Since the show’s first episode, Ice Road Truckers has had a steady and growing following. A large part of this initial success was due to the characters of the show, one in particular being Hugh Rowland. Hugh was undeniably one of the driving characters of the show, and even now as he’s parted ways with Ice Road Truckers, he still continues to be a reality TV celebrity. We’ve listed five things that you probably didn’t know about Hugh, regardless of how much you’ve seen him on the show.
1. He started trucking when he was a teenager
That’s quite a long time of trucking through the dangerous ice roads of the Northwest Territory. As per Hugh, it was more than money that kept him going. He’s told the story about how he took a trucking job as a one-time offer when he was just a teenager. The money was good, and so he took the job. He fell in love with trucking not too long after and has been trucking since. He claims that in order to be successful in this kind of work, you have to respect the ice. And that’s exactly what Hugh does.
2. His nickname doesn’t really mean anything.
While we like to look into how celebrities got the names they have and completely romanticize the notion, for Hugh there really wasn’t anything more than just another story. Known to many television viewers as ‘Polar Bear’, Hugh got his name from his friends who thought he fit the description. In the early 80s, a few of his colleagues saw the words branded on a truck and saw them as fitting for Hugh. It’s stuck ever since, and that’s the end of it.
3. His net worth is roughly $2 million.
That’s a hefty sum for the rest of us, but for Hugh, all it means is hard work. Hugh’s net worth is not just from the reality TV series he starred on. He’s actually one of the best ice road truckers in the industry, and he’s also been doing it for well over 30 years now. He makes a good sum from trucking even though he only does it for a few months each year.
4. He means businesses.
When he’s not trucking, Hugh runs his own construction company that makes him tons of money as well. As far as trucking is concerned, he also manages several trucks in addition to his. He’s definitely out to take care of his family, and when he’s not working, he likes to spend as much time with them as possible. He’s probably one of the baddest granddads out there.
5. He got fired from Ice Road Truckers.
It’s the sad truth. The reality TV star was let go due to a lawsuit. Hugh filed a lawsuit in 2014 claiming that producers caused him injury due to their reckless driving. Hugh claims that his injuries are permanent and has even affected his home life. The network had no other options but to let the star of their show go, despite of the ratings Hugh have brought in from the beginning. Regardless, the show goes on both for the network and Hugh, in separate ways of course.
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