People have asked who is the guy behind All Over Overland, I'm not sure I even know this yet. Since some of you have asked for more information about myself here you go. I really hope I don't completely disappoint everyone. My name is Michael Hyden and I am from Yukon, OK. I have always loved being outside. My dad and I didn't go hunting and only camped out a few times, but they are some of my best memories growing up. He did give me a love for cars. All cars from old, new, fast, ugly, and big. Our bucket list still includes one day purchasing a car from the Barrett Jackson Auto Auction. My uncle was a big park in starting my love for 4x4s and offroading back when I was 8. He had a white 82 GMC on 35in BFG MTs named Bushvet. He would scare me every chance he could in that truck, and I loved it.
I am now on my second Jeep. The first was a 1998 Jeep TJ. It had a 2in spacer lift with 31 in Goodyear MTRs. The first off-road group I belonged to was the Trailchasers 4x4 group. While in that group I found a love for the trail ride. I would load up some food, water and my dog and just go out finding old trails to spend the entire day exploring. I did this for a few years and sold the TJ. I still spent tons of time outdoors camping, mountain biking, and hiking. Many years later I decided to find a new 4x4 and go explore again. My current 4x4 is a 2010 Jeep Liberty, I have no idea why I bought this thing. There are very little aftermarket products available, it has an IFS front end, it is a uni-body, and most of the time it is the but of many jokes. Which is why I love it so much, but we will get into more about Rumble in a different blog post.
I joined a few more local off-road groups and started going out on some trail rides. I had a blast except for the fact we would go for a day and head home at night. I wanted to camp to be gone for days and not see "normal" people. So I started looking online to see what I could find. I found Andrew St. Pierre White and watched everything I could he had out. I loved how he would go on "overlanding" trips. This was the first time I had ever heard of overlanding and new immediately this is what I wanted to do, what I longed to do. Soon after I also found out about Mark Doiron, Ronny Dahl, Expedition Overland, Overland Bound, 410 Expeditions Mountain State Overland, and many other awesome people. The videos they turn out are all inspiring full of great information and stunning views. As any man thirsting for adventure I became obsessed and had to start leaning everything I could.
So why did I start All Over Overland on Facebook? Simply to learn more. I wanted a page anyone could add information to and ask questions. Companies are welcome as long as they don't over use the page. I mean we all need to know what is available for overlanding. My goal was to have a few people I could ask questions about overlanding join the gourp, I never expected it to grow the way it has over the last year. We have members from ALL OVER the world and I love it! I have become friends with some of these people and message them often, it has been alot of fun. Since starting All Over Overland I have join several other groups again to learn and share information that may be helpful to others. I also started a YouTube page by the same name. To be honest it was started to show my kids that I did kickass things. I want to be able to leave them videos of the cool things dad did and the messes he got into. One of the completely awesome things that has happened is that they started to want to be outside more. Mostly my daughter Molly she gets upset if I go camping or offroading without her. She has become my sidekick on many trips.
The blog came about only because there was so much I wanted to say and not enough room on Facebook to say it. Also I'm was sure most people didn't want to see my mug on their TV or device. One fo the biggest benefits of a blog is that you can look it over without having to watch a video ALL OVER again. My hope is that you get something out of the all of this and it helps you. Please let me know what you want me to talk about. Now I will still be adding to the Facebook page, the Instagram page, and the YouTube page. In fact the check out the YouTube page a few days after a blog and we will have a blog recap with answers to your questions and comments.
A few other details about me. I am a second generation professional photographer and I also have worked in sales for many years. I do not get paid for my All Over Overland pages and I have no sponsors. Of course if the right opportunity came up it would be something I would have to think about, I mean who wouldn't want to get paid for this stuff! I have a wonderful wife that I adore. Three little girls run my house, two stepdaughters and my daughter Molly. I am blessed that they all get along and love spending time with each other. Again thank you Kim and your two beautiful girls for allowing Molly and me to join your family. We also have two Boston terriers one is nuts and the other is a rescue that is not totally sure about anything. I live in Yukon, OK just outside OKC. If you are ever passing through please contact me. Overlanding is more than a hobby it is the way I want to live. I hope you all the best and remember GO ALL OVER.
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