The car scene is one of those things that you can get lost in pretty easily if you’re not paying attention. Between buying car parts, wrenching on your project, spending countless hours cleaning and prepping just to spend all of your free time at shows and meets. I can’t count the times that my girlfriend has said the words “stop working on your car, it’s time for bed!” or “are you going to come hang out with me AT ALL tonight?” (Don’t laugh! I’m sure you can relate, too). This is a great life and most of us wouldn’t change it for the world, but there are times when you need to just kick back and chill with the people who mean the most.

Since I’ve met Nickoli from Simply Clean and the HighwayStar Garage brothers (Ramon and Manny), they’ve welcomed me with open arms and have preached that “It’s not a competition” since day one. I wish it were easier for more people to understand and embrace this philosophy because it’s truly been a phrase that has changed my life. Sure, judged car shows are something that everyone loves. It’s nice to beat out the competition and have that moment of pride…but what happened to a good old fashioned meet up where everyone is welcome regardless of their “show status”? After all, isn’t this whole scene about the people you meet rather than who can build a better car? The words in this video couldn’t be any clearer. Do it for the fun of it and do it for you. Remember…it’s not a competition.

To see more photos check out Simply Clean’s Grill n Chill article