Sydney Sweeney Joins Bronco’s Off-Roadeo Experience: ‘Felt Like the Coolest Version of Myself’ (Exclusive)

This isn’t Sydney Sweeney’s first rodeo.

At the end of September, Euphoria The actress, 26, joined Ford Motor Company — with whom she has an ongoing partnership — in the red rock wonderland of Moab, Utah, for their Bronco Off-Roadeo Experience, a program designed to teach Bronco owners how to drive off-road. While on the track, Sweeney got to show off her expert skills behind the wheel, tackling obstacles like a 28-degree bank at one point.

“I felt like the best version of myself today,” Sweeney told PEOPLE during a fireside chat after a day of riding. “I need everyone to come see me do this, because I feel like I’m going to earn some cool points. When you’re on the road, you feel like, ‘Oh, I can do anything.'”

For those who already own a qualifying Ford Bronco or Bronco Sport, the full-day, 10-hour Off-Roadeo experience is free. And now, for the first time, Off-Roadeo will be available to the general public with its half-day adventure program (starting at $795 per vehicle, accommodating up to four guests). The abbreviated four-hour experience is led by an expert guide and is tailored to riders of all skill levels.

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Currently, Off-Roadeo is offered in three locations: Las Vegas, Moab and Horseshoe Bay, Texas. In Spring 2024, it will also be offered in Gilford, New Hampshire.

An adventure junkie who grew up in nature-filled Spokane, Washington, Sweeney was, unsurprisingly, off-road before her trip to Moab.

“The Pacific Northwest is made up of mountains, trees and lakes, so there are a lot of trails you can go riding,” she says. “My parents never wanted me inside, so I grew up outside with my imagination, playing. My parents put me behind the wheel the minute I could get my hands on it.”

As Sweeney later notes, it was four years.

“My dad would put me on his lap and let me drive up his driveway when I was four,” she says. – I still have very vivid memories of doing it with him.

Sydney Sweeney at the Bronco Off-Roadeo Experience.

Jackson Dawson / Ford Motor Company

When she got older, Sweeney learned to drive in her grandfather’s manual Ford F-100.

“My mom wouldn’t let me drive an automatic until I got my license,” she says. “My mom taught me to drive a stick on the country roads. She would stop and tell me, ‘Get out of the car. You have to go change a tire.’ I said, ‘The tire is fine.’ ‘You have to know how to change a tire.’ My mom is very good at putting me in situations where I don’t know what to do, and then I have to figure it out. She taught me how to push through that fear and overcome it, and I’m very glad that I did.”

Even now, Sweeney finds that knowing how to handle the bat can come in handy.

“When you’re making a movie, sometimes they’ll have us take a test to see what kind of driving experience you have,” she says. “I pulled out that I could drive a manual, and they said, ‘What?’ It’s really fun.”

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When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Sweeney was inspired to put her mechanical skills to the test by restoring a vintage 1969 Bronco.

“I needed a project during quarantine because my mind always needs to be doing something creative,” she says. “I got a 1969 Ford Bronco and I said, ‘I’m going to learn how to fix this.’ I knew how to change a tire and check the oil and all your fluids and start the car, but actually get under the chassis and take different parts apart? I didn’t know how to do any of that. My best friend’s dad builds and restores cars, I called him and said, ‘ Hey. I really, really want to do this. Do you think you could help me study?’ He was nice enough to let me bring my Bronco in and every step of the way he showed me what to do. He’s like a dad to me and he’d tell me and then he’d say, ‘Okay, you’ve got to do it now. Get your hands dirty.’ It challenged me in many ways.”

After successfully starting the car, Sweeney finally installed an automatic transmission, much to her mom’s dismay.

“I drove it for a few months and it was manual,” she says. “People just don’t respect manual vintage cars as much as I think they should. Whenever I was in the canyons, they’d be right behind you. I thought, ‘I want to drive this and enjoy it,’ so I changed the transmission to an automatic. I think my mom is still so mad at me to this day. But now I drive it everywhere.”

Sydney Sweeney at the Bronco Off-Roadeo Experience.

Jackson Dawson / Ford Motor Company

Mom was also not too happy with her choice of tables.

“My license plate is HEY SYD,” he says with a laugh. “My mom says, ‘It’s very discreet.’ I said, ‘Everybody knows, Mom. It’s okay.’ On my next car, I think I’ll do a BYE SYD.”

It’s a well-known secret indeed, as Sweeney posted video updates on her @syds_garage TikTok page every step of the way through the renovation process, eventually amassing 1.6 million followers.

“It exploded,” she says. “What’s crazy is, I started filming because my parents wanted me to send them videos, like, ‘What are you doing to this car?’ I said, ‘I can’t send you videos every time,’ so it was more like, ‘I’m going to make these cute little videos and then send a link to my parents so it’s easy to show them what I’m doing.’ Whenever I saw the comments, [it was like]’You look a lot alike [her Euphoria character] Cassie’ or ‘You look a lot like Sydney Sweeney.’ I said, ‘That’s me!'”

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Sweeney also says she would get comments that underestimate her abilities, a problem many female mechanics face since they make up only 2.1 percent of all mechanics in the US. I would get comments like, ‘Oh, I bet you just fixed the mirror.’ I said, ‘Go check it out!'”

It’s wise to never underestimate Sweeney’s talent — just look at her career. A year after she was recognized for her role in Season 2 of Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale and in the Netflix series It’s all nonsense in 2018, Sweeney had her breakthrough moment Euphoria. Since then she has taken on a wide range of roles, from the cynical White lotus guest Olivia Mossbacher in 2021 to play real-life whistleblower Reality Winner in the film Reality earlier this year.

Last month, she took another career turn when she portrayed an ’80s video vixen in the Rolling Stones’ music video for their song “Angry.”

“I think being able to bring my mum to London to see the Rolling Stones scored a lot of good points there,” she says. “It was just amazing to see her face light up. It was really cool. Everyone just loves those guys.”

Then Sweeney will show off his comedic chops in the film Anyone but you (also starring Glen Powell) premiering on December 22nd.

Last September, Sweeney revived an ’80s prom for her 26th birthday. She even designed the pink dress she wore for the occasion.

“I put together a whole mood board, drew what I wanted, chose the fabric, and then my tailor [made] for me,” she says.

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Previously, Sweeney launched workwear in collaboration with Ford that sold out in just over 24 hours. But her next design projects focus on her new home.

“I’m redecorating some things in my house, and I’m really designing it all and I love it,” she says. “I love HGTV. Honestly, it’s so funny. The amount of fandom I was blown away by when I saw it [Property Brothers‘ Jonathan and Drew Scott], it was crazy. I was so embarrassed.”

At home, she is also busy with her beloved dog Tank, whom she adopted when she was 17 years old.

“I was visiting my great-grandmother and she loves going to rescue shelters,” she says. “She would volunteer and hang out with the dogs and end up rescuing a lot of them. She would take me whenever I went to visit and I really, really wanted a dog. I ended up rescuing Tank. I remember the drive home because was living in Arizona, and it was just a Tank I. It was our first trip and I was like, ‘Oh my God, my parents are going to kill me.’ I snuck her in. I put her on my bed and went into my parents’ room. I said, ‘Okay, Mom, you have to come into my room. I have something to tell you.’ I brought her and she got really mad at me. But of course she loves Tank now. She wants to take Tank from me. She’s her best friend.”

The last time Sweeney and Tank left together was last summer, when Sweeney had to travel cross-country from Idaho to Boston for work.

“It was the most beautiful ride,” she says. “I listened to a lot of audiobooks because I like to read. I like a good thriller. You try to solve it, so your brain is still active and it doesn’t get lost.”

On his day off, Sweeney says he likes to drive Tank in his Bronco around LA

“We’ll drive to the beach, we’ll get ice cream and then we’ll drive along the coast,” she says. “There’s a really cool hike that I like to go on that overlooks the ocean, and she loves it, too. Then we’ll go back down, and I’ll find a place where we can run on the beach, and then I’ll drive home.”

Since partnering with Ford, Sweeney says she’s heard more of her young fans say they want to get into STEM programs at their schools.

“It’s really great,” she says. “I hope to inspire more girls to try things that maybe aren’t what they’ve been told is for girls. I want them to dream as big as possible because there’s so much to do in this world.”

Sweeney teases another car project in his future, but he’s keeping it under wraps… for now. “It’s a Ford, but it’s a secret,” she says with a smile. “And I can’t wait to share it.”

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Source: HIS Education