00:46
Is there a group that I don't know. You just you're just not
00:52
going to touch. Nope. Okay. Nobody is off limits. Tonight on
00:59
that car show, we've got a guest that's about as in demand these
01:03
days as they come. It's the person behind the one Instagram
01:07
account we all can't stop talking about. Angela's death
01:11
highway. From the genesis of this whole thing to his work
01:14
process to who's in his crosshairs next. Sometimes the
01:18
jokes just write themselves. This is a fun one. None of us are
01:22
safe. And you'll only hear it here. It's Mr. A D H Mr.
01:27
Angela's death highway. And it's that car show. Well, welcome
01:33
back to this week's episode of that car show. I'm Lindsay. I'm
01:36
here with Ryan and this week we have a guest that I am very
01:41
excited about. We have all heard the expression the man, the
01:44
myth and the legend. But I think this week's guest is really
01:48
the living embodiment of that. We are joined today by the
01:51
creative genius behind an Instagram account that showed up
01:55
on the scene in the fall. So not all that long ago. And it has
01:59
had lots of people talking from the very beginning. It's part
02:02
comedy part commentary while reminding us not to take ourselves
02:06
or this beloved hobby that we share too seriously. And it's
02:09
definitely must watch content at my house. That's right. We
02:14
have Mr. Angela's death highway himself here with us today. And
02:18
I'm so excited to get to know him, hear more of the story behind
02:21
the account and talk all things AI car culture and whatever
02:25
else comes up. Welcome Mr. ADHD that car show. Well, hello,
02:29
what a fantastic and kind introduction. I'm honored and
02:34
flattered. Thank you for having me and thank you for the kind
02:36
words. Of course, well deserved. Absolutely. This is
02:40
something Ryan and I are really excited to talk to you and get
02:42
to know you better for those unfamiliar with the account,
02:45
which I would imagine is not too many people in the car world
02:47
at this point. But could you share how you describe and
02:51
think about your account, which is the Angela's death highway
02:54
Instagram account? And how do you describe the account and the
02:58
videos that you put out? So, you know, you described it in a
03:03
way actually far better than I think I have previously
03:06
described it to myself. So, no, thank you. What I would usually
03:13
say is that I like to see what I'm doing as a way of my my
03:20
attempt of putting a mirror up to the community. And it's kind
03:28
of a thing of I noticed that there are times where all of us
03:33
take this hobby a little bit too seriously. Yep. And I don't
03:40
know about about you guys, but I feel like there is a lack of
03:45
sense of humor in our community. It's all about, you know, how we
03:50
brand ourselves. And I completely understand that from a
03:53
professional point of view. But you know, it becomes a point
03:58
where I feel like some of us are a little bit too afraid to
04:03
really talk about how we feel or we want to present ourselves as
04:11
the old seeing expert at the car meet, for example. And you
04:17
know, I there in my opinion, this is like anything you kind of
04:21
feel at a car event of like, these guys sometimes are kind of
04:26
one up in their expertise on a thing. And it's kind of like
04:32
guys like, you know, it's okay to not know something. So this
04:40
is kind of like a long, long approach of me saying that we
04:45
we do take ourselves seriously. And I noticed it myself. And I
04:50
would notice this when I would go up on a Friday morning to
04:54
Angelus Christiway. And I'm like, I wonder if these people
04:59
would find it funny. I guess they do.
05:04
I would say so. Yeah, I think the proof is in the pudding. And
05:07
people are clearly enjoying the videos. And I love that your
05:12
response to noticing that in yourself was to pull back and
05:17
say like, what if we make fun of it? Or what if because really,
05:20
you were starting with what if I make fun of myself, because you
05:23
saw something that you were like, maybe this isn't the way I
05:26
want to experience this hobby or show up in the hobby world. And
05:31
I love that that was your response to it. Because you're
05:34
right. In theory, we know that none of us know everything. And
05:38
we all can learn a lot from each other if we were willing to
05:41
admit that we don't know something.
05:43
Right. And then this whole thing for me was like, you know, I
05:49
tried to go as far as possible in roasting all parts of car
05:55
culture. Yeah. And honestly, because it is the thing, right?
06:00
If we talk about cars, let's talk about out on any brand, we
06:04
look at like any review. The general thing is that, you know,
06:11
journalists or anyone who's writing review has to have an
06:14
incentive to have a positive thing to say. And I'm guessing
06:20
that, you know, hearing people or hearing myself in these
06:27
videos, roast certain cars is kind of maybe a perfect for
06:32
share. I don't know.
06:34
Well, it's a way to do it without, you know, because we, I
06:37
mean, we've talked about that on the show of like, you do have
06:40
that in the back of your mind, if you get a press loan, you
06:44
would like to continue the relationship with that
06:46
manufacturer. And so it's finding the balance of being
06:51
honest and authentic and sharing a real review with your
06:54
listeners or your readers while staying tactful and, you
06:59
know, not burning the bridge of the relationship. Right. Right.
07:04
Your commentary is so spot on, you know, and they say satires
07:09
generally the toughest form of comedy, right? It takes a real
07:12
gift to pull it off like you do. You're obviously an observer,
07:16
right? I mean, you've been absorbing for a long, long time.
07:20
Because you pick up on all the little nuances and all the little
07:22
yeah, all the little things that that make us who we are, I
07:26
guess, at what point did you say, you know, I'm done observing
07:28
and it's now time to report, right? Like what was the turning
07:32
point for you where you just you had to let this out?
07:36
There was no official moment where I was like, right, this is
07:40
my time to speak. Because honestly, this whole thing was an
07:43
accident. Yeah, really? It was an inside joke between some
07:48
friends. Okay. And we were thinking, well, how do we just
07:54
lightly poke the local community? And it honestly started
07:59
off with just like memes that I would make, they would just
08:04
video. So so it would be like, you know, somebody crossing the
08:11
double yellow because they wanted to get the doughnuts at
08:15
Friday morning, for example. And then I just decided one day to
08:22
make an AI video and just try and make like a short narrative
08:28
of what, you know, the average Friday morning would look like
08:32
but kind of do it in the most extreme bizarre way. And there
08:37
was no expectations when I posted this. It was just a thing of
08:41
like, well, I noticed like a couple of people were locally
08:44
noticing these memes, but it was just like 50 to 100 people. And
08:50
then I made this video and
08:52
and the rest is history.
08:54
I guess yeah, it was a thing of people seem to enjoy them. So I
09:00
I felt like I had a reason to continue doing it. And it's it's
09:03
kind of ended up to where we were at today.
09:05
And it's because taken over your life.
09:08
Yeah, it's become this, you know, this cultural barometer, right
09:12
for us enthusiasts, right? Where it's become a badge of honor to
09:15
be, right? You know, that means a lot. Thank you.
09:19
It's pretty amazing.
09:20
Just get a piggyback on that. One of the things that really
09:23
stood out to me in the other interview was when you said people
09:27
will message you and say, that's me. And you're going, it
09:31
actually is not you. I didn't intend for it to be you. So I
09:37
think it's like, it's kind of hitting on that plus like Ryan
09:41
said, all the little Easter eggs and nuances. It's giving
09:45
people a sense of being a part of something and being involved,
09:49
especially if it's an event that you went to, or like if it's an
09:52
event that I attended, and then you make a video out of it. And
09:55
I'm like, yep, that's true. That's true. That's true. And it
09:58
sort of extends the experience of the event. And it makes you, you
10:03
know, I'm like, Oh, I'm an insider, which is, I think we
10:07
all have a little bit of wanting to be on the inside. And it's
10:11
really, I think it's really fun. But yeah, I love that people
10:15
are like, they want to be in it so badly, because I think you're
10:19
right, Ryan, it is a badge of honor now, that they're seeing
10:22
it even when it's not true.
10:24
What a group so ripe to be mocked. I'll never forget the
10:29
first time that I went up there and I had a guy, God, I don't
10:33
want to give too much away. It was a red Honda product. And he
10:36
was on my butt the whole way. I was in a rental car. I pulled
10:38
off as soon as I got it. Two seconds later, we're up at the
10:40
top together and he gets out in the full regalia, you know, the
10:44
full gear, you know, no, and it was just like, Oh my God, this
10:47
is this is exactly, you know, what I hoped it would be.
10:50
Wait, so what is the full gear?
10:53
Yeah, the guy was an S 2000, a red S 2000, and the gear was all
10:58
red Honda gear. And you know, he puts the wheelchalk under the
11:04
the rear wheel after he parks. And I just like, is this real?
11:08
Like, it's like, like a character in real life.
11:12
So to see this like brought into your world where it's just
11:15
like, Oh, my God, it's just waiting to happen, right? I mean,
11:19
this cast of characters and, you know, all these people wanting
11:22
to be someone into two point not, you know, all afraid to mess
11:26
up and say something wrong or mispronounce something. You can
11:30
cut the tension, you know, and then you come along, and you
11:32
sort of blow the whole thing up and it's brilliant, you know,
11:38
yeah, they're so smart. I think that's what it is. Like, you
11:41
know, they're smart, right? Like, satire takes intelligence.
11:44
You're an incredibly keen observer. Yeah. Because you're
11:47
picking up the little stuff, like I was just looking back
11:50
before we recorded. And there's one video, it's in the driver
11:54
series, and you show the shell station at the base of
11:57
Angeles Crest. There's another one that starts in the target
12:00
parking, like the top level of the parking garage, which is
12:03
right by the shell. But if you haven't been there, you don't
12:05
know that. Right. It's like, you know, I was looking at it, and
12:08
I'm like, it's so brilliant. Because who's gonna think like, Oh,
12:12
I'm gonna include the big box store that's at the base of that
12:14
road that we're here to drive. But if you've been there, it's
12:17
such a landmark. Yeah. And you know, the crazy thing about
12:21
that is that this technology is getting so good. And, you know,
12:25
the more I use it, the more I start to understand it, how I
12:28
can, you know, poke it a little more. Yeah. It's getting
12:33
freakishly accurate, the places that I can do, and also the
12:38
people that I can do. So, you know, it's really cool to, for
12:43
me to at least look at the start of the page, I look at the
12:47
videos as you describe as the shell that you were still able
12:51
to recognize. But these were kind of like by comparison, now
12:54
like the bare bones of what exists today. So this whole, this
12:59
whole thing that I have is like, you know, it's a little bit of
13:03
like a developed formula right now. Yeah, you know, without
13:07
sounding too much of an ass. I'm sorry, I don't know if I can
13:09
say that. Please. We're hard are here on that. Okay. So, yeah,
13:16
without being an asshole, there's a little bit of a
13:18
method to my madness these days. And at the start, it was just
13:21
kind of making it as I went along. Yeah, that makes sense.
13:25
You've sort of streamlined your process, I would imagine. Had
13:28
you used AI before this, like either for work or anything? Like
13:33
was this your first foray into using it? Yep. I had no previous
13:38
experience at all this. So so that's also another kind of
13:43
thing about this project was, you know, AI is a threat to most
13:51
people in any industry. And this was a way for me to kind of
14:01
approach of a if you can't beat them, join them, I think. And I
14:05
despite the thing that I create that is AI, I do kind of have
14:12
some opposition about myself actually using it. That being
14:18
said, this whole thing was a way for me to try and develop a
14:23
unique skill set with AI whilst trying to have some kind of
14:30
creative framework. If that makes sense. Yeah, what is your
14:35
process? You sit down, you've got the script, you know, how do
14:38
you leverage this AI witchcraft like you do? Because to your
14:41
point, I don't think you could do this without it, right? I
14:43
mean, it's just you talk about taking away jobs and stuff.
14:46
Here's something that's opening up this new frontier in your
14:49
leverage leveraging it so perfectly, like what is your
14:53
So at this point, what it is is I usually write a barebone
14:57
script. And then I will so so depending on what I'm making,
15:02
so for example, if it is a car roast, then I will spend a
15:07
little bit of time researching it online and kind of trying to
15:11
develop an understanding if I didn't have that understanding
15:14
already, and then I'll kind of feed that back into the script.
15:18
And then from there, I will essentially write the prompts,
15:25
which is describing the actions, the dialogue that you see. And
15:30
that is a bit of a trial and error. But that's also good a
15:35
little bit of a formula, because I have had to develop my own
15:39
style of prompts to, you know, deliver consistent results. So
15:46
after that, once all the videos have been generated, I take it
15:49
into Adobe Premiere, and then assemble it as if it would be a
15:54
regular edit. So if you remove the prompts and the video
15:59
generating, and if, you know, everything else is human made.
16:04
So it's just the physical visual you see in the dialogue, that
16:09
audio, everything else is just me.
16:13
So you're doing it, you're not writing the entire script,
16:16
you're giving it like a rough framework, and then the AI
16:20
generates the actual dialogue. Is that correct?
16:23
No, no, no, no, I'm writing about 90% of the dialogue. So yeah,
16:29
I will write a rough script, and then kind of, you know, my
16:33
workflow is a little bit unique, because I don't lock a script
16:36
in, I kind of, I will edit it halfway and kind of see what
16:41
works. And then I will go back to writing. Yeah, it's kind of,
16:46
it's a nonconventional way, but it's what actually is working
16:49
for me right now. So yeah,
16:50
it's clearly resonating with everybody else. So I think you've
16:55
discovered a good process. You mentioned that the AI sometimes
16:59
spits out something completely different in response to a
17:03
prompt that you've had success with or used in the past, like
17:06
you said, you've asked it for an M3 and it'll give you an S2000
17:10
like what do you do in that case?
17:13
You have to just kind of keep poking the monster. Yeah. Yeah.
17:17
So, and you know, that kind of sucks because, you know, for a
17:24
productivity standpoint, you just kind of want to done an over
17:27
but not only that, but just saving money and saving energy
17:31
resources. Your driver just have like the one thing good to go,
17:35
right? You're like, I know we can use this. Yeah.
17:38
Yeah. So it's very unpredictable when these LLMs are
17:42
going to go down. You never really know. And sometimes it
17:45
just won't give you the result that you want. And it can range
17:49
from a few hours to, you know, just 10 minutes. And yeah, it's
17:55
kind of a thing of it can take a video that was originally
17:58
going to take four hours. It's going to now take me seven hours.
18:01
Yeah. So that is not so fun.
18:05
I love how you call it the AI.
18:08
That's because I'm of a certain age.
18:12
Yeah, I'm older than you. So where do you go from here? Because
18:16
I feel like you, you know, just when I think you've mined every
18:19
subgroup, every trope or whatever, you know, are you just
18:23
getting started or I mean, what's, you know, is this just
18:27
such a rich environment?
18:29
I mean, there's plenty of material.
18:32
Do you know, I just kind of get these ideas usually like
18:36
randomly, and it's a case of if I have some time to write a
18:40
video, I will just do it and run with it. So whatever kind of
18:46
hits my head, or if I go to like a car meeting, I feel
18:50
inspired, or if I see something on Instagram, such as, you
18:56
know, a rally that happens in a snowy environment.
18:59
I'm just going to say, oh my god, ends with starts with fat
19:05
Something like that. Yeah. So, you know, it's there, there are
19:09
different kind of sources for inspiration and to kind of
19:13
answer the question of where do I go from here? It's just yeah,
19:17
I'm just making this whole thing up as I go along.
19:19
We have to come back to the fat ice race or the foe ice
19:23
rally as you've got in your reel because what the actual
19:27
fuck. I mean, this is ridiculous, you know, direction of
19:34
automotive enthusiasm. I just where do you, where do we go
19:38
from here after the fat ice race? It's just, you know, we're
19:41
drifting 250 GTOs and in furs and it's just like, at what
19:48
point do we, does it become a parody of itself, right? You
19:51
know, it's yeah, and is that hard to to satirize when it's
19:56
already so out there, right? You know, that's a great point.
20:00
Like if we look back, I don't know, even three years ago, I
20:05
feel like the community would respond to these events very
20:09
differently. And you bring up a good argument. And I think,
20:14
you know, it makes me question like, how did we get, how did
20:18
we get here? Yeah. Yeah. That's, I think that's a question we
20:22
all ask ourselves and each other regularly, if not every day.
20:27
Um, and yeah, I think it was when the influencers signed up,
20:31
right? I mean, that's really when when we jumped the shark.
20:34
Yeah. When that exploded. Yeah. I mean, what are your
20:36
thoughts on like, I don't know how long you've been in the
20:39
car community. I don't know if you've always been a car
20:41
person. Um, you know, and so I don't know when you like how
20:48
much you've seen. Obviously, we've all seen it change over
20:50
the last few years with influencer culture. What are your
20:53
thoughts on like car culture? I think we know your thoughts
20:56
right now. But what do you think about where it's headed? Do
20:59
you think the pendulum is going to swing back the other way?
21:04
What are your, what are your thoughts on it? I genuinely
21:08
think that it might swing back the other way. Uh, not
21:15
exclusively to cars, but I feel like there is such a over
21:21
saturation of luxury lifestyle that is embedded into
21:26
Instagram now and everyone's a fucking millionaire. Everyone's
21:31
got a GT free RS and you know, you go on Instagram and you
21:37
think, why don't I have these things? It must be so easy to
21:40
acquire and there is this, this false narrative of usually,
21:45
you know, it is easy to see to acquire these things and the
21:48
reason we think that is because we see so much of it, right?
21:51
Right. And the point that I'm getting out here is that when
21:56
all the good stuff just becomes meh, the the stuff that we
22:03
maybe start to take for granted, the not so glossy stuff,
22:07
maybe I'm hopeful will become enjoyable again. Yeah. Yeah.
22:12
Right. We'll go back to the sort of pure days of true
22:15
enthusiasm and focus on driving that kind of stuff. I don't
22:19
think it's ever going to get to like real true like levels of
22:23
enthusiasm, but I feel like maybe there will be a little bit of
22:28
like a branch off between the car community itself versus
22:33
these influencers who let's be honest, they're just trying to
22:37
force themselves in. Yeah. Right. I have no problem with the
22:43
so-called influencer if they're, you know, doing something
22:48
for the real love of it and you can sense that if there's, you
22:51
know, I understand that these people who are creating content,
22:54
they have to make money somehow. Of course, we all do, but
22:59
there's a difference between doing it and providing value
23:03
versus just being a grifter and a lot of these people I feel
23:07
are. Yeah. And I think maybe that's why a few people
23:12
resonate with my videos is because, you know, it just
23:17
seems as if there is this seamless transition almost
23:20
overnight. Obviously, it wasn't overnight, but just in a
23:25
blink of an eye, we have a community that in my opinion
23:28
seems far different to how it has ever been. Yeah. Yeah. I
23:33
mean, I think we can all agree on that. It's definitely
23:36
changed. So you, like if you had to guess, you think people
23:40
are going to move away, it'll sort of branch off and people
23:44
are going to move away from like jelly beans and, you know,
23:47
whistling diesel like destroying cars for clicks. I
23:52
genuinely think and hope that people are going to eventually
23:55
see through the bullshit. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean,
23:59
that would be delightful. To that point of all the groups
24:03
you've parodied and this and that, who's the most based
24:06
group on the crest? Oh, man. Oh, Brian's trying to start a
24:14
fight. I genuinely feel like we are all degenerates in our
24:19
own way. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Biggest. I love it. Oh, yeah. I
24:25
love that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I guess we have to make
24:31
fun of ourselves, right? Yeah. Yeah. And why is it a PTSD
24:34
three? So, so that is the worst person definitively. You
24:41
heard it here first. And yeah, no, I don't think he's the
24:45
worst, actually. I feel like like there is worse people out
24:49
there. I'm trying to think. Yeah, who are the ones like
24:52
there's so many? Where do I start? Well, that's the
24:54
journalist. Is it the mmm? Because there's so much gatekeeping,
25:02
right? Anymore that goes along with the journalist set, right?
25:07
We've talked about this before. The thing that I don't like
25:10
up there is that it feels like there's almost like a social
25:12
hierarchy. In my opinion. Yeah, that's been your experience
25:17
when you've been up there. It's not been my experience per se.
25:21
It's a vibe that I feel exists. And I feel like other people
25:27
could see that. Yeah, I could see that for sure. Yeah, there's
25:32
sort of rungs. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You know, you're sometimes
25:37
you respect maybe defined based on the car you drive. And
25:40
that that is, you know, that kind of is applicable to any
25:44
instance in the car called just sadly. But if you're a real car
25:49
infusers, you know that it's bullshit. Yeah. So yeah, is there
25:54
has there ever been a more over leveraged group than the
25:58
people that show up? So maybe that maybe that's maybe that's
26:01
the worst person in H is the is the self proclaimed expert.
26:06
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And then maybe you could say, well,
26:10
Angeles, if I wait, is that you because you talk a big game
26:14
and I'll just say I'll tell you something. I'm a moron. I don't
26:17
know a whole lot of stuff. I'm just here to make people laugh.
26:21
So hey, you're excelling at that. I would say you're an expert
26:24
at that for sure. Thank you. Can we talk about a couple of
26:27
the specific videos that came in one? Yeah. I gotta say that hit.
26:33
Yeah. I hit that car show particularly hard. All three of
26:40
us. Yeah. What was the phrase he used mid engine, mid life,
26:45
mid mid everything. Yeah. Yeah. I was like, wait, can we get
26:49
that on a license plate for the GT4? Yeah, for my 13 year old
26:53
daughter. Appreciate it. That one. Yeah, that was cool for a
26:59
minute and a second. God, what was it? The infinity G 35
27:04
one. That just, you know, that was so good. The one with the
27:08
influencers, the women influencers too, which was the
27:12
only fan. I mean, we go on and on and on. What are some of your
27:15
personal hits? What are the ones that really, you know, you
27:18
put in your portfolio? You know, honestly, I think the
27:24
latest one that I did a bit of the full israeli. It's really
27:29
so here's one we can talk about because Lindsay, you asked me
27:32
about my whole workflow and my structure of like writing the
27:36
script. Yeah. When it comes to an event like that, my script
27:41
is a little bit more like free balling because it's I wasn't
27:47
at the event. So I kind of have to make my snap judgments
27:51
based on what I'm seeing online. So right in an instance like
27:55
this video, I will just this was a very spontaneous video. It
28:01
was just, oh, I saw this thing going on online. So it was late
28:06
at night. I just got on a flight. I was on my notes app on
28:08
my phone just writing my thoughts about this thing. And
28:14
then I slept on it. I woke up the next day and then I just
28:17
added a little bit craziness to it. I think the crazy part is
28:22
that it was accurate. Like as far as what we could see online.
28:26
I don't know if you saw the reel that auto kennel made of it,
28:30
but I feel like yours and his were very similar.
28:35
But yours is obviously satire and his was made there.
28:39
His was like the real life version of yours. You know, I
28:42
don't think that I saw it. I'll send it to you because it was
28:46
it was while I saw yours first and then I watched his and I'm
28:49
like, this feels like a like these could be two parts of the
28:53
same thing. Amazing. I mean, the the number of fur coats I
28:58
I'm like, man, I'm immediately underdressed. Yeah. Yeah.
29:03
And that kind of goes back to our thing of like, when have we
29:06
ever seen a fur coat in a car bed?
29:11
Right. And there that is that's gonna be a thing now.
29:15
Right. Yeah. But I mean, and that's that's an instance of
29:18
your sort of discernment of like, these two things do not go
29:22
together. No. What are we doing? When did this happen?
29:26
You know, we've often talked about like cars are sort of the
29:28
common language and we still do this like it brings everyone
29:31
together. But I do think there's been this sort of this push to
29:34
tribalism right in the last few years. You know, what do you
29:38
think is fueling that? Is it is it just sort of a microcosm of
29:41
the larger goings out in the world or when did we we sort of
29:47
start going in so many different directions and
29:51
that is a great question. I feel like brands generally have
29:58
always had their kind of distinct kind of groups that's kind
30:03
of based on how they sell you these cars anyway because you
30:07
know, that's why they have marked in teams to determine the
30:12
demographics of, you know, the clientele. Right. So there's
30:18
always been that, especially with the more specialist groups,
30:23
especially Ferrari, Porsche, but yeah, there has been a
30:33
more emphasis, I think on that kind of like tribe like
30:37
mentality, particularly between Porsche owners. You notice it
30:43
with, you know, the air cooled Porsche owner and then the
30:46
non air cooled Porsche owner. There is, you know, it's interesting
30:50
because usually you would have it where, you know, you like a
30:54
certain brand, you can get along with someone, but then there
30:57
are there is a subculture of owners on both sides and I'm
31:02
not saying this is everyone, not at all, but right. These people
31:05
do exist and it's like they hate each other, but they're
31:09
liking the same brand. Yeah. And I feel like social media
31:14
genuinely has something to do with it. But before that, I
31:18
feel like maybe the forums may be added to that.
31:24
Like that might have been the start of it. Yeah, sure. Right.
31:26
Right. But as I say, it's always been a thing since the
31:30
beginning of, well, not the beginning of car sales, but as
31:33
we have evolved with cars, you know, with, you know, any kind
31:40
of advertisements that you see growing up, you know, there's
31:44
the reason we have posted cars as kids. It's kind of we aspire
31:48
to be a part of a tribe. So we always had that, but we now have
31:54
these tools to be so involved in the tribe, even if we don't
31:59
necessarily own the vehicle. Yeah, yeah, that's true. It's
32:03
yeah, I mean, it's it's possible to really have it be a complete
32:06
lifestyle where before it was something you liked, but there
32:11
weren't the the plethora of events. And like you said,
32:14
channels, I mean, social media didn't exist. It's definitely
32:18
changed. But you know, we've talked about that too. You know,
32:21
it's like it's does start in childhood. Like what cars did
32:23
you have in your wall? Were you a car and driver reader or were
32:26
you a part of the road track camp, right? So yeah, I think
32:28
you I think you're spot on there for sure. You know, you
32:33
mentioned, you know, everyone needs to make money. Have you
32:36
been able to monetize this? Are you coming out with a merch?
32:39
Like where were you headed with this? I have not made a
32:43
single dollar from this. I can tell you it's like having a
32:46
podcast. So you guys kind of understand me just on that
32:51
alone. At this point, a video cost me on average like $100
32:56
to make. Okay. And you know, there it is. This is not a
33:03
method for me to try and make money. It's just to have fun
33:08
and ride this wave. But a few people do want merch and I have
33:16
teased the idea of bringing merch out. I did that just after
33:22
Thanksgiving last year. Okay, so to answer the question I
33:26
have prototype merchandise in the works. Fantastic. But and
33:30
it has been a thing that has been in the back of my mind
33:33
for some time, but I felt like we're nearly at the moment
33:38
where it's ready in terms of community and in terms of
33:42
giving a product that I'm going to be proud of to give people
33:45
because this is these are going to be things that are not
33:50
going to be sloppy, you know, just a printed logo. It's
33:54
going to be something that I want people to proudly wear at
33:58
a car event as an outfit piece, you know, something that is
34:02
going to look good on all types of people. Yeah. And that's not
34:06
a small that's not a small order. Like that's tricky to find
34:10
especially if you want it to be quality. So we all we all
34:13
appreciate it and we will be buying them immediately.
34:16
Well, I appreciate that. Thank you. Yeah, I can see a whole
34:19
line of action figures based on some of the characters that
34:21
you've developed, right? I mean, it's, you know, like Funko
34:24
Pops or something, right? I mean, I think it's a limit here,
34:27
you know, well, obviously, the first one would be, is it
34:30
Levy? Is that how you? He's the best. He has a small little
34:37
following in, you know, my small community. Right. Yeah, I
34:40
loved that he was in the fat ice race. And I'm like, okay,
34:44
you like this guy is the character that you've created,
34:46
but also I feel like we've run across him in real life.
34:49
I just want to hang out with him. Oh, well, you'd have to do
34:54
one of the, I call him OC John in my head with the turbo ass
34:58
who says he's professionally doing nothing.
35:01
I love that guy. There is a plan to bring more characters
35:06
that are going to be recurring in the Angeles Deaf Highway
35:10
universe. It's it's trying to find ways to compliment the
35:17
videos without kind of just having them in for no reason.
35:23
And it's also a thing of, you know, I have to look at this
35:25
in the way of most people who watch my videos are called
35:28
audience members. They've never watched a video before.
35:32
So they have to see the character and immediately
35:35
understand him. And that was kind of my goal with Levy.
35:39
I would say you accomplished it. Well, thank you.
35:41
Yeah, we've all met him for sure. Is there a group that
35:46
I don't know. You just you just not going to touch?
35:51
Nope. Okay. Nobody is off limits.
35:57
I love it. I love it.
36:05
Dun dun dun. Free feet, man.
36:09
We're about to open a can of worms up here.
36:12
Let's let's get it because because so I'm in Colorado
36:14
and I think the cyclists may even be more rabid here
36:17
than than in California. Probably hard to believe.
36:22
The quote from your reel. I've never met a single cyclist
36:25
that's actually normal. What's what is going on?
36:30
What is what I feel like things are getting worse.
36:32
I feel like things are getting worse.
36:35
How do we solve this? Why do we hate each other so much?
36:44
Well, you know, in my cyclist video, I started it off with
36:48
I'm a cyclist and I'm unemployed. So with all respect,
36:53
I feel like if they were searching for a job,
36:57
they would have a little bit less to be angry about
36:59
because they don't have time to be angry at us.
37:02
That's true. And they would probably be less on the road.
37:05
Yeah, idle hands and all that.
37:07
Well, and I love the idea that, you know, nobody's off limits
37:12
because it also means like it's not personal.
37:15
You're not out. It is never personal. No.
37:17
No. And I love that. I mean, have you ever,
37:20
obviously the videos have generated strong opinions, good and bad.
37:25
Have you ever had anybody try to tell you that you couldn't use their likeness?
37:30
You know, I have been very lucky in the fact that,
37:35
despite a few people disagreeing originally with what I was doing,
37:39
I've never had anyone outright say that I can't use their likeness,
37:44
which is truly interesting. So they can disagree with the message,
37:49
but just to pivot on that point, I think also as well, that
37:55
some of the people who don't or didn't like the video is at the start,
38:00
I think have started to maybe come around to see,
38:03
just going back to what you said about, you know,
38:08
everyone, you know, kind of being thrown out of the buzz.
38:10
I think people are starting to realize that as well now.
38:14
So there has been times where people disagree. Yeah.
38:17
Yeah. So people initially disagree.
38:20
They see themselves and like, oh my God, this guy is just being an asshole.
38:25
And then they see that, oh, my body got roasted as well.
38:29
And then maybe that kind of unites them.
38:31
And then they realize, oh, we can learn to love this guy together with hate.
38:37
Right. Yeah. Bringing people together through their mutual frustration.
38:42
Right. Well, it's been interesting for me because
38:46
there's people where, you know, obviously some of the people are incredibly recognizable.
38:51
And it has made me kind of up my game in terms of like being aware of the
38:56
workings of the car world and who the people are of the moment.
39:00
Because there's been several where I'm like, okay,
39:01
that's definitely a real person, but I don't know who they are.
39:04
So I got to get on this. So it's been an education tool.
39:08
Me too. Me too. This has taught me a lot of actually things that I even
39:12
previously did not know about the car world.
39:16
Well, you know, as I say, I'm researching certain things about certain vehicles.
39:22
And maybe I have learned now a reliability issue with our certain car,
39:26
which I may have not known.
39:28
And just, just these small little nuances that keep me a little bit sharper at the car meet,
39:35
you know, as I try and let everyone know just how much I know about stuff.
39:39
I was going to say, you're the one guy that really does know everything now.
39:44
Add on to Lindsay's comment about your Sonos and this and that.
39:48
Feedback must come through Instagram.
39:50
Everything comes through Instagram.
39:51
Okay. All right. So what are some of the messages?
39:53
What, what are you hearing?
39:55
Honestly, most of it is positive.
39:57
Okay. I have, I have some people who will publicly leave a comment,
40:05
and then they will get in my DMs and be like, Hey, what's up?
40:09
And I'm like, not much, just enjoying my breakfast burrito.
40:14
And this was a, this was a comment that a lot of people know about, about a specific person.
40:19
So they just came into my, yeah, it won't take a lot of thought process to think about
40:26
which comment it was. So yeah, they DM me and they're like, what's up?
40:31
And I'm like, dude, I'm just eating my breakfast burrito.
40:33
And then that was it. So yeah, you know, I, I haven't had anyone really like
40:40
say that much bad. If anything, I, I've started to get a few people who are not
40:47
in the car seat who maybe just own the car and they just go to work and they like,
40:53
they don't get it. And they're like, you're a fucking piece of shit. But you know what, I get that.
40:58
Well, if you, it's a good, you know, I think like back to your original point of like,
41:03
it's really easy to take all of this very seriously. And we've talked about, you know,
41:09
Ryan's been in Southern California enough to know an experience like we're so lucky in Southern
41:13
California with all the cars that are just in our daily lives that most people never see.
41:19
And I think it's really easy to forget that not everybody knows all of the nuances of the car
41:24
culture or like sees these things on a daily basis. And so it's a good reminder of like,
41:30
no, this isn't real life for everyone. And again, I think the fact that you've, you know,
41:36
the feedback that you get is positive. It's just testament to your skill set here, right?
41:41
And walking that line without giving, you know, anything way about you, do you have a background
41:46
in comedy or anything? Or is this just a gift from God? Like what?
41:51
I am a film school dropout. Okay. But this was many years ago. There was many years ago.
41:59
So just to go back to, do I have a comedy background? No.
42:05
I have a product. Thank you. Thank you.
42:08
I guess. So no, there was never this thing for me to have a desire to be funny.
42:17
This is a very new thing to me that I'm still kind of trying to learn.
42:23
Um, but we're writing no, no real background in the film school that I dropped out from my
42:31
writing teacher said never write anything. So I never did, but I have a production
42:37
background. I have a production background. You do. Okay. I do. Yes. And I'm not going to
42:42
go into specifics behind that, but I am not a writer. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay.
42:48
And again, again, without getting into too much of who you are, what are you into
42:52
car wise? Like what does it for you to have to say what you drive, but what?
42:58
Pacifica. Yeah. Okay. So I've heard about this. I wanted to talk about that. Okay. So tell us
43:03
everything about the Pacifica. If I need to get a rental car for it ever reason,
43:11
it has to be a Pacifica. Why? Yes, because you can be on the freeway. You can do whatever you
43:18
want at a Pacifica. Nobody is going to look at you. You don't need a radar detector. You don't
43:28
need nothing. You just need a Pacifica. It's basically a stealth cloaking device.
43:36
Exactly. So when did this like, was this something you discovered by accident? Were
43:41
you always drawn to them? Like, how did this evolve? This is a completely new obsession.
43:46
And it's the only actually I say I've written like, you know, nothing and nobody's safe.
43:51
Right. Pacifica is safe. Interesting. So it is a, it is a recent obsession. I had no previous
43:59
love affair for Pacifica, but man, I took one to Joshua Tree nuts a long ago and
44:09
we had an enjoyment that no other vehicle gave me. So I am now a fan for life.
44:15
Well, sometimes the most ordinary is the most sublime, right? And we had a little
44:20
spot about the Pacifica recently. Didn't we on the show? And Lindsay, I was in, I was driving
44:26
from Colorado to see family in Wisconsin for the holidays. And before me, and one in either lane
44:32
was what were Pacifica's? And there was a family on the right and on the left sitting in the passing
44:36
lane was an Iowa Department of Corrections transportation vehicle, the same vehicle,
44:43
you know, and I said this big family on the right and on the left, you know,
44:46
men in chains or whatever. And both worked, right? Like, and they didn't acknowledge each other.
44:50
Like there was no Pacifica wave or anything like that. But you know, point is they're
44:54
everywhere, right? Like they're everywhere, but they're nowhere, right? You know, and it's just,
44:58
I guess that's the sign of a good car. Does your affection extend to other Stalantis products?
45:03
Or is it just, just the Pacifica? Just the Pacifica. That's my thing. Okay. You see me
45:09
in a rental car counter, I'm begging for the Pacifica. You're like, they're like, sir, we just
45:15
gave the last one to that family. And then just picture you chasing them down the fuckway.
45:20
I know I leave and I go to the different branch. Even if I'm at the airport,
45:24
I will get in an Uber and I'll hopefully it's a Uber Pacifica. So I can get Pacifica squared,
45:31
you know, very meta. Yeah, commitment is commendable. You a car guy growing up? Oh, yeah. Yeah, I really
45:42
was. Yeah. What was around you? So that's the thing they weren't around me. I think most kids,
45:54
you know, growing up who are really in a car's experiences, so they may have had like toy cars.
46:00
And I had all different figures and, you know, I never put two and two together. But
46:06
in when I was five, six years old with these cars, I would
46:12
it's hilarious to say it loud right now, but I would create scenarios and lives for the people
46:19
which own these cars. And I'm having this like realization right now that it was it wasn't like
46:27
it wasn't as chaotic and as built up as Angela Steph highway, nothing like that. But it was a
46:35
thing of like, I would have a family who would, you know, they would have this car and that car
46:42
and the kid would have this car. And then just stupid thing that kids do when they daydream
46:48
these types of things. And I suppose there may be a connection there. I don't know. Yeah. The thread
46:56
was there the whole time. Yeah. No, I love that. I love that about me right now, too. That's amazing.
47:04
Isn't it wild when you look back and you're like, huh, I didn't see that for what it was at the time.
47:09
But the your instinct was to tell stories or create stories around cars. And now you're
47:16
just doing that on a bigger stage. Well, yeah, maybe maybe I was planning a seed that I didn't
47:21
know I was planning as a kid. That's amazing. I love that. So what has surprised you the most about
47:29
the response to the videos like good or bad? I mean, it kind of amazes me that people
47:36
tune in to watch these. Honestly, I make these videos and I don't usually find the
47:44
tumor in my videos until a week after I made them. So I never really know what is going to hit and
47:51
what isn't going to hit. This is kind of like a thing of I post a video and I don't have any
47:57
expectations. I think, well, this could be a good one or this could be a bad one. Yeah. And
48:04
I just kind of go with the flow of it. Yeah, I love that. You're like, I'm just going to leave
48:10
this here. We'll see what happens. The feedback is really cool. It's just kind of a thing of I think
48:17
most people who make something don't really understand what people get connected to it.
48:22
Why why people get connected to the thing they make. Right. And obviously, I'm connected to it
48:28
for a different people, different reasons than everyone else. So it's kind of for me trying to
48:34
figure that figure out what that is to, you know, give the people what they want.
48:42
And I'm learning that every day. Well, and you're right, we all bring our own set of experiences
48:48
and perspectives to the video. So everybody's probably finding different things from it. And
48:54
that's different from your connection to it. But that's so are you saying you actually don't
49:00
think that they're funny when you put them out? Or you're not sure which parts?
49:07
And then that's kind of that's kind of the thing like one of the things where when I first started
49:13
this, the first quote, I think, which resonated with people was what the fuck is a button willow.
49:22
Well, that whole thing to me is like, I don't get why people find that funny.
49:28
I think it's because the grammar is bad. It catches your attention because you're like,
49:34
well, that's not like, and if you know, it's a race track, you're like, you wouldn't talk about
49:39
it that way. And so it catches your attention. And it's a funny way of, of satirizing again,
49:46
this like, okay. But, but not only that, Lindsay, but you could show up at Andrews Crest and just
49:51
with some make made up word, you know, like, I don't know, you know, along those lines of
49:56
Aspenwood or something, and no one's going to say they don't know, right? No one's gonna say they
50:01
don't know, which is really true. Yeah, like, Oh, yeah, I had my PB there. You're like, myself
50:05
included. I'm not going to be the one, you know, to try uncle, you know, it's just
50:10
somebody should do an experiment where they go to any car meet.
50:16
Right. Or not only a track, but they, they make up an engine, they make up all these things. And
50:23
then they, they see who will eventually call the bluff and how long will it take? That would be a
50:29
real interesting experiment, I think. I think that's something that somebody needs to do with you
50:35
nearby listening to as it unfolds, because that's a video. Yeah, I would love to do that. And it might
50:42
in like, for the most part, write itself. Oh, definitely. But most of these videos do write
50:48
themselves, especially if it's an experience or like an event. Right, right, right. So this is
50:53
the first time we've had someone with a voice disguise or someone who's, you know, not being
50:58
shown here. What's this, what's this like living with this, this alter ego, this, this secret identity?
51:09
Oh, I mean, I just kind of pull back the curtain. I don't think I ever will pull back the curtain
51:14
because I feel like part of the, the fun is that people don't know who I am. Yeah. And for me, it's
51:20
like, I don't want to go to a car meet and have someone associate me with the page because
51:29
it might, you know, it might reduce the quality of the video that I make it. That makes sense.
51:36
Right. It would change how they interact with you. I don't know a little bit. I mean, my page is
51:43
still very small, but it does have a small community. And I'm a very private person outside of,
51:51
okay, you know, this whole thing. So, so, so, and as I say, this whole thing was an
51:57
accident. So I, I didn't start and think that I was going to get a few followers.
52:01
Yeah. So it's, it's kind of, for me, the whole thing is Angela Steph Highway is a
52:07
brand that survives on its own. It's not necessarily a person. There is a person who is,
52:12
you know, behind this madness, but it's, I am not Angela Steph Highway.
52:19
Okay. There's more to you than this. Yeah. Yeah.
52:22
So you mentioned, like, it might change how people interact with you or their experience
52:26
of you. Has making the videos changed how you experience car events or car culture or going
52:34
for a drive? Do you just, has it changed how you're experiencing them?
52:40
A little bit. Yeah. So, obviously, when I'm going up to Angela's Chris Highway,
52:48
I get out and I'm always thinking like, oh, that sounds like something that someone would say
52:53
in my videos. Obviously, I, I didn't have that beforehand. And it's really cool to be able to
52:58
say that. Yeah. But I'm still enjoying it just as much as I did. I try and disconnect from
53:09
this persona when I go to the event, just so I can see things what they are. I think if I
53:15
try and force my judgment of a thing in an event, it's just maybe not going to be as
53:22
authentic as I would like it to be, you know? Yeah, that makes sense. And honestly, that's
53:27
the thing. Like I'm not going up to Angela's Chris Highway and thinking, oh my God, like,
53:31
that car sucks, that car sucks, that car sucks. Actually, I'm going, that's a pretty fucking cool
53:37
car. Yeah. There may be a few thoughts in my head that I'm roasting, but like not the whole thing.
53:44
Yeah. Right. You're not just there like, okay, gotta log that. I gotta log that. Yeah.
53:49
Yeah. I have to think that this is sort of the start of something bigger. And I know that
53:53
people have approached, I think Matt Farah was interested in, and right, animating some of these
53:58
or whatever. But I keep thinking of like the Simpsons, right? That was, these were like little
54:02
segments and I think the Tracy Ulman show back in the day, right? And they were sort of, you know,
54:06
amateurish and everything. And it evolved into this, this huge, you know, cultural.
54:10
The empire that it is. Would you ever consider taking, like, if someone were to approach you
54:14
and say, we'll turn this into a, you know, a regular thing, you know, a 30 minute, you know,
54:17
segments or something. I mean, is that something you'd ever do with this?
54:21
I mean, obviously, I think I would be stupid to say no. Sure. You know, it's, for me, it's,
54:27
despite not really wanting the recognition for it, it is really cool to see it as a standalone
54:32
thing grow and anything to provide more content to people that they would specifically enjoy.
54:41
And that's, that's the thing I want to emphasize here is if I was to ever
54:45
do anything beyond the scope of what I'm doing now, it has to provide the community with something
54:50
genuine because the whole message that I'm trying to, you know, bring out is that it's,
54:57
not that serious. It's, this is just a whole fun thing. And if it ever tries, if it ever seems
55:03
to be too try hard, I feel like that's when you start to lose the people, you know. So
55:11
everything that I do, I want to try and make sure that I do it in the way that it's going to benefit
55:17
everyone. Yeah. I love that. Well, and I think, you know, you've mentioned a couple of times,
55:22
like you didn't go into this thinking, this is going to be my big payday. This is going to be my,
55:26
you know, GT3 RS. And I think that is where some of the best art and content and, you know, writing,
55:35
that's where some of the best stuff comes from is you're doing it because you enjoy it.
55:39
And it's the authenticity, like you mentioned, that's the heart of it. And I think that's what
55:43
people respond to. And I think that's really, I think that's very cool. I appreciate that. Yeah,
55:49
you know, for me, this is just a hobby, you know, there, there could be some people who don't
55:54
understand the true scope of it. And they'll think, well, the fuck, this guy is just wasting his time,
56:00
just rolling people online. And like, that's, there's one way to see it, but it's not the way
56:07
that I see it. I am having fun writing these things. And if people are enjoying it too,
56:15
then it makes sense for me to put two or three hours, you know, away every night,
56:21
just to make something like any hobby. So you're bringing joy to the people. It's escapist,
56:28
right? I mean, it's just, it's something I know so many people look forward to every release,
56:32
right? That you do. They mean a lot to a lot of people, right? That is really cool to hear. Thank
56:37
you. Yeah, it's a big day. Like, I know, you know, at my house, I've said it's must watch content.
56:42
Like, if Tori finds it before I do, there's a good chance he's running into whatever room I'm in.
56:47
There's a new one. Yeah. Or some content creators that you like, like who's out there,
56:52
journalists or, you know, Instagram folks, like who's doing a good job in your eyes?
56:58
You know, I, I make fun of this dude a lot. Lover hid the guy, Matt Farah, you can,
57:05
let's talk about his consistency in terms of podcasts. Yeah. He's been doing this for a long
57:11
damn time. So I have to give my respect there. There is no specific person that I really watch.
57:21
I kind of just at this point with the page, I have to like watch everyone, but that means that I
57:27
can't really like devote time to one person. I have to kind of divide my attention to this page
57:35
and that page to understand what's going on. And a few people do send me
57:42
like videos of what's going on, which helps. Yeah. But I still have to do a little bit of
57:47
research for at the week. Yeah. That makes sense. So do people send you, they'll send you videos,
57:53
do they send you ideas of like, Hey, you should satirize this or yeah, sometimes. Yeah. I believe
58:00
the fat israeli video, I think I already had the idea, but a couple of people did reach out about
58:07
that. That's amazing. They're like, this is tailor made for Angela's death. You mentioned Matt and,
58:15
you know, he's been doing this for how long, two episodes a week plus the YouTube plus everything
58:18
else. And to be able to do it, it is, it's tough to do, you know, it's work and to make it interesting
58:24
and, you know, and, and worth listening to and, and all that. And yeah, the, the, the, the Patreon
58:32
name, get a picture of your line that she is, but it was so perfect. So perfect.
58:37
Something about the Patreon usernames, our Patreon usernames are so good or something like that.
58:44
I suppose after you've been doing it for as long as he has, it's like, hey, it's the little things,
58:48
right? You know, he's always a nice guy. When you, when you talk to him, I mean, you know,
58:53
he's always got a smile on his face, willing to give you five minutes and stuff. And so, yeah, I
58:56
give, I think, I think he gets a lot of static, a lot of grief, but, you know, he's, he's a pro,
59:02
right? And, and, you know, give him a lot of credit as well. He's a good, yeah. I mean, he's a good
59:08
example of like what you can achieve if you stay consistent. He's a good motivator. I mean, he's
59:13
always been a good friend to me. And so I wanted to ask you because in the Willow Springs Reimagined
59:20
video, you absolutely nailed his jacket, which was like, and again, that was one of those things
59:26
where like, if you were there and then you watched the video, you're like, I know exactly what that
59:29
is. And that was just like one of those little details. It was so funny. So how hard is it to get
59:36
accurate representations of the people that you'll be roasting so that they're like easily
59:41
recognizable? Like, you know, Matt's got like the kooky sweaters and the hot dog shift knobs.
59:47
So at the point of making that video, it was way more of a challenge to get things right.
59:54
To the point now where the, the conference call that we're on right now, I could
00:00
take a screenshot of Ryan's face right now, use it as a reference. And it would look very,
00:07
very similar to how he looks right now. But, but then I have to build the world around it,
00:16
the prompt. So that is, that is one of the new ways that you can do it. And it,
00:23
it takes longer to generate the result, but it just means that it's going to look way better.
00:32
Like it's more spot on. Right. But, but prior to where we are at now, when I was making the
00:39
Willow Springs video, it was just using my words to try and get the right representation.
00:48
Take that writing teacher in film school. Do you solicit ideas?
00:57
I do not actively solicit them, but I'm always open to hearing ideas. I think, you know,
01:06
not exclusive to what I do, but for any industry that involves like ideas, I think
01:13
just hearing what other people have is just so important. And it doesn't even have to be the
01:18
idea that they give you. It can be the bad idea inspires you to then have a new idea
01:25
that you're actually going to use. So I'm always, I'm always listening to ideas.
01:32
I love that. Well, I have to say, so the driver series, I don't know if you are old enough to
01:39
remember this, but BMW put out, it was a series of marketing videos, but it was a collection
01:44
called BMW Films and Clive Owen played a character called the driver. So when you first put out the
01:50
video, that was immediately what I thought of. And I don't know if you've seen those.
01:55
I have seen those many, many years ago, but that was not actually the thing that I was going for,
02:01
but it's cool to hear you say that. It was funny. I went, Oh my gosh,
02:05
like I hadn't thought about the BMW Films in a long time either. So that was a fun,
02:08
like reminisce. And then we had your amazing videos.
02:13
Yeah, something else I think that's really great about what you do is it's, you know,
02:16
generally specific to Southern California and Angeles, Crest and all that, but it's,
02:22
you know, it's, it's, it's certainly not limited, right? The themes, I think are universal, right?
02:28
I mean, you know, I know a guy just like, you know, that guy in Colorado or this or this or that,
02:32
but I think at the same time, this could only happen in Southern California, right? I mean,
02:37
it's this absolutely perfect storm, right? And, and, you know, it's, but I think
02:45
the SoCal scene is incredibly different to any other car scene, not just in the country,
02:54
but around the world. And yeah, you go around the world and like take Japan, for example,
02:59
they have a completely different community than anyone else, but just, just speaking specifically
03:04
for SoCal and this local community that I am a part of, I think there is a big connection
03:12
with Los Angeles being the culprit for why we have some of these extremities in
03:20
places like Angeles Crest Highway. You know, there is a huge melting pot already of
03:26
people, a lot of these people trying to be in the entertainment industry in LA and
03:31
a lot of these people are trying to be actors and, you know, some of those people just so
03:38
happen to be in two cars and they're kind of wacky, different kind of unique people.
03:44
And I suppose that is the beauty of the scene though, that I've, I love and hate.
03:50
Right, exactly. We love it. We hate it. We love to hate it.
03:55
Yeah. I mean, it's, it's everything good. It's everything bad. It's a place, you know,
03:59
people like us who don't live, you know, in LA, we need to come and make a pilgrimage now. And
04:03
again, it's why the Peterson Museum is there. I mean, it really is the living, beating heart of,
04:06
of the enthusiast world, you know. What's, what are you working on next without spilling any,
04:12
you know, spilling too much? What, who's, who's in your crosshairs?
04:16
Who's in the crosshairs? Yeah.
04:18
So, so this is actually someone who isn't really in the car culture. This is, I mean,
04:24
they may be, but they're probably not going to be respected very much. They, how do I say this
04:32
without giving it away? This, this is going to be someone who is your everyday person who
04:40
you may roast if you're specifically not in the car community.
04:46
I'm so intrigued and now I can't wait.
04:49
So, so this is a, this is a video concept that I've, I've never done anything like this before.
04:56
So I, I'm still working on it and it should be out in a few days, but
05:02
that's exciting. I hope you guys enjoy it. Absolutely.
05:05
I have a feeling we will. And I wanted to ask you about the Shelby video,
05:09
which is one of the most recent ones. Oh yes.
05:12
So I grew up in a Shelby family. So that one really caught my attention. And I was curious
05:17
if that was like, was that based on experience? Was it just like this is one topic I haven't
05:24
hit before? Like, how did you come up with that one? So the only real experience that I have
05:29
mustangs are from rental places. And, uh, you know, every Mustang that I've had from a rental
05:37
place has always been kind of like gross, specifically like the, the one particular,
05:42
like the grossest Mustang that I had was a, this was last year. I read EcoBoost Mustang
05:52
and, uh, it was in Hawaii. And despite being a new car, that, that curse, it
06:00
smelled so bad. And it had like 6,000 miles on it. So they had to work to get that smell in there.
06:06
Oh yeah. Oh yeah. This, this, this car scene, families, it saw devastation. It's, it saw
06:15
I did not want to think about, you know, everyone I've, everyone I've ever rented
06:21
smells like X body spray. And that is a smell that has a half life on like anything else that
06:26
you can apply to your body. Uh, it just won't, won't die. There's something about, something
06:31
about those things. Yeah. It's, uh, yeah. And I guess that's why you could put the top down.
06:37
You know, the thing about, I don't know if you guys have ever had this, but the worst thing is
06:43
when you go into a rental car and you can smell the cigarette residue. Oh yeah. And then as you
06:49
smell it, you look down and there is a no smoking sticker on the dashboard. That's a weird experience.
06:59
Yeah. You're like, the sticker is not going to work here. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
07:04
But then they're going to run it through the scanner now when you return it, right? And,
07:07
you know, check for, you know, molecules or whatever they, that's, that's something that's
07:12
ripe, I think for the rental car experience, but that is a good one. The first car scanner.
07:20
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Oh wow. Well, I don't want to take too much of your time now. We'd love
07:25
to have you come back and join us in the future. But I wanted to end on a positive note. What is
07:32
your favorite part of car culture these days? It's tough. Let me have a think about this.
07:48
I know. It's like we said, we love it. We hate it. Okay. So, so what I will say, and this is a
07:53
really boring answer, but I'm, I'm, I'm happy that the, I have my own reservations about the
07:59
current track community, but I'm happy that the fundamentals of the car, the, the track
08:05
community exists. And what I mean by that is it is about being the best version of yourself
08:12
when you're on the track. And you know, I can complain and be like, there are a lot of people
08:17
who go to the track and they, they take a little too seriously. But ultimately you have to respect
08:23
that a guy who goes to the track to get better at something. So, so the fact that that whole
08:30
philosophy is still there and you know, I've noticed like influencers have started to
08:37
flood this track scene, which, you know, it's, it's okay if you, if you are, you know, about the
08:44
track life. But that's kind of the whole thing. I think, I think the consensus of
08:52
the SoCal real track community will always be about just, you know, it's about your fastest
08:59
lap time and nobody else really cares about your lap time other than you. So I like that.
09:06
Yeah. Well, I mean, it reminds me of something again that you said in the other interview
09:11
about, you were talking about what you wish was appreciated more or kind of was more
09:18
celebrated in the car community right now. And that's like the skill or enthusiasm.
09:23
And, you know, being able to do an incredibly fast lap at Big Willow, that is a skill and
09:29
that you'd like to see that being appreciated rather than the focus on like clicks and likes. And
09:34
I love that perspective. And we didn't even touch on, you know, you're like track driving,
09:40
I want to get into that. So we'll have to have you come back. But what's your favorite race track
09:44
if that's not too revealing, identity-wise? Or second favorite?
09:52
So in the last podcast I did, I said button willow and it was kind of like not really serious
09:59
answer. I got that sense. That's why I thought I would re-ask. Sorry, what's a button willow?
10:10
Nice callback. That's a good question. I don't know.
10:13
We still don't know. The best memory I ever had on the track was when I did some laps of spa.
10:20
That is a phenomenal track. I'm very privileged to look to say that I had to do that one time. So
10:27
I'm going to go with spa. Well, you win. That's the perfect answer. Thank you.
10:34
That's incredible. Well, we really, truly appreciate you joining us. I know
10:39
everybody's busy. We appreciate you making the time and sharing everything that you have with us.
10:43
It's been really fun. Obviously, I think we could probably keep talking for another couple
10:47
hours, but we won't do that to you this time. Remind the people where they can find you on
10:52
social media. You can find me at AngelusDefhighway on Instagram. I have a TikTok, but I am not really
10:59
as active on there. I will post some of the videos on there sometimes, but my main gig
11:05
as far as videos go is AngelusDefhighway. Perfect. Well, a huge thank you to you for joining us
11:12
and to our audience for joining us for this week's episode. We've really enjoyed bringing you this
11:17
conversation and we appreciate you being here. If you're enjoying the show, we would love it if
11:25
you like, subscribe and tell your enthusiast friends. We're at that car show. We'll see you
11:29
back here next week. Until then, remember, always be driving. Thank you so much, guys.