Michael Lombard, president of Lombard Trucking, joined Jeremy Reymer on a recent episode of Taking the Hire Road. Lombard discussed his experience as a CDL driver, his passion for driver health and his growth as an industry influencer.
Trucking is in Lombard’s DNA. When his great-great-grandfather immigrated to the U.S. in the early 1900s, he began peddling ice out of a horse-drawn carriage in Connecticut. That operation grew into the original Lombard Trucking, one of the largest motor carriers in the Northeast at the time.
Lombard described his great-great-grandfather’s operation — which was later inherited by his grandfather — as a casualty of the Motor Carrier Act of 1980.
Lombard himself did not initially plan to revive the family’s trucking heritage. He got his start in the Marines before going to college and eventually taking a job at a warehouse. During that job, Lombard interacted with drivers and began seriously considering a career in trucking.
Shortly before his 30th birthday, Lombard moved to Texas with his new wife and got his CDL. At the same time, he became more invested in his own fitness journey. People often view wellness and trucking as incompatible at best, but Lombard was determined to create a pathway to fitness within the driver lifestyle — for himself and others.
Lombard decided to start documenting online his life as a truck driver who ran marathons. As he connected with other drivers and learned more about the intersection of trucking and health, Lombard was inspired to take up advocacy.
“The lifestyle of a driver reduces life expectancy, taking upward of 10 years off their life,” Lombard said. “Instances of chronic illness are very much escalated from the normal population.”
Lombard continued to use his platform — including a popular podcast and TikTok channel — to advocate for changes that enabled drivers to be healthier versions of themselves. That included predictable schedules and living wages. At the same time, he got a fitness certification that allowed him to feel more comfortable guiding drivers through their fitness journeys.
While Lombard has left the driver’s seat for now, his content and growing social media presence still fuel the conversation surrounding driver health and advocacy. He continues to push for change at the federal, state and local levels while encouraging drivers to invest in their own health.
“Do the hard things now, and it is going to pay off in the long run,” Lombard said.
You can learn more about Michael Lombard here.
Other highlights from this episode of Taking the Hire Road
Book recommendations: “Napoleon: A Life” by Andrew Roberts
Sponsors: Career Now Brands, The National Transportation Institute, Infinit-I, Workhound, Asurint, Transportation Marketing Group, Seiza, Drive My Way, DriverReach, F|Staff, Trucksafe
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