**This week Cassie Hughes tells us about her beast, Purple Monster, and how her role at Bestop drives her build. **
what got you into the jeep community?
I‘ve always enjoyed camping and being outdoors, and my brother had a Jeep growing up – I learned to drive a stick shift on his TJ!
After college I rented a Jeep when traveling for work and it was love at first sight! I bought a Jeep a few months later.
I found a few local groups to be part of and really got to learn how amazing the Jeep community really is.
what are the “best” parts on your Jeep and why did you choose them?
That’s a hard question. I really like all of the parts on my build. If I had to pick, it would be my Currie axles – Rock Jock 60VXR front and Currie Rock Jock 70 rear, powder coated purple of course!
I picked these axles because I needed a stronger, more reliable axle for the wheeling I was doing. Currie is an amazing company with great products so it was really a no-brainer for me to go with their axles.
how does your role at Bestop drive your build?
Working at Bestop allows me to see an array of products in the industry at shows, and allows me to really get to know the quality and the people working for that company.
I hold true to the “buy once, cry once” philosophy when building my rig and only choose to purchase quality products from rebuttable companies.
what’s next for the purple monster?
Honestly, I really need new skids! So that will likely be my next purchase. I would really love to get coilovers. I love my current setup but I think I will have to make that jump in the next year or so.
She’s getting up there in miles too, so I am waiting for when I’ll have to replace the motor, but I am NOT excited about that one!
what is your all-time favorite wheeling experience?
This one is hard. Every time I am out wheeling I have such an amazing time with my friends and experience new trails. Each trip usually has its up and downs which make for amazing memories.
I’ve ran the Rubicon twice now, and would likely pick those trips as my top experiences. From the trek out to the multiple days on the trails, I can’t explain how amazing it is to run such an iconic trail and create so many memories with truly great friends.
Fordyce is on the list as well, to actually finish the trail! The first run a friend broke and took up 17 hours to get off the trail, and this past time we ran it my transmission gave out before winch hill 1.
I will get my redemption soon and actually finish Fordyce!
