Each year, the minitruck club Acrophobia comes together to put on one of the events that participants throughout the Eastern US look forward to - the East Coast Bowling Nationals. On Saturday, February 5th, minitruckers flocked to Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania to take part in the festivities.

This is the sixth year that the East Coast Bowling Nationals has taken place. It all got started in Pottstown, which is located outside of Philadelphia, with three clubs - Positive Image, Kaotic Kustoms, and Childhood Fantasies (which is what Acrophobia was previously named). The winning club out of those three was responsible for hosting the Tournament the following year. Acrophobia won the first and second year, and the rest is history! When it started out with only three clubs, and then grew in its second year to host 12 clubs, the event now draws over 30 clubs, including Relaxed Atmosphere, Low Rollers, East Coast Minis, Ground Scrapers, Cali Style, Magnetic Minis, Royaltz, and Grounded 4 Life. The tradition continues to leave memories not only for minitruckers, but also for the family-owned business that hosts the Tournament - Chackos. They love minitruckers, and welcome everyone back year after year!

So what kind of a club would attempt at putting something like this together? Just trying to host a regular show is a huge undertaking, let alone one that is known for being a night full of drunken flashes in your memory! Acrophobia’s Pennsylvania chapter, and mainly Jeff King, the man in charge of it all, are responsible for this feat.

Acrophobia was founded in the late ‘90s by the current president, Dave Sholman, from Florida - you may recognize him as the owner of the Catch 22 Ford. Acrophobia boasts a club roster of approximately 140 members worldwide, but most are located within the US. Their Pennsylvania chapter holds five of their members, spread all over the four corners of the state. The club accepts minitrucks, and a select few 4-wheel drive and euro-style vehicles - “but no ricers”. A few of the requirements for joining the club are to have wheels larger that 17”, a required minimum number of body mods, to be clean and of show quality (no primer), and each chapter has their own standing on air suspension and adjustments.

So, what all happened at the Bowling Tournament this year? Well, old friends got together, people reunited after the long winter from not seeing each other, guys dropped drawers and showed their...stuff, and then two girls from Ground Scrapers showed their stuff. And did I mention that we were all drunk?

The show is a great time, and is definitely worth the drive if you’ve never been to it! But, you can check out the pictures and see that for yourself! Then, make sure that you check out the great people that put this all together at www.acrophobia.net.