{
  "$type": "site.standard.document",
  "bskyPostRef": {
    "cid": "bafyreihyv35updizsdjhixjplzizw56sj4te62jyc7rffadoaubigidte4",
    "uri": "at://did:plc:ynwa33gtvzflpay5wzazrv2i/app.bsky.feed.post/3mj2jlonyr632"
  },
  "coverImage": {
    "$type": "blob",
    "ref": {
      "$link": "bafkreihmwqpjzynpkjnzwihxooqnuinqm7etvjy3rqe4ca6ctv52m2xj3u"
    },
    "mimeType": "image/jpeg",
    "size": 136805
  },
  "path": "/sports/2026/04/08/zammoth-utah-mammoth-diesel-brothers/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-09T02:00:07.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.deseret.com",
  "tags": [
    "social media presence",
    "Utah Mammoth’s game against the Edmonton Oilers",
    "Zammoth",
    "TusksUp",
    "pic.twitter.com/7b035YzHxR",
    "April 8, 2026",
    "After 30 years, the Utah Grizzlies play their final games this week",
    "Florida Panthers",
    "Columbus Blue Jackets",
    "@houston_brogan"
  ],
  "textContent": "There’s hardly a vehicle under the sun that David “Heavy D” Sparks and David “Diesel Dave” Kiley haven’t driven.\n\nThanks in large part to their TV show and their significant social media presence, the “Diesel Brothers” been able to experiment with monster trucks, boats, helicopters, semi trucks, heavy machinery, hover crafts and everything in between.\n\nBut until recently, one particular vehicle had evaded them.\n\n“I think I speak for all men everywhere when (I say) it’s our dream to drive a Zamboni,” Kiley said at a media scrum during the first intermission of the Utah Mammoth’s game against the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday, where the “Zammoth” made its debut.\n\nThe Zammoth is essentially a Mammoth-shaped party bus that parades eight fans around the ice surface at the Delta Center at a time. The Mammoth commissioned the Utah-based Diesel Brothers to design and build it, and they got to take the first lap around the ice, firing the T-shirt cannon and cheering with the fans.\n\n> The Zammoth in all its glory#TusksUp pic.twitter.com/7b035YzHxR\n>\n> — Brogan Houston (@houston_brogan) April 8, 2026\n\nSparks described the experience of delivering the Zamboni to the Delta Center on Monday as “almost surreal.”\n\n“It was one of those moments in your life where you’re like, ‘I need to record this memory because this is not normal, and this is a really cool experience.’”\n\n“I watched him check a box on his bucket list,” Kiley added. “Zamboni: check.”\n\nThe Diesel Brothers appreciated the freedom that the team allowed them to make the Zammoth their own way.\n\n“The coolest part was they said, ‘Do what you guys think works,’” Sparks explained. “And they literally didn’t babysit us at all. They just said, ‘Do what you think is cool’ and gave us the thumbs-up and told us to keep on rolling with the idea.”\n\nThe result was larger than life — and some of its features have yet to be exhibited.\n\nFor example, they built the trunk with the capability of rising and descending. When it gets to the top, it can spray cryogenic fluid to simulate a mammoth blowing water out of its trunk. That part hasn’t been approved for use on NHL ice yet, but the guys built it with the hope that it will be allowed.\n\nAfter 30 years, the Utah Grizzlies play their final games this week\n\nIt also has built-in T-shirt cannons, a light system and speakers that play mammoth sounds. And the fact that it was built from the bones of a Zamboni used at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City makes it even more unique.\n\nAnd to answer the question, no — it does not flood the ice anymore.\n\nThe concept of a rideable Zamboni isn’t unique to the Mammoth. The Florida Panthers and the Columbus Blue Jackets have similar machines, which was the foundation of this idea. But the Mammoth wanted to do it bigger and better.\n\n“Sometimes, the best ideas are found from other people and then taking them and kind of putting them on steroids,” said Chris Barney, president of revenue and commercial strategy for Smith Entertainment Group. “You don’t always have to innovate your own idea. There’s great ideas out there that you can take and add your own flair to it, and I think this is one more example of that.”\n\nOf course, a project like this involves countless speed bumps. There’s not exactly a blueprint to follow when turning a 3-ton vehicle into a prehistoric creature.\n\n“Every time we welded a piece of metal, another piece of metal would bend or warp or kind of distort,” Sparks explained. “So, it was a lot of, like, handholding making sure that it came together the right way, because the Mammoth didn’t want to do this like, a cheap, easy way.\n\n“We could have done fiberglass, (but) no. They said, ‘Do it the right way. Handcraft it and build it so that it lasts forever,’ and that’s exactly what we did.”\n\nThe Zammoth will spend the next few games on the plaza at the Delta Center, where fans will be able to see it up close. After that, it will parade fans around the ice before each game and during every intermission.\n\nThe team has not released information on how fans can sign up to ride the Zammoth, but those details will come shortly.",
  "title": "How the ‘Zammoth’ creators fulfilled a lifelong dream"
}