A truck driver who is shorter in stature has gone viral on TikTok for videos showing how he can accomplish all of the tasks required of him in his driving day.
Joachim Wangui was born in Kenya and has been a driver with Variant since November 2022 after working as delivery driver in the U.S. for a few years, according to a blog post from U.S. Xpress.
After earning both his CDL and his U.S. citizenship in late 2022, Wangui began garnering a large following on TikTok for videos showing how he gets along in the trucking industry as a little person. There are challenges to trucking at 4’2″, but Wangui’s videos give viewers insight into how he makes everything work. So far, his TikTok account has 77.8K followers and 408.5K likes, with one of his videos earning more than 5 million views.
“I started this account to tell people what I do every day and the challenges and success stories in trucking as a little person,” Wangui said in the blog post.
“Stature is no barrier to a career as a professional driver, as long as candidates can pass the physical, written, and on-the-road driving tests required for a commercial driver license. In addition, the Americans with Disabilities Act requires employers or potential employers of qualified individuals with known disabilities to make reasonable accommodations that would allow those individuals to perform their jobs. Joachim uses pedal extenders in his truck, and … catwalk steps on the back of [the cab] that allow them to easily reach the connections between the cab and the trailer,” U.S. Xpress explained in the post.
Check out some of Wangui’s videos below.
@katuosistrucking Sweaty Saturday!!!!!! i love my job 😎😎😎#truckinglife #truckerslife #trucking #tiktokusa🇺🇸 #usatruckdrivers #kenyatruckdrivertiktokers #lovestruckstop #truckersoftiktok #dwarfismawareness #tiktokkenya🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪 ♬ Love You So – The King Khan & BBQ Show
@katuosistrucking Thank you variant for installing stairs on my truck. #truckinglife #truckerslife #trucking #tiktokkenya🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪 #tiktokusa🇺🇸 #kenyatruckdrivertiktokers #kenyatruckdrivertiktokers #lovestruckstop #dwarfismawareness #frontliners #usatruckdrivers #peterbilt #truckersoftiktok #truckdriver #treanding ♬ Just A Lil Bit – 50 Cent
@katuosistrucking My first day on the road 😎😎. #truckinglife #truckerslife #trucking #tiktokusa🇺🇸 #frontliners #tiktokusa🇺🇸 #treanding ##kenyatruckdrivertiktokers #usatruckdrivers ♬ original sound – Katuosis The truck guy🇰🇪🇺🇸
Check out the blog post from U.S. Xpress for more.