Ryan Anderson (born November 16th, 1989) is a monster truck driver out of Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, best known as the driver of Son-Uva Digger. He drives along with his brothers Adam and Weston, as well as his sister Krysten. Ryan is a 4-time World Finals champion (tied with his father Dennis). He is known for his bicycles, saves and insane freestyles, which is why he's one of the most popular drivers in the sport.
History[]
Ryan started driving in 2010 with Monster Mutt. He drove the Retro Grave Digger (Red) in the World Finals 11 encore. He also drove Spider-Man in Mexico City and Cincinnati, and Monster Mutt in Costa Rica and Panama during the summer and won freestyle in Cincinnati and San José (Friday night).
In 2011, Ryan debuted Son-Uva Digger as part of the World Finals XII encore and landed a perfect backflip, which would go on to become one of the most iconic monster truck moments in history.
In 2012, Ryan would make his World Finals main field debut at World Finals 13. During the Grave Digger 30th anniversary encore, he suffered a broken neck and was unable to compete until November 2012.
In 2014, Ryan drove Doom's Day for an encore in Orlando.
In 2015, Ryan almost got his first world titles. He would be the runner-up to Todd Leduc in Metal Mulisha at World Finals XVI in racing. Ryan would also finish second in freestyle behind Overkill Evolution. In Ocala, Florida, he drove Son Uva Digger on Grave Digger 23 for the Team Grave Digger vs Team Bad Boys competitions.
In 2017, Ryan won Stadium Tour 3. He won his first World Finals title at Monster Jam World Finals XVIII, defeating Tyler Menninga in Grave Digger in racing. For the Grave Digger 35th anniversary encore, he drove the silver Grave Digger. In Syracuse, he performed the first moonwalk, which won him the freestyle title with a 9.9, the highest score at the time.
In 2018, Ryan finished 2nd on Stadium Tour 4 to Lee O'Donnell in Mad Scientist. He won his second World Finals title at the Monster Jam World Finals 19, getting a score of 9.182 in freestyle. That same year, he won the Stadium Freestyle award and the Wow Factor award.
In 2019, Ryan drove Grave Digger #35 for Adam in Philadelphia, clinching the series title for him. Ryan finished 2nd to Tom Meents in Max-D Fire on his stadium tour. In St. Louis, Ryan did a bicycle to sidewall to wheelie combo in the skills challenge. He was chosen to compete in the inaugural two-wheel championship at the World Finals. He would also be fan voted into the first Monster Jam All-Star Challenge, getting Friday’s racing win, the freestyle win and the overall event championship.
In 2020, Ryan competed on Stadium Championship Series Green, he finished 2nd on the tour after it was ended due to the pandemic. In August, he sets the record for the longest bicycle in a monster truck. On October 24-25, 2020, He drove Bakugan Dragonoid in Arlington, Texas for the return of Monster Jam since the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2021, due to budget cuts from FELD Entertainment from the COVID-19 pandemic, Ryan temporarily moved to Bakugan Dragonoid for the 2021 Stadium Championship Series, and won the championship. He would continue to drive the truck until East Rutherford, with it being his last run in the truck, before returning to Son-Uva Digger in the summer.
In 2022, Ryan competed on Stadium Championship Series Yellow, where he would compete strong and eventually clinch the championship during the final show in Atlanta, two shows before the series' official end. Part way through the series, Son-Uva Digger would receive a sponsorship from Hoonigan, which Ryan is good friends with. He has been featured on Hoonigan's YouTube channel. His truck also got a slightly updated paint scheme. At the final stop of stadium tour yellow in East Rutherford, Ryan did several sidewall spins in the skills challenge before saving it. He would win the stadium skills challenge award for this. At World Finals XXI, Ryan would be the runner up in racing to his former crew chief Brandon Vinson. He would win the high jump competition for his third overall world championship with a height of 38.906 ft. He would also finish in the top three in all four competitions. His record low winning score of 9.182 at World Finals 19 was beaten by Tom Meents at World Finals 21 with an 8.615. In Glendale, his brother Weston drove Son-Uva Digger (Hoonigan) for unknown reasons.
In 2023, Ryan competes on the blue stadium tour. In Seattle, the Hoonigan sponsorship is no longer on the truck. Ryan finished 2nd to Tyler Menninga in the final standings. He would later be invited to World Finals XXII, in which he would win the high jump competition for the second straight year & his fourth overall world championship with a height of 28.616 ft. He competed on Team Nitro for the Superstar Challenge in Anaheim on November 11.
In 2024, Ryan will compete on the west stadium tour with his brother Adam for the first time since 2021. He would sweep the entire second show in San Diego. In Albuquerque, he drives Adam's truck, making it his first time in arenas in a couple years. He won the first ever skills and freestyle competitions at Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama. In Seattle, he would win the west stadium tour, getting the first invite to World Finals XXlll. His crew chief would win the UNOH Technician of the Year with Chuckie Pauken & Natalie Hill, the international body technician. In Kansas City, he tied his brother for the win in freestyle with a 9.651. Ryan got the tiebreaker win after going to the 4 number after the decimal. A tiebreaker going to the 4th decimal point has never happened before. He would compete in Mexico City & San Juan, Puerto Rico, which is a rare occurrence for Ryan to be in arenas.
In 2025, he will compete once again on the West stadium tour with his brother Adam.
World Finals appearances[]
- 2010 - Retro Grave Digger (red) (encore only)
- 2011 - Son-Uva Digger (encore only)
- 2012 - Son-Uva Digger (Grave Digger 30th anniversary encore)
- 2013 - Son-Uva Digger
- 2014 - Son-Uva Digger
- 2015 - Son-Uva Digger
- 2016 - Son-Uva Digger
- 2017 - Son-Uva Digger (won racing) (Grave Digger silver for the 35th anniversary encore)
- 2018 - Son-Uva Digger (won freestyle)
- 2019 - Son-Uva Digger
- 2022 - Son-Uva Digger (Hoonigan) (main field, high jump & skills) (won high jump)
- 2023 - Son-Uva-Digger (main field, skills & high jump) (won high jump)
- 2024 - Son Uva Digger (main field, high jump & skills)
All-Star Challenge/Superstar Challenge appearances[]
- 2019 - Son-Uva Digger (Team Ice) (won Chicago style racing/freestyle/overall event championship)
- 2023 - Son-Uva Digger (Team Nitro)
Accomplishments[]
- 2010 - Rookie of the Year.
- 2014 - Stadium Freestyle & Save of the Year from St. Louis.
- 2015 - Stadium Freestyle of the Year from San Diego.
- 2016 - Wow Factor of the Year.
- 2017 - Stadium Tour 3 champion.
- 2017 - Monster Jam World Finals 18 racing champion.
- 2018 - Stadium Freestyle & Wow Factor of the year.
- 2018 - Monster Jam World Finals 19 freestyle champion.
- 2019 - Stadium Two Wheel Skills, Freestyle of the year in St. Louis & MJ All-Star Challenge Overall
- 2021 - WOW Factor
- 2021 - Crash Madness
- 2021 - Fan Favorite
- 2021 - Stadium Championship Series Champion.
- 2022 - Stadium Championship Series Yellow Champion.
- 2022 - Monster Jam World Finals 21 high jump champion.
- 2022 - Stadium Two Wheel Skills of the Year from East Rutherford.
- 2023 - Monster Jam World Finals 22 high jump champion.
- 2023 - Wow Factor.
- 2023 - Fan Favorite.
- 2024 - Stadium Racer of the Year.
Trivia[]
- Ryan Anderson holds the world record for the farthest bicycle in a monster truck - 891 feet and 10.08 inches.
- Ryan Anderson became the first driver to win back-to-back high jump world championships in 2023.
- In 2024, Ryan & his girlfriend welcomed another son into their family. His first son is named Race.
- Ryan is one of, if not the best on stadium tours as he has never finished worse than 2nd.
Gallery[]
