A high-octane celebration of speed, destruction, and adrenaline, Alberta’s Monster Truck Throwdown is big – in size, sound, and energy. Though born in Canada, photographer Jan Stasiuk has called the UK home for some time. But on his return to his roots, he’s seeing Canadian life through a new lens. After capturing the famous Calgary Stampede, he then turned his focus to the Monster Truck Throwdown. Through Stasiuk’s lens, these behemoth machines are frozen in moments of pure intensity – soaring through the air, spitting up dust beneath them. Still and silent, these images capture a strangely serene view of the decibel-shattering event; not simply documenting the event, they immortalise the spirit of a culture and community that thrives on adrenaline and horsepower.

Alex James Taylor: Where did you first get the idea for the project?
Jan Stasiuk: I’d just moved back to Alberta after eleven years in London and was looking for something that’d help me reconnect with home. Alberta’s kind of funny that way, it can feel like this exaggerated version of prairie life. Cowboys, trucks, guns, dirt. Even in a city of over a million people, you’ll still see people driving lifted trucks to get groceries. It’s got this perpetual small-town vibe no matter how big it gets. I wanted to find moments that show that side of it, because it’s both real and surreal at the same time.

AJT: What did you set out to capture?
JS: Alberta’s always felt like a place of extremes; the weather, the excess, the classic rural bravado, a kind of underlying threat. But it’s also super community-driven and proud. I wanted to find something loud and chaotic and show it a bit differently, maybe a bit more still.

“It’s both real and surreal at the same time.”

AJT: What was the actual event like?
JS: I’d never been to a monster truck show before, but it felt familiar and kind of comforting. The tracks are often in the middle of farmland, so you’re driving on dirt roads, kicking up dust, and then parking in a big gravel lot. The heat here in summer is really dry, I miss it every year. It’s ‘Big Sky Country,’ and the sunsets are insane, really pink and orange on some nights. The whole thing’s pretty family-oriented, kids everywhere, people chatting, fairground food smells. I bought my first pair of real over-ear protection there, I still have and use them, I’m quite proud of them [laughs]. The trucks are massive and ridiculously loud. I stood right up at the fence at first and it was intense. Half the crowd is kids losing their minds. It’s great.

AJT: Are monster trucks a big thing in Canada?
JS: Yeah, seems like it. Especially in rural communities. I remember an elementary school bully telling me his dad drove monster trucks, and I was like, “Yeah that makes sense.” [laughs] I’ve always been into motorsports, I grew up riding quads and minibikes, and later co-drove in a rally team. I quit after a bad crash, then stopped driving altogether when I moved to London. Only recently have I started seriously thinking about getting back into it in some form or another. So part of this was me reconnecting with that side of myself, too.

“I like that the photos feel still and quiet, even though what’s happening is loud and messy. That’s how being here feels to me.”

AJT: Is this part of a bigger series or a one-off?
JS: It’s part of a series I’ve been building on Alberta, about memory, identity, and how I see this place. I’m not setting out to make a large-scale documentary or anything literal; it’s more of an exaggerated idea of Alberta, filtered through my own experience, maybe kind of dream-like. I’m also interested in how Alberta fits into a bigger Western North American identity, the trucks, the oil, the prairie attitude, but still feels really specific to us. Canadian, but also very Albertan. Mountains on one side, farmland on the other. I like that the photos feel still and quiet, even though what’s happening is loud and messy. That’s how being here feels to me.

It’s oil country, so there’s all the excess and chaos that comes with that, but also a really strong work ethic and sense of family. I just finished a short film with my friend Denis Limitovski about a grassroots stock car track in Wetaskiwin (shout out Edmonton International Raceway), and there are a few more projects I want to do here that’ll all connect eventually.

AJT: You previously photographed the Calgary Stampede — did you see any similarities between the two events?
JS: Yeah. I went to both expecting a rough, kind of hyper-masculine vibe, maybe some trouble if I was lucky. I’m going to these events that, on the surface, look like they’re all testosterone and exhaust fumes, but at the end of the day, it’s Canada, there’s this built-in sense of community and safety to it. What I actually found was just a diverse group of people having fun with their friends and families. It’s really Canadian in that way, wholesome as hell.

Follow Jan on Instagram.