When veteran truckie Steve Dean told me his nickname was ‘Boots’ I immediately checked out his footwear when I saw him in north Queensland recently.
He was wearing rubber thongs like many drivers so I asked how the nickname came about.
“I used to wear Thomas Cook boots and people started calling me that and it has stuck,” he said.
Boots, who turned 57 on December 2 was parked at the BP Cluden. He drives a Scania 620 for Exodas and is based in Brisbane.
“I was born and bred at Adelong in NSW and have brought up frozen goods from south for Townsville and Cairns and have a backload of produce to pick up at Mareeba,” he said.
Boots has been a truckie for many years and said he won’t be changing his career any time soon.
“I don’t know anything else. I have worked with this company for six months and was with them some time back for two years,” he said.
Whilst this friendly driver cooks a lot of his food in a microwave when away, he does enjoy stopping at the Injune Roadhouse.
“My favourite foods are steak, prawns and veggies,” he said.
The road he finds challenging to travel on is the Bruce Highway, north of Rockhampton.
His hobbies outside work include riding his 2017 Harley Davidson and watching the V8 Supercars races.
Having fair skin, I asked Dean has he ever had any skin cancers. “No I get regular skin checks,” he said.