Double AA club Podcast
Double AA club Podcast
EP:77 Trailblazing Women Racers: Shattering Barriers and Defying Stigmas
What does it take for women to shatter barriers in the testosterone-fueled world of motorsports? Join us on this electrifying episode of the Double A Club as we shine a spotlight on trailblazing female racers like PR Beauty, Nicole Elf, Brianna Schmeltz, and Erin Puglisi. These extraordinary women are rewriting the rulebook, facing down stigmas, and proving that the racetrack knows no gender. We’ll explore the challenges they surmount and their relentless dedication to building and racing fast cars, emphasizing the vital role of community support and big-name sponsors in their journey.
Discover how a passion for racing can become a lifeline. I take you through my personal saga—from the raw streets of late '90s street racing to battling life’s biggest hurdles, like cancer and family responsibilities, before reigniting my love for the sport in 2008. Hear the inspiring story of how motorsports became my anchor, keeping me grounded and in remission. I also spill the beans on the revival of my podcast, H-Game Live, and reflect on the influential figures and teams that have left an indelible mark on the street racing scene. Together, we challenge the misconceptions surrounding street racing and highlight its inherent camaraderie.
Get ready for a deep dive into the contrasting realms of street racing and takeover culture. We paint a vivid picture of the structured, albeit illegal, world of street racing compared to the chaotic spectacle of takeovers. Listen to my harrowing yet enlightening experience of getting lost in Compton, blasting a song that could have sparked real trouble, which highlights the cultural intricacies of the car enthusiast community. From the vibrant car culture in Compton to the mutual respect bridging East and West Coast scenes, this episode is a thrilling journey celebrating the dedication and passion of racers everywhere. Buckle up for an in-depth exploration of automotive adventures and the people who live for speed.
You are listening to the Double A Club and this is your host, ny Boom, and my co-host, big Daz. We'll be talking about trending topics and healthcare and basically just as a disclaimer just to let the listeners know that this is just basically on our opinions and speculations and I hope you guys enjoy the show. Let's start off and kick off with our first topic.
Speaker 2:So I noticed that you mentioned women in racing. Now can you touch a little bit on that? Because that is you know, this is predominantly a male sport, but we have been seeing an increase in more women doing it and I see a lot of women hooking up their cars and having street cars, street racing and stuff like that.
Speaker 3:So very good point. I've always been a huge supporter of the female movement in the car scene, uh, and particularly, uh, the drag racing scene, right, um, I don't think a lot of women get the deserve they. They I mean the respect they deserve, um, in this scene. Because you know, like you said, it's a, it's a male predominant scene and you know, when they see a female, the first thing on a male's head is like y'all want to hit that. You know what I mean. Like yes, yes, yes, y'all want to try to kick game. You know, when this lady or this woman is just trying to get in the car and race, you know, and listen. It's not to say that they all are right, uh, because you have your, your females that get into this and they're just in it for the hype and they just in it for the hype and they're in it for the clout, and you got males that do that too. But a lot of women don't get the respect that they deserve because of that clout that lingers over the female, let's say stigmatism in the car racing scene. And it's sad because you do see an uptick in females wanting to come out and be these super racers and build their fast cars and you've got a lot out there right now. You know you got.
Speaker 3:You know, joanna, she's in Florida, you know. Oh, I know you're talking about PR Beauty. Yeah, pr Beauty, you know she's running seven, I think. No, no, no, she's running eight of her cars right now. She's trying to get to seven.
Speaker 2:I'm going to try to interview her. I'm going to try to interview her too. But yes, yes, and she builds her cars.
Speaker 3:Right, right, she works on her cars, she builds her cars. She has a great social media presence, so she's editing her videos and doing all this. So much respect to ladies like that. You have a lot of them. Nicole Elf that's another one that's out there running fast time. Brianna Schmeltz that's another one that's out there. And you have these groups Erin Puglisi, from New York city queen B? Uh, queen B series, um, even though she's running a K series motor, but queen B series, you know, uh, that's the homie right there. You know, I've seen that car go from like a 12 second car. Now she's running a nine second. You know it's, it's. You know.
Speaker 3:You take Joanna just a few years ago that car was running 12 and she's running eight now you know so you have these females that are out there just dedicating their lives to the sport and they're doing their thing and, you know, they make it easier for the next generation of female racers to go out there. Uh, because they, they have the confidence. You know, like yo, if they did it, I could do it too, you know. But there are the males that don't help in the car scene, like you know, like oh yeah, baby girl. Like, yeah, your car is dope, or your car is fast, and all this, and then in the back of their mind, like yo, I'm just gonna try to kick game. You know, like you, you gotta let them be man. You gotta let these females come out of their shell and knock down that wall and that barrier and help them.
Speaker 3:You know a good friend of mine, gabby. She was from Florida and she's back up north now. But you know another female racer who's come a long way with her build and she's amazing at it too, you know. But these females, like they're just trying to do their thing. They need these dudes to stay out the way and just let them be women. You know that that's the beauty in a woman, is that if you let a woman be a woman she will flourish into, you know. Um, sky's the limit, you know. But um, yeah, you know, it's beautiful seeing that it's dope to be able to support it. I think they need more support, you know. I think they need more support from the big-name companies and sponsorships and stuff like that to get their racing program to the next level. But they deserve it all, man.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I feel you and you know you are right about that, I mean, but I think they're heading in that direction. You know, once we start getting more women racing, they're going to get more recognition. They're going to get recognition eventually. I just think there's just not enough right now, at this point, to get females and I'm not talking about just the individual, just the female racing. They're just due. But they're getting there, they're heading there. You know what I'm saying the more women are getting into it and it's going to eventually, you know, open up the racing scene and include them in it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and I mean, I hope so, I hope so, I hope it keeps going that way.
Speaker 3:You know, I would love to see it, you know, balanced up to a point where you have just as much as female races as you have, uh, male races out there, you know, and you're starting to see more couples where, um, you know the, the um, you know the, the boyfriend or the husband might be into racing big time, and the female gets curious, you know, and she's like, well, I want my own race car, you know, and they start racing that way. So that that's pretty dope, um, and it's crazy to see it, because a lot of these couples are racing together and they're having kids, and now the kids are into the racing and you might have a daughter who might be looking up to her mother or her dad and getting into it, um, you know, so it's, it's out there, and I just hope it keeps increasing because, like I said, I would love to see it well balanced enough to where you have a decent amount of both at one race, you know yeah, it's like I said it's heading there, I think it is, I think world.
Speaker 2:So you used to be a racer, right? How long have you been out of racing?
Speaker 3:oh, that's a good question. I think my last race official race was, I want to say, around 2015, 2014,. Around there, and I just stopped racing. Because life, you know, like it wasn't like. I fell out of love with it. I was heavy into the street racing from 96 to about 2001,. 2002. Till about 2001, 2002, when, you know, I started settling down with, at the time, you know, my fiance and we ended up having kids. And from like 2002 to like 2007, 8, I want to say, you know, like life was just life. Like you know, I had cancer. I was almost paralyzed at one point from a back, from a back injury, so I really didn't have the time. I was raising three kids, you know, so it was.
Speaker 3:It was difficult for me to get back into the racing because priorities, you know, um, uh, 2008, 2009, uh, once I got, you know, once I beat the cancer in 2007, uh, 2008,. Uh, doctor told me he goes, listen, man, he goes. Uh, cancer really lives off of stress, right, it thrives off of stress. You got to find yourself a hobby that you love, uh, to keep your mind occupied and away from this. Uh, because your cancer will never go away, it just goes to sleep pretty much, it goes into remission. So I was like all right. And he's like find something that you've always loved doing and that you have a love for and do it. You know, get back into it.
Speaker 3:Um, so the first thought right away was like, oh, I'm buying a Honda, you know like I'm buying a hatchback and I'm going racing again. And, and I had told my parents I was like yo, look like I'm good. Now, you know, I had told the mother of my children, my children at the time, I'm like yo, I'm good. Now I'm getting back into this. And I think, within like three months of me being like cured, I was already at the racetrack and building another car. Um, and then, from like 2008 to, let's say, like 2012, um, I was building cars privately just for my own personal enjoyment and I would race them here and there.
Speaker 3:Um, and then 2012, 2013 was when I was approached with the opportunity to start this podcast that I had H-Game Live. H-game, yeah, h-game it stood for Honda Game Live, right, and we shortened it to H-Game Live, but H-Game Live was a huge, huge movement to this day, like everybody's. Like yo, you got to start that podcast again and I might I don't know. I actually yeah, I actually signed the lease and this will be the first time I'm ever even releasing this into the public. But I just signed the lease for a studio and we're bringing it back full time. So you know, we'll see how it goes.
Speaker 3:That's awesome bro I wish you the best on that, bro, for real. Thank you, thank you, and I mean listen, you're very welcome.
Speaker 2:I may not know anything about racing, but I hope you can have me so I can collab with you and we can just talk shit.
Speaker 3:Oh, definitely, man, and that was like the beauty of that podcast was that, yeah, it was about racing. It was about, you know, street racing. We always kept it for the streets, you know, we always were unscripted and real, but the love of it was just the naturalness of our conversations with everybody and that vibe that we would have. But, yeah, man, you'll be more than welcome to come on and join us and be a part of it. So, yeah, thank you for having me on this one, you know.
Speaker 2:No problem of it. So, um, yeah, thank you for having me on this one. You know, um, no problem. To be honest, it's a pleasure to have you here and you know I don't know anything about street racing or anything.
Speaker 2:I've seen it, I've kind of heard about it. It's been like one of those like mysterious things that you know, I've known about, but I've never really partake in it or you know, or actually like witnessed it. But I want to get educated on stuff like this. So you're educating me, you're educating everybody who's listening about street racing and you know you're also taking whatever negative stigmatism that's behind it. You know what I'm saying Because I know street racing isn't just, you know, guys on the street betting crap money on, they're dealing money and fucking racing and crashing into people and killing people. It's not like that. You know, I know that. But there's people that don't know that and when they hear street racing, that's what they're going to think of. So you on here speaking your truth on street racing and how many years you've been involved in it, that already is a tribute to stating that that's not true.
Speaker 3:Right and and you know, like, listen, I'm nowhere near what a lot of the street racers that I've grown to admire and look up to um have been or are right now. You know, like um, you know you got guys like you know you got groups like hype boost um. You know you got guys like you know you got groups like Hype Boost um, they're based out of New Jersey and they were one of the first racing teams, that street racing teams that I looked up to when I was young. Um, you got guys in New York, you know, back in the days, like this guy, booger. You know, rest in peace, booger.
Speaker 3:But he was, uh, but he was a street racer that was super well-known Morris Morris Suning. You know, like, he was a racer, and these are all the OGs that we used to look up to. You know you got guys like Cartoon Network that are keeping the streets alive. Now, joely Tech, they're keeping the streets alive. You know, Disturbing the Streets. That's a racing team out of new jersey and they're keeping the streets alive. And you know you got these little racing crews that I admire and I look up to, um, and it's crazy because, like I'm older, so they, you know, they're like yo, what's up og, what's up og. And I'm like nah, bro, like you're the og, you know, like I'm just, I'm just here to tell the story properly, you know, or, as best as I can, you know.
Speaker 3:that's why, uh, 2016, 2017, when I was, you know, when I was done with the podcast, I opened up a shop in New Jersey. Uh, when my business started at the time and, uh, it was called infamous motor works, right, and we were more about building the car for people who couldn't or didn't have the time to build, um, and we were still involved in it. That way, you know, a lot of our cars went to win awards at, you know, a lot of car shows or track events, whatever, um, and I had my hands in everything. You know, that way, um, 2017, 2018, around I want to say, like 2019, I started getting more into the media, um, and the media was a crazy thing because you had, uh, media companies.
Speaker 3:Like I am Ty Boogie, you know, you had nice ones, um, and they were really out there, you know, since they were like true OGs in the media world when it came to telling the story of the street racing scene, right, um, but I had always been, you know, a fan of documenting or or videoing, or taking pictures, you know, ever since I was 17.
Speaker 3:You know, of all these events. You know, all these events I would go to Um and in 2018, I just started thinking about it and I'm like yo, like I've always had a knack for, you know documenting this, like for the rest of my time in this scene Um, I want to make sure that, you know, I play a part of telling the story the right way, you know, and making sure that, like you said, the stigmatisms aren't out there. Like you know, there's a big difference right now between street racing and takeovers, you know, and that's something that needs to be talked about too, because takeovers street racers do not support takeovers, you know and I'll say that a takeover is when a group of individuals or a group of cars, they shut down a certain intersection, and you'll see it on the news where they're just doing donuts and all that.
Speaker 2:So those are takeovers right, and that's what people think of when they think of street racers. They're thinking of takeovers.
Speaker 3:Right.
Speaker 2:And that's not true?
Speaker 3:yeah, it's two totally different things. And listen, I'm not knocking the takeover scene because I I've been to a few. Um, quick little story. But first time I ever went to california was like three years ago, right, um, I went out there on a business trip and, and I had never been to Cali before, right, first time ever.
Speaker 3:And I land in LAX and within like 15 minutes I was in the dispensary, right, and from that parking lot in the dispensary, I was like yo, I've seen all these LA movies and you know, whatever, I want to go see Compton, right, so I, literally I put Compton into my GPS. I didn't put any address, just Compton, and I was just driving and following the directions and out of nowhere, um, I see traffic stopping and I see mad smoke and like, I'm like yo, what the is going on right now? Like what is this? So I pulled the rental over and I get out and I had my camera with me. Um, so I get out and I just run up towards like where the madness was going and I'm like whatever's happening, I want to document it, right, um, and when I get up, there was a takeover and I was like, oh, not like yo, this is wild. My first time in Cali and here I am randomly running into a takeover right that I've only seen on the internet.
Speaker 3:I've never been a part of one, never experienced one on the East coast. And I'm like yo, this is wild. So I'm standing in the middle of this circle and the cars are just going wild and I'm snapping away, I'm taking pictures and videos, and this little homie, this little essay homie, he turns around and he's like yo, fool. He's like you're not from here, are you? And I'm like nah. And I'm like he's like where are you from? And I'm like I'm like yo, I'm from New Jersey. You know, I live in Newark, new Jersey. And he's like Newark, new Jersey. He's like yo, I heard of that. And I'm like yeah, I'm like you know, crazy little city over there, but I'm originally from New York. He's like New York, bro, that's what's up. And I'm like, yeah, I'm like bro, where are we? And he just looks at me. He goes. He's like you're a Compton fool.
Speaker 3:And like the way he said it get your go. I swear to God, he said it to me and I was just like this is a truly defining moment in my fucking life right now. This is not a fucking movie, it's like a fucking movie and'm like this is not happening. You know what. Let me stop thinking about it and let me just keep recording and taking pictures, um, and I still have all that footage from out there. But it was my first time experiencing a takeover, so I can't knock the takeover scene, because I saw what it was to them, right, and I see what it is to the people that attend them, um, and it's the same love that the street racers have for street racing, right, but takeovers and street racing are two totally different things. You know, these guys are going in circles and they're they're interrupting traffic and there's a lot of accidents, um, and there's just straight havoc and recklessness when it comes to those takeovers. And listen, just for the record, I know we're on a podcast, I'm not knocking the takeover, but it's just way crazier.
Speaker 2:It's not as regulated as the street racing is Right.
Speaker 3:A street racer. We just want to get out there, we want to prep the area that we're racing. The two cars line up. You know there might be a little, you know, drama in the beginning as far as, like, you know shit talking and all that, uh, but the point is to get to the strip line up, the cars race down quarter mile. You know race is over. Get the cars on the trailer, get them out of here. You know whatever, whatever, and yeah it. You know races over, get the cars on a trailer, get them out of here. You know whatever, whatever. And yeah, it does.
Speaker 3:You know, disrupt traffic, and I get that part of it. And it's not safe. You know it's not sanctioned, whatever, it is illegal. I get that aspect of it. So we're going straight, we're getting it out the way, we're trying to make as least noise as possible. Um, where TakeOver? It seems like that's the goal. You know, the more craziness, the more ratchetness, if you want to call it that, the better TakeOver. So you know, and the media doesn't pick it up that way, the media is all street racing, street racing street racing.
Speaker 2:Fuck, what's the media, bro? Yeah, they're uneducated, yo. I remember a newscaster stating that I forgot they said something about an assault rifle being dangerous and they tried to load the rifle and could not load it. And we're like how the fuck is it dangerous If you don't know how to use it? It's not dangerous, like they fumbled it. They fumbled the magazine and they couldn't put the bullets in. Nothing like nothing worked. The machine gun, the AR rifle, was inoperable and they're still calling it dangerous, right?
Speaker 1:So oh, my god, that's crazy.
Speaker 2:But you know something? You brought up that Compton thing, bro, I'm going to share a story with you. This happened maybe like 20 years ago. I went on a trip to LA. I was a trip to LA. I went on a trip to LA right, it was a trip to LAX and then we were gonna stay there for a day or two and then we were gonna go to San Diego. And I remember when we landed me and my ex at the time so we uh, we went to a hotel and then we wanted to go to Disneyland and we had this fucking GPS that couldn't tell us shit. You know what I'm saying. We couldn't find Disney. So we're getting lost and I'm like at the time we had a cassette. You know what I'm saying. So I pop in Tim Dogg in the car. Richard, Right, I don't know if you're familiar with Tim Dogg yeah, I remember.
Speaker 2:Tim Dogg. So he had this song called Fuck Compton and we got lost and we was in Compton. I literally pulled up into a McDonald's and as I go into McDonald's to ask for directions to get on this highway to go to Disneyland, I go in and you know how? The bodegas have the bulletproof glass, yeah, and they have that little turn thing where they give you your cash back and everything Right. Mcdonald's had that and I'm in Compton at this McDonald's blasting fuck Compton when I got out at McDonald's and I got in the car and it goes Babes, we gotta get the fuck out of here now. What do you mean? We in Compton?
Speaker 3:Yo, it's nuts, my nigga it's nuts.
Speaker 2:It is crazy, yo. Life is fucking real over there. Those motherfuckers are depicted correctly in movies, bro, I mean like you can't. There's no lie about that.
Speaker 3:That shit. When Homie said that to me, he was like yo, fool, you're a Compton. And he was like about as gangster as I've ever seen in real life. You feel me Like? Dude had the knee-high socks like, oh you know like, or the not knee-high, I ain't even gonna knock homie like that, but he had. He had his socks up high, you know. He had his khaki shorts, he had his cat, his whole dickies outfit, um hats everywhere and like he had his chucks laced up, you know like red chucks and I'm his chucks raised up, you know like red chucks and I'm like this dude is no joke. But he realized that I was like, you know, like I was like a baby deer bro, and he brought me up. He was like yo, come up here, come up here, fool. And he brought me up to the front of the circle. He called you a fool every time. Well, that's the terminology, yeah.
Speaker 2:I know, I know that's the way they talk. Yeah, like the way we would say yo my nigga, or yo my boy or yo my G?
Speaker 3:Like yo fool, yo fool, and I'm like yo. What the fuck is going on right now? But he brought me, like he showed me, bad love. So how was that?
Speaker 2:experience for you, bro. It was that takeover. Was it like the same way it hit you when we went to your first street racing event In?
Speaker 3:Hunts Point Nah, nah, nah, nah. This was a totally, completely Different experience, one I was worried about getting Clipped by a car Because, like With a takeover, you're basically you're in a circle, right and, or you're surrounding this circle, where these cars are just spinning and going crazy, right, Um, and they're reckless. You know they're wild, bro, they're, they're just, they're just spinning, like, however the car goes, like that's where they go, um, and I didn't realize that they get so close to everybody, you know, and to get like the real Essence of it, if you're recording or you're shooting, you gotta be up, you know, up close. And the dude Brought me up close and he's like, no, just Stand right here, you'll be fine right here. And he like let people around him know, like yo, he's with me. And like people were like Alright, you know whatever, like Listen, I don him know. Like yo, he's with me. And like people were like all right, you know, whatever. Like listen, I don't know who he was, if he ever hears this, if he's ever out there and listen, just much love to homie, whoever you were. God bless him, because he really looked out for me.
Speaker 3:My first experience street racing was different, bro. Like I was, you know, know, I was more mystified at the cars that were there. You know, like I saw beautiful cars at the time, that night that I first went out there and then I got to see them racing and I was just like wow, like these dudes are really going at it, like holy shit, they're really lining up next to each other and going down this trip and like no, they're talking shit the whole way down. It's okay, shit the whole way up. And when they get back, everybody's betting money on these races. Where my experience at the takeover was like you think this is going in circles and they're just going crazy and they don't give a fuck. And there's people like fires on the ground and they got lasers and water and both. It was just sheer madness with cars going in circles and the one thing you had to be careful with was that you didn't get clipped as the car came by.
Speaker 3:You feel me where, where the street racing? I want to say I said I felt safer, um, yeah, I felt more in control of the situation, um, and I know you know that also has to do with the fact that I was in compton. You know, like um, and once he told me like yo fool, you're in compton like that, really like set a switch off in my head. Like yo nigga, be careful where you at right now, you know, um, but it it was a totally different experience, like two totally different worlds, and I'm glad I got to experience, you know, the takeover.
Speaker 3:I want to say the authenticity of that takeover, right, because I ended up following IG Pace later on, like this was, you know, later on, after that trip, but they concentrated heavily on takeovers, right, and the same energy that I felt watching the video was the same energy that I felt when I was there. And what I'll do after, after the podcast, I'll send you a lot of the footage that I have from that day. Uh, so you could see and you, like you, you'll totally understand what I'm talking about. Yeah, so so would you go back to copping a hundred percent? A hundred percent in the daytime you know, but it's crazy because ratchet, bro, yeah, not, like that's a crazy thing.
Speaker 3:I'm thinking about it now that I just said that like it don't matter out there, like it don't matter the time of day, it don't matter, but it was. You know what was dope about Compton and you know I got to see, like Nipsey's area, you know Slauson and all. That was the fact of the culture. You know the culture so strong out there, you know, and like everything we see in the movies is really what it is out there. You know, like I thought back to movies like Boys in the Hood or Menace to Society. Yo, it's still like that, bro. Yo, it's still very much like that, you know, and even in those movies you know, like that, you know, and and even in those movies, you know, you had the car culture coming out in those movies because, yeah, medicine society, you had homie that robbed the other dude for the, for the daytons, and put him on on the mustang.
Speaker 3:You know, and then, um, you know, boys, boys in the hood, um, you had, you had the lowriders that were in that movie, you know, and that was a big part of the scene out there, um, and you have that culture embedded in that lifestyle out there. And and listen, the West coast, they got their own racing. Um, they got their own, you know, style and culture out there. When it comes to the cars, um, I was lucky enough, um to make a lot of friends out there because of work and they're in, let's say, the southern area of California, like Palmdale, all that area, lancaster, where it's all desert, right, and they do street racing out there. You know, like one of my homies right now, one way performance, like he builds cars for the track, you know, but like he builds cars and a lot of, you know some of his clients street race, you know, and I didn't realize that that street racing culture is so strong out there too, you know. So that trip really opened my eyes and it made me really respect Um, not that I didn't already respect, but it just made me realize how much love um the West coast has for the East coast, right, because, like a lot of the stuff that they were talking about.
Speaker 3:When I was out, there was like yo, you know this guy, you know this guy. And I'm like, yeah, like yo, this guy, you know this guy. And I'm like, yeah, like yo, those are my boys. Like, no, for real, can you facetime them? And I was, and I was calling people back east and I'm like yo, these guys want to meet you, like. And they're like, oh, wow, like really like, yeah, bro, you got fans out here too, that show love and love everything you do, you know. So that that was, uh, that that west coast trip was a true eye-opener you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, especially they take things and they keep it. It's just different. You know what I'm saying. I understand what you're saying because their outlook is completely different, but still, it's just as strong and as faithful as New Yorkers, but it's just a different eye, different view of it's. Just as strong and as faithful as New Yorkers, but it's just a different. It's a different eye, different view of it. You know what I'm saying? It's crazy, you know.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to Double A Club. Listen to us next episode to continue this topic. If you want to reach us on the email, it's doubleaclubpod.
