Ice Road Truckers' Alex Debogorski Used To Hold A Staggering Number Of Jobs

The cast of "Ice Road Truckers" is a group of hardened, fearless individuals, to say the least. These character traits are absolutely necessary for these people to withstand the harsh conditions of the Northern Territories' ice roads they traverse on a daily basis in order to get much-needed supplies to some of the most remote places on the planet. Over the course of its 11 seasons, the tough-as-nails crew of truckers has proven that they are not ones to shy away from a challenge, even if it means risking their own lives. 

Much like with most reality shows on air nowadays, plenty of sequences in "Ice Road Truckers" were staged, but if there is one thing that History Channel producers couldn't falsify it is the lived experience of the characters depicted in the show. The hard-working truckers were involved in a wide variety of jobs and industries before deciding to pursue the lucrative (but dangerous) career of delivering supplies via ice roads, and there is no better example of that than Alex Debogorski, who's been on the show since its very first season.

Born in 1953 into a Polish immigrant family, Alex Debogorski has been around for quite some time. Over the years he has accumulated enough experience for multiple lifetimes. Before ice road trucking, he worked at an oil rig, mined for coal, and even got involved in flipping motorhomes. Moreover, he was also a bouncer, taxi driver, and diamond prospector (via Fanbuzz). Debogorski was always looking out for new, better work prospects, which is perhaps why he joined "Ice Road Truckers" in the first place, staying on till the very end as the show grew in popularity. 

Debogorski doesn't shy away from speaking about his past and how reckless some of his past actions may have been when looked at in hindsight. In a 2020 interview for Deals on Wheels, he shone a light on his work ethic and risk appetite: "I've always worked long hours at many jobs, and as a result took lots of risks, so lots of things happened. I turned cars upside down [and] got hit by a freight train. I tried to push things to the limit. Most of the guys that did stuff that I did are dead now. I reckon I've got more than one guardian angel looking over me." It's hard to disagree with this assessment — in the same interview, Debogorski admitted his employers even used to bet on which one of their workers would be the next to die on the job. 

Thankfully, Debogorski has managed to avoid that fate, and as a result, has provided History Channel viewers with hours upon hours of entertainment. When he's not driving trucks along icy roads, he collects and tinkers around with old vehicles, all of which can be viewed on his personal website.