What’s Next for Adam LZ? Scotto Finds Out!

Hey, what's up everybody? Welcome back to yet another episode of Very Vehicular brought to you by Vyper Industrial. As always, I'm your host, Brian Scotto. Today is a fun one. We have on none other than Adam LZ.

We talk about everything from how drifting went from a hobby to a professional career. We talk about YouTube, the pros, the cons, the painful parts. We talk about growing businesses, what it's like to be a leader in those roles And what's next for him and his tenure plans and how the word retirement is in those plans, which is crazy when you think about how young he is.

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Mr. Adam L Z, welcome to my garage. Thanks for having me. Thanks for driving the Mercialago here. It was pretty cool to see that. Wasn't too bad. It's one of the cool things about doing the podcast from my house is just watching people drip bring really cool stuff to the house.

You know, I've had like a Testerosa, Mickey brought his stasia, his Autec the other day last week or whatever. It's just nice to have cool stuff here. So Anyway, how you been? Good. We just uh finished Media Day at Long Beach, so coming off of that.

Yeah, how'd you how was that? It was good. Did you enjoy Media Day? I think it's you know, if you get an opportunity for extra practice before a race, you'd be dumb not to take it. So you see it that way.

Like for you it's like whoever you're like, I don't care who's in the car, I just want to be out there driving. Yeah, I mean I don't know. We don't get to talk to whoever gets in the car. And you and I remember that like back in the day, they just kind of like they're in line.

They just put you in. Yeah, hey Fuckle up, let's go. Yep. And then we sit in the car and it's too loud to hear and you're just like trying to say something to you like, alright All right, I I wanna start by telling a story.

Um and then we'll kinda go back from there. So I wanna say you were like nineteen or twenty years old. You came out here for something we did at Hoonigan, and at the time I said, hey, let's uh Let's go grab breakfast in the morning.

I just wanna kinda chat with you about, you know, stuff and everything that's going on. And we sat, we had breakfast at like some cafe uh near LAX. Do you recall this? Yeah, no, I do remember. And I remember like you we we chatted for a bit, we spoke for like forty five minutes to an hour.

We left and you left. You went to the airport and I was on my way back. And I wanna say maybe it was Vinny or someone else called me, I had like another call and was like, oh I just had breakfast with Adam.

And like, oh yeah, what we're talking about? I was like, you know, I was like, I gotta say, I was like, that kid's pretty fucking smart for his age. I was like, I think he's gonna probably do some pretty cool stuff.

And I'm I'm I'm I have a feeling 'cause I think at the time I was like, hey, I've got this idea, it'd be cool to have you involved in it and then I feel like later on, you know, like kind of like watching you grow and do all of that, um, I realized like you had like you had your own path.

Like you were doing your own thing and For you, I want to kind of go back to that now because it's like I I can't help but look back at those moments that was like felt really early YouTube for all of us, right?

So it's like You were doing your thing from BMX. Like TJ Hunt was doing his thing from like the scooter side. And then like you guys both got into cars. We were there, like we had come in, you guys were already doing your thing for a while.

We were doing the car thing. We saw it obviously as like, hey, let's just try to bring as many people on. I always refer to like early daily transmission as like Jay Leno for s for like dirtbags, right?

Was like the show was like, come on, do some stuff. But like it feels so different now. Like it has been almost ten years from that moment. Right. How old are you now? Well first off, I appreciate it.

Thank you for the the kind words. Yeah, no, no, I was like, I spend a lot of time dealing with a lot of people. And it's like there's sometimes you meet people and you walk away and you're like Yeah, a kid's probably gonna do okay for himself.

So I'll give I'll give you your flowers on that. I appreciate that. And it was and to be that motivated, have that clear of a vision. at that young of an age, I think is really rare. I think a lot of other people don't don't see that.

I I won't name names, but I always hear people like be like, oh like I'm gonna I'll be just like Adam L Z. And I'm like, no you won't Because I think that there's just certain things that are like people uniquely are equipped to be able to do, especially at a young age.

Like I I I don't think I could do what I later went on to do at nineteen or twenty one. Like my brain just wasn't there yet. Like I was still just like wild and out and like being kind of an idiot and a party kid and doing all of that.

It wasn't until I was like twenty five that like life started to kind of like calm down. I started to like get focus on that. But for you, I mean in that time, like how how different does that moment feel than like where we are today?

It's t it's tough. Like for me, I'd been doing YouTube, which is crazy to think at that point for eight years already. I know. So that's almost like my midway point in what That's a trip just to think about, but go on.

Yeah, but it it's interesting just seeing the landscape of YouTube shifting so much over the years of like what it was in the early days when it was like Pranks and you'd upload like a two-minute BMX edit with some like metal music and you would get ten comments and be stoked.

Yeah, yeah. And like nowadays people are are upset if they don't get 10,000 views on a video. Which is why because like back in the day that was big numbers. That was like everybody on YouTube watched your video.

Yeah, I mean and to think now like the size of it too, because when we were when we first got into it, I think you had You know, people like yourself who were who built a name for themselves in one segment were transitioning into cars.

There was like a few people in cars, everyone was kind of trying to figure it out. Obviously 1320 had been around for a while. There were things like the drive and so on. Donut was sort of doing things and then they they hadn't completely shifted over to Explainer, I don't remember.

And you know, for us it was it was not a business model. Like we weren't like, we're gonna go on YouTube. and make a ton of money. It was like we have a bunch of camera equipment because we do all this other stuff, like not just the Gymkhana films, but other things for athlete drivers and stuff like that.

And like hey, we might as well just like have fun with it. And like that was the original idea and then it became like birthed this whole other thing. But now I look at the space and it's like there's just so m it's like so saturated.

I feel like in twenty seventeen to like 2019 we all pretty much knew each other. Like everybody who was making content on YouTube, like you had their phone number. Where now it's like I'll go on and be like, I've never even seen this dude before and he's got three hundred four hundred thousand followers in his last video did like 200k.

You know, like and I not even aware of it. It's just crazy. At at that time, did you like did you see this kind of going? Where it's gone? I mean I can't imagine you did, but I don't think I ever I don't want to say I I never had a plan.

I just embr I don't want to say I'm good at pivoting, but like I just do what I like and if it doesn't work I try to figure out what does work after that. Like I I don't think about if YouTube will still be going on in ten years.

I just roll with the punches and adjust as necessary. I mean how much of your life still feels like is YouTube's a part of it versus everything else you've got going on. Because obviously, you know, you're not here because of YouTube, you're here because of FD this week, although I mean it's all connected.

I still feel like for me YouTube is like It's like the backbone of all the different things that I do. I don't feel like I could stop doing YouTube tomorrow and all the other things would still be equally as successful.

But I feel like I could stop doing a lot of the other things and they wouldn't impact the other things. Interesting. So like I feel like that's the one thing I can't get away from. Not that I want to get away from it because I really enjoy it.

Yeah. But it's it's not something where I feel like I can just drop. When I first met you, you were still like editing and making videos every day by yourself. So like you would come out, do an episode with us, which would take like, you know, an hour and a half or two hours.

And then you would either like sit at the shop or like head back to the hotel. cut something and upload it for the next day. And I remember then looking at you being like, that's a that's gonna burn this kid out.

Like that's crazy to do all of that because We already had like a crew of people who were editing stuff, like most of us on camera were not actually involved in the edit. A few people were, but and there was a group of us doing it and like you were doing that solo by yourself every day.

I don't I don't know how I didn't burn myself out 'cause for uh a time too, I was also doing all the merch orders myself. And like there were yeah, and there's times a hundred orders a night. And then I that's like while going to school yet.

So I'd be like skating to school with a bunch of packages in my backpack and in my arms. I don't know how I'd made it work. How old were you at that point? f college days, I'm trying to think that would have been like twenty thirteen to twenty sixteen.

So I would have been let me do some math. So eighteen to twenty ish. Similar time. Yeah, because Hoonigan really kicked off on um doing YouTube stuff I want to say in like 17. That was like when we I think that was when Daily Transmission came out and was like it was it was every day.

But um I mean uh it's crazy to l look at where all of this has gotten now because you were like well you were part of that generation that grew up on YouTube and now there's this whole generation that looks at YouTube as like the goal.

Where like I don't think any of us saw it as a goal. It was just this like, oh, this is unique or this is different or this is like an interesting way to like reach people. And now it's like a real business, which is like really shifted, I think.

the whole the whole thing. And I and I don't want to I I feel like whenever the YouTube conversation comes up on this pod, it becomes like a business pod. Because there's all the bunch of us who literally look at YouTube like business.

But It's also this amazing, you know, it was the anti-gatekeeper that gave all of us this like amazing opportunity. Because even before that, if it wasn't for YouTube, Junkana wouldn't have been a thing.

Sure. Right? Like that wouldn't have that wouldn't have worked in any other platform. To be like, oh, this guy's made this seven minute video and it went on to go reach people. Like that just wasn't there.

So how how different is it for you now though in terms of making content? Like are you still as excited about it? It's it's challenging because I find myself stuck between wanting to stay consistent, which is Something we made a huge stride on this year.

Last year I like kinda let YouTube hit the back burner a little bit and just like really focused on my personal life which just had my upload schedule very sporadic. And this year we've been almost consistently Monday, Wednesday, Friday.

But I struggle when I have a really tough week doing business owner things and I can't make the time to make a video I'm stoked about. That's my biggest challenge right now with it. But um I don't know.

I still love YouTube. I love interacting with people. I always view it as like a tool to do the things that I want to do. I mean that's what it was. I wanted to learn how to drift. So it's like how can I leverage YouTube to pursue this drifting thing.

When when did the drifting thing for you transition from like this is a cool hobby to like I want to be a professional drifter? I never wanted to be a professional drifter. I was like I was like anti-establishment because that's like ingrained in you in BMX.

So I I would talk shit about FD. I thought it was dumb. I had I don't think I had ever been to an FD Maybe I'd been to one before I drove an FD. I've never watched it. I just built a pro car because I wanted to know what that felt like.

And then realized no one drives pro cars outside of pro competition. Right. I had done a couple laughs at OSW and Pat Gooden's on there and like, oh, you would have qualified if in pro spec. So I was like, maybe I could do it.

And he gassed me up and then I did it and and good old spring break pack good. Yeah. I so now that you're doing it, I mean how how like has your feelings changed on that? I think the best thing that it did for me, and this is kind of like related to the YouTube stuff, that you get to a point where you can leverage YouTube to almost do anything you want.

Right. You can buy whatever car, you can travel wherever. As long as you're smart, sell some stuff to pay for, whatever. But that loses its allure quick. So the drifting competition gave not only me but my team a common goal, something that we can work towards and be excited about and show that we are more than just YouTube people.

Yeah. That that's a great kind of point because I think a lot of people on YouTube sort of live in that world. Cletus is obviously going through it right now with the NASCAR stuff. Um that like everyone just looks at you as like, oh you're just a YouTuber.

Shit, Ken got it in rally racing. When you go rally racing and people would be like the YouTubers here to rally race and he's like, God damn it you know. Um but for you, are you enjoying the professional side of it?

I mean as someone who kind of like you said was sort of the fuck the establishment, don't want to do all that Like you are now in the establishment competing with that. I still am not a huge fan of the establishment.

Um I like Formula Drift, obviously, or I wouldn't be doing it. I just I really like the challenge. I like to be challenged. If I feel like there's no challenge in something, I get bored, I move on. Yeah.

Drifting, I still feel like it's a challenge. I really enjoy the the math and the the science behind setup and tuning and engine combination stuff like I could just sit in dyno cars with Freddie all week and I'd be excited.

Like that's fulfilling to me. Putting a new engine in a car, trying different cams, trying different turbos, that gets me going. So I forg your first year what car did you run your first year at? First year was my S fifteen.

And then after that you joined you ran the RTR car? No, so I did th three years of my S fifteen before I switched to RTR. And that was in pro spec? And then I had done one year of pro spec, which was Pro Two at the time.

Then two years of Pro. And then I'd switch to RTR. What was the difference there from sort of running your own team, doing your own thing, running on a different team like someone else's team? Like To put it blunt, I I don't want to say I didn't know what I was doing.

I was not a CEO. I did not understand how to manage people and the people aspect made me very dislike the having my own team part. So part of that and just drama and stuff that would happen from my own team and then it also taking away from all the YouTube side because now we're spending all our time and energy on this formula drift thing, YouTube that actually pays the bills because Formula Drift just costs money.

Yeah. Like we weren't it wasn't a program that paid for itself. It was just spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to go compete. But also losing hundreds of thousands of dollars on the YouTube side because I don't have my team to build cars, that really hurt.

So the RTR was it I didn't realize you were using the same team to do both. I didn't realize like the team that was making content with you was also the team. running that. Yeah, so that made it very tough.

You obviously you did RTR for two years? Uh time. I think a year and a half. I think I did a full year and then a half year. So what made you decide to go back and do it on your own again after that. I honestly didn't want to.

It was I yeah, I I was like kinda over FD. I was just frustrated with it. I'd had a really hard time driving that car and it made me doubt myself as a driver. Yeah. And I really wanted to go do Europe because I wanted to travel around Europe.

So I'd Built this whole Driftmasters program again that wasn't gonna make me anything. I was gonna spend money, but I was like, I'm gonna drive with the best drivers in the world. I'm gonna give you all these cool places Um I was gonna do Long Beach anyway, and I was gonna do it on my E thirty six as a publicity stunt because my E thirty six was like a grassroots car, it was not a four meter drift level car.

And everyone would always say in comments, Oh, you should have driven that NFD, you should have driven that. So I was gonna drive it and like I didn't think it was gonna be competitive. And then I did really well in it.

I remember that, yeah. And then I wasn't planning to do any more, but then my car that was going to Europe didn't make it, which was a conflict with Atlanta. So I went and did Atlanta, which I think was the second round or whatever the second round was.

I went to that I wasn't supposed to. And I did really well again. So the whole program with the 36 was completely by accident. Correct. Wow. And it just it I wound up doing the whole season in FD and I think I placed fifth that season, which was the best championship standing I've ever had, and it was like a season where I wasn't even supposed to compete.

I I remember when that was happening, it was all going together. Cause you obviously and uh you know, I'm sure you've spoken about on this before, but like you had a bunch of hate from like the old crusty FD people.

Because like you were this YouTuber, maybe you didn't take the same routes as other people. And you know, let's be honest, people just really enjoy hating anyone who they feel like is big or has like a following, right?

And and then I think there was also this like weird energy because you would be on the live stream and as soon as you would your run would be over, like the views would drop. 'Cause like your audience who was showing up to see you would be like, Okay, Adam's out We were leaving.

So it was like this big joke. You are familiar with that, obviously. I'm not telling you. You're looking at me like you don't remember this. Um never happened. Yeah. Was that sort of like a difficult thing for you to kind of or did that fuel you?

Like what was sort of that space because I remember on the outside, you know, in talking to a bunch of people who were like OG drift people who'd been around for a long time, guys like Will Rogie. who are sitting there going saying, you know, these guys could say whatever they want about Adam, but if you look at the math, like and I I don't know if this is actually factual, someone can correct me, but at that time someone was saying that you had the least amount of events to get to podium Right at your foin, like when you landed your first podium, it was like no one else had gotten to podium as fast as you had without having a s you know experience in a previous series, like a Driftmasters or a D1 or something like that.

Um I mean, for th for you was that a bit of like fueling sort of or like, you know, whenever anyone shit talks you, it's always nice to be like How the fuck's that taste? You know, like the a classic like how do you like them apples?

Like, did that fuel you a bit in in people saying like, oh, he doesn't have the ability to do this, and then you showed up and did it? I'll be honest, like I feel like the drift community was so welcoming to me.

So it's just the internet side of it. No yeah, I think the actual core people who were competing in it were were one hundred percent. I had a little bit of hate in the early days and I think a lot of that got squashed I reference this a lot, but there's one like super D competition that I did pretty well at.

Um and that's like that was more so like the breeding grounds of the people that didn't like me. Yeah. And when I showed up there and like they saw that I could drive and I think that chain converted some of the haters, but the FD community's been so welcoming to me from the beginning that I never really felt that.

If anything, it was just a drive to like want to do better myself. What do you can what do you in talking about like Super D and Final Bout and that type of stuff, what do you enjoy driving more? Like the grassroots style like events or the competition?

Like what where Like the perfect weekend for you, what is it? I I really like fun tracks that like if a track is fun to drive solo, I'm gonna love to drive at tandem. That's like Ebisu North course is really fun.

I love I could do a hundred laps on that. I'll literally run through a full gas tank. Just And demolishing tires there. Yeah. Um I actually really like driving in my place. Like I have so much fun driving.

Oh really? That's great. Yeah. But um I think I enjoy competition because I like to have s I'm really bad if I have no boundaries. So if I just go like drive a fun day where there's no objective, I'll probably crash the car or go flying off track or blow it up.

Like I need to have some sort of goal or like mission. So I'll usually if I'm doing a fun day, I'll have like a friend that I'm driving with and like I will drive as hard as I can Not like it's competition, but almost like it's competition.

'Cause then it keeps me kind of focused. Um even when we're going to Ebysu, like every lap I'm just like Processing in my brain, what did I do the last lap that I can do better? Like how can I get a little bit closer in this one spot?

Why did he pull away from me here? Um I think if you can combine the competition, like focus and trying to do better with like the grassroots, there's no stress, there's no organization, there's no time you need to be anywhere.

That's when I have the most fun. That's the most fun. But do you you were saying before like but you have to be like on the level? Do you feel like you always have to drive like a nine tenths, ten tenths to be like sort of committed in it in formula drift or just driving.

Yeah, and driving. I don't I don't like I really don't enjoy driving if I'm not trying my hardest. Like I get really frustrated if I'm driving a car and I can't keep up with my friends because the car is on a different tire or it's like like I would almost rather not drive.

than drive and get yanked on every corner and just feel humiliated. Is that a competitive thing or is it like a you you just need to be driving on a certain level thing? Like Uh I'd say it's probably maybe a little competitive thing.

I'm very competitive. Yeah. And like I always I think also too, I want to put on a show. Like I know every time I'm driving somewhere, if there's people taking videos on cell phones, I want every lap to like be something I'm proud of.

Yeah where like if I know that I have a disadvantage in a car but no one else knows, then they're gonna post a video and be like, oh look at this scrub, he's like ten cars behind. It's funny how like that type of stuff drives you so much.

Like I I was asking the question of like being at the level because We learned this with Ken. Um, and it was actually like a a bit of an issue, was that Ken was only good when he was driving at ten tenths or eleven tenths, and he would crash at seven tenths.

So like if Ken was leading a rally and then we asked him to slow down because we needed to just conserve the car and just get to the end, he would crash. Interesting. But if Ken was in third place with thirty seconds behind second place, he would find thirty-one seconds on a stage, drive like the devil.

and figure it out. But it was like it was so frustrating to all to everybody on the team 'cause you'd be like, this dude doesn't know how to slow down and we like it's like kind of an a well known thing in high level motorsports.

Like if you n are not at the full top level, like you start to lose focus. Like if you're not at ten tenths, not eleven tenths. And it's a thing that like I was I later learned on that like, you know, they actually bring like psychologists and psychiatrists in to speak to drivers these days to like where's your headspace at to be able to be at eight tenths and night tenths and ten tenth because that you're still dri you're still as focused as you are at that limit, but you're like purposely driving slower.

Because I guess it's like a pretty well known thing that if you're not maxed out, people crash. Which I I think is so funny 'cause it's the opposite of what you think. Right. Like any movie script would be like, and then he went full tilt and crashed.

It's like, no, actually m statistically it goes the other way. I think I think I've definitely experienced that and it's usually I feel like um if I'm doing like grip driving and I do a cooldown lap, that's when I do some dumb shit.

Cause I'm like I'll just not be on the racing line or and I won't be paying attention and I'll be like I'm going slow, but then I under steer off the course and I'm like, what I I think there's a huge group of people who have crashed on the cooldown lab.

Yeah. Because you're definitely like, oh, whatever. And then all of a sudden you're like you're carrying more speed. than you were planning to into a breaking as hard breaking as hard, you're not pushing the car, tires aren't as warm, like everything changes.

Speaking of uh your favorite tracks, what's your favorite in the uh in the FD series? Like what's the event you get stoked for? Oh man, E Town, they're not going back this year. Oh really? Yeah, just 'cause like that always felt like my hometown track 'cause all my friends from Connecticut would go out there and I had statistically I'd done well at that track.

So Um it was just I love going there. The energy, sneaky peats afterwards. Yeah, no, I love Etown. I mean that's obviously, you know, I grew up in New York. That was I watched that track go from a drag race track that we all went to and then when they installed the road course and eventually like Club Loose and everyone went there.

It was like such even in the early hoonigan days, even though we lived here in California, we would travel out there all the time for events. Because it's like, there's really nothing like it. I mean, the greatest place on earth, like it definitely, definitely just has a cool vibe and it it helps that the people who run the track, like the naps are So cool about all of that.

They're great. Yeah. You still doing the tour? You're gonna do tour there as well? Yeah. So in two weeks we have LZ World Tour English Town. Okay. I'm super excited. Yeah, where also you guys going this year?

Uh we're going back to Quebec and then back to England. Okay, nice. What's what's that like going from Hey, I make YouTube videos to like I now host event that like tens of thousands of people show up to.

That was another thing that was like kinda like an accident. Yeah it was never like we had done our open houses for a while and then that kind of like grew into wanting to include drifting. And I think it maybe it was the first time I think Aaron Losi during a drift week he like wanted to hold a public event And he wanted to use my name in it.

I think it we called it the LZ Invitational. And it was actually at E Town. And then when we did that, we saw that there were some like legs behind it. So I'd done that again at Orlando Speedworld. And it was just cool because I just got to make the rules and like just go drive with my friends.

Yeah, I I think you created I mean I got to come out to that event because when we were doing Drifter, I got to go obviously to the one where we filmed that, but even just the the other event that you did 'cause we just came to watch, right?

So Sung and I came and that was my first time my first time going to it. It was also my first time back at E Town in, you know, years. And Um, I think you've done a really good job of like finding this weird in-between between like a proper competition style event uh like a final bout event and then something that kind of accepts all, right?

'Cause like you've got you've got the mix of You know, you have Arios there with like, you know, his McLaren or whatever he had last time, and you've got like the boat and like you like drift car, and there's just this like interesting mix, and then you've also got like all of the YouTube drivers for lack of a better name, but then you've also got a bunch of guys showing up from F D.

You've created this weird like pond where everybody plays, which I think is really unique and was also the thing that Like we uh when we were at Hoonigan, like we always strive to do. Yeah, uh what's funny about it is like the idea like the world tour is kind of like a two-part thing, but without first idea behind it was like I I grew up watching like Viva Labam and I loved watching the boys go and travel overseas.

Yeah. And I was like, I want to be able to do that with my friends. But not all my friends were like competing at the highest level. And it was like a cool way to create an outlet where there's a goal, a mission to have, you know, 'cause you don't want to just go drive fund events 'cause it gets boring.

Yeah. So it's some structure to give to these people to come and drive, but we can all go to Ireland and fuck off and go do drive rental cars like idiots through the woods and like you know, all those fun moments between the events I think are wa almost one of the reasons why I wanted to do the events.

Yeah. Um and then meeting drift games over in Ireland, I think we had done an LZ invitational at Mundelo Park before the LZ World Tour was born. And it was just really cool because they're so good at putting on a show.

And then the idea of the LZ invitational mixed with Dave's amazing announcing and their ideas of like how to keep people entertained, it just gave us this like empty book of we could do whatever we wanted.

We could make it as ridiculous as we wanted, people switching cars, doing stunts like mm faking that people are crashing like all this wild stuff that just is so fun for the audience to watch. Those guys are great by the way.

Like I s I fully loved working with them on on Drifter. Like I'm not just saying it but I don't I think if they weren't there, I don't think we would have gotten everything done. Like they were just so good at one, managing everything, managing expectations with drivers, dealing with the audience, like figuring out all the pieces.

Like they were and I I said that to them. I'm like, look most times in production I think like a lot of organizing, you know, groups go like they can't keep up with the speed at which everything happens or how fast things change or Oh, I thought we were gonna do this, but now we're doing this, and like those just dudes just took it in stride.

I was like I would be more than happy to work with those guys again. They were they were great. Well I mean they come from Driftmasters and like the that is on such a crazy schedule with the whole Red Bull like production side of things that like they have to be on their mark.

Do you think Driftmasters is the Is the top right now in drifting? Uh the what I always say to people, because this is like when I went and competed, I was like one of the first people that had done both both series simultaneously.

And what I would always explain is that FD FD's top sixteen is like your top thirty-two in Driftmasters. I think that you put your top three drivers from Driftmasters against your top three drivers from FD, they're probably all similar skill level.

But I think that there's more drivers of the top sixteen and better skill level in Driftmasters. Oh, interesting. Because it's a magnet series from so many countries, you have the best driver from every country competing in Driftmasters.

So I think there's a greater quantity of talent, but I don't think that their talent is necessarily better than our talent. I haven't been to one of their events yet, but obviously I've seen plenty of them on on the internet.

I will say that you know, from the outside looking in, just it seems like the biggest spectacle. Like they really take the show concept to like a whole other level there. Um it reminds me more of Like uh like what Supercross is here in the US, which like back in the day, a little tangent, but uh Ken would make all new employees go to a supercross event.

Because he's like, you have to understand like the Feld family does such a good job at like taking that event and making it fun, even if you don't follow motocross, right? Like visually it just looks good.

And I think that's one of those things that like Driftmasters has like really landed as you look at their stuff, the arena format things that they do, just like the aesthetic fireworks, like all of the things that go into that.

And um I don't know. I j I just think that they do like a fantastic job at that. I think there's sacrifices to accomplish that. And I think that's where FD and Driftmasters kind of differ because Driftmasters There are a lot of situations where like as a driver you'd be pissed because it's so focused on the show that like you don't get a five minute call.

You don't get a chance to fix your car if someone crashes into you and it's totally their fault. You're just shit out of luck. FD, it's like more accommodating to the driver, but you lose some of the show in that because everything moves a bit slower, it's less jam-packed, there's more s people and bodies and things to deal with all these things.

Where Driftmasters is kind of like uh you know, you just roll with the punches. It may work in your favor, it may not, but it everyone knows that it's all about the show. What do you prefer? From that aspect.

If I could do Driftmasters with a similar program to what I do Formula Drift, it would be a really hard choice. But for me it's it's an easy decision to choose Formula Drift because my partners care about the US market.

But they don't care about the Europe market. So I have no business case to be over there other than me just wanting to go eat good food and travel to Europe with my friends. Yeah, I mean look, that's ultimately the reason.

You know, we stopped racing in the WRC. It was because at the end of the day, all the partners, even if they were selling in other countries, the budget was coming from the US budget. So it was like Monster Energy was like, yeah, that's great.

We might sell monster there, but like you're getting paid out of the US bucket, so let's do more stuff in the US. So Which is, you know, I get it. It makes sense. It's also really fun to travel and do cool stuff in Europe.

Uh I wanna go back to your view of La Bam thing 'cause I think that uh, you know, so much of us were influenced and you're obviously you know, a bit younger than me, probably like twenty years younger than me, it's just crazy.

But um the you know, looking at um just like how influential like all of that was. I on the you came on the uh 43 the the 43 day uh stream. Thank you again for that. Um but we had Jeff Tremaine on as well.

And it was actually really cool because like I've never really spoken to Jeff. Like I've been in the same room as him with events and stuff with camera. I never really had a chance to talk with him. And I said to him like, you know, you got, you know, you what you did with Jackass like was so much of an influence for what we did with Hoonigan.

And I was like, you know, we I was like for us we always referred to Hoonigan as like jackass with cars. It was like very much like the early vibe for it. And you know, he said probably lying through his teeth but he was like, Yeah, but you guys made it look better.

You know, I think he's mostly speaking to like the Gymkhana stuff. But um it's interesting 'cause I think so much of a particular generation that grew up either watching Jackass or Viva La Bam or all of that I think it gave us this idea of like, I don't even have to be a top level pro.

I can just as long as one of my buddies are, I can then go do all this cool stuff with them. And I think in a weird way a lot of the different YouTube factions, whether it was like you or or you know or TJ or uh you know Hoonigan, which was a little bit of a bigger group, um you know, all sort of created this thing where like one person would go do something and then other people would grow out from underneath them and then it was like everybody just wanted to go like have fun and travel the road and tell the story about it.

Um, how much of you know that type of philosophy of like I'm just here doing it for fun with my friends is still a part of your everyday versus like where it might have been, you know, five years ago, ten years ago.

I think I've learned that you will get burned out if you do what you think people want you to do. I Every day when I make videos, I choose something that I actually want to do. And I'm of the opinion that people can see your excitement.

I'm so bad at faking emotion. that like if I'm doing something I'm not excited about it, the videos are gonna do bad, even if it's a great idea. So I kind of think about what excites me first and I build my content around that.

And I think, okay, well these are things I want to do How can I make a title or a thumbnail that will make people care? Right. That's kind of like some people work the other way around. Like they ha they have the idea for the title and the thumbnail before the video.

Yep. But I'm always like, I know what I want to do. How do we capture it in a way that's engaging for people to watch? And then how do we make people care? Yeah. I I think you've done a really good job of staying core to that.

I think that YouTube can be such a trap to be like, I want more views, I want this to grow bigger, and it all becomes about the title and thumbnail and like you don't actually care that much about what you're making.

I mean there were fights and arguments a lot at, you know, a certain period of time at Hoonigan where I would have an idea and someone else would say, you know, like, Yeah, but what's the thumbnail for that?

I'm like, I don't know, we could probably figure it out. It's like well until we figure it out we can't make it because you're gonna put all this effort into making something and it's not gonna do well because like the thumb's not there.

Which is a bummer and is one of the downsides of of how YouTube works, but yeah, I mean, you know, Donut has famously said that they would they would come up they would come up with things that people were searching and then backwards the content out of it.

So they would sa say like, oh, right now, for whatever reason people are talking about Volvos, so we're gonna make content about Volvos and then kind of engineer it into that. Which like I I respect that from a data side.

It was like I was always like, I just want to make the stuff we make. And that was it. And we definitely went off track and made stuff that was things that we were reaching for. But my favorite era of Hoonigan when it was like, I don't know, we just want to just do something dumb.

There was a time when I did that, but it was back when I was making YouTube tutorials. And that's what I would do and there was no like SEO data, so I would go and I would just search BMX how to and see what words would come up first and that's how I would decide what how to tutorials to make.

Or I would find one that had like a lot of views but maybe it was a bad video or like the explanation sucked. And then I would just make a better one. Do you ride still much? Not as much as I'd like to.

I feel like every time I ask you that you say the same thing. I I went through a phase where like I started riding a lot, but then as it gets closer to the season I get nervous because like if I get hurt And I can't compete, I'm gonna feel like such an asshole.

Yeah. And like I again, if I'm riding, I can't ride at fifty percent. Like I go out there and I try to do the same high level stuff that I did back when I was at my prime There's no in between for me.

I will tell you as someone who uh grew up riding BMX, it was once my life, don't stop riding. Yeah because I stopped riding for long enough. that now that I am trying to get back into it, it f it feels like foreign to me.

I just built a pump track out the farm, which was rad and it's so much easier to do when you have Kubota tractor versus shovels when you're a kid. Um but I built it from for myself, my son, and some friends to ride.

And it's like I just like it's fun because I'm getting back into it, but like man, I have like ten percent of the confidence I had in my, you know, teens and twenties. And it's it all just goes from like not doing it anymore.

Because you keep telling yourself in your head like, oh I'll I'll keep riding, I'll keep riding and then like all of a sudden years go by and you're like, ah, I haven't ridden in forever. and then you just aren't good anymore.

Yeah. I've got two funny notes on that. One, my cheat code was I built a really light bike, like titanium frame, everything light. Because I still have the muscle memory. I just don't have the muscle.

Mm-hmm. So like that made it a lot easier to still be able to do some of the tricks I used to do. But the weirdest thing, I realized this about maybe like a year ago. I think I'm borderline better now than I was at my prime, and it's all mental.

Okay. So From driving, I've learned to like go out and be perfect first lap. Right. Where when I used to write BMX, I would always work my way up to stuff. Like people call me 50th Tri Adam. And like some people view that as like a bad thing.

I was always proud of it because I'm like, yeah, I tried this thing fifty times and people give up at ten times. Yeah. Relentless. But I was never someone to just go for it. So like a new set of dirt jumps I would maybe clear the first one and then I would bail off the next one.

Maybe clear the next one, bail off the next one. Like I would never 360 bar spin a box jump. I'd bar spin at first. Then I'd 360 at halfway, then I'd three sixty a little more. Like Baby steps. Yeah, yeah.

Now I take the same like mental strategy that I learned of driving where I just tell myself, all right, I'm gonna do it and I'm gonna be perfect the first time. And I'd be busting out stuff that like I have no business doing.

That's interesting. It was the coolest like realization I've ever had because like it it you beat yourself up when you can't do something that used to do. So I can go out and I can still like bang out some like sick tricks.

I'm like Fuck with me. No, trust me, it it's a bummer to get on a bike and like not be able to do basic stuff anymore. I mean I have bad knees, which is part of it, but it's like You know, when you grew up and you were like yeah, I you look you're like I can bunny hop onto a picnic table, like that's easy.

And now if you were like go bunny on a picnic table, I'm like I'm trying not to to go to the ER tonight. You know, and it's like just things that felt normal, right? And like aren't anymore. Back to the like the mindset thing.

Do you do anything? Like mentally, like do you meditate? Like what's your process? And I think this is a space that a lot of drivers do not talk about, but like you do need to like Be mentally there. So when I drove for RTR, Vaughn and I'm sure he still doesn't now, um, he would send drivers to they had like a driver psychologist maybe or like a sports mental whatever.

Yeah. Um, who just gave like a really cool like lesson on like a lot of strategies and stuff. And there's a a few things that I do. I don't think they really do anything, but like a couple of them are just like, you know, the the crossing your center like Tap your left knee, tap your right knee.

Um, and like some other visual things like that kind of get your eyes locked in. But a funny thing that I discovered last year, and it might be a total placebo thing. I think that me playing guitar in the trailer between battles has helped me a lot stay locked in.

Because one of the hardest things about formal drift is like we have practice. You get in the zone and then boom, you're iced out for four hours sitting in the trailer. Standing in the sun and like you like laying down, I get tired, I get sleepy, and then you get back in the car and you're like disoriented.

We're like last year, and I started doing this at E-town, and that's why I was like, Oh, I did really well at E-Town. I gotta keep doing this. I was like trying to like write songs in the trailer and like I get so locked in, like straight tunnel vision in the trailer, like I'm just dialed in and then I get back in the car and like you're still in that mind state.

Which is maybe a bad thing 'cause like maybe I get a little fatigued doing that, but I think it's helping. I look I I've spent a lot of time around top level pro drivers and everybody's got their thing, right?

Like what is the thing that you do that just gets you focused? Um Ken used to have this like ball that was like attached to a strap on his head that he would like to make Vaughn does that too. Yeah, and we we used to make fun of him so much because he'd just be in the trailer punching the ball and we'd be like, Oh goodness Like we're all in there like working on something else and he's just going at it, but um but you know it was this thing that like helped him find focus.

He used to do a bunch of other weird stuff. Like he would do like arithmetic while he was doing something else because of the co-driver notes and being able to cop like do math at the same time as doing something active like without turning off that that side of the brain.

Um but no it's a it's uh it's an interesting one. Uh the guitar thing's funny 'cause I I was like just scrolling Instagram one day as we do. And I was like, that guy looks like Adam. I was like, what?

Wait, what? Because you have like your own guitar? What is it, LZ? Which is it's just LC guitars, LC guitars, yeah. How did like where did this love and passion come from? Is this something you've always had?

Is it new? So my first YouTube channel is BMX Guitar 5. I didn't know any of this. And I th I think some of my first it might have even been either my first or second video is like me just playing guitar.

Oh really? And I was way better when I was young. I like went to like lessons and stuff. And then I didn't play from like age thirteen to like age twenty. Mm. I picked it up again and like I started tinkering with it and like one of my uh subscriber fans had like dropped off like a some guitar gear for me to try and like I got into it for a little bit and then I got out of it again.

And then like maybe like a year or two ago For whatever reason, I decided to pick it back up again and I had started to meet a lot of people in the industry. Mm-hmm. And I think meeting people in the industry And you say music industry?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Specifically like all the guitar players I look up to. Yeah. And now What's your top three list? Your top three guitar player list. Oh, that's a tough one. Um definitely uh there's a band called Era.

Jesse Cash is he's writes some really cool stuff. Um I really like Chris Wiseman. He's another good one. And then there's a another guy named Keaton. Um I don't know his last name, but uh in a band called Invent Animate.

And they all just like I just really like the stuff that they write. Yeah. And I know two of them and they're like super cool. But because I know them it almost like holds me accountable now, where like I feel like I have to play and be good.

Um but I don't know, it's just it w just became something to do and like again it's like I wanna be better than I was when I was younger. So like W I don't know. It's something it's funny f uh when I saw that guitar page, I was like so stoked for you because as someone who like li who's you know, lived in the content space for a long time, watch people get sort of really burnt out just doing the one thing, and then like you have this other side.

And I'm like, I didn't even know that about you, right? And obviously it was I imagine you're like OG fan base that was there since day one does. But and then like the for you to go back and like make this thing that's like it's like a different side of you, it's cool 'cause I think I mean just before I give you a a tour of the house and it's like as I mentioned there and I've mentioned on the pod before, but it's like it's not something that like I really talk about like what my wife and I do in the house and our restoration stuff and all that.

Because like it's nice to have something that's like private still. It was it weird for you to take the guitar thing and really kind of like also put it on display. Because I feel like your whole life has been on display.

No, I mean that's a good point. I think It came from just like I would just post stories of myself playing and I saw that there was a lot of people that followed me that were like super excited about it.

But I also felt like it was maybe too much for people that didn't care about it. Right. So then I was like I really like sharing this this side of me, but I don't want to like piss people off. They like don't care.

Yeah. So it's like I'm just gonna make this page and then I can just post it and like I don't have to feel guilty about it. Because the people that follow LZ guitar know that that's what they're gonna get.

Yeah. They're not gonna get anything else So then it just kinda gave me an avenue to connect with people and I think it's really cool the amount of people that like share the car and the music world interest.

Yeah, no, I mean it's it's always interesting to see what that crossover is. Like I will constantly like I'll be following somebody. you know, for completely different purposes are not automotive and then I'll comment and like twenty minutes later get a DM and they're like dude Like I had no like like this so cool, like such a big fan of Hoonigan, you know big fan of what you guys did with Gymkhana or whatever.

And it's like a trip for me 'cause it's like I follow this person because of, you know, something that's c what feels to me completely out of the space, right? It's either like something in the movie industry or like something completely random or like cycling or whatever and you're like, oh this is like it's cool to see that crossover.

And this was something that like we we really realized and took advantage of with Ken early on was like, hey you have a certain level of interaction when you're talking about rally But when you talk about mountain biking, like all of a sudden all the people who are like, holy shit, Ken also likes mountain biking, it's like it makes you less two-dimensional.

You know, it's like I think people start to go, oh wow, this person has more elements to them than like being that one piece. Which like to be honest is I think why vlog content worked so well for so long because people got to be like, oh, I get to know more about your life and know these other pieces.

and and all that kind of stuff. There there's stuff that like I'll bring up on this pod because, you know, in a long format you don't have to like edit stuff out. And I'll just I won't think about it and then I'll get a bunch of DMs and people will be like, dude, I'm like so happy you brought that up or like I didn't think anyone else like knew about that or whatever.

And then I'm always sitting there back of my head like being like, should I do more about that? Cause like it's cool when you do see like a group of people. spike up and say, oh that's interesting. I like that.

So but anyway, back to the uh from the guitar side. So you would play guitar in between. Are you gonna do that this weekend? Do you have your guitar with you? Yeah, yeah. A lot uh this is a great great side I did not know of you.

Yeah, awesome. Yeah, and like I for whatever reason too, last year I feel like the 'cause I don't in I shouldn't say I don't enjoy playing others. I'd love writing stuff. I've always loved music. I I like to think that I have a pretty good ear for music.

But like I look back at some of the riffs I were like in between practice and I'm like, damn, that's just like kinda good. And like for whatever reason, like I I don't know, maybe my brain is somewhere else.

So it's like kinda cool on that side too. I feel like I must play better. Were your parents into music? Is that where you got it from or? No, not really. Yeah, I don't I don't know where it's I think it started from like liking that genre of music.

Mm-hmm. But I never I never learned how to like I had a blues guitar teacher, so I never knew how to play the music that I like to listen to. Yeah. And I think it was later in life meeting uh my friend who was the subscriber that gave me guitar gear that like taught me what I needed and how to achieve the sounds that I heard.

in the music that I listened to, then once I could replicate like the stuff that I liked, that's when I was like hooked. Because I'm like, now I can make cool things that like I'm stoked about, not just playing some blues riff Yeah, I one of my biggest regrets was not learning how to play guitar when I was younger.

So, you know, I this is where I date myself like so I grew up list starting to listen to music in like the late eighties. So you've got like Guns N' Roses, like Motley Crew and all of that. But then also listening to things like Black Flags, Fusel Tendencies and, you know, that kind of early era like thrash and punk stuff.

And My uncle was who's like 16 years older than me was in a band, like played guitar, really like kind of like hair metal stuff, um, and was like, you know, was really into guitar playing like you know, seven string Ibanezes and like all this like kind of like weird stuff was really into like Ying Vei Malmstein and Steve I and like and that was what like I was raised on was like that era of like the guitar heroes right before that was a video game And I really wanted to play guitar, but my parents were like, you have to learn how to play piano first.

And I had zero interest in playing piano. Like there was nothing less cool. than piano in like nineteen ninety. Like it was like I was like I don't want to play piano, I just have like no interest in it.

And like my uncle bought me a guitar. But like I never took lessons, never really learned. And then like later on I learned to play bass because I really wanted to be in a punk band. And I was like, my buddy had like an old Reckinbacher and he was like, Here and like kinda like learned, kinda taught myself a little bit.

but never really saw it through. And I was this person who had this like massive love for music, but never learned how to play it myself. And then life just gets in the way and other things happen and you don't do it.

And it's like it's on that weird list of like at some point in my life Like I want to s hit pause and just learn how to do this. So it's cool that that's something that you like were doing and now like you know brought back.

Would you ever want to play in a band or did you just kind of like doing things on your own? Guitar Hero actually is what got me into playing by the way. Wait, really? Yeah, isn't that funny? Um I don't think I care to play in a band.

That just uh that takes something that I think is like a fun, like n it's like the one of the only like me activities I feel like I do. Right Where then that becomes like way more stressful. I would love to do it once just to say that I've done it.

Yeah, yeah. But like not tell anyone about it. Like I'll just play like backup guitar and like some like band and like no one'll g know who I am. But then I can just have that experience. So like No votes.

We had a couple photos that I could share afterwards, but yeah, I did it. Yeah. Do you have a lot of friends in bands? Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So it what's cool is the compound has like started to become a destination for like a lot of the bands in the genre.

of the music that I listen to for them when they have shows in town they stop by, I give everyone drift rides and everyone has a good time and it's cool. And then people get stoked because there a lot of these guys are in a cars.

People don't know that they're in a cars. And then it just it connects both worlds. Yeah. Yeah, I mean it that part it was like even early on, like, you know, the Drift Alliance dudes all knew like the guys from Bouncing Souls, which was like one of my favorite punk bands growing up in New York and like they would come out and go to shows with them and then like and then the same thing started to cross over for Hoonigan and we'd have like all these like you know like rant you know the Brandon the drummer from rancid was like n was so into hoonigan that he had like his drum kit had like hoonigan stuff on it.

You know, which was like to me was just super cool. And it also gave me this really cool access because I got to go to shows and got to go like you know and and I think that's one of the cool things that you know whatever this world is that we live in I I I never know what to call it.

I think it's like weird to say YouTubers, creators, influencers, whatever the hell it is, but this thing that we've all somehow managed to build and live in gives you such weird opportunities outside of just the thing you were planning on.

Right? You're like, I want to go do this because I want to race cars or I want to make this or I want to do that. And then you're like, I also get to play guitar with my heroes, which is like such a cool part.

of of all of this. What other cool stuff uh has has come out of this for you? What other what what other random hobbies do you have that no one knows about? I've r I shouldn't say I've recently taken up wakeboarding because like I've done it twice.

Okay. But so like my whole family I was gonna say your dad. My whole family's professional water skiers, which is something that like not a lot of people know. But I was like I don't know. I got into wakeboarding, then my dad was like, No, it's not water skiing.

So then I kinda got bored of it and then I moved on to BMX. But Now I'm like I really want to stay in shape, but I'm terrified of riding BMX and getting hurt. Where in my mind wakeboarding's a little bit safer than BMX, but I can still do something fun because like I I'm not a gym guy.

I don't think I'll ever be a gym guy But I l I like doing physical things and I f g go crazy if I don't do physical things. So I climbing gyms I'll do sometimes, but I don't like doing that alone. Yeah.

Where it's been my new routine I take our new dog and I go visit my sister who lives on a lake. The dogs play, we hang out, go wakeboard, they go ski, and we have lunch after and it's been like the coolest routine.

Oh no. And this is down in Florida? Okay. Because you grew up in Connecticut, right? Yep I I've only gone wakeboarding like two or three times. Ken got really into wakeboarding. That was like one of the things he loved doing.

He's to just love going out to the lake. And uh It's definitely one of those things that like the the first time you do it, you go home and you're like, I I could do this again and like I think I kinda want to really get into it.

And then you're like, oh I need a boat and I need all these other things to go do it. But It's certainly it's certainly fun. Although we always used to joke about wakeboarding that wakeboarding is like one of those sports that um it's just best to like just do on your own and not film it.

Like it never looks as cool. as it feels. Like like I would be out there and I'd be like, this is so sick. And then like Ken would show me a video and I'd be like, yeah, no is sick looking. as I thought it felt.

I definitely agree with that. Why why do you think uh on the BMX thing, um, why do you think so many BMX dudes get into cars and specifically drifting? And I think more so than than skateboarders. Like I feel like there's this direct correlation of like with age comes a cage.

Yeah, I think BMX compared to skateboarding, you like have to either know or care a little bit more about like mechanics because you're like there's way more going on with a bike between the chain and the hubs and headsets and bearings.

So like you already have a little bit of that in you. So like imagine installing coilovers on a car. If you're a skateboarder, probably a little bit more scary than if you're a BMX rider. Right. So I think there's some sort of component in that.

But I really think it's just like the action sports, like reckless like adrenaline rush. And then yeah, you the age get a cage thing is like you get old, you Get sick of getting hurt, but you want to still have that same feeling and you get that drifting.

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Check them out. Fcuro. com. What was it for you that made you cross over, got you into it? I had always wanted to race. So when I was sixteen I would like I wanted to be a race car driver so bad, but I had no path, no outlet to do it.

And remember my mom's ex boyfriend at the time like let me do a like autocross day and it's like he had a Camaro SS back when they were brand new. I smoked everyone at the Autocross Day and I was so proud.

I like saved that like autocross sheet on my wall. This is that like you know the LimeRock like autocross tracking. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, but I like there was no path for me to do that.

And I think I'd been exposed to drifting because a lot of um BMX guys kinda had a crossover. Some drift guys did BMX stuff and I think some of the earlier Turk videos Um and I just again I never really had an outlet to do it.

I would try to drift. I had like a E46 sedan at the time, automatic, open diff. In the snow, I'd I'd be a wannabe drifter. And then like I crashed my car I think twice or three times and then I literally in video I was like, if you want to drift, just stop being dumb like me and just buy two forty.

Yeah. And it took me From that point, maybe like f three or four years to save up enough to where I could have a two hundred forty as like a second car. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I mean for me it was Like cars were like I was so into bikes, cars were secondary, but growing up in New York City, the only way to get out to go ride trails.

And like when I was riding even though we were in this amazing playground of really good street, dirt was still like kind of the coolest thing. Everyone was still riding trails. Was like you had to like have a car to get there.

Yeah. And everybody had like for I don't even know what reason, but like my group of friends who were all a lot older than me all had like slam Volkswagens. Which like I just thought was cool 'cause it was like roof racks.

That's what I wanted. Yeah. My buddy Kevin, he had a GLI. Uh-huh. It was slammed with a roof rack and I thought it was the coolest car. And I got bait and switched by a dealer and that's how I wound up in the BMW world.

Oh. Um, but I wanted a GLI. So it was probably a better thing, 'cause as a Volkswagen guy, like he was probably better with BMWs, but yeah. Well I think it's it's almost good that I wound up with a car that like you couldn't really modify, like an automatic three twenty-five I, like you're not doing any engine or s any of that stuff.

So I it wasn't a huge distraction to me at the time. But I was also like, I was terrified of getting a drift car because I did know how to work on a car. Yeah. And originally when I had made the venture to get it, It was supposed to be a shared thing between me and Jimmy Oaks.

Okay. Because Jimmy was like my he was gonna work on the car because I didn't know how to do anything. So he was like, Look, just get it, like I can help you do whatever it needs to do and then we were gonna share the car and go drive the Lime Rock track together, which got shut down before I had even gotten the car up to Connecticut.

So I never got to drift in Lime Rock, but that was the goal of when I got the car Um, but I had met some people in Florida and they were like, oh just bring it back down to Florida. We have the Orlando Speedworld skid pad.

We'll help you down here if anything goes wrong. Because I was just like, if the car breaks, I don't know what I'm doing. Right. Like The craziest thing I'd done on a car was like put angel eyes on an E forty six.

Man, I remember that error. 'Cause like the two forty world, there's like not really DIYs for a lot of that stuff. But like the if you had an E forty six, there's like DIY articles for anyone. Shows you everything you need to do.

Yeah. With a 240, like you know, sometimes you just need a a breaker bar and some some uh silicone. Yeah, it's definitely a different group of people who are building those. So and what what era what time was this?

This was when you got your two forty, what year? I think it would have been my second year in college, so it would have been like twenty seventeen, twenty eighteen area. So it's like just a it's like so the missile car thing is kind of past now and people are starting to build nicer cars, right?

Or was missile cars still I mean East Coast like held missile cars for a lot longer than the rest of the country did. I think it's just like in Florida we have a lot of like missile cars, but a lot of it's just because we drive year round.

Yeah. Connecticut and a lot of the places where they have a winter, everyone makes their cars nice again. And then Florida Which is a proper missile model. Florida the season never stops. So people just keep driving their car.

Yeah. Yeah. I mean th to me I think I I was, you know, I got into cars from that and then I was always into motorsport, loved racing I actually didn't really love drifting when it first came out. Not for anything other than like it just didn't do the same thing to me for me that like Rally did.

Um, I got to meet a bunch of the DA guys like early on. Um, was a journalist, so I was already like doing stories on that. Uh, but it was the missile car stuff in E Town that I think made me first like really kind of change my mind about it.

And I just l I've always loved sort of the grassroots side of it. But it was just that was the thing that felt the most like BMX or skateboarding. Because it was like just hanging out, chilling, like, hey, let's try this, let's try that.

Like you brought up the Turk stuff. It's like the early Turk stuff would be like We'd be like, what can we do that's funny? And it's like, oh let's put a let's put a K rail or like an arm coat on the side of a you know a crown Vic and do like a moving like like you know wall tap obstacle, which was super sketchy when we actually did it in the end.

But like you know, or come up with all these different ideas or like just dumb stuff in it. I was telling this one the other day to to Jeff Tremain. We did Tony Angelo and Chris Forsberg. Tony Angelo, we gave him a stun gun and he wa and the whole thing was like This was that era where like Forsberg couldn't be phased.

So it was like you just can't phase Forsberg. He's unfazable. And we're like, all right, let's see if he could take a stun gun to the neck. And we were like literally just zapping him in the car. And it's like This is the kind of thing that you could only get away with in drifting.

Like no no like professional motorsport was gonna like allow not that we were doing it at FD, but like no driver from that community and like indie was gonna be like, Yeah, tase me while I'm doing laughs at 200 miles an hour and uh I think that was this like f really fun, exciting moment where like all of that stuff all of that stuff just really blended.

But yeah, no, it's it's interesting the the BMX crossover. I just I feel like I see it more and more. Um destruction BMX I always get like fed stuff from them and it'll always be like you know, why is it that, you know, we all own why we all own like shipboxes now?

Like and it's always like a picture of someone working on a car. It's like, why do we go from car bikes to this? And you like read the comments and you're just like thousands of comments deep of just like, yep, we all ended up there.

Like that just became that weird, weird crossover for the for the bike guys. And like all my skateboard friends all got into motorcycles. Really. Which makes no sense to me. It's like he went from four wheels to two wheels, we went from two wheels to four wheels.

But I think it has a lot more to do with like On a motorcycle you can take your skateboard with you. Yeah. But you need a car to take your bike with you. And I feel like BMX, like obviously there's exceptions to this.

BMX was less about style than skateboarding. Right. BMX a lot of it was like more about like the tricks and how fast you were going and the speed and the like skate was a little bit more artsy. Yeah, yeah.

Kind of like a different people, right? Like BMX were more like rednecky, like Greasy people, the skaters are more pretty boys, at least in my way. And I think motorcycles, at least if you mean like not like racing motorcycles, it's more like bobbers.

It's more like a vibey thing. Right. There's BMX riders that get into it where like drifting is like again, it's that same you're chasing the speed, the the mechanics, and you wanna wrench on it to fix it and see if it's gonna be a little bit better.

Like BMX people, we're all freaking out about trying to Oh, can we get this a little bit lighter to get this bolt, this thing, where like skateboards that fit like a lot of the parts are like all the same.

Yeah, but pretty much. Like a set of trucks is a set of trucks. Like you could have good. Or like BMX or is like all the geometry, like you have a uh an inch you have a quarter inch difference in one tube on a frame and you it feels like a completely different bike.

I remember like switching my bike from like one seventy five mil cranks to one eighty and like just feeling like it was So weird. I'm like, this just feels so weird. And you're like, you didn't realize how small of a difference like five mil is, but like at the time it was like, yeah, no, no, my bike feels completely different.

I can't even ride it today Well what's funny when I was riding it, everyone started realizing that shorter cranks were better for spinning. Mm-hmm. So like I would ride one sixties and like someone made the analogy one time.

It's like try to spin with your legs spread out like this, or try to spin with your legs spread like this. Makes perfect sense. Crazy. Yeah. Yeah. So what's next for you, man? I'm gonna I I bring this up because I'm baiting you into the rally car conversation.

I'm just gonna say that right now. Cause you and I I brought it up last week to you when we were on the pod and you were just saying that you love it, a lot of fun, but It just not the right route. I would love to do like a proper stage rally.

And um Dave, Rally Ready Dave, he's like, whenever you want to do it, we'll go together. He'll help me through it. Cause it's That's like a huge barrier to entry of like not understanding how any of that works.

Very intimidating. Yeah. So that's definitely a bucket list. I don't think I'll ever race like an a rally series like as like a thing. Yep But I would definitely love to do like a stage rally and like from start to finish and just have experience that.

Yeah. Um Lately I've I don't know anything about it, but I've heard like almost every like retired race car driver that I've ever met speak so highly of Baja. Yeah. They're like, that is the best thing I've ever done in my life.

So like now I'm like a little bit intrigued and like I kinda want to learn more. So maybe that's something that I like I might try at some point. But I'm at the point right now where like I'm I'm ready to I don't say I'm ready to start slowing down, but like I'm thinking about what steps I can take to like get more life back Mm-hmm.

Not taking on more things. Like there's no not really anything more I want to chase. It's just like how do I leverage what I have going now to set my life up? to be where I want to be, have kids and have a family and be a dad that could be present and not be working nonstop.

How old are you now? 30. Yeah. Um that's definitely uh you will blink and it'll disappear. Like I had my son when I was forty. Mm-hmm. And now that I have him and he's six. Like I wish I had him when I was thirty two.

Right? Like go looking back at it now I'm like oh man I what was I sleeping on? Like this was so good. Like And it sucks being a dad in your 40s versus a dad in your 30s because it's just like, one, there's just a simple math situation of like, he's gonna be, when he turns 20, I'll be 60.

Right? Like, man, that's a huge gap right there versus, you know, being able to, you know, play with be one, be around longer, but also just like You know, you get older and your knees don't work the same and all these things that all the things you did as a kid catch up to you.

Um you're you just have that different the different perspective on it. But at the same time, I will say this You know, I th I have a lot of friends who had kids when they were really young and all they have is this resentment that like they didn't get to live more of their life.

Like I don't really have that. Like I had a great life. Like I did a ton of things on my own. And now I have this next chapter that like I can enjoy more because I don't have that feeling of like, oh, I didn't get to go do this or I didn't get to go do that.

It's like I got to travel the world. I got to hang out with like all my friends and call it work. I got to do all these really rad things. I got to be involved in something that had an impact. Like Alright, cool.

Bunch of boxes checked, you know. So if I have any recommendation for you, it's like definitely pay attention to that. Because I think when I was in my early 30s, I'm like, yeah, I'll have a family soon.

And it's like another year, another year, another year, another year, another year and then all of a sudden it's like, oh shit, like I'm forty now and I'm having a kid, you know, which is uh which is which is interesting.

But it's you know, it's definitely a a fun thing and the balance stuff, man, super important. I'm I'm in this really weird space now where it's like, I don't know. I I'm so I was so used to going a thousand miles an hour tunic and doing so many things I do not know how to slow down.

Yeah. Like I don't. It's like the best time I've had since Hoonigan was doing the Drifter film. That's right. Because I was I was working sixteen hour days and it felt normal to be like, cool, I'm nonstop work and I'm like bleeding out of my eyeballs and like why is it that this feels normal versus like having a down day and you're like What am I gonna do today?

And then you just fill the day with like bullshit because you're like you're just not used to stopping. Do you get to break? Do you take breaks much? Like do you do vacation? I don't do vacation a lot, but I've been I've gotten really good at like I basically work like eight to six.

And like at six like I pretty much shut off completely. Wow. I I could see what you're saying. Like I really enjoy when it's like a I don't want to say a chaotic eight to six, but like I like when there's a lot going on and like I'm my time feels well spent.

Um But then I love at at six, like I go drive a car to a restaurant or I go downtown, whatever. Like it's just no more. I don't open my phone for emails. I don't do any of that. Like it's been such a massive shift in like my mindset Uh like were you one of those people who was always looking at the metrics and the analytics of like how videos were doing?

Yeah, I would say last year I made a very conscious shift to like I don't say not care anymore, but like I'm it's weird, my whole life Is been growth. Yeah. So you get addicted to the growth. And then when you stop having growth.

When you stop having growth, it feels like you're failing. Right. And I think I just got to a point Where I decided like alright, I'm actually really happy like at this spot right here. I feel like I've got a really good fan base I really enjoy what I'm doing.

I think the size of my team is good. And this had just kind of occurred to me after I had like a pretty massive like ramp up of growth and then like a reset year. And then I was like, I don't want to get to that level again.

I really like that the level where I'm at right now. Yeah. And if I can maintain the same amount of views in every video and get to do the things that I want to do, I'm happy. I don't need to be chasing to hit a million views in every video.

Because it's it's crazy to think that like I don't know, maybe like back when I was doing BMX videos, there was a time where like I was getting a million views a day. Yeah. That's wild to think. And YouTube was a lot smaller then too.

So like that was crazy numbers. And the amount of people that are watching those BMX videos that didn't even ride BMX was wild. Did you think the BMX days were bigger than the car days for you, or did you see a decline when you first got into more making more car stuff?

It's a good question. I don't I think that the BMX videos were like a lot more consistent, higher views. Yeah. But it took like a week of filming to make one video. So the regularity was a lot more difficult where like once I moved in the car stuff it was a little bit easier to make content more often.

So I wouldn't say like it was just different. Yeah, 'cause I obviously we didn't meet till you were already doing on the car stuff and I think at that point you know, it wa you were one of the bigger sort of consistent creators and you were uploading like almost every day, it felt like, or every or at least four times a week.

I was I was daily until I I was daily through college and then for I think a couple of years after college before I like switched to every other day. Yeah. And that was a wild shift for me. I think I had I'd like been hanging out with TJ and he was like, yo, you can like upload every other day and and like you'll still get the same amount of views.

I was like, nah bullshit he goes, just try it. And I tried it and it was like the amount of life that I got back of like That is one thing that like I feel like I deprived myself of the social experience of my life from like age let's call it sixteen to twenty three twenty-four, I never went out to eat with anyone.

I just I would always go back to the hotel and remember and I would edit like there's no social life. So now it's the opposite. You'd come to LA and you'd be like, Hey, let's grab dinner and you'd be like, Sorry, I'm busy.

That's I think that's why I got breakfast with you. You're like, I've got twenty I've got you know twenty minutes before I fly out. Yeah. 'Cause you're always editing. So now it's like it's become the thing because I like rob myself of that so much, it's like my favorite thing to do.

If I ever have friends in town, like I don't care what I have going on. I'll do whatever it takes to get it done or drop it so I can go to dinner. So I'm a fiend, like friends going to dinner together, that's like my number one hobby Going to dinner's great.

Especially like when I have friends in town too. I throw a bunch of keys to all the cars. We go mob out. Indian Sizzler, shout out. That's bot. It's good. You like Indian food? Yeah, of course. You gotta come to Indian Sizzler.

Yeah, and we don't really have great Indian food here in California. I feel like Like we have some pretty good stuff on the East Coast, but I've also got to spend a lot of time traveling and producer next winter's hands up.

Like England rip rips for Indian food. It's like really, really good. Indian food, halal food, like all that does really well in the UK. Mostly 'cause they have nothing else that's good to eat there. Colored colors of brown, Nick, colors of brown.

Um, yeah, man, those are like uh some of my greatest memories when I was younger. I had a car club. was we would go because we were all broke kids, you know, you're like 19, 20 years old, spend all your money on your car.

And we would go to Applebee's for half price apps. And it was like it was like Monday night we would go. It was like next to this place. Sports Plus was the name of it. It was like a Dave and Busters like, you know, Temu version.

And we would go there, hang out, talk about cars for, you know, half an hour, and then go get half price apps and just like beast mode half price apps because you're like For ten dollars I can get boneless wings and also mozzarella sticks and everybody would just order.

And then you would just hang out for like two hours just chatting it up. And like those are like At the time they didn't feel special, but now as I'm older, it's like those are the like the best moments.

Like and then cruising out with everybody, like but going back home. You know, you get on the highway, everyone ripping. It's funny you say that. Like I think back to the BMX days and like some of some of the things I remember not the skate parks, but like I remember every time we went to to Haven Skate Park, which was like an indoor skate park, I remember stopping at the McDonald's and like getting getting McDonald's with my friends or like Same thing, we would go to TGI Fridays, which is like Applebee's, and we would get bottomless chips when we were riding in Waterbury, and like that was just that was our dinner.

We would sit there eating chips and soda. It I can remember so many days going snowboarding, which would did you snowboard? A little bit. I was never really great. I don't wanna I wanna get back to this, but are you one of those people where if you're not good at something, you don't do it?

No, I actually love snowboarding. It's more so just the fact that it like wasn't a super accessible thing that like I would you need to drive an hour, two hours to go to the mountain. Yep. But I like I love it.

Every year if the a group of friends goes, I'm so down. What would would have been the close mountains for you in Connecticut? I think like Jiminy Peak and No, there's Sun maybe like Sundown as a mountain.

They're like there wasn't a lot of great ones. Like the people that released nowhere, they would go to Butternut, wherever that is. Okay. And I think that was like a three or a four hour drive. Yeah. Um But no, I love going up the mountain.

Like the the chairlift ride. That's my favorite part. The going down part's cool too. I know for me though, like I think back and it's like I have more memories of eating. with friends after a good day of riding than the actual riding.

Like, you know, I could think about like those like particular moments or those days you landed like a trick. Like those things stood out. Like the first time I like stomped the 360 and you're like, fuck yeah, that's super cool But I have more memories of like this weird sandwich shop that we found and like we just like you know and you're like your hands are still frozen and you're like sitting there just eating, just shooting the shit with everybody and like reliving the day.

It's like, man, that was that was like so much, such a good fun kind of like moment. And it's it is funny as you get older, you look back and you're like, yeah, man, it's uh those weird personal like moments like that.

I mean I uh you know, when I came out to um we went out I forget, I don't even remember when, but we went and hung out with you know, Oaks and and just like that whole crew in Connecticut. And you go to Sally's?

Yeah. And it's like just like going and hanging like we it was like just two or three days. Like we were back and forth from like Tommy spot to Lime Rock, like it was just like all this like different stuff going on.

And I remember like me, Vinny, um Grant was there, uh, and we like kinda left being like, Man, I'm kind of envious of like the setup those guys have 'cause like Like there is they still have like this just like swing by each other's shop and like hang out and bullshit and like bust each other's balls.

It's like it's a it's a good vibe and like I think We got it definitely got to a point in Tunigan where things got so sort of business incorporate that like that piece started to kind of fall away. Like you were there in the early days when we were, I mean, we were just a clubhouse that like kind of ran a business.

But like as it became more and more of a business and it became less and less of somebody would just randomly stop by and your whole day would end because you get to like sit there and hang out. It's like those are definitely Definitely, definitely peak moments.

So what right now? Like you've got how many cars do you have at the moment? Like where do you even know? I've sold a lot. Yeah. So I I have less than I have at in other points in my life. There's uh the neighborhood like thirty to fifty.

Wow. Somewhere around there. So you don't actually know a number? There was a time I knew, but it like I buy and sell cars so often that like I don't keep a moving list. And those are all at the property in Florida or pretty much most of them?

Yeah, almost all of them, like minus the Lambeau and then um There's like a couple cars that I have in Japan and New Zealand. They're like scattered a little bit. You have a you have an Ebusu car still?

Yeah, yeah. I have an Ebusu car. I have a I have one car stored in Japan that's waiting to become legal and then Um I've got the super still in New Zealand waiting to get shipped back. And I've got a 240 in New Zealand.

What are your keepers? Because I know when you first got here we I walked with you and I walked around the Lambeau quickly and you're like, I don't know if it's a forever car Like do you think you have forever cars?

I mean I'd say almost every car that I own is a forever car. Wait, what? So you've kept them all as time. So to me it's like I think if it's something that I've put a considerable amount of effort or like video content towards, it becomes part of my story.

And I like to be able to look in my garage and see the evolution of building cars, my taste changing and all of this to where like Let's let's take an example of let's use my cream 240. It's not a good one because it's my first car, but if I were to sell that car, remove my name from it.

It's maybe worth like 15, 20 grand. Right. I would pay fifteen or twenty grand to just look at that for the rest of my life. That's it's it is not worth that. Now if that same car was worth two hundred, three hundred grand, I might have a second guess.

Like my Driftmaster's car, if someone came up to me and they offered me a couple hundred grand, I might consider selling it. Even though it was part of my journey just 'cause like it that's a that's a enough money to like make a difference.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's why the the GT threes and stuff I always play the game of trading them back because like As much as I would love to sell my first GT3 RS, it's it wouldn't be worth having that amount of money just sitting.

Yeah. I feel like that's also like you've got how many GT3s have you had now? I've had I've had the the 991. 2 RS, then I had a 992 GT3, then I had a 992 GT3 touring, now I have a 992 GT3 RS. So I've had four and then I've had two turbos.

Do you have a nine nine you never had a nine nine seven? No, I was never a nine nine seven guy. Oh really? Have you driven one before? Yeah, and it just for me the Porsche is of what I've always loved about them is they don't feel like a 240 Right.

I've driven a couple nine nine sevens and like the front McPherson is so like darty and twitchy and like it doesn't It doesn't feel as much as a nice car. And like I get I get ridiculed a lot for this opinion.

I'm not a nine nine seven guy. And I'm sure I'll own one someday and then people will make me eat my words. Yeah. But like I really loved my 991. 2 That was a great car. But the 992 is is as much as I like old shit, like the 992 is sick.

Yeah. I mean not the RS, the GT3 was sick. A lot of people say that the you know the those cars have just become easier and easier to drive. So I think that like traditional nine eleven people like how much harder the older cars were to drive.

Which like doesn't make sense when you say it out loud. But there's definitely that like, oh the car just kind of is a little bit more rewarding, which I think is like the mentality. Um but you know uh like having have I have friends who've had both and I think everyone leans to 997.

2 as like the best. But if you ask anyone like what's faster on track, it's like yeah the the new cars are where it's at. So I'm like I'm so focused on the engine part of it that it's really hard for me to take a less optimized version of the same engine.

And I know it's not same because the nine and seven are still the Metzgers, right? Yep. But like even if I compare like a nine nine one to a nine nine two, the nine nine two they change some stuff with the intake and like the motor is so much more torque that it's so much better to drive around.

It's like the 992 for me is just it's the best version of the engine. It still sounds great, but it's got a ton of torque down low. And you get this new upper front wishbone that doesn't make it do all the darty McPherson things.

So that was always the big thing for me because like driving around my road has so much camber on it that like the McPherson cars are just doing this the whole time getting yanked around And it's like not enjoyable and then I hop in the upper ARM car and it's just like it feels like I'm driving a Cadillac that's still as sharp as any Porsche I've ever driven.

Hmm. I don't have a lot of time in the newer cars, so like for me I just like the I like old shitboxes and I I like the dartiness and that's a thing that that I've just enjoyed, but Um and I just like the connectivity of them, but that's all that's all a pretty good argument.

A conversation that you and I started when we got here and I kinda paused it because I wanted to ha have it now is I've noticed this thing where a lot of us who started in YouTube on budget chipbox builds, right?

Two forties, E36s, whatever it might be. Um have you know have done well and are now graduating like we all just seem to kind of graduate into that like Porsche Lambo Ferrari space. Um which I think is a weird thing because I like I still it's still weird to me that I own this Ferrari behind me because it's just not me.

And you said that like you don't feel like that Lambos you but like You still bought it and you still even questioned like whether or not it's gonna be a forever car because there's something cool and and special about it.

But I do hear from the audience that like for the audience it's weird because like they all like they didn't change the same like way that we did. They still love all the shitboxes we build. But we've all sort of graduated to this other thing because as you get more successful and you have more means, you get more access to other things.

And all of a sudden, like you have less interest, or at least some people have less interest on work still trying to make a you know, E thirty six do something or whatever. Um Wh where do you sort of find that balance?

Because like for me looking at you when you first started like posting about GT3s, I was like, oh, this is a side of Adam I didn't even know existed. I think what's always been cool for me is because I'm I'm into so many different like genres of car stuff, I've formed all these like pockets of my audience where like I do the Porsche stuff and I have a bunch of the Porsche guys that watch those videos.

I do the two forty stuff and has those. Maybe the Evo's guys had a different Evo audience and I feel like that's kind of been a strong point of mine is like I'm not stuck on one brand or like one genre of cars.

Yeah. So it it also kind of like cross-pollinates like oh here's some of the Porsche guys getting more interested in drifting or drifters getting more interested in Porsche's. I just anything that's like a a cool driving experience gets me excited.

And I do think I was I was pretty nervous at what the audience was gonna think of the Lambo thing. Because the Lambo is like it's way out of pocket for me. Like it doesn't it's not on brand anything but it's it's it's douchey is like the thing that most people look at.

But it's also pretty cool Well and and I had wanted a Lamborghini so bad that I remember I told my high school teacher, I was like, I'm gonna have a Lamborghini before I graduate college and I was gonna go there and I was gonna show up at school and be like, Yeah, look, I did it.

I bought a house instead, which I think was way smarter decision. Um but I as I like got older I I learned like I don't want to l be a Lambo guy. Like yeah. And I was really surprised to see how much people actually like the videos with the car just because it's through a different lens.

Right No fault to D D. I love those guys. Like I think what they do is really cool. D D making a video about a Mercy Lago is way different than my take on a Mercy Lago. Of course. I'll I'll spend fifteen minutes talking about like one little dumb bolt underneath the car because I think it's so funny that they use this one bolt.

because I'm comparing it to two forties, which is also what my audience knows about. Right. So it's like I'm I'm a Lamborghini owner through the lens of shared experiences of the other people that watch my content.

So it's it's different. Yeah. No and I I love that perspective because I feel sort of the same way about it. I um I actually feel uncomfortable sometimes driving my Ferrari around, which I don't feel that way about the 9-11.

9-11 is worth way more than the Ferrari. But for something to me the 911 doesn't seem as um They blend in. People don't know. Yeah, they kind of I mean mine doesn't blend in so much, but it blends in more than the average.

And I don't know, it's like an old nine eleven and I don't know, and I didn't pay that much for it, it obvious it's worth a lot more now. But uh like that car just feels normal to me where this feels like I have this huge like thing like look at me.

You got the Ferrari badge or you got the Lambo doors. It's screaming. I mean yours is orange. I'm rich. I'm rich and I want you to know I'm rich. You see a nine six four and it's like That's probably an older guy that has good taste.

Right, right, yeah, yeah. Do you do you find that like just driving this around now? Like even driving it in LA? Dude, the first time I drove it home from when I bought it I stopped to get gas and like the first time I put the doors up and everyone looked over, I I regretted my decision so much.

I I lifted the door half Yeah, it's a weird thing to be embarrassed. And it's like you deserve it. You have worked super hard. I have witnessed you work that hard. You deserve to go buy those fun things in life.

But It is weird to be like, I don't really feel like I belong in it. Vinny gives me shit all the time because he's always like, bro, why are you still pretending to be poor when you're not anymore? And I'm like, because I know poor so well, it fits me like a glove.

I was like, it's I would rather drive my shitbox Volkswagens around than my nice cars. I was like, I don't know. It just It's just a weird, like I just feel more at home driving that or driving something that like you built your own and you modified your own and you made it your own versus just like, oh, this is a really cool spec that I paid the money for.

I think that's that's a really big thing. I love my nine six four. Like a lot of people ask me my favorite cars. I think it's probably my nine six four. Oh really? And like that car's kind of my daily right now.

So like I've been putting miles on it. Nice. And it's It's just like a good car. Yeah. You put a lot of work into that thing too, right? Yeah, and like I did a lot of it myself too. So it's like it's a different type of passion.

Like someone asked me a question about that car, I'm excited to talk about it. The Lamborghini, I haven't really done that much. So like it doesn't feel like it's like something that I created. Like my mint nine six four I think is cool as fuck.

And like I know every single thing that was done to that car. I did a lot of them myself and Like I love that car. It's a great color too. Like that color just stands out so much. When I first moved to California before RWB stuff on my car, um, I had a Nissan Titan and a 9-11 when I left New York.

And for some reason the 9-11 showed up first on transport and then the Nissan Titan got like lost in transport and I ended up having the 911 as my daily driver for like four months. And it's probably the best time I had with that car.

Uh I remember going to like Home Depot and having to buy two by fours and I put like a moving blanket over the roof and it had like the four it had like the four point oh wing in the back and I just had like it going across the back like, you know, ratchet strapped.

And I wish I had like taken a photo of it at the time 'cause it was pretty cool, but like but I was just using it as a car. And like all my friends referred to it as like the Hank Moody nine eleven. I don't know if you ever saw the California Cation, but Um, because I would just like leave it parked at the movie theater.

I would go there because it didn't seem it wasn't as special as it is now. Like now it's like such a special car because my elevens are through the roof that like I question it more. But like it is a really good car to daily.

Like it it certainly is. Of all my cars, it's the only one I think right now that has working air conditioning too, which is nice. Rule out the like new RSs because they're so like loud and in your face.

That was always my favorite thing about the 9-11s, is like you could have a GT3 into most people. It just looked like any other Porsche. And it's so funny because like I watched there was like a super car blondie or someone like that on Facebook that was like talking down about GT3s because like, oh you spend all this money, it just looks like every other 911.

And I'm like That's the point. You don't get it. That's the point. It's like you have this thing and like only only the people that like get excited about that thing know and it to everyone else it's like oh it's a Porsche so it's like a nice car but they have no idea what it is I mean my favorite cars in the world are the if you know you know.

I have an Audi R S too. You know me times I'll have some old guy come over and be like Oh yeah, I ha I had one of those. I'm like, Oh you did? Like where'd you get it? Oh yeah, I got it at the dealership over here and I'm like, Yeah, yeah, 'cause he just thinks it's like a B five or a B four.

Like he doesn't and it's like I love that it just blends in because if you know people will lose their mind you'd be like, oh my god, is that an R is that an RS2? Everyone else is just you just kind of blend in, which is like my favorite, my favorite type of car.

And I think 9-Eleven's used to blend in. I think nowadays though they've become such this part of pop culture that like even the most basic nine eleven sort of stands out, but not in the same way. a bright yellow, a bright orange Marcialago does.

Yeah. Like that just like yells like you know, look at me and attention. But it's crazy because I think a lot of I mean TJ's like he's stacking a bunch of 911s, everything else. I think a lot of a lot of people who got obviously Vinny's like given up like shitboxes.

Vinny's like fully Vinny is moving more and more day by day to I only want to own OEM brand new cars that like don't have any problems. And like I get it, I get it. But um but for me it's like I I dream about building dumb cars.

I don't even like think about acquiring more of this. Like I probably need to sell sell more of this. So Yeah, so do you think you'll you'll is this like the one or are there more that are on the list of the kind of dream cars to buy I I just really enjoy like nice cars, if that makes sense.

And I think the 964 opened my eyes that like I can find stuff that's not new, but is like a nice car from an older era. And the 964 is a weird one because like stock, they're not the greatest. They're not super exciting.

So like that obviously cost a considerable amount of money and time to get it to where it is. But I'm intrigued by cars that are special that don't need a lot of things to make them exciting. Right. And I don't know what that means.

Like the Career GT before it became an unobtainum would have been a car on the list. Yeah. Like F40 type, like the it's like not a hypercar, but it's it's a level above a supercar, like that. Right. I don't even know what you'd classify it as.

Th this conversation is one that I've had forever because in the magazine era, like a nine eleven was never considered a supercar, it was always just a sports car. But now that's hard to say with the new GT3RS because it does supercar level stuff.

And then hypercar is like a whole other level of things. But it's like, I don't know, but then is an NSX a sports car or a supercar? I don't know. It's a it's it's such a weird like Yeah. you know, uh is a V eight versus, you know, V twelve, like what makes it this or that?

I don't know. I think at a certain point Like you once you get above sports car, it's all kind of supercar, hypercar land. And I think those two things blend and I'm not that into that world, so I don't care to have the argument over it.

Like I've listened to the Matt Farrers and the Chris Harris's and everyone like talk about that. It's like I don't know. None of that really excites me as much as you know, some car with a really weird engine swap in it.

Sure. That's more what I'm into. But you get to a point with like engine swaps and stuff and you know that there's always gonna be these quirks. It never works the way you think it's going to. My my life's mission is to perfect all the cars that I own.

And I will just I have a note that is pages and pages and pages long. Every time I drive the car, that's that's what I'm thinking about. It's really funny. Like I'm just I'll be driving, I'll be with someone, they see me pull up the my phone, they instantly know what I'm doing.

And I'm just like adding notes of like fix this, this tie rod loose, this want to try different rear alignment. Like I'm just laser focused. But I like I feel like that also gives me a purpose. Yeah. As silly as it sounds.

Like Ash Ketchum's purpose was to catch 'em all. Mine's to perfect all the cars. I get that. I get that. Because I think I um I'm at the point now where I realize I have too many cars for what I want to do with them all.

Because you've bought a lot of cars that you either finished and then kept, or you bought cars that were, you know, just drivers I bought a lot of like these really lofty project cars. I was like, oh, I'm gonna do all this to it.

And then I just never had the time to do it. Those are some of the cars that I've been selling. Okay. Because I'm like I'm accepting that like I'm probably never gonna get to it. Like I just sold my, I had a Evo TMERS.

Super rare. Two hundred made, probably a hundred left, because all of them were rally cards that people just destroyed. Yep. And like I had I had all the parts to turn that into like a sick time attack car.

But it's just I had no purpose. I had no desire to do it. I've always got other things that were more important and I like accepted, all right. Like certain cars that I own almost stress me out because I know that like it's almost like a hundred thousand dollar liability of what it'll cost me to build it and I don't care that I don't care to drive it in its current form.

Right. Yeah. So like I have cars like that. Like my GC eight I kind of feel that way and I'm like I didn't even know you had a GC eight. Yeah, I've got it's a version six STI type R. Super cool car. Yeah.

Like I don't this isn't I mean I guess whatever I'll just say anyway. Like I have a really nice FD. I've never made a video about it. I hide it in all the videos because I'm not I've spent so much money to find the nicest FD on fucking planet Earth.

then now I'm scared to build it. Because it's such a nice car. I'm like I should sell it and I should buy like a driver. Right, right. Instead of touching that. Yeah, like a driver spirit R instead of this RX7 they spent so much money on.

And like also look at it and I'm like, I don't care to drive a stock. I'm gonna spend all this money and time to build it and when am I ever gonna do that? I uh that's I think sort of the issue I have with my love affair with cars is the cars or the silhouettes I like aren't good stock Like they all need something, especially in like a modern day situation.

Because you get into a car that may have been fast in the nineties and it's like it just doesn't It just doesn't do the same thing anymore. Or you're like, oh, I want better braking, I want this, and then everything kind of like spirals out.

But the mistake I made was I bought a lot of things um when they were cheap. And now I feel like I've like invested in this weird stock and like, oh, but if I get rid of it now, like I'm am I really gonna want to replace it?

Am I gonna want to buy it again? You know, because you're like, oh and in my head I think Oh, I'm eventually gonna do this. Like I'm eventually gonna do all these plans, but I'm starting to kind of come to grips with like, I don't know.

I have 26, 27 cars right now, like 12 of them are runners, the rest are all projects. So it's like I really need to just sit there and probably just focus on the twelve that are runners, maybe sell a couple, take a couple projects that need to get finished.

Like I don't know if you ever saw that. Audi Coupe Quattro that I built. Um like that car runs but doesn't drive because I haven't taken the weekend to figure out why the clutch is not pushing in because the slave isn't pushing the rod far enough.

That's it. That was two years ago. It's just like life. It's like there's just a bunch of things going on. And without there being without me being involved in content anymore, there's not like that content driver of like, oh, I gotta get this done because I gotta get that episode done It's just like I just have to do it, but then once it's done, it it's like that just opens up a whole of the can of worms because then I'm gonna go drive it and find a list of things that are wrong.

Because I completely reimagined the geometry of the entire car. It is not going to work the way I want, and it's going to take years and years of development. And I don't like I wanna I don't really have that bandwidth, nor do I have like if I look at all the other projects I have, but at the same time I'm so invested in that project I can't sell it.

It's like I couldn't just like sell it and not finish it. So it's like I eventually have to do it. And I think it's like your point. It's like that's a hundred thousand dollar liability. Like I look at that car and I just know that like Once I start getting into it, like figuring out all the little stuff.

And it's all the small stuff. And it's all the small stuff. And we talk about this all the time on this podcast where it's like There's this whole list of like the last five percent that doesn't make for good content.

And like you but you have to do it. That's my favorite part. Is it? Oh, you like that stuff? Yeah, because that's the that's where I like I get so laser focused on these cars where like I get obsessed, like I won't sleep if there's a problem that I need to figure out.

So like that's why I think a lot of the cars get to a a a better point. 'Cause I won't if I have a clutch problem, I won't I will just f that is the only thing that I'll think about. And you can't get out of your head.

Yeah, and it like or like there's a little rattle. I'll get so obsessed with it. But what's funny is like most of my cars, at least in the beginning days, they all like just happened because it was a marketplace deal.

Like my f my first FD car, like I got 'cause it was like a good deal. They were never nice cars to start with. Yeah. And there was a certain point Where I started realizing, oh, well, I keep on buying all these shitty cars and I put all this money and all these parts of them.

I should probably start with nicer examples. And I think that's where like my R thirty four project and like I went down this rabble with the FD, my chaser is really nice, like my nine six four, 'cause it's like What difference is it gonna make if I spend twenty, thirty percent more and get the nicest car possible to start with with nice paint that's like a really nice car and I build that instead of getting whatever the cheapest car was?

That was like a really big regret. Because I like look at my garage and be like, man, all these cars like They started as like shit. Yeah. I that's definitely where I'm at, and I think a lot of that comes from the YouTube like mentality, which is like I want to take this thing that's a shitbox and then completely strip it down and like do this massive like makeover of what this vehicle is.

without realizing that like man that's hard to do with every single project you have, right? And every car, like to dig that deep into it and just tear it down to the bones. And so I have these cars that I'm now like Uh some of them I'm already half invested in.

I'm like, I've already like put so much or effort and not even like money, it just like effort. Yeah. Like I tracked down these parts or I found this really rare stuff because like all the weird Audi stuff I like is difficult because some of them only like a hundred of them were sold in the US.

Like they weren't popular here. They're hard to get the parts from anywhere else. So it's like you spend all this time like tracking it all down. And then I sit there and I'm like, I should have started with a much nicer car.

Like I wouldn't have tried to track all of this stuff down. That's part of the fun though. It is. I know. That's like kind of my favorite part, is like the the hunt for the parts is sometimes just as fun as the actual bowl.

Tommy is a great example of that. Oh yeah. That man is constantly hunting parts for cars that he doesn't even own. I get that though. Like I'll find something rare that'll make me want to buy the car it goes to.

I've done the same thing. Like you find either like a super rare manifold or something you're like, oh I gotta build this car now. Yeah. Like that'd be super cool. How many guys do you have helping you now?

Do you have you still you have a decent shop of people working? So in my shop right now I've got Sean who's a tech. I've got Josh and Ray who are paint and body. Yep. Um, and then Freddie kind of works here and there on the FD team and like assists in projects on the tuning.

Um he doesn't technically work for me. He's just in the shop a lot. And then uh we've got a new guy, JP, who again doesn't technically work for me. He also works for a couple other companies, but he's in the shop all the time doing all our fab stuff.

So it's kind of like three guys, but we get a lot of help from Freddie and JP too. How big of a change was it for you when you got the compound? Uh it was it I mean that was huge, huge change. I mean it was from a business level, because that was also tied in with uh purchase of Drift HQ.

Yep. So like I think I I fumbled I fumbled my way through like the first year or two and then I just realized like I wanted to be a better leader. I just felt like You can you can get away with like treating a business like you're a bunch of friends and it can be really fun for so long.

And there's a certain point where doing that actually creates a worse environment for everyone and you have to add structure and you have to be an actual leader. Yeah. Because just being buddies with everyone actually makes it a worse work environment for them.

And that was like a big realization. And I took the initiative and I joined a like a CEO kind of course type like group um and just really like worked on myself. And I feel like that was a really pivotal change of like understanding how to run a business, how to deal and communicate with people and how to set up proper like hierarchy of like I have different People that manage different departments and like all of that structure that like sounded so scary and was always against like what I would want to do coming from the BMX world But it's really like allowed the business to grow and like everyone to have a good time doing what they're doing.

Yeah, I don't think people talk enough about how difficult it is to work with friends. Like it is I think some of the toughest days I had at Hoonigan was the struggle between having to be someone's boss And then that person also being my friend.

You know, and I remember, you know, having conversations with people at the company who would be annoyed about something and they'd be like, Well, you need to say something. And I was like, well here's the problem.

If I say something, I also have to spend the rest of the day working on creative ideas with this person. So if this person shows up twenty minutes late to work, which they shouldn't But then like I grill them on that.

They're now annoyed with me. And now I have to spend, you know, the rest of the day with them being annoyed. What I then realized later on, so I so I wouldn't. I would let pe I would let a lot of people get away with murder who I shouldn't have let do that.

But then what I realized later on as like I matured and kind of grew through it was that Those other people who were complaining that this person was getting away with murder were like they were actually the good employees.

Like they were the ones who were doing it. And because I wasn't being firm enough with this one person, I was it was sort of a disservice to them. It was like disrespectful to the dude who was there on time, who was doing their thing, right?

Huge. And, you know, that really sort of shifted like in the later years and starting to kind of realize that. I I never wanted to be a boss though. Like an that's I think the problem is like you can be a leader.

which I think I was decently good at leading, right? Like people would follow me into fire. It was like, I don't know, Scott's got a crazy idea, but we're gonna go do it, right? And but I had a hard time being a manager.

Sure. Right. And I think that, you know, there were elements, there were times where I would bring in someone to help manage for me so that I could like be more focused on leading the the brand and being sort of the vision and and all of that.

um and really be more of like the hoorah coach, like let's do this, kinda get everyone excited. Um, but then there's a disconnect there too. It becomes difficult 'cause then you have like the one per like you have the person who becomes like for s you know, sake of a better word like a disciplinarian that everyone ends up hating.

Right. And it's like so it's it's it's a difficult thing. But I do think like you find this weird spot where It kind of works and and for me um Hoonigan worked best when it was fifteen people. Fifteen people was like an was like the right number where like we could all still go get dinner together.

Yeah. Right. I think once it became forty people and a lot of people really never had like direct contact with me other than you know, just running into each other in the building 'cause they had like their higher up that they spoke to and everything started getting I I just felt like I no longer had control over certain things.

Like I couldn't like the way I saw things wasn't being, you know um sort of translated to other people the way I would do it and then I was getting annoyed, but I'm getting annoyed at someone who like I never even directly spoke to about it.

So like How are they gonna know? And I I think there's just a certain scalability in building authentic brands that it's really hard once you get over a certain size. You know, and you look at it whether it was in BMX or skateboarding, like you start to get big and it's like it just becomes hard to like keep that thing true.

At the same time I couldn't do what I did for Hoonigan in the first whatever, however many years it was before we started to really kind of grow past that for much longer than I did without absolutely burning.

out because I was like when we were doing daily transmission I was we were going we were uploading at midnight I don't know why we did that but we were uploading at midnight I would work with the editors on the edit till midnight.

We would get it finished around like 1030 just so it would render in time. It would go up at midnight, and then I would stay in the comments until two o'clock in the morning every night. And then I would still get up at seven every morning because like there was like the whole apparel business that we were running that like I ha I had to get there for.

And It was super fun, but my goodness was that like exhausting. So it's like, I don't know, finding good people around you though is is like is great. But I I now that I work solo I miss the everyday of just having like your friend group.

It's like these are like these are all my friends and now I don't see them as much anymore. It's like we have to like make plans to go see each other. Like, oh let's go get dinner tonight. Let's go do this.

Where when you work together you're like you just fucking see each other every day. You show up at the same place every day. How so how many people in total are at the compound? Uh a little over thirty full time.

Oh wow. Damn, you've built a you built uh you built a business now. Yeah. Yeah. But man, like, you know, kind of going off what you said, it it is one of the coolest things. Like, I've got such a great team to just know like I feel like we could almost do anything.

Like if if we get a task or something thrown at our plate, like I know that like we've got some really good people and they're down to do what it's gonna take, whether we're talking on the car side, on the drift HQ side, on the sim HQ side, like It's just it's really cool to have that feeling of like all these amazing people at your back that are like down.

What all what are all the businesses right now? So the way that it's it's segmented, it's kind of like my personal I call it my personal, which is like uh the race shop, the YouTube stuff, my merch business I kind of treat separately, LZMFG.

That's kind of operates as its own entity. Drift HQ operates as its own entity and then Sim HQ operates as its own entity. So I kind of play in the shop with the race cars, do the YouTube stuff, and like manage the guys that work on the cars, and like that's my thing.

Okay And then all the other pieces have their own heads that kind of kind of run that. And then you help support in in all of that. Right. And then what does um Like where does the tour land under? Is that the tour's kind of like its own separate entity.

That's a partnership between me and Drift Games. So like that's kind of like an adjacent to what we do. Yeah. You got a lot going on too. Yeah. But like I've again, like I've just learned that as long as I partner with the right people.

I mean Drift HQ, Duarte, my business partner, was like the ninety percent of the reason why I even made that move. Cause like I loved Duarte and I knew that I if I was going to take the parts journey, I wanted him to be my partner Same thing with the World Tour.

The World Tour would not exist if I didn't have Drift Games as a partner. Yeah. So like I've learned to really just find people that are really talented and just like give them the tools and the freedom to be able to do the things that they're good at.

And like it's it's crazy. Yeah, and I think that, you know, a lot like YouTube is just really interesting place. I think a lot of people did it the wrong way. Um I think in many ways Hoonigan did it in the wrong way, especially in the later years.

Um I think Donut ended up doing it the right way, then the wrong way. Um and I think that there was this model where like Individual creators was really what YouTube was built for. The team model, while super fun, is a lot more of a struggle to create Right.

Like one, the algorithm doesn't really do well if you've got one person one day and another person next. Like everyone's showing up every day because they want Adam. That's what they get. With Hoonigan, you would have shown up and it would have been like hurt one day and Zack the next, which like literally couldn't be more polar opposite people in terms of what they like and everything.

But on top of that, I think that You know, a lot of people talk about how like being a YouTuber is just not um sustainable anymore because like there's not really enough money from just the YouTube to grow a business of more than maybe one or two people.

But what it does allow you to do is what you did, which is like you just gotta build like four or five other businesses that support that one thing. And I think as you know, you said it early in this pod.

Um YouTube is there because it helps fuel it all, but it's like all those other pieces are the pieces that like come together. And I I spend a lot of time looking at it from that side because it's interesting to see like what's still working, what's still successful.

Because like you and Cletus have a somewhat similar kind of approach to things. Like yeah, you're you're in different spaces, you have different audiences. But in terms of you you know you both have an involvement in a parts thing.

You have like a compound that, you know, he uses his a little bit differently, but it's a b big place place to create your brand, your brand affinity, your content, stuff like that. You obviously have apparel.

You're both competing in series. You have your thing that does that. And it's like that seems to be like the best working model. But it isn't easy. Yeah, I mean look, I I think Glitus would probably say similar thing to me as Formula Drift, where like he doesn't need to be doing that.

It probably doesn't really He would probably make a lot more money doing other things. But it's probably a personal goal of his. And like he now gets to do this thing and like have something to work towards 'cause like He could do whatever he wants.

He could fly his planes and helicopters and it gets boring. Yeah. No, and look, I mean, I I think I s made this joke to you the other day, but we always said Hoonigan was a really profitable business and can spend all the profits on rally racing.

It's like he didn't have that wasn't where we made our money, but that's what fueled him. It's like it's it's what he wanted to go do. So you do all of this to create the paths and the access to Go do that kind of stuff, right?

You know, I think similar to you guys have oddly parallel stories. Um I'm sure people have said to you before, but it's like in very different spaces, even though you guys are friends, you do content together, but like it is like these two different worlds.

Like and that's something that we learned, you know, in our days of like The w the world of, you know, sports cars, the world of drifting, the world of JDM cars, and then the world of American cars is like This like whole totally separate space.

But you're blending them now. You've got a big block. Yeah. Tell me more about that thing. I mean, uh it's just one of those things where like I get excited about cool engines. Yeah. It doesn't matter what I'm saying.

I've noticed that. That seems to be a theme. Like engines are a big driver for you. Yeah, I just like again, like I I'm just excited. I'm that first start, that dyno run, the trying the different cams and this and that to see I like the cause and effect of it.

It's a very clear cut. I do this, I get this result. And sometimes it's like There'll be a a world like the Rotary World where something gate kept and like I don't we the only way we can know is find out and then it works and you get excited.

You're like, ah, success. I like that. What are your top five favorite engines? Ooh, the four rotors definitely, definitely up there. Yeah. Um That thing sounds. I mean, going back to filming on Drifter, like my God, just the sound that thing would make was just so crazy.

It's got so much character too. Like it's not just the sound, also the way it feels and like the the emotions that it evokes That's up there. My 2J and my FD car is incredible. So like that's for sure up there.

I really like my air-cooled four-liter. That engine's got so much soul. Yep. Um SRs are great and I love an SR, but I don't think it has the same Like pedigree as these other engines. Like I love an SR, but I don't know if I would put it in my top five engines.

Right. Although a lot of people tell you it's God's motor. No, I agree. Like I I think it is But I don't think I'd put it in my top five engines. Like if I compare that to like a four-liter uh nine nine two Porsche motor, like it's good, but it's not that Turbo S54, really cool.

Like there I don't know, I'll I can name so many. This is a show I want to do because I do this other podcast called Firing Order where we just make lists. And we bring everyone on and then we just fight about it.

Right. And like maybe maybe if uh next time you're out here I'll I'll save that one for you because it's a hard one to get into. Because you start going like man this is really good and there's like oh well he's like some weird peculiar engine that like you forget about and you're like oh yeah that's a really cool thing.

I get it I like weird motors that no one really talks about So watching a video the other day on the like the GM inline five, which is like the Vortec 3600 or whatever. I think they love those in Brazil.

Sounds sounds about right. Super common over there. And that's where I learned about it. Like, wow, why have I never heard of this? Yeah. Yeah. And it's it's basically like the 4200 that you know, the inline six that everyone was calling like the American uh Jay-Z.

It's a that just shorter. Yeah. Just with you know five cylinder slap. And like I was I saw a video though the other day of one running. I was like, that thing sounds insane. Because I'm the person where like if it sounds cool, I like it.

Oh, 100%. Yeah. It needs to it needs to sound cool and it needs to have character. Yeah. Like there are some engines that like sound good. Like I think I'm probably getting triggered a lot of people. I think like Vypers Like the like the Vyper engine sounds cool.

Okay. But I don't feel like that engine has character. That makes sense. Yeah, it has like a weird like angry throatiness to it. That's cool. But there's like it it m makes a a good amount of torque, but it doesn't it kind of just like falls on its face.

It doesn't like rev high. It doesn't it sounds cool, but it's like there's It's lacking the like excitement portion. Right. You know what I mean? And I think any engine that doesn't Rev lacks that excitement.

Like I can't think of that many engines that you know, don't rev high that you're like, man, that's a really great engine. Uh B-58, S58 engines don't rev super high, and like I think those are pretty good.

Like stock two J revs to seventy two hundred, but it sounds so cool going to seventy two hundred. Yeah, but seventy two hundred's high compared to like if you're seventy two hundred to me is low. Yeah, I know, but I'm like seventy two hundred's the beginning of getting into the higher.

Yeah, you look at a lot of old American engines and it's like six grand sixty two hundred, sixty-five hundred is like is like red line and you can't really push them past it that way. No, no, no, no. No, we don't like that.

But I like obscure stuff. I I realize like When I was younger, I think I kind of fought that and I l I l I was like, but I I'm just like I like the things that like less people know about 'cause I enjoy the research it takes to figure it all out.

Sure. I think to the same point that you're like, oh I like to put in these cams. I did the bear up pretty early on before a lot of people were doing. But again, it's just like I see these things and I get excited about 'em.

Yeah. Because I don't know. It's something new to learn about And it's it's similar with Freddie too. Like Freddie's become a big part of what I do. I like things that get him excited. He likes things that he hasn't done before.

Yeah. I like things that I haven't done before. So we kinda like feed each other's like frenzy of uh we call it feeding each other's tisms. I don't know if I don't know if that's PC to say. No, I look, man, I think most of us are on some level of spectrum to make a whether it's making content, working on cars, um, this whole thing.

I don't know. It's it's like this is a world that does very well for the neurodivergent. So it it definitely is. Like whether it's a little bit of a tism or it's the whatever it is, like there's something about your ability to sit there and be like, I'm totally cool with hyperfocusing on this for nineteen hours straight and learning everything I need to know about this in a really condensed amount of time.

Where like most people like, I don't know, I don't want to figure that out. is a is a is a bonus here these days. Welcome to another snack cart brought to you by our good friends at Vyper Industrial. As you'll notice, Adam L Z's not sitting here because I forgot to record it with him.

But I do have Chris Stewart from Grid Life and Ron Carr. This is a little teaser of an upcoming firing order. But first, and most importantly, let's have a snack. So today We've got a Hershey crunchy waffle and cone pieces.

All right, let's let's let's let's hop into it. We're gonna have to split this because I've only got two. Okay. Hot cake. This tastes just like crackle. I was just gonna say this is a crunch bar. He just rebranded.

They just rebranded crackle. So you think that this is crackle from because I have a whole theory about candy corn. How candy corn hasn't been produced since 1960. Everybody just gives it to each other and then it goes into a mysterious place and then it just gets re-gifted.

I'm I'm like pretty excited about where like the whole world is now where like Hershey and Reese is actually no the whole world actually sucks But I'm pretty excited. I'm pretty snacked. Don't take it out of context.

Don't take it out of context. I'm pretty excited where the snack world's at right now. Snack world's No, because like they they like discovered like they discovered collabs. Like Reese's is the supreme in the game.

Oh yeah. Like they're just collabing with everything. Yes. Twix has been killing it too. Actually. Twix. Yeah, there's been a lot of like Twix is doing big things right now too. It's all the collabs we have.

I was just gonna bring that up. the Cool Ranch Lays because they've been doing the they've been doing the flavor swaps where it's like your favorite Doritos flavor now as a potato chip. Anyway, that's another snack card brought to you by Vyper.

Back to the show. Do anyone want that last bite? Yep. Hell yeah. Since we haven't, we're almost at the two-hour mark. Um and we haven't talked about it. Um Drifter. It was fun working with you on that.

Did you enjoy um did you enjoy acting? It was very cool. It was very stressful. I'm Was it did you find it stressful? I just remember that the scene. You I imagine you would have been there when I had to stand on the wall and like talk to everyone.

I wasn't there for that because I was filming all the action stuff. Oh yeah, yeah, you guys were on the back on Horse Steve. I had like a monologue and it was so long and like It was part of like a long uncut scene.

Yeah. And I didn't know any of this. Like I was like kinda lazy about memorizing my lines. Yep. And in none of it was natural to what I say. And I just remember like all the people that were down there too are like my friends.

Right. So like I had to stand up on the all my friends. It's like windy out. And it's part of this massive scene where if I mess up it screws up the whole take and everyone like there's so many people investing time in this.

all the pressure's on me and I felt like it came out so awkward and corny and I was I didn't want to watch a movie. I was like I can't I can't I thought you were I thought you looked great in the movie.

I thought it worked really well for you. No yeah. Once I saw it I was like oh I don't know what the like it you know, maybe there's some movie magic, but it came out great. And I was like, I I feel like the movie made me look so cool.

I'm like I went into it like wanting to like cover my head with my hood and like not look at it. And then I got out of it and I'm like I look I I don't want to take credit for it, but when you know Sung approached me years ago for the initial D film that was originally gonna do, and then that didn't work out Um he reached back out to me a year later and he said, Hey, I'm working on this script.

Um, would you like to read it? You know, I really would love to have you be involved in it. And I read the script. And, you know, and I on the first pass, and it had changed a lot from that original thing to what actually got made.

But I hit him back and I said, um, hey I this might be weird, but like I was reading this character and I just think it fits Adam L Z really well. And he was like Huh, interesting. And like that was and then obviously after that, like I brought you in, we had the conversation and all of that.

And the the reason I actually thought it fit wasn't because you were the character, but because there's actually I I think you were sort of the antithesis of the character in some ways in that this was the person who didn't want someone new coming into drifting, right?

It was almost like the opposite of sort of your story of like that idea of like this was the guy who came up through the, you know, unorthodox ways or whatever. Um, but there was just something about that and then also like the fore rotor super I think just it looks like a villain's car Like it just does.

It just has that that look to it. And it was like all of that just I think worked out like really well. Like those pieces I'm I'm I'm happy that all went together. And I I was stoked too. I mean, unfortunately we didn't get to work together as much, but we did some fun stuff at ETAW, which was great.

But That for me is like my like that's my fun zone. I just fucking love that. I love being on set. I love directing all that stuff. I love putting it all together. I love all the problems that come up because I enjoy figuring them out as we're going.

I love that it's just like it's just like all of that just like is is so much fun. One of my favorite things at the track is when something goes really wrong, everyone's freaking out and that like kumbaya moment where you get everyone together and go, all right, this is the problem.

You're gonna do this You're gonna do this. This is how we're gonna it's not gonna be great, but we're gonna get it done. I that is like the coolest feeling ever. And then everyone gets motivated, they go and do it, and then it all works out.

Do you find yourself to be one of those people that the more chaotic things are, the more calm you get? Hmm, that's a good question. I don't know if it makes me more calm. I just think I operate really well in like high intense stress.

Like I'm really good at problem solving and making decisions like under stress. I wouldn't say I I get more calm, but like I've learned how to kind of like separate emotion and what's going on to be able to be very clear minded and I feel like that's that's what makes or breaks you in this business world.

Yeah. Yeah. I for me I'm one of those people that when things like on a regular day, like there's nothing big to do today, there's a couple calls or whatever, like I fall apart. But on that day that you're like, this is an eighteen hour day, like it's gonna be crazy.

We might have rain, we might have this, and and if everything goes right, like we're barely gonna get the day done. But if any one thing goes wrong, like it all falls apart, I'm like, that's the challenge I like.

Like that's the thing that fuels me. It's like, hey, can we do this? Can we get it done? And Um and so much of making Drifter was that 'cause the movie was, you know, seriously under budget for what we were trying to accomplish.

So much of what came out of it was friends, you know, from the industry. that were there to support kind of Sung's dream and and just make it happen. But that also meant that like everything we were doing we were like stealing.

You know what I'm saying? Like everything was like every minute of the day we were just trying to take back and and and make it work. Um, but that's like that's my that's my space. That's like where like for me it's like yep, that's where like I really like enjoy.

It's it's one of those things that I realized it on that film because I I left, you know, I left Hoonigan and was like, I don't know what the fuck I'm gonna do. Went and kind of did something completely other for a year.

And that was like the first thing I did after leaving Hoonigan that I was like, oh yeah, this. Like this is the stuff. Like I really enjoy making bigger things. And I enjoy making them like with other people.

And I definitely I enjoy being behind the camera more than in front of the camera. I don't mind being in front of the camera, but it's just like It was always a necessity. It wasn't the thing that I wanted.

Like I enjoy that like going and and making that all. But you know, when I think about the two of us in that position of like the how I was as a leader there, you're in a interesting position because you're leading and you're also in front of it all.

So like you are the brand. It does make it tricky. Yeah. And that is it is hard for me sometimes to like compartmentalize the two because it it is very difficult to go from like in a an administrative type day to like being a YouTube personality.

So like Mondays I usually write off because I'm in meetings all Monday. I try to like jam pack my Monday with all the like business meetings and stuff like that. Yeah. Because I can't function if it's like business brain meeting, then hour of filming, then business brain meeting, then hour of filming.

Like there needs to be like big windows for me to just fuck off and be creative. Otherwise I get it doesn't work for me. What do you do to sort of separate your brain from like I have to be Adam the businessman versus like Adam the talent versus just Adam.

And I and I asked this because One of the reasons why Ken and I worked so well together was because like if something sucked, I would tell Ken it sucked. A lot of other people were afraid to tell something, Ken, that what he did sucked.

Where I like I wasn't, and I think that worked because he needed that person in the background. to sit there and be like, hey, what are we gonna do? How are we gonna do this? Right. And and in in many ways, like he let me lead and tell him how to how we were going to do stuff because It's hard to have a perspective of yourself and then also be the one in charge.

And he was able to separate that. Like there were things that Ken was obviously in charge of. But like when it came to the Gymkhana films, like I was the one telling him like that's not cool, we gotta do it differently.

That doesn't look good because I had to be his eyes and ears both outside of the car, but like just also like outside of his own head and all of the like weird and I I don't mean to use this word negatively, but like we all have it, the weird ego that comes with being on camera.

Right? Like it's you have that ego. You're like You read the comments, like people say shit that sucks and all those things, and some of that stuff sometimes drives you, and it's literally like this, this like really, really small vocal minority that's saying something.

Yeah. Right. You look at the number of likes and the views your video got and like two comments may change the way you think about something. How do you separate that for yourself, both being the one who's in charge and also the one in who it's all about?

I mean, like I said, I try to compartmentalize. Like I try to pack like if I have business heavy meetings, I'll usually structure the day. So like I have mic set up to where he's editing footage maybe that we shot the day previous while I'm doing business meetings and then maybe we have a four hour block where like We know we're gonna shoot X, Y, and Z and we can just kinda like have fun in the shop, fuck around, do what we need to do.

I really don't enjoy working on cars if I have like a time limit. Like if it's stressful, then I'm just like in a bad mood the whole time But like if it's a long-term project that I can just like finish when I finish, I enjoy it.

I love working on cars and like doing something and having them result, but it's so far and few the days that I have. where I have enough time to do the job that I want to do. It's always like trying to do a four hour job and two hours and film and then getting distracted by seventeen things, which makes it really not fun.

Yeah, and I think that's the part that like a lot of people just don't see. Yeah. You know, they just see like, oh, you're living the life and you're like and look, I always say it we are. Like it's pretty great and it's better than what it was, but it also doesn't come easy.

Like it's not like it's like oh you just like video it and then like you just upload it and it all just works and it's like no, you don't give me days it it it it it doesn't work at all and you try to put it together.

And you know too, like I'm sure you've dealt with your fresh air of this. There have been so many I shouldn't say fires, but like so many massive things that have happened behind the scenes that have been huge financial, mental distractions that I don't ever talk about or put on YouTube.

And people tend to forget that like they think anything that happens monumentally in your life makes it on YouTube. But when you're a business owner, you can't there's a lot of things that you can't put on the internet.

Yeah. Yeah. And that that's a big challenge. Cause when you're dealing with like some big shit and it's a real distraction and that, and then like not being able to talk about that. That's the challenge.

One of the biggest challenges we had at Hoonigan would be when employees or quote unquote, you know, like characters and hosts left the show. Because sometimes they left in situations that like I legally we couldn't talk about it.

Like this person's an employee hired by a company. in the state of California, like I can't talk about why that person left. Yeah. Like I can't talk about why that person left to another employee, let alone a million people watching.

Right. And then people get super annoyed and be like, hey, what like how are you not this how are you not addressing this? Like how like why this person left and the internet loves the drama when somebody leaves or something changes or you know, dynamic shift and it's like eh it's a reality, but unfortunately one we can't talk about two, after kind of watching like the drama that was like Haggard Garage, which you know, we were like Yeah, we just like don't want to be involved in that.

Like if something bad happens here, like w it's just not what the show we're making. Like we don't want to make a show about like negative things, yeah. Like that's not what we're here for. Like the show is to just be positive and and have a good time and that was it.

And it's funny 'cause Now in you know in afterwards, like everybody who once worked at that company are all friends again. Yeah. But w there were moments where we weren't There were moments where we were all on camera and people were just sick of each other.

It's like being in a band, like travel together with each other every day. People want to do different things. People feel, you know, this person's getting this or whatever it is. And you know, you're just trying to make it work, but and I I'm I'm sure you've had, you know, your share your fair share of that too.

And, you know, I know like we don't have to get into it, but like your own personal life has been on camera. Sure. Which like i I've always was lucky to have that. very separated. Um I'd made a joke on an episode I did on Vinny's channel and I referred to something as the divorce.

And I meant my relationship with Hoonigan. For the next five months, people thought me and my wife got divorced and we're like commenting on her stuff, commenting on my stuff, be like, oh man, so sorry you're going through a divorce.

And I was like I was just being funny about Hoonigan. But I imagine like, you know, all of that kind of stuff is like super difficult for people. It's like it's a whole other side of the of YouTube that's that's interesting because creating those those boundaries, I think is really difficult.

Cause like I you sometimes lean into that stuff, especially if you think it can be more positive. Because one of the things that I talk more about like on this podcast is like The past two years for me, like, is been a bit of a journey of like dealing with my ADHD, something I was undiagnosed with.

I knew I had it, but I just kind of dealt with it. And then it got a little out of control and it became something I was like really struggling with. And I I talk about it because I think for people who are listening who also have it They're like, oh shit, like Scato's has this and but he also is dealing with it.

But it's also not easy, right? And like I think people like to hear that from people that they they see, you know, do certain things or they I hate to say look up to but you know, do look up to or whatever.

But then at the flip you know, and I also talk about just like just general shit that like, you know, like life is not the way you planned it and things change and it just is what it is and Sometimes you find yourself, you know, in your mid forties going like well, this isn't what I was expecting my mid forties to be like, but whatever.

And like There's a piece of that I dabble into, but I'm always cautious, like not to talk too much about it, because like then all of a sudden like your whole like life is on on Front Street. Um, how has that been for you?

Is that something you feel like you pull back more and more from? Because you your life was really frustrating when I met you. Look, I'm I'm a seasoned veteran in this game. Yeah, yeah, you've been through.

I had a divorce on the internet. I know you did. And we don't have to and I don't want to talk about that inside. But like I w I was that was when I knew you. I feel like I've lived the life of like a 50-year-old.

Yeah, it ages you. And like I've been through so much drama and bullshit over the years in so many different ways that I've just learned how to get ahead of it. Yeah. Like even if it's someone leaving and that it's for a reason that's like I'll I'll make up a fake story and I'll make an agreement with them.

Like, look, this is for the best interest of everyone, even though this isn't what happened. Yeah, yeah. I'm gonna say this and it's gonna benefit. Yeah, it's gonna benefit you and like we all win from it because you don't wanna be the channel Like you said, where it's like focused about negative stuff.

Yeah. Because then that becomes your new identity. And then the only thing that does well is negativity. Yep. And then you move into that where you're like Oh, if I don't do that, that becomes the new high water mark.

It's like remember that one episode where the two of us fucking hated each other, which I think is what went wrong with reality TV. Yeah. Right? I think all the shows that like you know, kind of birth this space that we made our own version of, you know, it's what made all that stuff fall apart because those producers all they want to do is make each other hate each other 'cause like that makes for great content.

Yeah. And it's like we tried To avoid that so much. Like as humans, you know what I say to people when they ask like what's what's a big viral YouTube video idea? I th I don't remember who talked to me about this.

It might have been it might have been Roman Atwood, who was like a big inspiration for me growing up. Or I made a comment with a son myself, I don't know. But it's what would get your neighborhood talking?

Mm. That's gonna be your big YouTube videos. If someone's in the hospital, someone gets hurt. If there's some big drama, someone gets a new car, someone gets a new house, they break up with their girlfriend, like those they're like it's almost like hardwired in our brains to be like nosy about those things because they're like these like big life moments.

those videos will always do well. Yeah. If it's something that would be be the talk of your neighborhood, it's a viral YouTube video. That's a good point. That is really good. Whether it's good or bad.

Like if somebody gets neighbors talking. More likely bad than good. Yeah. But yeah. But more like but but still good times because sometimes they're like, Did you see blah blah blah painted their house?

If some if someone gets a new car, the whole neighborhood's like, Oh, if they got a new car, what the fuck? You know? That's a big deal. Especially when you grow up in like a small neighborhood, especially if someone gets a car that's like maybe a little too like outlandish for them.

Like, oh you see blah blah blah got a Mustang? Who does he think he is? Do you um Like do you ever think about how different life would have been for you if you didn't do this? I think that I like my goal from as a kid was to r own a bike shop because I love the idea of business and like I wanted to be around what I'm interested in.

I think I'm be doing something similar. It may not be YouTuber in front of a camera, but like how I kind of got where I was, I I was almost and part of me like Jeff Tremaine, I'm gonna go back to that He was like the guy behind the scenes coming up with all the ideas.

He was on camera, but he wasn't on camera a lot. That was kind of my thing. I always fashioned myself as the Jeff Tremanda Hoonigan because it was like the similar thing. Like I was there when I needed to be, but I wasn't front and center Yeah.

I had friends that I would make the BMX videos with and like I was in the videos and people like me, but they really like my friends. But I would I would think of these ideas and like I would think of how to portray the certain thing or how to set this up or ideas of something for them to do and I was like I don't want to say that like a mat like a puppeteer behind the scenes because that sounds like really negative, but it's like I and still to this day, like I look at situations and I'm like always like how do I make this person look good in this situation?

So you build all these like hero characters in the process, but like I was never like a really like likable person, I feel like, on YouTube. Like it was sure, at a certain at a certain point I l I learned and it was really watching Roman and understanding the whole vlogging thing and like really letting people in.

But prior to that I like kind of was just I wasn't there that much. Like I was in the videos, but I wasn't like someone like, oh my god, Adam LZ is the coolest guy ever. Oh, okay, yeah, I see what you're saying, right?

Like I was just I was more just like the center figure. Right. And you were kind of building this world around everyone. It it's in it's really interesting you bring that up because in the when we first do a daily transmission, I think I was I was unliked or disliked.

because I really I I was in the background, I was helping everything move, and I would really only step in when things were going off track and I had to bring them back on track. And that kind of especially because I had a bit of like an abrasive New York attitude about it I would come in and I think I would seem a little crass with everybody or like because these were my group of friends, I would be pretty harsh with everyone.

But like that doesn't always translate on YouTube. People are like, oh, this guy's kind of a dick. And then they um Vinny and Hurt did this episode called uh Carcane Rehab. where they took all of my cars and they put them all in the shop in the same spot and they walked me and Ashley through them all and they were like, you need to convince us why you ha and like at the time it was like nine cars.

They're like, why do you have all these cars and why did none of them run? And what are you gonna do with them? And it was this moment where I was myself. Like I was just like, it was funny. I was enjoying the interaction with my friends.

I was being very self-deprecating. I was letting these people who I think at the time everybody saw as my employees, but they were my buddies too, make fun of me and like me let down my guard and also me be weird and quirky as I'm sitting there trying to defend some like random shitbox Audi I had or my wife's 944 or some pre-war, you know, uh 1929 hot rod I wanted to build or like all these things.

And after that, like all of a sudden the audience was like, okay, I get this guy now. Like he's kind of quirky. He likes these weird things. He's this is his personality. And I always joked that that was like my my my moment in like, you know, the Hoonigan canon where all of a sudden I developed my own audience.

It's so weird to say that, but like there was a group of people who were now tuning in. because they wanted to see what I was doing. Where up until that I was just like the guy who was pulling the strings, right?

I was just making sure it was all working and And I never wanted to be more of that than that, but then that kind of became it like again, like I was saying, if you make stuff that everyone wants to see, you'll get burnt out so quick.

Yeah. Where like I get really excited about like the nerd data and the analytics and the dynographs. And I just made a conscious decision that like, okay, I'm accepting that I'm gonna make a 20-minute video talking about tuning this car.

And then it's gonna alienate me from reaching the masses. Mm-hmm. They're never gonna click this video and if they do, they're not gonna like it. But what I've found it to do is it's kind of like educated my people with me as I've learned.

So now the people that have been with me for a while, they're like they understand everything. They get just as excited as I do about it because they have seen all the steps and things and and places.

But it like You can get stuck in this weird no man's land where if you're trying to make it too general to appeal to everyone, that it doesn't really appeal to anyone and then you're not enjoying it because you're not talking about the things you want to talk about.

So pretty much most of my content I feel like is like pretty niche specific that I'm just lucky to have a pretty big niche. Yeah. But then every once in a while I'll make a video that I know will probably have broader appeal and I'll I'll structure that one a little bit more uh easy for your average person to watch and then maybe I get a couple of people that stick around for the more nerd stuff.

Like when I got the Lamborghini, I knew that's a video that people are gonna click to watch. Mm-hmm that probably haven't watched my videos in a long time or maybe it's their first video that they've seen.

So like we edit it and I I talk in a little bit different way where like I'm a little bit easier to understand and maybe not nerding out as much as I would in other videos. Yeah. I mean look, I make a podcast on YouTube.

This is like two hours plus long. Like with a thumbnail that'll just be our faces. This is like the opposite of like what YouTube is built for. But when I the audience that listens to it loves it. Yeah.

I get more like DMs from people when episodes come out than like I ever did it here again. But like You know, a normal episode of this between what happens on YouTube and what happens on the RSS feeds and like Spotify.

You know, it's like 50, 60,000 views on average, like if that was something that happened back in the Hoonigan days, we'd like to delete it. Yeah. Right? Because you're like, that's the button when you look at it and you think, yeah, but those people are listening for two and a half hours and like they're in it and they're listening.

And it's like and that's this thing that like I enjoy making now. Like I don't I don't I miss what I used to do, but I don't like I don't really want to make build con I want to do that anymore. I d I I enjoy this.

I wanted to have a conversation with you about this. You and I have not had a conversation this long, probably since that breakfast, and I don't think the breakfast combo was that long either. Um, it was like, hey, cool, let's catch up.

Some people want to hear us catch up, talk about different things. Um, but yeah, I I don't know. I think that that's where I'm finding um I don't know, fulfillment in like making stuff these days is like, hey, that just kind of works.

But I'm also starting to like look and realize like, oh man, a lot of other people sort of figured this out at a different time. Yeah. We were we were just trying to we were trying to be too big, which was like but you know, we we had a lot of mouths to feed when you had like ten people on camera it becomes it's a much different world than, you know, when you're when you're just one or two people and it's a lot less things you gotta kinda figure out.

But yeah, I I enjoy sort of uh just like making the thing that that serves a particular group and then just depending on that group to like ride with you. I loved doing my podcasts. I had a lot of fun with it, but I was just like I just can't prioritize the time for it right now.

And like I'm very much someone who if I'm gonna do something, I'm gonna be all in. Yeah. So like I have so many great opportunities of like incredible people coming by the compound that I would love to make an episode with.

But I'm like, I'm not ready to start unless I'm all in it. And I'm just too spread thin right now to do it right. That makes me just not want to do it at all. I feel you on that. I feel you on that. My number one uh thing I used to say back in the day was like, It sucks to drown an opportunity.

Like to be in a place where you feel like you're drowning because there's so much things that you could do. Um, and then just trying to focus on like the one. And like that's I th I think is one of the hardest things that comes as you do more and more and more is like How do you like keep a north like a north star?

Like this is a question I ask myself all the time. It's like, like, what is my north star? So I'll ask you that. What's your north star right now? Like, where do you go? Like and when I say North Star, I mean like the ten years from now, where do you w where do you want to be with all of this?

I mean ten years, I I'll hopefully I'll be like retired on the beach with my family. I I genuinely would like to I aspire to be somewhere in, let's call it five years where like n I don't have to to do anything.

Right now, like I have so many things that are codependent on each other. They're like, I really don't have the opportunity to like I've got a great team. But I can't just stop. Right, because the other things that hurt.

You stop doing YouTube, Drift HQ will hurt. Like it just it's all sort of symbiotic, right? I would just love to get to a point in life where like I'm I'm I've got a solid base. Like if I want to work on cars, if I want to go drive cars and make a video, I can.

And if I upload once a one video a month, cool. If I upload ten a month, if I upload one a year. Mm-hmm. But it's just stuff when I want to do it, what I want to do it. Like I don't want to disappear off the face of the planet.

I love connecting with my audience. Yeah. I just would love to get to a point in life where I don't feel like I'm running in this gerbil wheel just to keep things going. Were you ever a fan of Casey Neistat?

Are you familiar with this work? Oh yeah, big time. I wasn't I wasn't ever a huge fan like I I would tune in, I would watch random videos here and there. I would watch more so from a point of like curiosity and research rather than like being a huge fan of his.

Yeah. But like It was really it was really cool to see his journey. And are you bringing it up because he did kind of dip? He dipped and he just uploaded a new video like last week. And he like that was interesting because he like dipped at his prime.

Yeah. I mean I think that was someone who either burnt out or wanted I mean he you know he had you know kids and he wanted to change his life and and for me uh not that any of it was planned, but like it all sort of worked at the right time because My son was born and then you know we sold Hoonigan and then I left and and like it kinda worked even though I I wasn't really ready to I I don't think I was ready for Hoonigan to to change the way it did, but It was nice to like all of a sudden be home at five o'clock to have dinner with my kid, which if I had had a kid in the early days of it, I wouldn't have been around.

Like I just wouldn't have there just wasn't a possibility of it. And I wouldn't have known what I was missing because I just wouldn't have been there to know what I was missing, right? So I think there's a bit of that from Casey.

But I bring that point up because He hasn't uploaded in I I have no idea how long. YouTube served me the video. I watched it the other day. It was okay. It wasn't the best. But I was like just happy to see like an old face.

An old face. Yeah. And I thought like, man, that's a luxury. Like that's a luxury to disappear from the internet for like two years. Yeah. And then just pop up and just make a video and just be like and just be kind of back in it and have like a massive audience.

It's just excited for you to to be back. But imagine if he didn't dip at his prime and he like ran the ship to the ground where like everything plummeted and then he dipped, it would be totally different.

I I talk about this all the time. Like Is Tupac like are Tupac and Biggie really the greatest rappers, or did they just like die before they had a chance to like make a bad album? Right. And like I I I used to work in music, so I think about this all the time.

It's like You know, Nas would is arguably a better rapper than Biggie, but he made a bunch of bad albums, so you don't know. Right. And I think the same thing, not death is maybe a little bit hyper hyperbolic for the conversation, but if you just keep doing something and it just keeps going down and down and down.

It's like at a certain point you just gotta be like, let me just turn it off and leave on high note. Dave Chappelle is a really good example. Like I don't know if you watched the Chappelle show. I'm probably dating myself.

You're way too young for that. But he did two amazing seasons. of nothing but really funny stuff. And then he stopped. And that was it. He never got to make a bad season. He and it's like there's something, there's something kind of, you know, I think really valuable there.

But yeah, so so for you ten years from now you're retired. I'm still gonna want to be working on and like messing with engines and doing all these like cool projects and stuff, but it's like purely a passion project.

It's not there's no why or reason or necessity. There's no pressure, there's no overhead I need to cover this or that. I really hope that happens for you. I say that because I think I was sitting in your seat thinking the same would happen for me, only to slow down and realize that I like slowing down.

I just like it didn't work for me. Yeah, hopefully it works for you. Hopefully it works for you. But slowing down like I lost all this purpose. Of like what I wanted, like, and then I got that like I said, I got that purpose in Drifter again.

Like I was like walking in a drifter, I was like, uh huh. Like And then I walked into that. I'm like, okay, I really enjoy doing this. And like I and like I think that for someone like you who's been so motivated and and have had so much success that you don't even count because I I you have done so many things that you're on to the next thing.

You don't really ever probably likely take the time. Like do you think you do you think you celebrate your success or do you just kind of move forward? I mean that and that's a that's a crazy topic. I don't no, I like a good example is like I remember like winning like an F D round.

Yeah. And then like two days later I was like not like depressed, but like I was just like I don't know, it's weird. And I like looked it up and it's like a common thing that I guess at athlet athletes get after like big performances and stuff like that.

I was just like It's just weird. Like it lasts like momentary and then it's like like you said, you're just on to the next thing already. And I also think when you s get to a point too where you start to have really high expectation.

is that winning starts to feel like the expected. Yeah. And then all you do is fear failure. So like when you and whether it's winning at FD or getting whatever it is, you know, a million views a day, uh that's winning.

You're winning every time you do that, but then the first time you don't, it feels like you're you've like failed. And like so the so as long as you don't fail you're not unhappy. Like you know what I'm saying?

It becomes like this weird flip when you start to expect to like always always do well. But I I I say that because I don't think I took an inventory of all these cool things that I did with my friends I did with, you know, just all these uh you know, other people things I did with you.

I didn't take any inventory in it while I was doing it. Yeah. I just did it, tomorrow's another day, tomorrow's another day. And then I got this unique experience to go spend a year in a different space and that was an automotive.

and kind of like feel nostalgic for like all this cool stuff that I did. But I like I think if the number one thing I would tell people, you know, who are doing it now is like just take a few minutes and enjoy the moments.

Yeah. And and do it also from a leadership side. Because I think one of the biggest critiques I got from From people who worked for me is like it was n like it was never good enough. Yeah. Right? Like you're just always chasing the next win.

So it's never good enough. Like everything feels like, oh wow, you just fucking created this crazy Gymkhana video that's outperformed everything else, and you're like just talking about the next one. Yeah.

Like you're not celebrating that moment. Yeah, that is really good advice. And I think that that was this thing that I wish I could have been better about because I look back at it now and I'm like, man, the crew I had, the team I had that helped me do all these things, like Just fucking this gr amazing group of of killers who were none of them were were expected to win.

You know what I'm saying? Like it was like this group of misfits, right? Like I love hurt, but like You know, like the none of like when I hired Hurt, he was working at Njuku and like was like didn't barely knew how to use a camera but was making videos, but he had like the He had like the gumption and like the moxie to go do this stuff.

And and then like, you know, he went on to kind of, you know, go build an entire world around her. Right. And um, you know, and it was cool to see a bunch of those people grow, but also all the people who like are the unnamed, like the Shreddeders and you know, and Teague and all the guys who made the videos, like And I think that I like the one thing I wish I was better at or I owed them is like celebrating those moments we won instead of just like moving on to the next.

And I to go back to the initial question that I asked you was like, you know Do you think you'll be able to to slow down or you're still gonna need to chase something? I think I I'll modify my statement a little bit.

I would like to be able to like I really enjoy the business side, so much so that like I think I would enjoy running the businesses and being a part of them with YouTube removed and like not being a public figure at all.

Like I don't think I need that, but I love like sitting down in the meetings and coming up with ideas and direction. Like I I really enjoy that. So like And that's what I s to rewind all the way back, that's what I saw in you.

that breakfast we had when you were nineteen or twenty. 'Cause I couldn't believe your business acumen at that age. Like I was talking to you, I think, about some merch kind of concept that we were gonna try to do and put together and the questions you're asking I was like, oh, all right, I can't pull it can't pull can't pull a fast one on this kid.

He knows what he's talking about. And I think that that is something that is just oddly ingrained in you. Like you're you're you're you are built that way. If no one's ever told you that before. But I like I said I saw that a decade ago from you.

I would love to be at a point where like I could go and open a coffee shop and I have so much money and cushion that like it doesn't matter if it fails. And like I could just I could decorate it however I want.

If the contractor charges me double, I don't need to cry about it. Like like just do cool stuff. You know what I mean? Like I would still like I guess it's kind of chasing and it's not really like being retired, but it's just like more passion projects.

Yeah, I think what I'm getting out of this, which I think is my same thing, is I would love to go do something where the success of it isn't based on does it make money? The success of it is like, do I think it's cool and does it bring me happiness?

Yeah. Which is so different from what the struggle is, you know, I think on the day to day in a in a YouTube world. And you know what's funny? You and I both know that if if there's passion behind it, it's gonna be successful.

And it's gonna make money. Yeah, it's inevitable. I I never set out to make money in life. It wasn't the goal, it was the byproduct. You know. Now that I'm older, I think I wish I was better at making money because I look at other people, I'm like, how the fuck did you make all that money?

I'm like I should have been more paying attention to it, but I it was never the goal. I never expected to to make money. I I had it it wasn't from money, it wasn't expected, but it came because I enjoyed making things and those things ended up making money.

Like that was like a it was a side effect of the the making the cool things. For me, my right like North Star right now, which I've really struggled with because like I've got this podcast, but like I don't want to be a podcaster.

It's like this is something I do because I I just enjoy conversation. You and I would have the same conversation if the cameras weren't on and we were just like chatting. It might be a little bit different.

We might tell a little more other stories in between, but it's pretty much the same thing, right? Um And I don't want to go do another Hoonigan. Like that's just like I've I've done that. I've checked that box.

Um I don't even know if I want to make another Gymkhana film because I've checked that box m so many times over. Um but I do want to go make films and like big projects. Like those are the two things I I realized like really excite me.

So I think for me in ten years it's like I would like to go direct my own feature film. Right. Like any whether it's in cars or not, I don't even know. I just kind of enjoy that that thing And I have to tell myself that every morning because otherwise I'll spend the whole day doing something else.

Yeah. Do you know what I'm saying? Like I have to remind myself that like that is the goal. Otherwise I'll like to your point before I will be like, how can I make the podcast better? How can I make this better?

How can I do that? Or or I will come up with a whole new business idea. That's like not even something I really want to do because someone will mention something and I'll be like, oh, it'd be interesting if we did this, this, and this and this, this, and then um Like off in that direction.

I mean me speaking, what I'm saying is speaking eventuality. Yeah. Like because if you don't it's what you're saying, if you don't have a goal, like you're not gonna make decisions to get to the goal if you don't tell yourself that Yeah.

Yeah. It's f it's funny you mentioned that 'cause I used to always joke and before the term manifesting was was such a trend, but like I would say things in episodes to hold myself accountable. 100%. I'd be like, we're gonna do this.

Or I'd be like, you know what would be a cool idea partially to get the feedback, but also like put it in the universe and like it may start to happen. And it's funny how how much of that, you know, sort of all all came out of that.

All right, we are we are rounding the two and a half hour mark. It is definitely getting a little warm in here. No air conditioning in the uh we can go take this conversation to dinner. So You got you any you got any last thoughts?

Anything you want to leave people with? Any any cool things you're working on? Anything that you thought about that we haven't said? I know we'd bounced around a little bit today. But yeah, it's it's tough because like we bounce from subject to subject and like the way my brain works, I have like eight things I want to say about subject A, and then we're already move on to subject B, and I'm like, But I but I wanted to talk about that.

And then my I'm I mean you can tell like I've I'm fidgeting with things. Like the fact that you got me to sit in a chair for two and a half hours is insane. Like that it's a challenge. I hope you've enjoyed the conversation.

It's great. It's it's easy. I'm just like uh I'm a fidget I've Always need to be doing something. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, I get it. I get it. I I'm not a good sit-down person either, but I've learned to be on here because I otherwise when I tab things I get a look from Nick because he's like you're making noise.

So I've got a really bad resting bitch face, so I have to keep telling myself smile. So don't otherwise I'll just like creepy the whole time. Well thank you for uh thank you for coming on, spending some time.

I know that uh I know Long Beach FD is always a busy week 'cause it's like the first week back. So I I I appreciate the time spent And coming by and it's also it's good to catch up. You were definitely one of the people who are in my list of it'd be cool to do a big project with you one day, figure something out.

I know you and I have we've talked about it in the past. We should keep it keep it going, figure it out. It just it's just about making time This is it. This is the manifesting it. And who's gonna pay for it?

Yeah. Maybe one of you. Maybe one of you might pay for it. Yeah. No, I uh look, I don't think the right ideas I the one thing I have been very good about in life is figuring out how to get the right ideas funded.

Yeah. So we just need the idea. Yeah, I think we just need the right idea and then you gotta just commit to it and then you go find funding. I l I love the idea phase of like Project's the best part. Because I'd be spitting some random shit out.

Yeah. And like people always think I'm ridiculous, and then an idea stems from that ridiculous thing I I spit out. And I'm like, yeah, that's what I'd tell you about. I think the best part of like the idea part of like the brainstorming part is you have a brainstorming meeting, nothing good comes out, and then like driving home or like getting dinner afterwards, someone's like You know what like this is kind of crazy, but and then they say something and it like just all just explodes from there.

You're like, yep, that's the idea. Like, love it. Like that's absolutely great. Like some of the best ideas that I've ever been involved in just came out of like the most random it was like it the idea was entered as a joke.

Like someone's like, I don't think we should really do this, but just imagine. Yeah. You're like, wait, wait, wait. No, but like I think there's something serious there. And I was always the person who would do that.

Like people would throw ideas out. And I don't know if you do it because it's you're like hedging your bet a little bit, because you're like, if you don't make it a real idea, then people are like won't judge you on it.

And then sometimes people would say something you'd be like, that's fantastic. Yeah. Like, but we just have to tweak this, this, this, and this, and like that's how you do it. Mine are all shower ideas.

I come up with all my best ideas in the shower. So much so that I got a notepad in my shower. Oh really? Because I start to get anxiety in the shower that I'm gonna forget all the things that I'm thinking about.

I get the I'll get that like in the middle of the night and I'll have the middle of the night idea And I did like the whole notepad next to the bed, but I'll like just scribble it and I won't be able to read it in the morning.

So I now have the notebook like in the bathroom. So I'll just get up in the middle of the night and like go in the bathroom and write notes. And there's been mornings where my wife's like, What were you doing last night?

And I'm like, uh, I was just like writing down ideas. She's like, okay, whatever. And like I'm like I'm like trust me you don't have to like think I'm like DMing some Instagram model. I'm definitely in there writing about some stupid idea with a car.

That's funny. Because like otherwise I'll forget them and they're like gone forever. So the other one that's really good for me is road trips. Yeah. Both solo or with a friend. Like if I'm with like a good person who's like a co-conspirator and coming up with ideas, like a long drive and just shooting that back and forth, that's a great format.

Or just a really long drive by myself. Do you drive by yourself much? Yeah, but for me I'm like I'm so in into the music stuff that like I'm just my brain is constantly deconstructing music whenever I listen to it.

And so that like That's my time to listen to music. Yeah. I don't really have time where I can like just really focus on music. So like I don't really think of great ideas when I'm driving. But I think the shower I usually don't have music going.

So it's like kind of just like There's no distractions. I don't have my phone when I have my phone all the time elsewhere. So it's like just pure thoughts. What type of music are you listening to now?

Uh I think like most of the stuff that I I listen to the most you'd classify as like Like progressive metal. It's it's almost like you take a bunch of dudes that are like so good at the instruments that they play that they start to just make it as hard as possible and like as rhythmically complex.

So like some of the stuff I listen to It's not like it sounds good. So almost like like m like math rock level. Yes, yeah, like math rock but like metal in a way. And it's like my brain is trying to understand the rhythms and patterns that are going on.

So like some songs I listen to like ten times not because I necessarily like how they sound, but because I'm trying to figure out what they're doing and like why it makes me feel a certain type of way.

It's like almost like a challenge for my brain, but it makes me not think about anything else. Yeah. But it like it becomes a distraction because like if I listen to a song like that before I came in here, the whole time we're talking in my brain I'm just like I'm like playing the song and like still trying to figure it out while we're talking.

Do you find that and going back to this, do you find that if by playing guitar in between, like you're still on beat in the car? Like do you still sort of like carry that There's been around where I I got a little bit too far down the rabbit hole and like yes, it it became a distraction.

But then there's other ones where it's just like a good like activity that kind of keeps me like Not even calming, it just keeps me focused. Right. Otherwise like I would I usually just like fall asleep and doze off because I'm just bored.

Yeah That's the part of racing no one talks about is like it's hurry up it's like hurry up and wait. Yeah. It's like and then you're like, okay, now I've got two hours till n something else happens. I'm just sitting here.

Do you like other music outside of that or is that your one station? So I I like to think that anything that's good music I can appreciate. I got l I'll listen to some rap, some EDM stuff, like even some country songs, like older classic music.

I if I if you played LZ Radio, which is my playlist on Spotify, there are some songs that would come on and you'd be like What the fuck? But there's something I heard in that song where I was like, I really like how that made me feel.

Yeah. So I want to say this so I can listen to it again. Yeah, I I I absolutely love music and again it's why I mentioned earlier it's weird that I never learned to play because I I d I don't love all like I think like the only genre I never got super into was EDM.

Um although I did for a little bit like like hardcore techno was really big when I was younger and so I l like go out dancing and do that. But like all different forms of like old RB, like classical, like I I don't know, like it's one of those things like I obviously love like nineties hip hop, but I also love modern hip hop.

Um I still listen to new music, which I think is interesting because I was for sure at some point I would stop listening to new music. Like I would just get stuck in a genre and then and I did for a little bit.

But like I'm now like constantly just trying to find new stuff as well, which is just a a weird thing. And I I actually, even though I make a podcast, so don't listen to me at home. But I've also started to create a role to stop listening to podcasts and cars for certain drives because it made me stop listening to music.

And I think music just tends to make me happier. I probably listen to the wrong podcast. I'll only listen to podcasts if the drive is like over two hours. Same. And then it's like I really need to pass the time because I'm gonna get burnt out on my music probably two hours in.

So for me, if I'm going if I'm driving to the farm Which is about an hour and forty-five minutes. I'll listen to a podcast. But the roads at the farm are really good. And I've got like particular songs that like match certain roads.

Because it's like the right tempo for the right car. You know, it's like a slow car on this road. Yeah. I l I listen to sometimes period correct music for the car that I'm driving. I get so I support that.

Yeah. Do you have systems in any of your cars? I kinda wish I did. I guess because that's like the that's like the one thing that I care so much about. And like I'm always just like, I'll throw like a head unit in and maybe speakers.

Yeah. But like that's that's one of the things like I think the next GG3 I get, I'm gonna do a system in it. Yeah. Because the audio in GD3s is just not good enough. Especially like once you've had a turbo and you realize how much better like the Burmistor stuff is than like the Bose stuff.

It uh I think I would value that. When I was when I was younger, I had a couple decent like audio setups. Like I had like a Sony Mobile ES, which was like their premium, but then I had a Macintosh. Setup.

Do you know are you familiar with the Macintosh? Like Macintosh in the if you're looking for a period correct audio unit for like a late 90s car, Macintosh was like one of the better um sort of like hi fi level stuff.

I'm sure. Nick's Nick's given the okay on that one because he's a he's an audiophile. But um yeah, that was like one of the brands you get. And all their stuff looked like it was like out of the fifties.

Like it had like all turn dials and blue stuff and looked like tube stuff. But um that was like just really good sound stuff. I I miss systems in cars. Like even just shitty systems like Alpine head units and and JL audio like subwoofers.

Like I I don't know why we like left that part of cult like we we brought back all of the 90s and early 2000 aesthetic of cars but I miss like having like a subwoofer in the trunk. I just like I forgot how much fun I do.

I do have subs in Three of my cars. Oh you do? Which ones? Uh my chaser, my skyline has a little sub. Actually four. My S thirteen still has a sub in it, the cream one. Oh yeah. And then my uh my E forty six, my first car, I got the same Double 12-inch box that I had when I was a kid.

So I love that shit. I'm rebuilding a Mark III uh Volkswagen Golf. That's a VR6, all-wheel drive synchro. And like I'm like specking the whole thing out and I'm specing it out like with two tens in the trunk with like with sixteen by nines in the cargo tray.

Because that's what I that was what my first car was at 95 golf. And like there was nothing cooler than driving around Queens, just like bumping music. Like it was just such such a good part. And I I don't know.

There's just something I I I think that uh it's a part of like uh like music has become again like I think most content and again I'm that you may not feel the same way because you're a different generation, but It's like music has become so easy to listen to.

Just type in something to Spotify, find something, whatever. That like I find like I cherish it less. You know where like back in the day you'd get a new CD and you'd like just listen to it until until you couldn't listen to it anymore.

And I'm like trying to get back into like, I want to listen to this, I want to listen to just this album. And like enjoy this album, like the way it was supposed to be done. That's kind of how I listen.

Oh really? I listen like album specific. Like I'll if I'm on a drive, I'll pick an album and I'll listen to the album front to back versus just like poking around on songs. Yeah 'Cause I especially like a lot of music albums do, I feel like they build the album to like tell a story or be coherent.

Even if there's no lyrics, it like uh it's it's intended in the certain order for a reason. Yeah, I think that that level of like larger, longer form curation is something that like we've all lost because now our entire curation is an algorithm.

just feed you a bunch of short form pieces versus sitting there going, I want to listen to this whole thing the way somebody, you know, somebody saw it. So and like, you know, I grew up on Light like Led Zeppelin, which was like the perfect band who was like they thought through the album from the first song to the last song to the weird effects in between.

how you were gonna listen to it and and all that. So I and I got away from all that but recently I've been like trying to do that. Like my wife has a d uh vinyl jukebox in the house and like I really kind of enjoy like an in and the whole thing is period correct nineteen fifties music.

And it's like sometimes just turn that on, just like walk through the house, like listening to like Frank Sinatra, which is like the classics, but then there's also like other bands that like I don't even know who they are, but like it was We bought it because it was of the era and now it's like I just know these songs.

I just kind of love them. So that's cool. Anyway, we tried to wrap this up 15 minutes, brought up music, went for another 15 minutes, but I know I can I I feel like I can hear your stomach, so it's time for us to it's time for us to My stomach and and my restlessness.

You're starting to get more and more restless. I don't even notice it. That's fine. I'm screaming and turtling. Alright. You're like, wrap it up. Are we done yet? I know I would I would love if I I think if I wasn't making the drive to San Diego after I was like, Oh, I forgot you got that in front of you.

Yeah. And like I really want to go in TJ's hot tub. And I know if it gets too late. Oh, you can't get in. Yeah, so like I that's very important to me. Be like, oh, I was just on Scott's podcast. Ask him about the hot tub.

Is it a good hot tub? It's special hot tub. It's a special one. That sounds really suggestive. Yeah, sounds really suggestive, but he's not that far from me. We went by the farm, so maybe I'll go swing down and check it out.

But cool. Well, dude, thank you so much. Thanks for coming on. And uh yeah, good luck this weekend. Thank you. The mailboxes wolf bullet. The mailboxes. The mailboxes will not accept any messages. Goodbye.

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You will find them everywhere, from King of the Hammers to Formula Drift. You'll see everyone wearing Heat Waves at your local track day event. Damn, you might even turn laughs with the co-founder Justin because they're one of us.

So, one more reason to choose Heat Wave Visual to fix your face. I'm a tool dork. My obsession might even dwarf my addiction to cars. I love collecting unique and specialty tools, which is how I initially fell in love with Wera.

First off, they just make aesthetically pleasing tools. They feel good in your hand, they have a great finish, their sizes are universally color-coded, and they are super strong. In two decades, I've never broken a tool from Wera I wish I could say the same about my other tools, but the thing I like the most about Wera is that they create clever solutions for your wrenching woes because You need over-engineered tools to work on today's over-engineered cars.

So if you're ready to step up your tool game, whether it's the Zyklop Ratchet or the Joker Wrenches, find them at wearatools. com.

What’s Next for Adam LZ? Scotto Finds Out!

Heat Wave Visual

Wera Tools

hydro lift system

KW Suspensions

KW coilovers

YouTube

Hoonigan

Formula Drift

psychologists and psychiatrists

E Town

LZ World Tour

LZ Invitational

WRC

thumbnail

Donut

open diff

slam

angel eyes

BMX

skateboarding

drifting

Porsche 964

unobtainium

engine swap

project cars

hunt for the parts

dyno run

bear up

north star

Bose

Alpine

Vyper Industrial

About this episode

Original notes