Growing up I always assumed NYC never had a street racing scene because of location and I never heard any real chatter about it online either. I always figured it was the west coast and the south here in Houston where I’m from that was popping. It’s so cool to see and hear how real and raw y’all’s scene was with racing. Sounds bad ass from what I’m hearing now. I haven’t started the podcast but I can’t wait to watch it! I’ve always wanted to know more about the man the movie was inspired by ever since I found out last year NYC was supposed to be the place for Fast and the Furious to take place because of this dude. Respect to y’all OGs for inspiring us young guys! 👊🏻❤️🤝

Up this way too Jamaicans in Brooklyn I’m a yaad man myself use to watch my dad and uncles race in fountain back in the mid 90s rotaries and Supras for days and then maximas later 90s early 2000s

This 🔥

@King36XX yes sir! Rotaries in Toyota corolla 1.8

Cars come stock 400 - 1000hp without even adding bolt ons now fam. Yea the game has definitely changed

Technology gets better and improves. Plus in terms of cops, you need to punch over 450 horisies to beat out their suv cruiser which holds the most hp of their vehicles at 440hp. So BASELINE, if you are REALLY outside, really dancing around corners, really shutting down intersections, really at car meets for racing. Then you need to be able to punch above 400hp out the gate or you’re simply fucked on every straight in your city.

I'm double the stock WHP and fully stock unopened motor. It's wild.

Yes sir, it started with the sandbox and Tonka trucks, and matchbox cars.

He wrong about the light thing it’s plenty of reasons

Good luck with that

That and these bs shops

Thank you for letting these children know. New York once to claim everything. And they're too ignorant to understand the history of street racing.

@@falconmalcolm Yeah, got to say it how it is. The California Import Tuner Scene and Street Racing was a big reason behind the production of the movie! In a matter of fact, street racing was big in California, it was all over the place. Has been going on for well over 50 years… The *Import Tuner Scene* was born in Southern California! That's where it emerged from. Rafael said something about the reason why the movie wasn’t set in New York, which according to him, was due to budget reasons… That’s not really true… - David Ayer rewrote the whole script. He didn’t like the initial New York based draft. The initial draft written by Gary Scott Thompson was very stereotypical and only had white people (mostly Italian-American characters) in it. It had no diversity at all… It also didn’t have much car / street racing sequences. Generally speaking, it wasn’t a good script… David Ayer set it in California because he felt it was more appropriate as street racing was big on the West Coast and the import tuner scene, like mentioned earlier, was at home over there! The California vibe and sunshine was also a factor, it was more appealing for that type of movie. In the commentary - narration by director Rob Cohen that can be found on the original 2002 DVD, Rob says that when he first saw the article, he wasn’t convinced by it and didn’t see a movie in it… It wasn’t until he saw a street race going on one night in California a few weeks later, that he finally saw something cool about it and wanted to create a movie!

Probably why they chose Cali as the setting as well a more known location and scene with beautiful aesthetics. That doesn’t change the fact they Dom’s character is based off Racer X

True! The VIBE MAGAZINE article from '98 wasn't the only reason why "The Fast And The Furious" was created to begin with. The *California Import Tuner Scene and Street Racing* was a big reason behind it! In a matter of fact, street racing was big in California, it was all over the place. Has been going on for well over 50 years… *The Import Tuner Scene was born in Southern California!* That's where it emerged from. The *producers and even some of the actors* (Paul and Vin were two of them) went to street racing spots at night and to certain Import car shows in California during '99 - 2000 before starting production of the movie. New York had barely anything to do with the movie. It was all a *Cali thing* and was supposed to be that way! *David Ayer* rewrote the whole script. He didn’t like the initial New York based draft. The initial draft written by *Gary Scott Thompson* was very stereotypical and only had Italian-American characters in it. It had no diversity at all… It also didn’t have much car / street racing sequences. It wasn’t a good script generally speaking… *David Ayer* set it in California because he felt it was more appropriate to set the movie on the *West Coast* as street racing was big over there and the import tuner scene, like mentioned earlier, was at home over there! The California vibe and sunshine was also more appealing for that type of movie.

@@deethaarulaaYeah, the import tuner scene was born in California!

@@Kev27RSfacts

@@SlowlyGoingFast 😉👍

No I would venture to say it started in California in the 50s or so, them were the true OG's. They were saying the same thing during the Muscle car era about kids having too much power. Not taking anything from this guy, but he is the OG of import racing. Racing has been an American thing since the first car, shit probably even horses and buggies lol.

@@joshuaquilliam2887 Exactly! Street racing has been around in California for decades! Hot Rods have been drag racing in the 50s! The Import Tuner Scene emerged in California, in So Cal to be exact! That’s where it was born! In a matter of fact, California is the car culture capital of the US and one of the main ones worldwide! 😉

Think about it, Ralphy said so himself that there was no script. Universal used him as a ploy to cover up the fact that they decided to go with a better script. They got a hold of my "BET" script and liked it enough to steal it. I don't care if you believe it or not but it's the truth and facts. TMZ know the truth and that's why they interviewed me. If you saw my TMZ interview then you saw the proof and documentation. Facts! You think you guys only race in New York? We're deep out here and we're more into the muscle cars. Ralphy don't have nothing to do with me out here in Cali, I wrote "BET" off of my personal experience and family history as a Street Racer. I'm Ray Anthony Williams and I'm the original writer and creator of "BET" AKA The Fast And The Furious.... Facts!!!

Are you saying TMZ is pretend? Yeah right, get out of your feelings my dude. Google/KZfaq me and then Google/KZfaq Ralphy and see what you come up with 👍🏽

@@raywilliams4749who are you ?

Yea ok bud foh

@@BleedGreen2l5 who you talking too ?

Exactly goofy Ny mfs talking about “I didn’t hear many stories from the west coast” when theres literally hundreds of stories from Blacks, Hispanics, and whites who been racing since the low rider days 😂

True! The VIBE MAGAZINE article wasn’t the sole reason why "The Fast And The Furious" was created! The California Import Tuner Scene and Street Racing was a big reason behind it! The Import Tuner Scene was born in California! That state is the car culture capital of the US (and even worldwide to be fair…) Rob Cohen, Neil H. Moritz and even some of the actors went to street racing spots at night and to certain Import shows in California during '99 - 2000 before starting production of the movie.

Hot rodding and import racing were two different scenes.

@@josesupra no it's not...... It's the same thing with different cars sure, but street racing was already going on for decades before the 70s

​@@Elver_Galarga_jugoin other words... different scene..... everyone knows hot rodding was big out west. But imports and especially rotary cars were big east coast cars. Just about All of the og drag racing rotary guys are from nj/ny lol. And its why the pr vs usa event was in nj..... even today when you look to buy these cars now you see a lot of them huddled up from nj to Boston and then practically nothing anywhere else till you get to fl. Cali does have some but its no where near the same lol. No reason to make the shit up man its just what it was.

​@@Elver_Galarga_jugoalso I agree and I think everyone acknowledges that street racing was going on well before the 70s. Im talking where old school import racing is from. .8, rx cars, datsuns etc.

@@josesupra there were lots of guys racing RX2s, 510s coronas and corollas out here in socal when they were new, but just not as big as easy coast. Import scene has been popping for a while, it's just domestic stuff was the most popular.

Loved those cars, Starion and the Conquest were Badass, I was into 2G 4G63 DSM's back in the day, always wanted a Starion, and a VR4 Galant. Never enough cash, and oh so many wants lol.

Bahhahahah these foes are goonies!

@@Tabooza 😂 The guy on the right (interviewer) seemed cool and even had a L.A. cap on but Rafael Estevez on the other hand was very "New York biased"…

4G61 correct? I was into the 2G DSM's had several Gst's and even a 98 Talon Tsi awd, man I miss that car. Nothing and I mean nothing compares to a awd talon, no clutch diffs, just 50 50 split all the time. Same the the Vr4 6g72, they just squat and move out. Raw feeling that no car can replicate, even the rattles and sqeeking haha.

The race scene is way bigger than ever

Big royalties

The VIBE MAGAZINE article wasn’t the sole reason why "The Fast And The Furious" was created! The California Import Tuner Scene and Street Racing was a big reason behind it! Rob Cohen, Neil H. Moritz and even some of the actors went to street racing spots at night and to certain Import shows in California during '99 - 2000 before starting production of the movie.

@Kev27RS heard the actors were hitting up street races across the country

@@braggsdesigns76 They checked out street races in California. If I remember right, Paul and Vin checked one out and almost got in trouble… 😂

@@Kev27RS lol damn

I’ll rather race for money than just for fun… cause for me I have fun in my free everyday just even driving home alone 💯

The original Fast And Furious is a cult classic! A phenomenon! There were definitely real car guys involved!

@Kev27RS Which part was done by "car guys"? The neon lights, stickers, chrome 15s, and body kits? The Eclipse so fast that bolts loosened and the floorboard fell off the car making cool sparks? FF looks more like a meet at the Pep Boys parking lot. showing off a new air freshener, one upping each other about "my boy's cousin's neighbor with the 1000hp Altima". That's the vibe the first few minutes of FF gave off. Hollywood, not reality.

@@ChesMejia What are you even talking about? 😂 Come on! You clearly don’t know anything about the movie! You should do some research! 😉👍 All the cars that you see in the background (first street race at night, the Race Wars event, …) were all REAL cars owned by actual car guys! They all appeared as extras in the movie. Look up who Craig Lieberman and RJ De Vera are? Both heavily involved in the import tuner scene in California. Both were even part of SUPER STREET Magazine, which was created in California, just like any other import tuner magazine! Do you know about "NIRA"? Also created in California. Street racing was all over the place on the West Coast! Plus, the import tuner scene was born there! SoCal to be exact. *California is the car culture capital of the US!*

@Kev27RS Research what? It's all right IN THE MOVIE for all to see! In the very first few minutes! As far as a whos who of EXTRAS in a movie, who cares? They were extras, obviously not consultants. I was an extra on "Any Given Sunday". Does that mean I taught them how to make a football movie? The movie is still shit and still more hollywood make believe than street racing. The movie is about as credible as Ja Rule being in it. As far as the racing scene in Cali, I never even mentioned it in my comment, so dont get your feelings hurt about what didnt even happen.

@@ChesMejia They weren’t just some random extras that got added to the set, they were all actual car guys with their own cars who even street raced in L.A. and other parts of Cali! Well, research the movie production, behind the scenes, etc.. Craig Lieberman and RJ De Vera were technical advisors for the movie! (They even had a cameo in the movie.) By the way, it’s a movie, not a documentary. Of course certain things were a bit exaggerated here and there for entertainment purposes. Overall though, the movie represented the import tuner scene in a good way. The movie was basically "Point Break" with cars instead of surfers… Look it up! New York had barely anything to do with the movie. It was all a Cali thing and supposed to be that way! David Ayer rewrote the whole script.

He was very "New York biased" though…

I will add them to site for sure . Thanks for the interest.

So it was never the inspiration behind it?

@@PaulGarrett555 Not necessarily. Apparently there was a New York based draft that was written around late '99 but it was scrapped pretty quickly… One of the writers (David Ayer) rewrote the whole script. He didn’t like the initial New York based draft. That initial draft written by Gary Scott Thompson was very stereotypical and only had white people (mostly Italian-American characters) in it. It had no diversity at all… It also didn’t have much car / street racing sequences. Generally speaking, it wasn’t a good script… David Ayer set it in California because he felt it was more appropriate as street racing was big on the West Coast and the import tuner scene, like mentioned earlier, was at home over there! The California vibe and sunshine was also a factor, it was more appealing for that type of movie. In the commentary - narration by director Rob Cohen that can be found on the original DVD released in early 2002, Rob says that when he first saw the article, he wasn’t convinced by it and didn’t see a movie in it… It wasn’t until he saw a street race going on one night in California a few weeks later, that he finally saw something cool about it and wanted to create a movie! 🙂

@@Kev27RS so he didn’t originally want to make a movie based on the article until he had seen a street race in real life?

@@PaulGarrett555 It seems like it, according to director Rob Cohen. By the way, Ken Li (the one who wrote the "RACER X" article) was working as a reporter at the "New York Daily News" in New York in the late 90s. The VIBE MAGAZINE studio was in New York City. That’s why that article was featured in the magazine. Ken said in an interview a while ago that he initially had ideas about going to California in the late 90s to explore the import tuner - street racing scene but since he was working in New York at the time, he decided to stay there and simply explore what was going on in New York regarding the street racing scene. He also found it crazy since most people don’t drive a car in New York, so it was interesting to see how the street racers managed to do that illegal activity in a place like New York!

@@Kev27RS was street racing prominent before the Fast & Furious movies or not?

That VIBE MAGAZINE article wasn’t the sole reason why "The Fast And The Furious" was created! The California Import Tuner Scene and Street Racing was a big reason behind it! Street racing was big in California and the Import Tuner scene was born there! Rob Cohen, Neil H. Moritz and even some of the actors (Paul was one of them) went to street racing spots at night and to certain Import shows in California during '99 - 2000 before starting production of the movie.

check out his G35 ^^^

Who races stock cars bruh? Find the last car under 500hp on roc nyc, 1320video, street science texas, etc

LA street racer club. That's one thing

@@andrewrepp9514 Hot rotting started in the Early 60s and was a West Coast thing. The South had their cars. Also, the East Coast was not known for their cars until. Late seventies eighties

😂

How when we started street racing? We started the import craze.. look up Greg Leone and you'll see who that story was really about

@@SlowlyGoingFast i follow him on Facebook real humble guy

The VIBE MAGAZINE article wasn’t the sole reason why "The Fast And The Furious" was created! The California Import Tuner Scene and Street Racing was a big reason behind it! The Import Tuner Scene was born in California! That state is the car culture capital of the US (and even worldwide to be fair…) Rob Cohen, Neil H. Moritz and even some of the actors went to street racing spots at night and to certain Import shows in California during '99 - 2000 before starting production of the movie.

@@SlowlyGoingFastTrue! The Import Tuner Scene emerged in Cali!