The Big Hitters of Instagram

by Nick Drew | Fri 05 Jul 2019

The Big Hitters of Instagram

There can be no doubt about it, Instagram has become the place to be platform for plant and machinery related topics as more and more people seem to be turning their attention away from Facebook in favour of the photo and video sharing platform. In this post I will take a look at some of the biggest names on “Insta” that you really should be following.

Awesome Earthmovers seem to have a real magic formula for attracting a very large audience on all of their platforms and Instagram is no different with them currently having a following of 182k. Awesome Earthmovers was initially founded as a You Tube channel in 2010 by the likeable Irishman Chris Maginnis and has since grown to a global audience of well over a million followers on his various platforms. Thanks in part to that world-famous Irish charm, Chris manages to get some pretty exclusive access to jobsites and machines not only nationally but internationally too.

Diggers and Dozers started life as a spin off from Demolition News and was the brainchild of leading industry commentator and life-long journalist Mark Anthony. Diggers and Dozers is now run by Mark’s son Fred Anthony who has brought his exceptional skills and talent as a videographer and social media guru to the platform. Despite never having worked in the plant industry before he has quickly picked up on what his audience likes to see especially in terms of video content. Fred’s cinematic quality videos really are amazing and leave a technophobe luddite like me trailing in his wake! A real chip of the old block, Diggers and Dozers currently has in excess of 118k followers on Instagram and shows no signs of slowing down.

Internet sensation Pushysix aka Scott Colclough really needs no introduction. The Canadian heavy machinery operator with an extra special passion for dozers has been attracting a massive following for many years now. Pushysix has really hit the headlines recently while spending the whole week at Bauma with Caterpillar where was vlogging around the showground and doing interviews in the massive Cat hall. He has also been actively involved as the face of the Cat Global Operator Challenge event which continues throughout this year. On Instagram he has amassed a following of some 117k. The great thing about Scott is that he is a really nice guy to meet in person too and is clearly very passionate about the construction plant and machinery industry.

Michael Bullock aka the english earthmover is as the name suggests, an English man who took an opportunity to relocate to Australia to follow his dreams of operating heavy equipment and to make a better life for himself. In his early years “Down Under” he was a regular contributor to my Digger Man Blog where we reported on his various activities and the machine’s he was operating in our Englishman Down Under series. In more recent years Michael has become an internet star in his own right on Instagram where he now showcases all his own material, attracting a global following of 57k. I especially love his spoof Angry Aussie character where he gives us his take on “old school” Australian operators, well worth a watch if you get a chance!

Truth Excavation is the branchild of 4^th generation Hawaiian Maui Native Kimo Clark. Kimo started the company in 2011 when he gained his required contractor licence for excavation, grading and trenching and drainage systems including septic tanks. Since those early days business has been booming for Kimo and his team. In more recent times Kimo has joined the party on Instagram as truthexcavation and has become a regular broadcaster of videos which are both engaging and funny as he does enjoy a bit of banter with his fellow industry Instagram followers which currently stand at 40k.

Tom Gardocki is another guy who needs no introduction, the North American heavy machinery operator is probably more well know as the “Dirt Ninja”. Tom started operating machinery from the age of four when he used to sit on his dad’s lap in a skid steer, and that was the catalyst that set Tom on his path to be a machine operator and contractor. In the early days he was well known for his stunts with Bobcat skid steers but these days he is more often found at the controls of his John Deere excavator with tiltrotator which he is helping to promote to the American market. On Instagram the Dirt Ninja has a following of 37k.

Missy (Mellisa) Scherber is a very active Instagrammer and a lady who is very passionate about the industry. She is the partner of Trevor Scherber and together they run T. Scherber Construction an excavation and demolition business in Minneapolis. Missy Scherber does daily videos where she encourages her “Dirtfam” followers to get involved and to engage with the wider Instagram audience. With a following of over 15k Missy Scherber has also worked closely with Caterpillar who understand the power of strong social media influencers.

Finally, in this brief round-up, we have a real rising star on Instagram from the UK, Conor the Digger Driver aka Conor Kelly has only been on the platform for just over a year, but has already amassed a following of over 21k. Conor is still operating machines everyday and likes to produce videos of himself operating the machine from a wide variety of angles to keep it all fresh. He puts a lot of work into editing the clips and it doesn’t stop with the operating as he often vlogs about his days and evenings out with his mates. Its probably fair to say Conor is a larger than life character who revels at being on camera and that’s what makes him unique.

There are many more Instagram celebrities and maybe we will cover some more in the coming months here on the blog. And while I am at it here is a shameless plug for our own small Instagram offering Digger Man Blog , please give us a follow if you use the platform.

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