Video: Borris Lukic on the Road
As the sun begins to set on a warm Sunday afternoon in April, Boris Lukic turns on his 53-foot truck and begins the paperwork to hit the road. Once the Freightliner truck is on I-294, the setting sun beams a glare into the dirty windshield covered with spots from the previous night’s rainfall.
The truck is dirty both inside and out. Inside its dust and empty water bottles, the blue carpet under the seat, covered with dirt and Monster cans. Lukic attempts to use garbage bags that he has placed between the seats, but the winding roads only empty them making it look like a teenager’s bedroom.
Before he took his seat behind the 18-wheeler, Lukic’s dream was to become a police officer, and eventually work for the Chicago Police Department — and he was at one time, well on his way. But times became tight, and he made the decision to drop out of school and fend for his family.
Lukic’s father fell ill, and was forced to leave his job, taking away the families main source of income. Lukic said he had no choice, and took it upon himself to apply for a CDL, and slowly but surely he built up what is now his empire, Victory Express Inc.
“When my dad got sick, I got a CDL and began driving 7-days a-week just to help my family,” said Lukic.
For the first year, Lukic was on the road to often that he actually lived out of his truck. He worked for an independent company and drove 12-hours a-day, working Sunday-through-Sunday. This wasn’t exactly the American Dream he and his family had hoped for when they left rubble filled Bosnia.
Achieving the American Dream is a feat not everyone conquers, especially immigrants that set their sights on settling in the United States. Lukic said in America he was hoping to overcome the struggles he faced in Bosnia.
With the odds stacked against him, Lukic knew the best way to make money and prosper in America was to open his own company. He was told he couldn’t do it, but that didn’t stop him. Like immigrants who came before him, Lukic has become a self-made business man proving that the American Dream is what you make it.
After signing a contact with Empire Today LLC., Lukic moved to New York. He knew in order to start a company he needed trucks and drivers, and in New York he found both. He purchased two trucks, and hired one driver and both hit the open road.
The move wasn’t permanent and Lukic didn’t want to spend money on an apartment or hotels, so he lived out of his truck. The truck, a beaten up, scratch and rusty 1995 Alero was not only his home, but his job and the wheels to his dream. Lukic spent six months in New York, during this time he said he met some “incredible friends and build very strong relationships.”
One of the better relationships he built in the big apple was with Oral Morgan, a supervisor at Empire Today LLC.
“He is just a great guy,” Lukic said. “He always let me use his car, (he) took me out and made me feel like I wasn’t alone in New York.”
Lukic has maintained a relationship with Morgan, and spends time with him monthly on his annual trips to New York for business. When in New York, Lukic treats Morgan like he was treated when he had nothing. Lukic takes Morgan and his crew out for lunch, a sign of appreciation for Morgan’s helping-hand when Lukic needed it most.
On a recent trip, Lukic took Morgan and the crew to Hooters, and bought each employee 20 hot wings. At the end of their meal the office was lined with orange-colored napkins from the wing sauce. The guys sat around the office, most leaning back in their chairs with their stomachs bloated so much that creases in the shirts were invisible. They all reminisced about old times, and stories from their days out on the road.
“Boris is a very good man, he knows how to talk to people and gives a lot respect,” said Morgan.
Driving a truck for thousands of miles at a time is mentally and physically tiring, it takes a special person to be able to do it flawlessly, Morgan said.
“Boris is a good driver and he takes care of his trucks which makes him the right one to do Empire loads, said Miljenko Vuckovic, president of MDS Trucking V, one of Lukic’s contractors.
Lukic said the economy is striking every trucking company, no matter the ability you have behind the wheel. Everyday is a battle Lukic said; trucking companies are fighting to survive and that means working with customers on rates and dealing with the rising fuel costs. He said it also means postponing the purchase or lease of new equipment, and in some cases – the worse cases – it means letting people go.
Filling up gas on a standard car hurts the wallet, but filling up gas on a truck can put people into debt, Lukic said. His truck, called “Tornado” for its messy interior, hold 240 gallons of Diesel. At $3 a gallon, it costs him $720 to fill the tank. Add the cost for tolls and food, and Lukic easily spends $20,000 a month on his trucks.
While Lukic and his family were dodging bullets from the AK-47 and other various assault rifles on the unpaved streets of Zavdovic, Bosnia, they never dreamed of making $20,000 a month.
“Whenever a gun shot was heard, we never knew if our neighbor or even family members were dead or alive. It’s the worst feeling ever,” Lukic said.
“He was always terrified when he heard gunshots,” said Natasa Lukic, Boris’s sister. “No 10-year-old deserves to be hiding in basements, not knowing why he can’t be out with his friends playing soccer.”
These reminders, and his past life are what keep Lukic focused on the road ahead.
Every time he gets behind the wheel there is this grin on his face that runs from ear-to-ear. After fastening his seatbelt, and checking the pink iPod covered with smudges from a black Sharpie, he sets it to shuffle mode, puts the truck in drive and gets back to what he has grown to love most, being on the open road.
“I always stay positive. My childhood wasn’t the best but I survived, so I have no reason not to be positive,” Lukic said.
Article curtsey of Columbia Feature’s Blog.
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