NASHVILLE, Ga. — Motors, mud and money. If you could boil down the “hobby” of off-roading, into three words, it would be those. Hobby isn’t even the best way to describe it. For many, off-roading is a lifestyle. Dawson May of Nashville, Ga. is one of those such people.

“The first time I got onto a 4-wheeler, there isn’t really a way to describe it. I freaking loved it,” Dawson said in an interview proceeding in an event he attended at Possum Creek Off-Road Park in Ray City in February.

May has been riding 4-wheelers since he was 7 years old. He began to ride with his older cousins, he said.

“They always had these old Polarises. Like the ’90s model two-strokes. They’d always take me out on rides.”

By the time he was 13, he purchased his first 4-wheeler. It was a 2007 Grizzly 250.

“It wasn’t anything special. But I loved it,” May said.

Around the same time, May started watching a Canadian YouTuber, Ostacruiser. These early interests quickly made an impression on the young May. While he was in high school, he worked at the local Subway and continued to improve his ride.

“I progressively moved up… I’ve been through a lot of 4-wheelers. Going through the whole process. That’s what I like to tell kids and stuff… you get more money over more time. You progress slowly but it’s worth it in the end.”

His current ride is a 2021 Can-Am XMR Outlander 850 which he has been riding for almost two years now and he won’t hesitate to tell you about it.

“The way I can describe it is that Can-Am is the Ducatti of 4-wheelers right now in my opinion. You got the highest horsepower, the best power to torque ratio and just all around the best. It’s kinda got the fancy low to medium to high power steering, everything. So growing up, I could see that and I always wanted that. That’s my dream 4-wheeler,” May rattled off with a big smile on his face.

At the age of 24, May now works as the “parts guy” for the Valdosta Langdale Hyundai Service Center. But off-roading and working are just part of who he is.

When he was watching Ostacruiser and other offroading YouTubers, he knew there was a way he could share his experiences with the online off-roading community. In 2019 May launched his YouTube channel, o2Offroad. In it, he makes video blogs showcasing his and others’ off-road vehicles, site visits and general updates on his life.

“I saw these guys like Osta and I was just thinking, ‘I could do that.’ I had always wanted to be a vlogger. But I started vlogging and just felt it wasn’t me. I never really expected it to turn out the way it has,” May said in regards to his social media and YouTube platform.

May has turned o2Offroad into a complete online brand complete with merchandise, advertising and sponsors. While May and his girlfriend, Chloe, work almost every weekend on YouTube content, o2Offoads has found most of its success on Instagram and Tik Tok.

As of this writing, May’s Tik Tok o2offroad_yt has garnered 24.6 thousand followers and 244.5 thousand likes. His Instagram similarly has a following of 15.7 thousand followers. The YouTube channel is continuing to grow. At the time of writing, o2Offroad had just hit 9.83 thousand subscribers. (Editor’s update: As of early October, May said he now has 11.2 thousand YouTube subscribers and 20.1 thousand followers on Instagram.)

“It’s kinda crazy. I mean I don’t have any fancy equipment or anything. I first started taking a beat up old GoPro and edit stuff on an app on my iPhone. People love to see it. It’s just like why I love it. People love to see the mud and tires and getting dirty. It’s just people having fun. But to see how people have reacted, it’s so… I don’t even have words. It’s just great,” May said.

Chloe goes to almost every ride that May takes part in, not only in a supportive capacity but also to get videos and photos on her iPhone that help in May’s videos.

May says that many of his videos come from simple things.

“I like to think about what I would like to see. Like when I go to a park for the first time, I like to give a review on the park itself or if I’m doing some adjustments on the 4-wheeler I like to explain why I’m doing those things,” May said.

May’s success on Tik Tok can be attributed to his dedication to crafting videos.

“That was really the tipping point. I would post on there three times a day. That’s when it all took off. I went from like 10 subscribers to about 10,000 in a few months. It’s huge,” he explained.

With the success online, May has been able to make some money off his experiences. Last year he made “just under $3,000” from his YouTube throughout 2021. But that isn’t his top priority.

“I mean it’s nice but that ain’t what I’m looking for. It’s nice as something else to do. Like I have a full time job and I have friends and a social life. But I can still do that stuff online and still enjoy it. A lot of YouTubers put their YouTube first and that’s how they can grow so fast but I’m more worried about my friends and my family than I am for my side hustle. If I can pay my bills and enjoy life, I’d rather do that,” May said.

He’s also picked up some sponsors throughout his career. He is currently sponsored by Gator Waders, Dry Pocket Apparel, RideNation, Dango Design and Possum Creek Offroad Park. Along with these, he’s been invited out to parks across the country for sponsored rides. He once was invited to a park in Arkansas but couldn’t go because he had to work, he said.

But things aren’t always perfect trying to balance two careers, a hobby, friends and a home life.

“It definitely takes a lot of home time editing. It takes probably about four to six hours to edit a video and that’s consistent nonstop,” May said.

May has ridden all over the Southeast and has met people from around the country doing it.

“That’s the thing about this hobby, man. You just meet so many people from all over. It’s the experience of getting outside and just cranking it up all the way. It’s about the mud and fun. I really don’t know how else to describe it. There is nothing like flying into a big ol’ puddle and just sinking down into it. If you haven’t done it, you just can’t understand,” May explained.

Going forward May is happy where he is but is still going to continue to work as hard as he can.

“Like I said, there really isn’t an end goal when it comes to the YouTube or the Tik Tok. I just want to keep doing what I love. If I can make some money off it, that’s great. If I don’t get a cent off it, that’s fine too… It’s just about the mud,” May grinned.