Interview with the “Big Kat” Himself DINO

As you can see, we did something a little different with this issue. We wanted to celebrate some of the people who make this scene so special, and who better to start with than the “Big Kat” himself! That’s right, we put Dino’s mug smack dab on the cover. And here, we take a deeper dive into his personal truck build and a special look at Dino’s Git Down and how big it has become. So, we got Dino on the phone during his largest show yet and here’s what he had to say:

“Since I was 13 years old, I have never NOT had a C10 truck, and I’m now 61! You do the math, and that’s for real!”

“We had so much fun that first year, and the word spread so we moved it over to my appliance shop and had about 600 people show up, and it just kept growing from there.”

“I’m a professional cat wrangler, and I enjoy weight training and gym time.”

 C10BG: When did you get started with custom trucks?

DINO: Since I was 13 years old, I have never NOT had a C10 truck, and I’m now 61! You do the math, and that’s for real!

C10BG:Why so much love for C10s in particular?

DINO: Really, it’s a love for the GM product altogether, but ever since I was a kid I’ve just always loved classic trucks.

C10BG: Tell us a little bit about the beginning of Git Down.

DINO: I was on a truck site back around 2005, and I would post pics of what I was building in my backyard garage every night. I began getting followers and friends from around the world, back before social media was even really starting. I saw a friend of mine Rene, “The C10 King,” would have truck gatherings at his house, and I loved that idea. Goodguys at that time was the largest show in Arizona, so I decided to have a BBQ in my backyard and invite some of these new kats from the truck site on Friday night before the Goodguys show. We met up and cooked food (that’s just what we do; we’re Italian!) and about 25 of us met up again on Saturday in the morning and cruised out to Goodguys together. That’s really the humble beginnings and the start of the event. We had so much fun that first year, and the word spread so we moved it over to my appliance shop and had about 600 people show up, and it just kept growing from there.

C10BG: Did you ever picture it blowing up into the premier C10 show in the country?

DINO: No, definitely not. That was never the goal, but we were having so much fun and we just kept growing with it, and here we are now!

C10BG: What’s your favorite personal build?

DINO: I would probably say it’s my green ’64 single cab dually that GM never built but should have—it fired off quite the trend.

C10BG: What’s your all-time favorite C10 build from anyone out there?

DINO: That’s a tough one. There are so many are out there I really like, but if I had to pick just one, would probably be John Oro’s 1967 Red Roadster Blazer with the rebuild by the talented crew over at Provost.

C10BG: Who are some of your personal influences?

DINO: Boris from Street Machinery, Keith from Into Billet, and Seth at Switch Suspension have all been big influences on me.

C10BG: What was one of the hardest years or hardest memories of not giving up?

DINO: The year 2020 with COVID made it super challenging to put on the show, and the high risk without knowing for sure we would be able to have the event. Questioning if people would come out and if those who did come out would follow the mask requirement and safety measures we had to enforce. There were a lot of rules we had to follow and a lot at risk, but it turned out to be a BIG win and everyone had a great time.

C10BG: What do you do for fun BESIDES trucks?

DINO: (Laughs) I’m a professional cat wrangler, and I enjoy weight training and gym time.

C10BG: Who do you want to thank/shoutout?

DINO: If we are talking about the Git Down, I’d thank my family Rio, Dino, and Bri (my kids), and Terry Orsini, my girl. If we’re talking about truck stuff, definitely Seth at Switch Suspension for all he has done over the years!

C10BG: Thanks, Dino, for spending some time with us during your busy season. See you soon, friend!

DINO: My pleasure, guys. Thank you for all you do!