Growing up in Cali, I was surrounded by all sorts of vehicles and the characters who lived for them. I remember sitting on my grandmother’s steps in South Central, where my cousins and I would wait for the gang bangers to drive up in their low riders with chain donut steering wheels. We got super hyped when they made their cars jump with hydraulics. Very early on, I realized that a love of cars brought both the black and brown communities together. Once I moved to Venice, I realized that on the west side white dudes with long beards and choppers reigned supreme. I was always fascinated by the names on the back of their vests and how much love they had for their bikes. One constant that all communities shared was that many of the men had done tours in Vietnam, and the outlaw culture they embraced was their outlet from a society. Without realizing it, the underground subcultures I was witnessing were actually shaping art, music, sport, and fashion in a very organic way. Today CVLT Nation celebrates the 1%ers because they are willing to live life on their own terms!
