Jet lag is starting to kick in. My day started early, 5am central time as I got ready to head to the airport to begin my journey to Las Vegas, Nevada, from Minneapolis, Minnesota, for the annual SEMA show. This is my first time making the trip and it’s quite an overwhelming experience.
The event is big, like really big. Words and pictures can’t really do it justice, but the coverage we’ll share will shed some light on just how big SEMA is.
As a first-timer, when I walked into the convention center halls, I was like a kid in a candy store again. Coming from the mid-west, it was my first time seeing a lot of these cars and builds in the metal. On top of seeing all these builds, I also finally got to meet a lot of people I only know online.
The main reason I’m here for the week is because of all the networking I’ve done since becoming a contributor, and now I’m chilling in Vegas for a week with two friends who I just met for the first time, but feel like we’ve known each other a lot longer.
With how big SEMA is, we’re all here for the same reason, because we love everything automotive, and we’re all part of one culture.
When I hit the convention floor with my two partners in crime around 11:30am (they’ve been at it since 7am), it was more site-seeing and showing me around while I took in what I could. We hit some of the big displays, the first of which was H&R’s booth which is playing host to Rusty Slammington.
Finally seeing this car in person was really something else. If you don’t know the story behind the car, it has died multiple times, including being caught in a garage fire, and now it’s sitting at SEMA creating quite a stir.
Featuring a full tube-chassis, custom, metal wide-body, and a built S38 race-engine with all the details. It seems like 4-years is a long time for the build, but when you really take a minute to take in all details, Mike Burroughs and his crew really did a lot in those 4-years.
It really is great to see Rusty back on the road.
We kept wandering the halls taking in everything and mingling with car owners and exhibitors.
Once again, this is the year of the wide-body, and Rocket Bunny and Liberty-Walk can be seen pretty much anywhere, and on a multitude of cars.
Of course, RWB is out in full force with several builds roaming around. The party keeps on going outside of the halls with even more displays, cars, and drifting demos where you can even ride along.
It’s so much to take in, way more than you can do in a day, much less a week.
I spent the better part of the day walking as much as I could before we decided to break for food, and then head back to the condo we’re renting to get to work.
Getting to SEMA was something I’ve always wanted to do, and never did I think 5-years ago that my work would get me working with such great people.
Being here is quite surreal, and I don’t think it’s quite sunk in yet. I’m sure when I wake up at 6am tomorrow to head back to the event, it’ll finally hit me.
It’s going to be a great week with lots of coverage, so be sure to stick around and follow us on our social media outlets to get live updates.