If there is such a thing as the perfect car meet, this might have been it.
It was the Sunday after Formula Drift Long Beach, the season opener for the premier US drift series, and I was exhausted. It had been a hell of a week; I’d pushed my body nonstop for days, and I pretty much had nothing left in the tank. I was really looking forward to a day of rest.
I was pacing around the house trying to find some motivation to at least get a little movement in when I got a call from my buddy Chazzy. He got straight to the point and told me he was putting together a meet on the top of a parking structure in downtown Los Angeles, and wanted me to come through. I didn’t hesitate to take Chazzy up on the offer. I had seen what he had done before, and this location alone sounded like it would top everything.
It was already late afternoon, and the sun was setting in a few hours. I went into the shop and fired up my 240Z; this was the perfect excuse to finally put some miles on the clock, as I hadn’t driven it much since Z Car Garage finished the engine bay. Reluctantly, I also grabbed my ThinkTank rolling camera case. I wasn’t really in the mood to fully commit to shooting, but I’ve done this enough times to know I would regret it if I didn’t bring my gear. Showing up with just a phone never works out the way you want it.
The drive into Downtown Los Angeles was easy – no traffic, just a straight shot down the 10 freeway. The city was glowing, and I could already tell it was going to be one of those perfect LA sunsets. Ripping through the gears in my oldest project car reminded me why I love it so much. The turbo sounds coming from the SR20DET were spot on, the KW suspension felt soft and compliant, and the Z Car Garage brake upgrade felt reassuring in a way that the S30’s factory drums could never.
I pulled up to the parking structure to find a few people outside catching the last of the roll-in. One guy walked up, recognized me immediately, and introduced himself as Chazzy’s father. Waving me in, it felt like a family thing right away, which made it even cooler.
Getting up to the top floor of the old building was a mission. The ramps were brutal, and the breakover angles felt ridiculous, almost like 45 degrees. Maybe that’s an exaggeration, but not by much. My S30 is not even that low, and the exhaust and undercarriage took hits all the way up. I kept thinking how there was no chance something like my R34 would have made it up there. It is honestly a miracle that some of the other cars even made it to the top.
I turned one more corner and then saw it – the level just below the roof had this perfect strip of light pouring in from the west, but it was the background that really hit. The entire downtown Los Angeles skyline was right there in front of me. It looked unreal, like a movie set backdrop. I pulled over immediately, grabbed my cameras, and got to work shooting my car. I must have been down there for about 20 minutes before I realized the actual meet was already in full swing one level above me. I could hear people coming down the stairs, and by then a small crowd had gathered around the Z. That was my cue to head up.
When I finally got to the rooftop, it was exactly what you hope for but rarely see. The variety of cars was insane. I squeezed in next to a lowrider, barely making it as the last parking spots filled up. As the sun began to dip, the ground started shaking. The lowrider next to me started hopping, and you could feel it through the entire structure. I’m not sure it gets any more ‘LA’ than that.
One thing that stood out right away was how curated everything felt, which is not surprising given that Chazzy personally invited every car. His whole idea was that if you want people to show up, you need to give them something worth showing up for. He also positioned it as a content gathering meet, and you could see that everywhere. Film cameras, MiniDV camcorders, disposables, instant cameras, everything. Every type of creator was there documenting it in their own way.
Another thing I appreciated was the lack of music. There was no background noise, just people talking, and it made everything feel calm. Honestly, most music at car meets doesn’t add anything anyway, and it usually makes it impossible to film or vlog. This was the opposite.
Rapper Xavier Wulf also showed up to support Chazzy, bringing out his green JZX100 Toyota Chaser and his girlfriend’s pink Honda S2000. He took photos with people and signed autographs for what felt like an hour straight.
After a few hours, cars started firing up and rolling out – my favorite part of any event. It sounded incredible. Since it was Sunday evening in an industrial part of downtown, there was no one around to complain about the noise. I ran back down to that lower level to use the skyline as a natural frame, photographing cars as they passed through the pillars with the sunset behind them. It was one of those moments where everything just lined up, and I wished I could shoot faster.
And just like that, it was over. I ended up being the last car there. I took a few final shots of my Z, then made my way down and headed home.
The photos from that night might not have the rarest or most prestigious cars as you see at events like Luftgekühlt or Pebble Beach, but it didn’t matter. This was one of those sets that I am genuinely proud of. More than anything, it was about the people. Meeting new photographers and creators who are just as driven, just as passionate, and pushing in their own way.
If anything, I hope this meet becomes a blueprint for future events with a similar focus on community and creativity. Car culture needs it.
