Attendees of the 2025 KOA Convention & Expo were treated Tuesday (November 18) to a high-energy keynote from Bryce Kenny, professional Monster Jam driver and founder of the nonprofit Live Like Warriors, who highlighted the value of momentum, growth, and overcoming obstacles—insights that resonated with campground and RV park operators preparing for the 2026 season.
Opening with a call-and-response, Kenny immediately engaged the audience. “Momentum is your friend,” he told attendees, emphasizing the importance of building and maintaining forward motion in life and business.
He shared his personal philosophy of helping people find their “next gear” when facing obstacles, introducing his GEAR framework designed to guide career and personal growth.
Kenny used his experience driving 12,000-pound Monster Jam trucks to illustrate his points, recounting a dramatic recovery during a stadium performance.
“One of the most exciting things that can happen is [when] the truck is kind of in the middle of a crash and it’s out of control— and the driver is able to find some unexpected traction in an unexpected way and is able to get the truck back on all four tires,” he said, explaining how perseverance and quick thinking turned a potential disaster into a memorable success.
Throughout the keynote, Kenny highlighted lessons on growth, engagement, acceleration, and risk.
Using examples from his Monster Jam career, he connected the high stakes of the track to the challenges faced by business owners. He encouraged attendees to step outside their comfort zones and spend more time in challenging situations, which he said is key to achieving success.
Kenny also emphasized the importance of keeping one’s “fuel tank full,” stressing that personal growth, mindset, and mental health are critical for sustained high performance.
A significant part of the presentation focused on engagement and decision-making. Kenny warned against half measures, advocating full commitment and quality decision-making in business.
“It’s not that we’re only as strong as our weakest link; we’re only as strong as our weakest decision. This brand is only as strong as the franchisee in this room who’s halfway. Your organization is only as strong as that one employee who’s halfway in,” he told the crowd.
On acceleration, Kenny shared strategies for navigating “the dip,” the period of pessimism and challenge that follows initial optimism.
By embracing rapid learning and increasing one’s “failure rate,” leaders can move through obstacles faster and emerge stronger. He cited lessons from his racing career and organizational leadership to reinforce the principle.
The final component of Kenny’s GEAR framework focused on risk. He shared his hardest Monster Jam crashes, highlighting the need to take calculated risks to achieve extraordinary results.
He challenged attendees to embrace discomfort and take bold action to maximize impact in their businesses.
In closing, Kenny encouraged campground owners to apply the lessons of momentum, growth, and risk in their own businesses, leveraging KOA’s systems, resources, and executive support to accelerate success.
“And so the next time pessimism starts to set in, I want you to stop and go, what did that monster truck driver say? He said the dip’s coming up. So if I increase my activity rate, my failure rate, and I get involved in our systems and I leverage this KOA system and the learning and development and the executives and the brand, I’ll probably spend as little time in that dip as I can, so I can go and win,” he emphasized.
KOA’s convention continues to provide franchisees with actionable insights from industry leaders, blending motivational presentations with practical guidance to strengthen both business operations and community impact.
Modern Campground is in Raleigh (North Carolina) to cover KOA’s event. The 2025 KOA Convention & Expo is underway, set to conclude on November 20 with a final night celebration and Care Camps auction.
Featured image by Brian Searl/Modern Campground