The Avants Podcast
Avants
Updated 2 days agoJoin hosts Dan Putnam and Nick Bergeron as they get to know industry leading guests beyond just what they drive. The Avants Podcast is never scripted and never predictable, but it’s always a good time and full of surprises. You won’t find any boring reviews that sound like reading off a pre-planned info sheet, ”history of” shows that are reworded Wikipedia articles, or advertisements for the next new foam mattress here! The Avants Podcast focuses on making sure guests are always authentic, just like your hosts.
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Episodes (454)
Transportation Redecoration With The Byers
Continuing in our trend of talking to awesome couples with a love for cars, we talk to Matt and Allison Byers about buying and building cars their way from the very beginning. Being together since before they could drive, they talk car adventures, car shows, and car builds together. Get to know them and say hello next time you see them at one of the MANY car shows you’ll find them at.
Rain(ier) City Supercars, More McLarens, and More Road Trips
We’ve got some exciting news about the progression of Rain City Supercars (with more to come!), Dan talks about meeting Derek Bell, we discuss McLarens and other Hypercars, and talk about upcoming road trips you can be a part of! We took this episode to just be car guys and talk car stuff.
DAS MULE!
We’ve got Joe and Dana, the founders of one of our favorite shops, MULE Expedition Outfitters. Mule is who we turn everyone to if they need advice on how to do a build right. We are huge offroad fans and Mule is a game changer for the PNW offering more than just fancy parts for sale. We first found out about Mule when they were offering free tech sessions on everything to do with offroad. We love a company that earns their customers and Mule is the standard for customer service in the off road/overlanding world. To top it all off, they’re now an Avants Partner so Avants members get a discount!
Authentic Conversation with Shannon Low
We talk to Shannon Low of Authentic Motorcars in Redmond. If you’ve spent anytime in the car scene in the PNW your probably know Shannon as a staple in the car community here. Shannon is a specialist in just about every car brand, but especially the obscure and unique. Unlike us, he’s a jack of all cars and a master of most. Tune in and hear about LaForza, Spkyer, Saab, and more!
We Got There And Enjoyed The Drive
WE MADE IT TO EPISODE 50! It’s been quite a ride and we decided to take this episode to recap some of our favorite moments, guests, and a few of our blunders over the last year. We tried to narrow it down to our favorite episodes since the start and it wasn’t easy, but we felt like these were some milestones we personally enjoyed. If you haven’t heard us before or you’re new to the podcast, give these a shot!
Coming Up On Rain City Supercars...
Just so you know, this is more like episode 49.5. Nick and Dan were both REALLY sick this week, but we wanted to do a quick episode letting everyone know what’s coming up on RCS as well as introduce our new sponsor, Hagerty! This has always been a labor of love for us, so we’ve been intentionally slow to grab sponsors as we want to only represent brands we personally believe in. We joke a lot, but putting our names on anything is something we actually do take seriously and we are really proud and honored to be associated with Hagerty who has always treated us and their customers well. We should know, Nick has been one before this Podcast ever started.
It’s Ladies Night!
Amanda, Ashley, and Kristen take over the mics for episode 48, which is not 49 like we mentioned in the podcast! The episode is mostly all about the women in the industry who are putting together a driver's group specifically for women enthusiasts that enjoy track time, group drives, and more than just standing next to their cars for attention. The group is officially organized and led by Amanda with Driver's Club so you know it's going to be good.
Branden Ben Powell And All Things SaRPinz!
We talk to the extremely interesting Branden Ben Powell, the owner of the SaRPinz. He talks about one of the most impressive off road vehicles ever made, the Pinzgauer, and how he actively uses it for Search and Rescue. As a huge fan of off-roading, this was easily one of our most entertaining guests to us and even if you have no interest in the off road world, this was a really eye opening interview about how multifaceted and important Search and Rescue is to the PNW. We let this one go quite a bit longer than usual since we were having such a good time talking to Brandon.
The Advancement of Avants with Adam Cramer
We welcome our friend Adam Cramer with Avants back to talk about the massive growth of Avants since way back in Episode 12 and to talk about all the amazing upcoming stuff including his partnership with Blipshift on a PNW tee shirt design, some winter offroading you can do, some rainy weather driving, and more! We talk about Avants often on our show with good reason. If you’re an enthusiast it makes almost no sense why you wouldn’t be a member!
JOHNIWANNA Joins Us!
On this week’s episode we get a visit from John Schommer aka JOHNIWANNA aka Heavy Metal Affliction! John is a Forza Content Creator, streamer, writer, and photographer and you can find him on IG as Heavy Metal Affliction where he chronicles his love of cars. John is a man after our own hearts who loves cars and the people that love them.
So Much British Love!
In this episode we discuss some polar opposite drives - a sunny Sunday in a McLaren 675LT Spider and an off road excursion in a Land Rover Discovery Sport! It’s hard to describe in any form of communication outside of a stupid grin just how amazing the 675LT is and if you haven’t done any off road driving you don’t know what you’re missing!
Monterey Car Week RULED
It's almost impossible to describe what Monterey Car Week is actually like if you've never been before. It's even harder to accurately describe what it was like for Dan this year. We'll walk you through the day by day of our trip, which was every bit as great for us as it sounds and hopefully convinces you to put this on your bucket list if you've never been. Check out our gallery here for the photos, which still don't do it justice.
The SeaMont Rally Recap
WE ARE BACK! And there's a bonus episode coming just a few days after this one! We had an insane amount of fun on the rally and our best year ever in Monterey. On this episode we discuss bug genocide, back roads, bears, bad car washes, and SO MUCH MORE. Buckle up!
Don’t Just Get There, Enjoy The Drive To Monterey
We talk about the Sea-Mont Rally and all things Car Week. Get ready for a lot of updates on social media, live streams, and a whole lot of road tripping! We're headed down 97 and the Volcanic National Scenic Byway to Yosemite and then to Monterey for Car Week! You can follow us on our journey via our Instagram and Facebook as well as some updates coming here. Stay tuned for a lot fun times ahead!
Having a Fab Time With Keith Northrup
I won't tell the story in the description, but Keith is one of those guys we had to meet before we knew him. As usual, a bunch of our friends already knew him and wondered how we didn't. Did we mention it's small car world after all? You probably know Keith via his amazing creation, The Trophy Rat! Easily one of the coolest vehicles we've ever seen.
Kicking Tires With Blake Siebe
It's hard to write a summary about a multifaceted guy like Blake from Northwest Auto Salon and now Right Away Tire. From humble beginnings to the over-the-top style of cars he's created, we were fascinated listening to his story and the lengths he's gone to create the look of the vehicles he has owned.
We Know a Guy, Who Knows a Girl, Who You Should Know
One of the biggest questions we get asked is "Who do I talk to for this thing." Well, we've got you covered. This a short list of who we'd send our mom's to if they needed help, and we like our moms! They're our biggest fans!
Q&A and Our Apologies to the Juggalos
We talk about some great upcoming events like our very own Sea-Mont Rally and the CARnival (GET IT?!) at LeMay - America's Car Museum, our AWESOME drive over Highway 20, and Dan genuinely feels bad for insulting the Juggalos.
3,000 Miles in 4 Days and 4 Shows in 3 Days
We recap our 4 day, 3,000 mile adventure, discuss why Hellcats make terrible plows, and then discuss some highlights from 4 car shows in 3 days! Well, technically one really fancy car wash and 3 shows, but whatever!
Judging Ferraris with Ferrari Judge Dave Tegeler
We talked to Ferrari Concours judge Dave Tegeler about the 2018 Ferrari Concours, judging Ferraris, and getting sued by Lamborghini. You read that right.
R.C.S.A.D.H.D.
Nick's ADHD got the best of him so we mixed it up this time. We answer some listener mail about what you do to get into the car scene after you bought your shiny new supercar, discuss a big money Ferrari, recap a cool LeMay event you should know about, discuss some upcoming car shows, and send out an invite to hang out with us in California!
Brandon Elin Gives Us Some Tips On Getting Our Cars Serviced
We talked to Audi Technician Brandon Elin about tips and tricks for getting your car serviced, maintenance, and weird stuff we've found in cars over the years. This is a great episode for absolutely anyone who's ever gotten their car serviced professionally!
John Kleven Informs Us We Don’t Know How To Wash Our Cars
We talked to our friend John Kleven who happens to own the best detail shop in the state, Metropolitan Detail.
How To Run A Group Drive And Not Get Everyone Arrested Or Killed
It's summer here in Seattle which means all those crazy group drives are popping up! A lot of people run group drives, but if you want one that works and insures the best chances of being drama free we think we've got the magic formula here.
An Englishman on the Avants Podcast - Karl Noakes
We were lucky enough to have one of very favorite photographers on the show this week - An Englishman in Seattle known as Karl Noakes. We see Karl pretty much everywhere and chances are you do too and might not know it. Karl photographs car events because he loves the community cars brings which really sets his photos apart. See our gallery for some his amazing photos and listen to his story on episode 30!