Angeles Death Highway

Is there a group that I don't know. You just you're just not

going to touch. Nope. Okay. Nobody is off limits. Tonight on

that car show, we've got a guest that's about as in demand these

days as they come. It's the person behind the one Instagram

account we all can't stop talking about. Angela's death

highway. From the genesis of this whole thing to his work

process to who's in his crosshairs next. Sometimes the

jokes just write themselves. This is a fun one. None of us are

safe. And you'll only hear it here. It's Mr. A D H Mr.

Angela's death highway. And it's that car show. Well, welcome

back to this week's episode of that car show. I'm Lindsay. I'm

here with Ryan and this week we have a guest that I am very

excited about. We have all heard the expression the man, the

myth and the legend. But I think this week's guest is really

the living embodiment of that. We are joined today by the

creative genius behind an Instagram account that showed up

on the scene in the fall. So not all that long ago. And it has

had lots of people talking from the very beginning. It's part

comedy part commentary while reminding us not to take ourselves

or this beloved hobby that we share too seriously. And it's

definitely must watch content at my house. That's right. We

have Mr. Angela's death highway himself here with us today. And

I'm so excited to get to know him, hear more of the story behind

the account and talk all things AI car culture and whatever

else comes up. Welcome Mr. ADHD that car show. Well, hello,

what a fantastic and kind introduction. I'm honored and

flattered. Thank you for having me and thank you for the kind

words. Of course, well deserved. Absolutely. This is

something Ryan and I are really excited to talk to you and get

to know you better for those unfamiliar with the account,

which I would imagine is not too many people in the car world

at this point. But could you share how you describe and

think about your account, which is the Angela's death highway

Instagram account? And how do you describe the account and the

videos that you put out? So, you know, you described it in a

way actually far better than I think I have previously

described it to myself. So, no, thank you. What I would usually

say is that I like to see what I'm doing as a way of my my

attempt of putting a mirror up to the community. And it's kind

of a thing of I noticed that there are times where all of us

take this hobby a little bit too seriously. Yep. And I don't

know about about you guys, but I feel like there is a lack of

sense of humor in our community. It's all about, you know, how we

brand ourselves. And I completely understand that from a

professional point of view. But you know, it becomes a point

where I feel like some of us are a little bit too afraid to

really talk about how we feel or we want to present ourselves as

the old seeing expert at the car meet, for example. And you

know, I there in my opinion, this is like anything you kind of

feel at a car event of like, these guys sometimes are kind of

one up in their expertise on a thing. And it's kind of like

guys like, you know, it's okay to not know something. So this

is kind of like a long, long approach of me saying that we

we do take ourselves seriously. And I noticed it myself. And I

would notice this when I would go up on a Friday morning to

Angelus Christiway. And I'm like, I wonder if these people

would find it funny. I guess they do.

I would say so. Yeah, I think the proof is in the pudding. And

people are clearly enjoying the videos. And I love that your

response to noticing that in yourself was to pull back and

say like, what if we make fun of it? Or what if because really,

you were starting with what if I make fun of myself, because you

saw something that you were like, maybe this isn't the way I

want to experience this hobby or show up in the hobby world. And

I love that that was your response to it. Because you're

right. In theory, we know that none of us know everything. And

we all can learn a lot from each other if we were willing to

admit that we don't know something.

Right. And then this whole thing for me was like, you know, I

tried to go as far as possible in roasting all parts of car

culture. Yeah. And honestly, because it is the thing, right?

If we talk about cars, let's talk about out on any brand, we

look at like any review. The general thing is that, you know,

journalists or anyone who's writing review has to have an

incentive to have a positive thing to say. And I'm guessing

that, you know, hearing people or hearing myself in these

videos, roast certain cars is kind of maybe a perfect for

share. I don't know.

Well, it's a way to do it without, you know, because we, I

mean, we've talked about that on the show of like, you do have

that in the back of your mind, if you get a press loan, you

would like to continue the relationship with that

manufacturer. And so it's finding the balance of being

honest and authentic and sharing a real review with your

listeners or your readers while staying tactful and, you

know, not burning the bridge of the relationship. Right. Right.

That's tricky.

Your commentary is so spot on, you know, and they say satires

generally the toughest form of comedy, right? It takes a real

gift to pull it off like you do. You're obviously an observer,

right? I mean, you've been absorbing for a long, long time.

Because you pick up on all the little nuances and all the little

yeah, all the little things that that make us who we are, I

guess, at what point did you say, you know, I'm done observing

and it's now time to report, right? Like what was the turning

point for you where you just you had to let this out?

There was no official moment where I was like, right, this is

my time to speak. Because honestly, this whole thing was an

accident. Yeah, really? It was an inside joke between some

friends. Okay. And we were thinking, well, how do we just

lightly poke the local community? And it honestly started

off with just like memes that I would make, they would just

video. So so it would be like, you know, somebody crossing the

double yellow because they wanted to get the doughnuts at

Friday morning, for example. And then I just decided one day to

make an AI video and just try and make like a short narrative

of what, you know, the average Friday morning would look like

but kind of do it in the most extreme bizarre way. And there

was no expectations when I posted this. It was just a thing of

like, well, I noticed like a couple of people were locally

noticing these memes, but it was just like 50 to 100 people. And

then I made this video and

and the rest is history.

I guess yeah, it was a thing of people seem to enjoy them. So I

I felt like I had a reason to continue doing it. And it's it's

kind of ended up to where we were at today.

And it's because taken over your life.

Yeah, it's become this, you know, this cultural barometer, right

for us enthusiasts, right? Where it's become a badge of honor to

be, right? You know, that means a lot. Thank you.

It's pretty amazing.

Just get a piggyback on that. One of the things that really

stood out to me in the other interview was when you said people

will message you and say, that's me. And you're going, it

actually is not you. I didn't intend for it to be you. So I

think it's like, it's kind of hitting on that plus like Ryan

said, all the little Easter eggs and nuances. It's giving

people a sense of being a part of something and being involved,

especially if it's an event that you went to, or like if it's an

event that I attended, and then you make a video out of it. And

I'm like, yep, that's true. That's true. That's true. And it

sort of extends the experience of the event. And it makes you, you

know, I'm like, Oh, I'm an insider, which is, I think we

all have a little bit of wanting to be on the inside. And it's

really, I think it's really fun. But yeah, I love that people

are like, they want to be in it so badly, because I think you're

right, Ryan, it is a badge of honor now, that they're seeing

it even when it's not true.

What a group so ripe to be mocked. I'll never forget the

first time that I went up there and I had a guy, God, I don't

want to give too much away. It was a red Honda product. And he

was on my butt the whole way. I was in a rental car. I pulled

off as soon as I got it. Two seconds later, we're up at the

top together and he gets out in the full regalia, you know, the

full gear, you know, no, and it was just like, Oh my God, this

is this is exactly, you know, what I hoped it would be.

Wait, so what is the full gear?

Yeah, the guy was an S 2000, a red S 2000, and the gear was all

red Honda gear. And you know, he puts the wheelchalk under the

the rear wheel after he parks. And I just like, is this real?

Like, it's like, like a character in real life.

So to see this like brought into your world where it's just

like, Oh, my God, it's just waiting to happen, right? I mean,

this cast of characters and, you know, all these people wanting

to be someone into two point not, you know, all afraid to mess

up and say something wrong or mispronounce something. You can

cut the tension, you know, and then you come along, and you

sort of blow the whole thing up and it's brilliant, you know,

it's just, it's

yeah, they're so smart. I think that's what it is. Like, you

know, they're smart, right? Like, satire takes intelligence.

You're an incredibly keen observer. Yeah. Because you're

picking up the little stuff, like I was just looking back

before we recorded. And there's one video, it's in the driver

series, and you show the shell station at the base of

Angeles Crest. There's another one that starts in the target

parking, like the top level of the parking garage, which is

right by the shell. But if you haven't been there, you don't

know that. Right. It's like, you know, I was looking at it, and

I'm like, it's so brilliant. Because who's gonna think like, Oh,

I'm gonna include the big box store that's at the base of that

road that we're here to drive. But if you've been there, it's

such a landmark. Yeah. And you know, the crazy thing about

that is that this technology is getting so good. And, you know,

the more I use it, the more I start to understand it, how I

can, you know, poke it a little more. Yeah. It's getting

freakishly accurate, the places that I can do, and also the

people that I can do. So, you know, it's really cool to, for

me to at least look at the start of the page, I look at the

videos as you describe as the shell that you were still able

to recognize. But these were kind of like by comparison, now

like the bare bones of what exists today. So this whole, this

whole thing that I have is like, you know, it's a little bit of

like a developed formula right now. Yeah, you know, without

sounding too much of an ass. I'm sorry, I don't know if I can

say that. Please. We're hard are here on that. Okay. So, yeah,

without being an asshole, there's a little bit of a

method to my madness these days. And at the start, it was just

kind of making it as I went along. Yeah, that makes sense.

You've sort of streamlined your process, I would imagine. Had

you used AI before this, like either for work or anything? Like

was this your first foray into using it? Yep. I had no previous

experience at all this. So so that's also another kind of

thing about this project was, you know, AI is a threat to most

people in any industry. And this was a way for me to kind of

approach of a if you can't beat them, join them, I think. And I

despite the thing that I create that is AI, I do kind of have

some opposition about myself actually using it. That being

said, this whole thing was a way for me to try and develop a

unique skill set with AI whilst trying to have some kind of

creative framework. If that makes sense. Yeah, what is your

process? You sit down, you've got the script, you know, how do

you leverage this AI witchcraft like you do? Because to your

point, I don't think you could do this without it, right? I

mean, it's just you talk about taking away jobs and stuff.

Here's something that's opening up this new frontier in your

leverage leveraging it so perfectly, like what is your

process?

So at this point, what it is is I usually write a barebone

script. And then I will so so depending on what I'm making,

so for example, if it is a car roast, then I will spend a

little bit of time researching it online and kind of trying to

develop an understanding if I didn't have that understanding

already, and then I'll kind of feed that back into the script.

And then from there, I will essentially write the prompts,

which is describing the actions, the dialogue that you see. And

that is a bit of a trial and error. But that's also good a

little bit of a formula, because I have had to develop my own

style of prompts to, you know, deliver consistent results. So

after that, once all the videos have been generated, I take it

into Adobe Premiere, and then assemble it as if it would be a

regular edit. So if you remove the prompts and the video

generating, and if, you know, everything else is human made.

So it's just the physical visual you see in the dialogue, that

audio, everything else is just me.

So you're doing it, you're not writing the entire script,

you're giving it like a rough framework, and then the AI

generates the actual dialogue. Is that correct?

No, no, no, no, I'm writing about 90% of the dialogue. So yeah,

I will write a rough script, and then kind of, you know, my

workflow is a little bit unique, because I don't lock a script

in, I kind of, I will edit it halfway and kind of see what

works. And then I will go back to writing. Yeah, it's kind of,

it's a nonconventional way, but it's what actually is working

for me right now. So yeah,

it's clearly resonating with everybody else. So I think you've

discovered a good process. You mentioned that the AI sometimes

spits out something completely different in response to a

prompt that you've had success with or used in the past, like

you said, you've asked it for an M3 and it'll give you an S2000

like what do you do in that case?

You have to just kind of keep poking the monster. Yeah. Yeah.

So, and you know, that kind of sucks because, you know, for a

productivity standpoint, you just kind of want to done an over

but not only that, but just saving money and saving energy

resources. Your driver just have like the one thing good to go,

you know,

right? You're like, I know we can use this. Yeah.

Yeah. So it's very unpredictable when these LLMs are

going to go down. You never really know. And sometimes it

just won't give you the result that you want. And it can range

from a few hours to, you know, just 10 minutes. And yeah, it's

kind of a thing of it can take a video that was originally

going to take four hours. It's going to now take me seven hours.

Yeah. So that is not so fun.

I love how you call it the AI.

That's because I'm of a certain age.

Yeah, I'm older than you. So where do you go from here? Because

I feel like you, you know, just when I think you've mined every

subgroup, every trope or whatever, you know, are you just

getting started or I mean, what's, you know, is this just

such a rich environment?

I mean, there's plenty of material.

Do you know, I just kind of get these ideas usually like

randomly, and it's a case of if I have some time to write a

video, I will just do it and run with it. So whatever kind of

hits my head, or if I go to like a car meeting, I feel

inspired, or if I see something on Instagram, such as, you

know, a rally that happens in a snowy environment.

I'm just going to say, oh my god, ends with starts with fat

ends with race.

Something like that. Yeah. So, you know, it's there, there are

different kind of sources for inspiration and to kind of

answer the question of where do I go from here? It's just yeah,

I'm just making this whole thing up as I go along.

We have to come back to the fat ice race or the foe ice

rally as you've got in your reel because what the actual

fuck. I mean, this is ridiculous, you know, direction of

automotive enthusiasm. I just where do you, where do we go

from here after the fat ice race? It's just, you know, we're

drifting 250 GTOs and in furs and it's just like, at what

point do we, does it become a parody of itself, right? You

know, it's yeah, and is that hard to to satirize when it's

already so out there, right? You know, that's a great point.

Like if we look back, I don't know, even three years ago, I

feel like the community would respond to these events very

differently. And you bring up a good argument. And I think,

you know, it makes me question like, how did we get, how did

we get here? Yeah. Yeah. That's, I think that's a question we

all ask ourselves and each other regularly, if not every day.

Um, and yeah, I think it was when the influencers signed up,

right? I mean, that's really when when we jumped the shark.

Yeah. When that exploded. Yeah. I mean, what are your

thoughts on like, I don't know how long you've been in the

car community. I don't know if you've always been a car

person. Um, you know, and so I don't know when you like how

much you've seen. Obviously, we've all seen it change over

the last few years with influencer culture. What are your

thoughts on like car culture? I think we know your thoughts

right now. But what do you think about where it's headed? Do

you think the pendulum is going to swing back the other way?

What are your, what are your thoughts on it? I genuinely

think that it might swing back the other way. Uh, not

exclusively to cars, but I feel like there is such a over

saturation of luxury lifestyle that is embedded into

Instagram now and everyone's a fucking millionaire. Everyone's

got a GT free RS and you know, you go on Instagram and you

think, why don't I have these things? It must be so easy to

acquire and there is this, this false narrative of usually,

you know, it is easy to see to acquire these things and the

reason we think that is because we see so much of it, right?

Right. And the point that I'm getting out here is that when

all the good stuff just becomes meh, the the stuff that we

maybe start to take for granted, the not so glossy stuff,

maybe I'm hopeful will become enjoyable again. Yeah. Yeah.

Right. We'll go back to the sort of pure days of true

enthusiasm and focus on driving that kind of stuff. I don't

think it's ever going to get to like real true like levels of

enthusiasm, but I feel like maybe there will be a little bit of

like a branch off between the car community itself versus

these influencers who let's be honest, they're just trying to

force themselves in. Yeah. Right. I have no problem with the

so-called influencer if they're, you know, doing something

for the real love of it and you can sense that if there's, you

know, I understand that these people who are creating content,

they have to make money somehow. Of course, we all do, but

there's a difference between doing it and providing value

versus just being a grifter and a lot of these people I feel

are. Yeah. And I think maybe that's why a few people

resonate with my videos is because, you know, it just

seems as if there is this seamless transition almost

overnight. Obviously, it wasn't overnight, but just in a

blink of an eye, we have a community that in my opinion

seems far different to how it has ever been. Yeah. Yeah. I

mean, I think we can all agree on that. It's definitely

changed. So you, like if you had to guess, you think people

are going to move away, it'll sort of branch off and people

are going to move away from like jelly beans and, you know,

whistling diesel like destroying cars for clicks. I

genuinely think and hope that people are going to eventually

see through the bullshit. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean,

that would be delightful. To that point of all the groups

you've parodied and this and that, who's the most based

group on the crest? Oh, man. Oh, Brian's trying to start a

fight. I genuinely feel like we are all degenerates in our

own way. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Biggest. I love it. Oh, yeah. I

love that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I guess we have to make

fun of ourselves, right? Yeah. Yeah. And why is it a PTSD

three? So, so that is the worst person definitively. You

heard it here first. And yeah, no, I don't think he's the

worst, actually. I feel like like there is worse people out

there. I'm trying to think. Yeah, who are the ones like

there's so many? Where do I start? Well, that's the

journalist. Is it the mmm? Because there's so much gatekeeping,

right? Anymore that goes along with the journalist set, right?

We've talked about this before. The thing that I don't like

up there is that it feels like there's almost like a social

hierarchy. In my opinion. Yeah, that's been your experience

when you've been up there. It's not been my experience per se.

It's a vibe that I feel exists. And I feel like other people

could see that. Yeah, I could see that for sure. Yeah, there's

sort of rungs. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You know, you're sometimes

you respect maybe defined based on the car you drive. And

that that is, you know, that kind of is applicable to any

instance in the car called just sadly. But if you're a real car

infusers, you know that it's bullshit. Yeah. So yeah, is there

has there ever been a more over leveraged group than the

people that show up? So maybe that maybe that's maybe that's

the worst person in H is the is the self proclaimed expert.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And then maybe you could say, well,

Angeles, if I wait, is that you because you talk a big game

and I'll just say I'll tell you something. I'm a moron. I don't

know a whole lot of stuff. I'm just here to make people laugh.

So hey, you're excelling at that. I would say you're an expert

at that for sure. Thank you. Can we talk about a couple of

the specific videos that came in one? Yeah. I gotta say that hit.

Yeah. I hit that car show particularly hard. All three of

us. Yeah. What was the phrase he used mid engine, mid life,

mid mid everything. Yeah. Yeah. I was like, wait, can we get

that on a license plate for the GT4? Yeah, for my 13 year old

daughter. Appreciate it. That one. Yeah, that was cool for a

minute and a second. God, what was it? The infinity G 35

one. That just, you know, that was so good. The one with the

influencers, the women influencers too, which was the

only fan. I mean, we go on and on and on. What are some of your

personal hits? What are the ones that really, you know, you

put in your portfolio? You know, honestly, I think the

latest one that I did a bit of the full israeli. It's really

so here's one we can talk about because Lindsay, you asked me

about my whole workflow and my structure of like writing the

script. Yeah. When it comes to an event like that, my script

is a little bit more like free balling because it's I wasn't

at the event. So I kind of have to make my snap judgments

based on what I'm seeing online. So right in an instance like

this video, I will just this was a very spontaneous video. It

was just, oh, I saw this thing going on online. So it was late

at night. I just got on a flight. I was on my notes app on

my phone just writing my thoughts about this thing. And

then I slept on it. I woke up the next day and then I just

added a little bit craziness to it. I think the crazy part is

that it was accurate. Like as far as what we could see online.

I don't know if you saw the reel that auto kennel made of it,

but I feel like yours and his were very similar.

But yours is obviously satire and his was made there.

His was like the real life version of yours. You know, I

don't think that I saw it. I'll send it to you because it was

it was while I saw yours first and then I watched his and I'm

like, this feels like a like these could be two parts of the

same thing. Amazing. I mean, the the number of fur coats I

I'm like, man, I'm immediately underdressed. Yeah. Yeah.

And that kind of goes back to our thing of like, when have we

ever seen a fur coat in a car bed?

Right. And there that is that's gonna be a thing now.

Right. Yeah. But I mean, and that's that's an instance of

your sort of discernment of like, these two things do not go

together. No. What are we doing? When did this happen?

You know, we've often talked about like cars are sort of the

common language and we still do this like it brings everyone

together. But I do think there's been this sort of this push to

tribalism right in the last few years. You know, what do you

think is fueling that? Is it is it just sort of a microcosm of

the larger goings out in the world or when did we we sort of

start going in so many different directions and

that is a great question. I feel like brands generally have

always had their kind of distinct kind of groups that's kind

of based on how they sell you these cars anyway because you

know, that's why they have marked in teams to determine the

demographics of, you know, the clientele. Right. So there's

always been that, especially with the more specialist groups,

especially Ferrari, Porsche, but yeah, there has been a

more emphasis, I think on that kind of like tribe like

mentality, particularly between Porsche owners. You notice it

with, you know, the air cooled Porsche owner and then the

non air cooled Porsche owner. There is, you know, it's interesting

because usually you would have it where, you know, you like a

certain brand, you can get along with someone, but then there

are there is a subculture of owners on both sides and I'm

not saying this is everyone, not at all, but right. These people

do exist and it's like they hate each other, but they're

liking the same brand. Yeah. And I feel like social media

genuinely has something to do with it. But before that, I

feel like maybe the forums may be added to that.

Like that might have been the start of it. Yeah, sure. Right.

Right. But as I say, it's always been a thing since the

beginning of, well, not the beginning of car sales, but as

we have evolved with cars, you know, with, you know, any kind

of advertisements that you see growing up, you know, there's

the reason we have posted cars as kids. It's kind of we aspire

to be a part of a tribe. So we always had that, but we now have

these tools to be so involved in the tribe, even if we don't

necessarily own the vehicle. Yeah, yeah, that's true. It's

yeah, I mean, it's it's possible to really have it be a complete

lifestyle where before it was something you liked, but there

weren't the the plethora of events. And like you said,

channels, I mean, social media didn't exist. It's definitely

changed. But you know, we've talked about that too. You know,

it's like it's does start in childhood. Like what cars did

you have in your wall? Were you a car and driver reader or were

you a part of the road track camp, right? So yeah, I think

you I think you're spot on there for sure. You know, you

mentioned, you know, everyone needs to make money. Have you

been able to monetize this? Are you coming out with a merch?

Like where were you headed with this? I have not made a

single dollar from this. I can tell you it's like having a

podcast. So you guys kind of understand me just on that

alone. At this point, a video cost me on average like $100

to make. Okay. And you know, there it is. This is not a

method for me to try and make money. It's just to have fun

and ride this wave. But a few people do want merch and I have

teased the idea of bringing merch out. I did that just after

Thanksgiving last year. Okay, so to answer the question I

have prototype merchandise in the works. Fantastic. But and

it has been a thing that has been in the back of my mind

for some time, but I felt like we're nearly at the moment

where it's ready in terms of community and in terms of

giving a product that I'm going to be proud of to give people

because this is these are going to be things that are not

going to be sloppy, you know, just a printed logo. It's

going to be something that I want people to proudly wear at

a car event as an outfit piece, you know, something that is

going to look good on all types of people. Yeah. And that's not

a small that's not a small order. Like that's tricky to find

especially if you want it to be quality. So we all we all

appreciate it and we will be buying them immediately.

Well, I appreciate that. Thank you. Yeah, I can see a whole

line of action figures based on some of the characters that

you've developed, right? I mean, it's, you know, like Funko

Pops or something, right? I mean, I think it's a limit here,

you know, well, obviously, the first one would be, is it

Levy? Is that how you? He's the best. He has a small little

following in, you know, my small community. Right. Yeah, I

loved that he was in the fat ice race. And I'm like, okay,

you like this guy is the character that you've created,

but also I feel like we've run across him in real life.

I just want to hang out with him. Oh, well, you'd have to do

one of the, I call him OC John in my head with the turbo ass

who says he's professionally doing nothing.

I love that guy. There is a plan to bring more characters

that are going to be recurring in the Angeles Deaf Highway

universe. It's it's trying to find ways to compliment the

videos without kind of just having them in for no reason.

And it's also a thing of, you know, I have to look at this

in the way of most people who watch my videos are called

audience members. They've never watched a video before.

So they have to see the character and immediately

understand him. And that was kind of my goal with Levy.

I would say you accomplished it. Well, thank you.

Yeah, we've all met him for sure. Is there a group that

I don't know. You just you just not going to touch?

Nope. Okay. Nobody is off limits.

I love it. I love it.

Cyclists. Oh boy.

Dun dun dun. Free feet, man.

We're about to open a can of worms up here.

Let's let's get it because because so I'm in Colorado

and I think the cyclists may even be more rabid here

than than in California. Probably hard to believe.

The quote from your reel. I've never met a single cyclist

that's actually normal. What's what is going on?

What is what I feel like things are getting worse.

I feel like things are getting worse.

How do we solve this? Why do we hate each other so much?

Well, you know, in my cyclist video, I started it off with

I'm a cyclist and I'm unemployed. So with all respect,

I feel like if they were searching for a job,

they would have a little bit less to be angry about

because they don't have time to be angry at us.

That's true. And they would probably be less on the road.

Yeah, idle hands and all that.

Well, and I love the idea that, you know, nobody's off limits

because it also means like it's not personal.

You're not out. It is never personal. No.

No. And I love that. I mean, have you ever,

obviously the videos have generated strong opinions, good and bad.

Have you ever had anybody try to tell you that you couldn't use their likeness?

You know, I have been very lucky in the fact that,

despite a few people disagreeing originally with what I was doing,

I've never had anyone outright say that I can't use their likeness,

which is truly interesting. So they can disagree with the message,

but just to pivot on that point, I think also as well, that

some of the people who don't or didn't like the video is at the start,

I think have started to maybe come around to see,

just going back to what you said about, you know,

everyone, you know, kind of being thrown out of the buzz.

I think people are starting to realize that as well now.

So there has been times where people disagree. Yeah.

Yeah. So people initially disagree.

They see themselves and like, oh my God, this guy is just being an asshole.

And then they see that, oh, my body got roasted as well.

And then maybe that kind of unites them.

And then they realize, oh, we can learn to love this guy together with hate.

Right. Yeah. Bringing people together through their mutual frustration.

Right. Well, it's been interesting for me because

there's people where, you know, obviously some of the people are incredibly recognizable.

And it has made me kind of up my game in terms of like being aware of the

workings of the car world and who the people are of the moment.

Because there's been several where I'm like, okay,

that's definitely a real person, but I don't know who they are.

So I got to get on this. So it's been an education tool.

Me too. Me too. This has taught me a lot of actually things that I even

previously did not know about the car world.

Well, you know, as I say, I'm researching certain things about certain vehicles.

And maybe I have learned now a reliability issue with our certain car,

which I may have not known.

And just, just these small little nuances that keep me a little bit sharper at the car meet,

you know, as I try and let everyone know just how much I know about stuff.

I was going to say, you're the one guy that really does know everything now.

Add on to Lindsay's comment about your Sonos and this and that.

Feedback must come through Instagram.

Everything comes through Instagram.

Okay. All right. So what are some of the messages?

What, what are you hearing?

Honestly, most of it is positive.

Okay. I have, I have some people who will publicly leave a comment,

and then they will get in my DMs and be like, Hey, what's up?

And I'm like, not much, just enjoying my breakfast burrito.

And this was a, this was a comment that a lot of people know about, about a specific person.

So they just came into my, yeah, it won't take a lot of thought process to think about

which comment it was. So yeah, they DM me and they're like, what's up?

And I'm like, dude, I'm just eating my breakfast burrito.

And then that was it. So yeah, you know, I, I haven't had anyone really like

say that much bad. If anything, I, I've started to get a few people who are not

in the car seat who maybe just own the car and they just go to work and they like,

they don't get it. And they're like, you're a fucking piece of shit. But you know what, I get that.

Well, if you, it's a good, you know, I think like back to your original point of like,

it's really easy to take all of this very seriously. And we've talked about, you know,

Ryan's been in Southern California enough to know an experience like we're so lucky in Southern

California with all the cars that are just in our daily lives that most people never see.

And I think it's really easy to forget that not everybody knows all of the nuances of the car

culture or like sees these things on a daily basis. And so it's a good reminder of like,

no, this isn't real life for everyone. And again, I think the fact that you've, you know,

the feedback that you get is positive. It's just testament to your skill set here, right?

And walking that line without giving, you know, anything way about you, do you have a background

in comedy or anything? Or is this just a gift from God? Like what?

I am a film school dropout. Okay. But this was many years ago. There was many years ago.

So just to go back to, do I have a comedy background? No.

I have a product. Thank you. Thank you.

I guess. So no, there was never this thing for me to have a desire to be funny.

This is a very new thing to me that I'm still kind of trying to learn.

Um, but we're writing no, no real background in the film school that I dropped out from my

writing teacher said never write anything. So I never did, but I have a production

background. I have a production background. You do. Okay. I do. Yes. And I'm not going to

go into specifics behind that, but I am not a writer. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay.

And again, again, without getting into too much of who you are, what are you into

car wise? Like what does it for you to have to say what you drive, but what?

Pacifica. Yeah. Okay. So I've heard about this. I wanted to talk about that. Okay. So tell us

everything about the Pacifica. If I need to get a rental car for it ever reason,

it has to be a Pacifica. Why? Yes, because you can be on the freeway. You can do whatever you

want at a Pacifica. Nobody is going to look at you. You don't need a radar detector. You don't

need nothing. You just need a Pacifica. It's basically a stealth cloaking device.

Exactly. So when did this like, was this something you discovered by accident? Were

you always drawn to them? Like, how did this evolve? This is a completely new obsession.

And it's the only actually I say I've written like, you know, nothing and nobody's safe.

Right. Pacifica is safe. Interesting. So it is a, it is a recent obsession. I had no previous

love affair for Pacifica, but man, I took one to Joshua Tree nuts a long ago and

we had an enjoyment that no other vehicle gave me. So I am now a fan for life.

Well, sometimes the most ordinary is the most sublime, right? And we had a little

spot about the Pacifica recently. Didn't we on the show? And Lindsay, I was in, I was driving

from Colorado to see family in Wisconsin for the holidays. And before me, and one in either lane

was what were Pacifica's? And there was a family on the right and on the left sitting in the passing

lane was an Iowa Department of Corrections transportation vehicle, the same vehicle,

you know, and I said this big family on the right and on the left, you know,

men in chains or whatever. And both worked, right? Like, and they didn't acknowledge each other.

Like there was no Pacifica wave or anything like that. But you know, point is they're

everywhere, right? Like they're everywhere, but they're nowhere, right? You know, and it's just,

I guess that's the sign of a good car. Does your affection extend to other Stalantis products?

Or is it just, just the Pacifica? Just the Pacifica. That's my thing. Okay. You see me

in a rental car counter, I'm begging for the Pacifica. You're like, they're like, sir, we just

gave the last one to that family. And then just picture you chasing them down the fuckway.

I know I leave and I go to the different branch. Even if I'm at the airport,

I will get in an Uber and I'll hopefully it's a Uber Pacifica. So I can get Pacifica squared,

you know, very meta. Yeah, commitment is commendable. You a car guy growing up? Oh, yeah. Yeah, I really

was. Yeah. What was around you? So that's the thing they weren't around me. I think most kids,

you know, growing up who are really in a car's experiences, so they may have had like toy cars.

And I had all different figures and, you know, I never put two and two together. But

in when I was five, six years old with these cars, I would

it's hilarious to say it loud right now, but I would create scenarios and lives for the people

which own these cars. And I'm having this like realization right now that it was it wasn't like

it wasn't as chaotic and as built up as Angela Steph highway, nothing like that. But it was a

thing of like, I would have a family who would, you know, they would have this car and that car

and the kid would have this car. And then just stupid thing that kids do when they daydream

these types of things. And I suppose there may be a connection there. I don't know. Yeah. The thread

was there the whole time. Yeah. No, I love that. I love that about me right now, too. That's amazing.

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.

But the your instinct was to tell stories or create stories around cars. And now you're

just doing that on a bigger stage. Well, yeah, maybe maybe I was planning a seed that I didn't

know I was planning as a kid. That's amazing. I love that. So what has surprised you the most about

the response to the videos like good or bad? I mean, it kind of amazes me that people

tune in to watch these. Honestly, I make these videos and I don't usually find the

tumor in my videos until a week after I made them. So I never really know what is going to hit and

what isn't going to hit. This is kind of like a thing of I post a video and I don't have any

expectations. I think, well, this could be a good one or this could be a bad one. Yeah. And

I just kind of go with the flow of it. Yeah, I love that. You're like, I'm just going to leave

this here. We'll see what happens. The feedback is really cool. It's just kind of a thing of I think

most people who make something don't really understand what people get connected to it.

Why why people get connected to the thing they make. Right. And obviously, I'm connected to it

for a different people, different reasons than everyone else. So it's kind of for me trying to

figure that figure out what that is to, you know, give the people what they want.

And I'm learning that every day. Well, and you're right, we all bring our own set of experiences

and perspectives to the video. So everybody's probably finding different things from it. And

that's different from your connection to it. But that's so are you saying you actually don't

think that they're funny when you put them out? Or you're not sure which parts?

And then that's kind of that's kind of the thing like one of the things where when I first started

this, the first quote, I think, which resonated with people was what the fuck is a button willow.

Well, that whole thing to me is like, I don't get why people find that funny.

I think it's because the grammar is bad. It catches your attention because you're like,

well, that's not like, and if you know, it's a race track, you're like, you wouldn't talk about

it that way. And so it catches your attention. And it's a funny way of, of satirizing again,

this like, okay. But, but not only that, Lindsay, but you could show up at Andrews Crest and just

with some make made up word, you know, like, I don't know, you know, along those lines of

Aspenwood or something, and no one's going to say they don't know, right? No one's gonna say they

don't know, which is really true. Yeah, like, Oh, yeah, I had my PB there. You're like, myself

included. I'm not going to be the one, you know, to try uncle, you know, it's just

somebody should do an experiment where they go to any car meet.

Right. Or not only a track, but they, they make up an engine, they make up all these things. And

then they, they see who will eventually call the bluff and how long will it take? That would be a

real interesting experiment, I think. I think that's something that somebody needs to do with you

nearby listening to as it unfolds, because that's a video. Yeah, I would love to do that. And it might

in like, for the most part, write itself. Oh, definitely. But most of these videos do write

themselves, especially if it's an experience or like an event. Right, right, right. So this is

the first time we've had someone with a voice disguise or someone who's, you know, not being

shown here. What's this, what's this like living with this, this alter ego, this, this secret identity?

Oh, I mean, I just kind of pull back the curtain. I don't think I ever will pull back the curtain

because I feel like part of the, the fun is that people don't know who I am. Yeah. And for me, it's

like, I don't want to go to a car meet and have someone associate me with the page because

it might, you know, it might reduce the quality of the video that I make it. That makes sense.

Right. It would change how they interact with you. I don't know a little bit. I mean, my page is

still very small, but it does have a small community. And I'm a very private person outside of,

okay, you know, this whole thing. So, so, so, and as I say, this whole thing was an

accident. So I, I didn't start and think that I was going to get a few followers.

Yeah. So it's, it's kind of, for me, the whole thing is Angela Steph Highway is a

brand that survives on its own. It's not necessarily a person. There is a person who is,

you know, behind this madness, but it's, I am not Angela Steph Highway.

Okay. There's more to you than this. Yeah. Yeah.

So you mentioned, like, it might change how people interact with you or their experience

of you. Has making the videos changed how you experience car events or car culture or going

for a drive? Do you just, has it changed how you're experiencing them?

A little bit. Yeah. So, obviously, when I'm going up to Angela's Chris Highway,

I get out and I'm always thinking like, oh, that sounds like something that someone would say

in my videos. Obviously, I, I didn't have that beforehand. And it's really cool to be able to

say that. Yeah. But I'm still enjoying it just as much as I did. I try and disconnect from

this persona when I go to the event, just so I can see things what they are. I think if I

try and force my judgment of a thing in an event, it's just maybe not going to be as

authentic as I would like it to be, you know? Yeah, that makes sense. And honestly, that's

the thing. Like I'm not going up to Angela's Chris Highway and thinking, oh my God, like,

that car sucks, that car sucks, that car sucks. Actually, I'm going, that's a pretty fucking cool

car. Yeah. There may be a few thoughts in my head that I'm roasting, but like not the whole thing.

Yeah. Right. You're not just there like, okay, gotta log that. I gotta log that. Yeah.

Yeah. I have to think that this is sort of the start of something bigger. And I know that

people have approached, I think Matt Farah was interested in, and right, animating some of these

or whatever. But I keep thinking of like the Simpsons, right? That was, these were like little

segments and I think the Tracy Ulman show back in the day, right? And they were sort of, you know,

amateurish and everything. And it evolved into this, this huge, you know, cultural.

The empire that it is. Would you ever consider taking, like, if someone were to approach you

and say, we'll turn this into a, you know, a regular thing, you know, a 30 minute, you know,

segments or something. I mean, is that something you'd ever do with this?

I mean, obviously, I think I would be stupid to say no. Sure. You know, it's, for me, it's,

despite not really wanting the recognition for it, it is really cool to see it as a standalone

thing grow and anything to provide more content to people that they would specifically enjoy.

And that's, that's the thing I want to emphasize here is if I was to ever

do anything beyond the scope of what I'm doing now, it has to provide the community with something

genuine because the whole message that I'm trying to, you know, bring out is that it's,

not that serious. It's, this is just a whole fun thing. And if it ever tries, if it ever seems

to be too try hard, I feel like that's when you start to lose the people, you know. So

everything that I do, I want to try and make sure that I do it in the way that it's going to benefit

everyone. Yeah. I love that. Well, and I think, you know, you've mentioned a couple of times,

like you didn't go into this thinking, this is going to be my big payday. This is going to be my,

you know, GT3 RS. And I think that is where some of the best art and content and, you know, writing,

that's where some of the best stuff comes from is you're doing it because you enjoy it.

And it's the authenticity, like you mentioned, that's the heart of it. And I think that's what

people respond to. And I think that's really, I think that's very cool. I appreciate that. Yeah,

you know, for me, this is just a hobby, you know, there, there could be some people who don't

understand the true scope of it. And they'll think, well, the fuck, this guy is just wasting his time,

just rolling people online. And like, that's, there's one way to see it, but it's not the way

that I see it. I am having fun writing these things. And if people are enjoying it too,

then it makes sense for me to put two or three hours, you know, away every night,

just to make something like any hobby. So you're bringing joy to the people. It's escapist,

right? I mean, it's just, it's something I know so many people look forward to every release,

right? That you do. They mean a lot to a lot of people, right? That is really cool to hear. Thank

you. Yeah, it's a big day. Like, I know, you know, at my house, I've said it's must watch content.

Like, if Tori finds it before I do, there's a good chance he's running into whatever room I'm in.

There's a new one. Yeah. Or some content creators that you like, like who's out there,

journalists or, you know, Instagram folks, like who's doing a good job in your eyes?

You know, I, I make fun of this dude a lot. Lover hid the guy, Matt Farah, you can,

let's talk about his consistency in terms of podcasts. Yeah. He's been doing this for a long

damn time. So I have to give my respect there. There is no specific person that I really watch.

I kind of just at this point with the page, I have to like watch everyone, but that means that I

can't really like devote time to one person. I have to kind of divide my attention to this page

and that page to understand what's going on. And a few people do send me

like videos of what's going on, which helps. Yeah. But I still have to do a little bit of

research for at the week. Yeah. That makes sense. So do people send you, they'll send you videos,

do they send you ideas of like, Hey, you should satirize this or yeah, sometimes. Yeah. I believe

the fat israeli video, I think I already had the idea, but a couple of people did reach out about

that. That's amazing. They're like, this is tailor made for Angela's death. You mentioned Matt and,

you know, he's been doing this for how long, two episodes a week plus the YouTube plus everything

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

and, you know, and, and worth listening to and, and all that. And yeah, the, the, the, the Patreon

name, get a picture of your line that she is, but it was so perfect. So perfect.

Something about the Patreon usernames, our Patreon usernames are so good or something like that.

I suppose after you've been doing it for as long as he has, it's like, hey, it's the little things,

right? You know, he's always a nice guy. When you, when you talk to him, I mean, you know,

he's always got a smile on his face, willing to give you five minutes and stuff. And so, yeah, I

give, I think, I think he gets a lot of static, a lot of grief, but, you know, he's, he's a pro,

right? And, and, you know, give him a lot of credit as well. He's a good, yeah. I mean, he's a good

example of like what you can achieve if you stay consistent. He's a good motivator. I mean, he's

always been a good friend to me. And so I wanted to ask you because in the Willow Springs Reimagined

video, you absolutely nailed his jacket, which was like, and again, that was one of those things

where like, if you were there and then you watched the video, you're like, I know exactly what that

is. And that was just like one of those little details. It was so funny. So how hard is it to get

accurate representations of the people that you'll be roasting so that they're like easily

recognizable? Like, you know, Matt's got like the kooky sweaters and the hot dog shift knobs.

So at the point of making that video, it was way more of a challenge to get things right.

To the point now where the, the conference call that we're on right now, I could

take a screenshot of Ryan's face right now, use it as a reference. And it would look very,

very similar to how he looks right now. But, but then I have to build the world around it,

the prompt. So that is, that is one of the new ways that you can do it. And it,

it takes longer to generate the result, but it just means that it's going to look way better.

Like it's more spot on. Right. But, but prior to where we are at now, when I was making the

Willow Springs video, it was just using my words to try and get the right representation.

Take that writing teacher in film school. Do you solicit ideas?

I do not actively solicit them, but I'm always open to hearing ideas. I think, you know,

not exclusive to what I do, but for any industry that involves like ideas, I think

just hearing what other people have is just so important. And it doesn't even have to be the

idea that they give you. It can be the bad idea inspires you to then have a new idea

that you're actually going to use. So I'm always, I'm always listening to ideas.

I love that. Well, I have to say, so the driver series, I don't know if you are old enough to

remember this, but BMW put out, it was a series of marketing videos, but it was a collection

called BMW Films and Clive Owen played a character called the driver. So when you first put out the

video, that was immediately what I thought of. And I don't know if you've seen those.

I have seen those many, many years ago, but that was not actually the thing that I was going for,

but it's cool to hear you say that. It was funny. I went, Oh my gosh,

like I hadn't thought about the BMW Films in a long time either. So that was a fun,

like reminisce. And then we had your amazing videos.

Yeah, something else I think that's really great about what you do is it's, you know,

generally specific to Southern California and Angeles, Crest and all that, but it's,

you know, it's, it's, it's certainly not limited, right? The themes, I think are universal, right?

I mean, you know, I know a guy just like, you know, that guy in Colorado or this or this or that,

but I think at the same time, this could only happen in Southern California, right? I mean,

it's this absolutely perfect storm, right? And, and, you know, it's, but I think

the SoCal scene is incredibly different to any other car scene, not just in the country,

but around the world. And yeah, you go around the world and like take Japan, for example,

they have a completely different community than anyone else, but just, just speaking specifically

for SoCal and this local community that I am a part of, I think there is a big connection

with Los Angeles being the culprit for why we have some of these extremities in

places like Angeles Crest Highway. You know, there is a huge melting pot already of

people, a lot of these people trying to be in the entertainment industry in LA and

a lot of these people are trying to be actors and, you know, some of those people just so

happen to be in two cars and they're kind of wacky, different kind of unique people.

And I suppose that is the beauty of the scene though, that I've, I love and hate.

Right, exactly. We love it. We hate it. We love to hate it.

Yeah. I mean, it's, it's everything good. It's everything bad. It's a place, you know,

people like us who don't live, you know, in LA, we need to come and make a pilgrimage now. And

again, it's why the Peterson Museum is there. I mean, it really is the living, beating heart of,

of the enthusiast world, you know. What's, what are you working on next without spilling any,

you know, spilling too much? What, who's, who's in your crosshairs?

Who's in the crosshairs? Yeah.

So, so this is actually someone who isn't really in the car culture. This is, I mean,

they may be, but they're probably not going to be respected very much. They, how do I say this

without giving it away? This, this is going to be someone who is your everyday person who

you may roast if you're specifically not in the car community.

I'm so intrigued and now I can't wait.

So, so this is a, this is a video concept that I've, I've never done anything like this before.

So I, I'm still working on it and it should be out in a few days, but

that's exciting. I hope you guys enjoy it. Absolutely.

I have a feeling we will. And I wanted to ask you about the Shelby video,

which is one of the most recent ones. Oh yes.

So I grew up in a Shelby family. So that one really caught my attention. And I was curious

if that was like, was that based on experience? Was it just like this is one topic I haven't

hit before? Like, how did you come up with that one? So the only real experience that I have

mustangs are from rental places. And, uh, you know, every Mustang that I've had from a rental

place has always been kind of like gross, specifically like the, the one particular,

like the grossest Mustang that I had was a, this was last year. I read EcoBoost Mustang

and, uh, it was in Hawaii. And despite being a new car, that, that curse, it

smelled so bad. And it had like 6,000 miles on it. So they had to work to get that smell in there.

Oh yeah. Oh yeah. This, this, this car scene, families, it saw devastation. It's, it saw

I did not want to think about, you know, everyone I've, everyone I've ever rented

smells like X body spray. And that is a smell that has a half life on like anything else that

you can apply to your body. Uh, it just won't, won't die. There's something about, something

about those things. Yeah. It's, uh, yeah. And I guess that's why you could put the top down.

You know, the thing about, I don't know if you guys have ever had this, but the worst thing is

when you go into a rental car and you can smell the cigarette residue. Oh yeah. And then as you

smell it, you look down and there is a no smoking sticker on the dashboard. That's a weird experience.

Yeah. You're like, the sticker is not going to work here. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

But then they're going to run it through the scanner now when you return it, right? And,

you know, check for, you know, molecules or whatever they, that's, that's something that's

ripe, I think for the rental car experience, but that is a good one. The first car scanner.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Oh wow. Well, I don't want to take too much of your time now. We'd love

to have you come back and join us in the future. But I wanted to end on a positive note. What is

your favorite part of car culture these days? It's tough. Let me have a think about this.

I know. It's like we said, we love it. We hate it. Okay. So, so what I will say, and this is a

really boring answer, but I'm, I'm, I'm happy that the, I have my own reservations about the

current track community, but I'm happy that the fundamentals of the car, the, the track

community exists. And what I mean by that is it is about being the best version of yourself

when you're on the track. And you know, I can complain and be like, there are a lot of people

who go to the track and they, they take a little too seriously. But ultimately you have to respect

that a guy who goes to the track to get better at something. So, so the fact that that whole

philosophy is still there and you know, I've noticed like influencers have started to

flood this track scene, which, you know, it's, it's okay if you, if you are, you know, about the

track life. But that's kind of the whole thing. I think, I think the consensus of

the SoCal real track community will always be about just, you know, it's about your fastest

lap time and nobody else really cares about your lap time other than you. So I like that.

Yeah. Well, I mean, it reminds me of something again that you said in the other interview

about, you were talking about what you wish was appreciated more or kind of was more

celebrated in the car community right now. And that's like the skill or enthusiasm.

And, you know, being able to do an incredibly fast lap at Big Willow, that is a skill and

that you'd like to see that being appreciated rather than the focus on like clicks and likes. And

I love that perspective. And we didn't even touch on, you know, you're like track driving,

I want to get into that. So we'll have to have you come back. But what's your favorite race track

if that's not too revealing, identity-wise? Or second favorite?

So in the last podcast I did, I said button willow and it was kind of like not really serious

answer. I got that sense. That's why I thought I would re-ask. Sorry, what's a button willow?

Nice callback. That's a good question. I don't know.

We still don't know. The best memory I ever had on the track was when I did some laps of spa.

That is a phenomenal track. I'm very privileged to look to say that I had to do that one time. So

I'm going to go with spa. Well, you win. That's the perfect answer. Thank you.

That's incredible. Well, we really, truly appreciate you joining us. I know

everybody's busy. We appreciate you making the time and sharing everything that you have with us.

It's been really fun. Obviously, I think we could probably keep talking for another couple

hours, but we won't do that to you this time. Remind the people where they can find you on

social media. You can find me at AngelusDefhighway on Instagram. I have a TikTok, but I am not really

as active on there. I will post some of the videos on there sometimes, but my main gig

as far as videos go is AngelusDefhighway. Perfect. Well, a huge thank you to you for joining us

and to our audience for joining us for this week's episode. We've really enjoyed bringing you this

conversation and we appreciate you being here. If you're enjoying the show, we would love it if

you like, subscribe and tell your enthusiast friends. We're at that car show. We'll see you

back here next week. Until then, remember, always be driving. Thank you so much, guys.

Angeles Death Highway

Honda S2000

BMW M3

Ferrari 250 GTO

Chrysler Pacifica

Ford Mustang

About this episode

Original notes