Who Is Kevin Swan
Kevin Swan, owner of Road Rash Off Road is an overlander and adventurer, obsessed with outfitting his Jeep and exploring, but this was not always the case.
Kevin grew up in a small cabin in the backwoods of Mississippi where exploring, camping, hunting, fishing and adventuring was all he knew. It was rooted in his DNA. As he grew into his mid teenage years, he and his family relocated to Atlanta, GA, now surrounded by suburbs, city squares and shopping malls. This new place was interesting even as his new territory became a "concrete jungle". After watching the movie CB4, he saw the glamorization of a black Jeep YJ and has been in love with Jeeps ever since, but never found the means to buy one.
The Boy Band Days
Many years later, Kevin would take on his first career in the music industry, auditioning for a boy band in the late 1990's. The band saw immediate success under the direction and production of Maurice Starr and Master P. Now signed with a major label, No Limit Records, national recognition became quick, putting him on a nation wide tour with appearances on several TV shows including MTV, BET, Nickelodeon, Jenny Jones, etc. The band released several albums, gained a number 3 single on POP radio and toured for 6 years.
Fashion Designer
When the boy band was over, Kevin opened his first business in design and advertising where he operated this space for 6 years. After landing several large clients in the food industry and pharmaceuticals, Kevin sold this business to move into his next career…
In 2010, he launched a luxury fashion brand and quickly became married to his job, traveling all over the world designing seasonal collections, showcasing in fashion shows and selling to retailers. The brand was successful for 10 short years but during the 2020 pandemic, it took an unrecoverable hit and was forced to close.
Just before the "great quarantine", he began doing a lot of self reflection. His life had become very hectic and “pretentious”. He was analyzing everything, including his career, what car he was driving and why he chose to drive this car. While it was a beautiful car, he realized he was driving this because “society / status said so”, not because he wanted to. He really wanted a Jeep.
Road Rash Off Road
With the forced freedom that came with quarantine, this gave Kevin the opportunity to get in his Jeep, head to the mountains, spend time camping and get lost in his thoughts, thinking about his next move. As a fashion designer, he had already started a fun "streetwear clothing brand" with his son called Road Rash Street so he conceptualized the idea of creating a secondary brand called Road Rash Off Road. Immediately, he grabbed his camera and began filming his off road and overlanding videos for YouTube, Instagram, Tik Tok, Twitter and Facebook.
Taking influence and advice from many overlanders he looked up to like TrailRecon, Venture 4WD, Venture2Roam, and Epic Family Road Trip, he began to cultivate a following on his YouTube channel. This was the start of Road Rash Off Road!
