:00 Yes. So I just decided I’m not going to venture into it at all. There’s more money into it now than it was then. So Oh—

13:10 Absolutely. You’re listening to Leopold Ruddock here on the Six-Figure Trucker brought to you by Norton Transport. Leopold is sharing his very rich background in Jamaica where he grew up and was stayed there until he was 31 years old. Now Leopold came to America at that point and you will hear next week what brought him to America and led to his career as a very successful driver not only with us but even before then. Leopold, we’d like to go ahead and wrap up this week’s episode of— Your Life in Jamaica. Anything that we may have not covered that led to your success present day. Well, I would say that parents have a lot to do with you know, and mentors, you know, I had good mentors in my life coming up as a child. You know, I used to sit down with a lot of older people and you know, for hours and talk and that that kind of helped and motivate me because of the fact that people used to respect me as a young man coming up and that motivated me to do better and better because I had good people behind me.

14:29 There you have it from Leopold Ruddock. Very great stories there from Jamaica and we certainly appreciate him sharing that with us. And next week, Leopold’s going to break down his career as a commercial driver and it’s a very long career, very very successful career. Leopold, thank you very much for joining us.

14:50 You’re welcome. You’re most welcome.

14:56 Six-Figure Trucker is brought to you by Norton Transport. Norton Transport is a driveaway trucking company that customers can rely on. It offers excellent independent contract driving opportunities to professional, courteous, and qualified drivers that can provide the kind of service we deliver. If you’re interested in learning more about Norton or just want to subscribe to the show, check out Six-FigureTrucker.com. That’s Six-FigureTrucker.com.