The East Coast Is Back…

Those old enough to remember the “Golden Age” of East Coast Rock Crawling look back on it fondly. You see, there was a period in the early 2000s when Rock Crawling was exploding… Television coverage on EPSN. New York Times articles calling Rock Crawling the “World’s Fastest Growing Motorsport,” with thousands of spectators at events. And most of all, EXTREME terrain. It wasn’t uncommon for the National Anthem to conclude, and within the first minute of competition, have three rollovers on three di erent courses. Fast-forward 15 years, and multiple factors have resulted in Rock Crawling being toned-down significantly. Terrain is easier. Some competitions you’ll have zero rollovers for the entire event. And while there is some resurgence in interest on the West Coast, the East Coast scene is struggling.

- Hans Scherer

This ”softening” trend is what led me to found our Rock Crawling organization - “Outkast Krawlers.” Outkast operates on the premise of “Bringing Back Hardcore Rock Crawling,” with a focus on our local geographic sector - the Northeastern PA Anthracite Region. We work with private landowners and off -road parks, developing extreme terrain for rock crawling. Our members also campaign teams that compete in various national and local rock crawling events (Joe Semanchik of OGOB Racing/Team 013, and Jason Staples of Trailseekers Union/Team 871). Most recently, Outkast has been working with the Anthracite Outdoor Adventure Area (AOAA) in Coal Township, PA (Northumberland County), to develop the Rock Crawling portion of their trail system. AOAA is a