The Life and Times of Trucker Kitty

Atlas Games' Sales Manager, Travis Winter, gets to travel to some of the coolest conventions in the US. He says the travel is fun, and he misses his "convention family" when not at shows. But he's a single dad to two teenage boys, and it's rough coordinating travel, school, and parental coverage, plus missing Gabriel and Lynn at the same time. In 2014, his youngest son, Lynn, gave him a stuffed cat so he wouldn’t miss them as much … Trucker Kitty. Travis explains:

"My boys and I had a hard time with my traveling and not being home. At each show I’d spend the last hours of setup wandering the convention and taking pictures to send back to them. During the show, I’d take photos of cosplayers and send those back home as well. It was fun finding cool things to send to my boys, to keep us connected while I was away.

"Mid-July 2014, I climb into the truck cab with Brandon Langer to drive from Saint Paul to San Diego for SDCC. I have this stuffed cat from Lynn and I'm not sure what to do with it. Brandon knew where the cat came from and why, so Brandon and I started taking pictures of it doing things: pumping gas, ordering lunch, driving, sitting in a cactus, and sleeping. Then we'd post them on Twitter. If you follow Atlas on Twitter, you’ve seen him. I sent all these pictures back to Lynn so he could see what life on the road was really like. It was that first trip that the cat got the name Trucker Kitty, and that was just the start of his adventures.

"Trucker Kitty has been to Roswell, NM and had a coke with an alien. He’s been to Nottingham, England to see Warhammer World. He’s had his luggage lost in Denmark but still made it to the trade show. He’s met several celebrities including Wil Wheaton. It’s been fun finding a simple way to connect to my sons. Next year, the Atlas Twitter feed will include their faces alongside Trucker Kitty as we travel to summer shows and work together. That is what I am most excited for – working and traveling with my boys."

Now, Travis' friends at Atlas Games have an obvious explanation for why Trucker Kitty is so amazing. He's obviously a Magical Kitty! So here's a character sheet for him, so Travis and Lynn can enjoy playing Trucker Kitty's adventures together when Travis is at home (click to download).