Grassroots & Grills: A Friday night with friends
If there’s one thing that almost all of us car folk share, it’s that we love getting together and talking shop. That’s a universal thing. No matter where you’re from, what you do or what you drive. We all just love to talk about our passion. It gives us a sense of community, a sense of belonging. Our brains register ‘hey, there’s other folk out there that enjoy the same stuff you do!’. It makes us happy.
And of course, we all love to take every opportunity we can to dive into these situations. And if you have friends coming to visit from far away, it’s also a pretty universal thing to want to show off your local scene. And that’s exactly the kind of thought that sparked a little BBQ get-together I set up together with my friend Kai Truschinski of Feinschliff Fahrzeugaufwertung.
At the end of April the international car scene felt a gravitational pull towards Düsseldorf, Germany. I’m of course talking about Ultrace. Ultrace has been a huge name in the scene for years now and when they finally left Poland to host their first event abroad, a lot of car people around the world took notice. So too did a certain car builder from California - Mike Burroughs of Stanceworks fame. I don’t think he needs an introduction. If you’ve been living under a rock these past few years, head on over to stanceworks.com to find out more.
I’ve known Mike for almost twenty years now - we first ‘met’ digitally when we both frequented Bimmerforums.com around 2008, even before Stanceworks was officially founded. He’s been to Germany a few times now, but hadn’t really gotten to experience our local car culture on a grassroots level. The down-to-earth, authentic side, far away from prestigious shows like Ultrace or Essen Motor Show or curated museums like the Loh Collection. What better way to show off our local car culture, than by hosting a small BBQ meet and inviting Mike and his camera-man Anthony?
And that’s what I did - I called up my friend Kai, asked him if he’d be happy to host a little get together at his shop the day before Ultrace and when he agreed I started inviting people… or friends, really. Just a bunch of folks who have a few cool cars, people who are great to talk to. We didn’t want a one-make showroom. We wanted a real, eclectic mix that reflected our local car community. Actual enthusiasts, so to speak. Just a bunch of dudes, their cars, a sizzling barbecue and good talks - what more authentic way is there to experience local car culture?
After a bit of prep it was finally the day of our meet - the Friday before Ultrace. One by one people started rolling in after their work shifts ended. The industrial estate around Kai’s shop quickly filled with the rumble of engines, the unmistakable sound of air suspension airing out and the immediate burst of laughter as old friends greeted each other. As the sun began to set, the warm glow of the shop lights mixed with the smoke from the BBQ, creating the perfect backdrop for the night. The evening dragged well into the night.
By the end of it, everyone left with a satisfied grin on their faces. Kai and I were very happy with the turnout. And Mike got to experience some authentic local car culture and learn first-hand about the absolute headaches of dealing with our German TÜV system. It’s always hilarious to explain our strict modification rules, the endless paperwork and all the hoops we have to jump through to someone who comes from the land of hot rods and registration-free engine swaps. Seeing their disbelief when we talked about parts certificates and how easily it all can come crashing down when a cop pulls you over and has doubts about an official TÜV approval. We clearly live in different worlds when it comes to this. All in all it was a great Friday night!
