From the underground streets of SoCal to the global stage, RJ de Vera has been at the heart of tuner culture’s biggest moments. In this episode of The Creative Drive, we dive into his journey from shaping Super Street magazine, to consulting on the original Fast & Furious, to influencing the industry at SEMA and Meguiar’s. RJ shares untold stories, behind-the-scenes insights, and how tuner culture went mainstream. This conversation is packed with history, strategy, and inspiration from one of the scene’s true pioneers.

0:00 Cold Opening RJ de Vera

0:02:00 RJ and Taro met as RJ was coming off of consulting for The Fast and the Furious?

0:02:50 RACER+ Promotion

0:09:50 No one expected The Fast and the Furious to be the franchise it became

0:11:45 Consulting for brands like American Racing and building Roja Motorsports wheels

0:13:30 First sponsorship from Acura to go racing

0:15:50 Old school racing. We figured it out by blowing up stuff

0:19:00 RJ helped Dai Yoshihara when he was just started out in the US

0:22:00 Consulting for Valvoline and becoming an influencer

0:26:00 How did Keiichi Tsushiya got involved with Drifting 101 Valvoline

0:33:30 Transitioning to a corporate job at Meguires

0:40:00 YouTube, brand deals and being an early brand ambassador

0:44:00 Racecar drivers leveraging social media 

0:45:00 How RJ became VP of Marketing at SEMA

0:51:00 SEMA's legislative work

01:05:35 Rapid Fire with RJ de Vera

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