This Was Never Just About Cars

There’s something I’ve realized recently that honestly caught me off guard.

For the first time since launching The Customized Ride on October 16, 2022, I found myself emotional about the brand.

Not emotional about views.
Not emotional about followers.
Not emotional about numbers.

Emotional about what this journey has actually become.

When we launched TCR, we truly had no idea where any of this would go. At the time, it was simply a new adventure for our family after transitioning away from The Chris & Sandy Show. We loved automotive culture, loved traveling, loved filming, and loved the idea of turning car shows into family adventures.

Back then, we weren’t thinking about media ecosystems, editorial franchises, or long-term vision.

We were just showing up.

One of those early moments happened at Battle In Bama.

Ironically, I almost didn’t even go.

At the time, we were still choosing car shows partly around places we could turn into family adventures. Since Panama City was only a few hours from Mobile, we decided to make a trip out of it by spending a couple nights there before heading over to Battle In Bama. Honestly, I wasn’t really interested in visiting Mobile itself at all, and I still wasn’t fully convinced about the show either. But my friend Allen White kept telling me about Battle In Bama and saying I had to experience it at least once. He kept saying, “Trust me, you need to go. You won’t regret it.” So eventually, I trusted him and we made the trip.

Looking back now, that decision quietly changed everything.

Battle In Bama became our first real game-changing event.

We went there with maybe 10-15 thousand followers and left with things suddenly exploding.

I remember on the way back home, we stopped at a Cracker Barrel in Jacksonville, Florida to eat. While we were sitting there, I casually said, “Let me post a video real quick.” None of us had any idea what was about to happen. That one clip ended up changing everything for The Customized Ride. Overnight, the video took off and our following jumped from around 10-15 thousand followers to nearly 30 thousand almost immediately. Not long after that, we crossed 50 thousand and honestly never really looked back after that moment.

What’s wild is that when we filmed that clip, I had absolutely no idea what it was about to become. I knew we had captured a really cool moment as Smokey and Bandit cosplay vehicles came rolling through the night meet at Battle In Bama with the sheriff’s car chasing the black Trans Am through the crowd. I remember thinking the clip definitely had potential because the atmosphere and timing felt perfect, but I had no idea our first viral video would end up reaching 4.9 million views.

Now years later, I realize it became one of the turning points in our story.

What makes it even crazier is that it ended up being the final year Battle In Bama was held in Mobile before moving to Talladega. The backdrop of the USS Alabama behind the show created one of the coolest atmospheres we had ever experienced. Looking back now, it almost feels symbolic in a weird way. Like we accidentally captured the beginning of something during the closing chapter of something else.

Lately I’ve realized automotive culture has become much more personal to me than I probably understood at first.

Growing up, my dad and I used to build things together. He wasn’t an overly emotional man, but those moments mattered. They stayed with me.

Now years later, my son and I are traveling together filming the automotive scene side-by-side.

Different journey.
Same connection.

And honestly, that hits me harder the older I get.

I’ve also realized something else recently.

I never really heard my dad say he was proud of me growing up. I know he loved me. I know he was doing what he thought was right. A lot of men from that generation simply weren’t wired to express emotions that way.

But as a child, that still leaves something on your heart.

One thing I’ve promised myself is that my kids will never have to wonder.

I want Lil Chris and Katelynn to always know I’m proud of them.

And maybe that’s part of why this whole journey feels emotional now too.

Because this brand stopped feeling like “content” somewhere along the way.

It became memories.
Road trips.
Family time.
Growth.
Legacy.
Moments.

Katelynn is seven years old and absolutely loves classic cars. Most kids yell “Punch Buggy” when they see an old Volkswagen Beetle.

She yells “Classic car!”

That makes me smile every single time because it reminds me this culture is becoming part of our family story too.

And honestly, I think that matters more than people realize.

One thing I’ve learned over these last few years is that automotive culture is so much deeper than people on the outside often understand.

There was a time my wife Sandy thought car people were mostly just showing off.

Now she sees the deeper side of it.

She sees the relationships.
The memories.
The craftsmanship.
The community.
The stories.

Because underneath all the horsepower, paint, wheels, and bass systems are real people building real lives around these vehicles.

Just recently, a friend of mine, David Gardner, who owns a lowrider was telling me that he and his wife spent their 23rd wedding anniversary sitting inside their truck together installing bass equipment.

That’s the kind of thing most people outside the scene would never understand.

But inside the culture, moments like that make perfect sense.

The vehicle becomes part of the relationship.
Part of the memories.
Part of the journey.

And honestly, that realization ties deeply back into my own story too.

When I was younger and heavily into lowriders, I was mocked a lot for it. People looked down on the culture. Looked down on me. Treated it like we were less than.

I always felt like car people were outsiders in some way.

And maybe that’s why I connected to the culture so deeply in the first place.

Because I understood that feeling too.

There’s also a moment from my younger years I’ll never forget.

I had a lowrider truck when I was around 18 years old. One day a friend was driving us and we got T-boned by a sports car. After the accident, the officer looked at me and said something I’ll probably remember forever.

He said, “I’m about to say something I’ve never said before and probably never will again… your lowrider saved your life.”

The sports car had such a low front end that because my truck was dropped so low, instead of going underneath us and flipping the truck at high speed, it pushed us instead.

That moment stuck with me.

Because for a lot of people, vehicles become much more than transportation.

Sometimes they become identity.
Healing.
Belonging.
Purpose.
Connection.

I’ve had people tell me over the years that their car saved their life too.

And honestly, I understand exactly what they mean.

That’s why the future of The Customized Ride is starting to evolve beyond just filming cool vehicles.

The cars will always matter.

But the stories behind them matter too.

Because cars may bring people in.

But stories are what keep the culture alive.