The streets of L.A. are never quiet, especially not at night and definitely not when The Circus is on. But it’s not the kind of circus you’re thinking of, it’s another kind, a louder, faster kind. It’s the kind were people like Jason, one of The Circus’s founders, are seen as warlords and a customized Nissan 370z his weapon. The Circus is one of L.A.’s largest (unofficial) car clubs and tonight is a gathering.
Tucked away in the city’s industrial area, away from the snooping public and the despised fuzz, the entire length of the main road looks like a set from the Fast and the Furious. From start to finish without a gap, the street is lined with cars each worthy of the next Street Machine front cover. Skylines, Mitsubishis Evo’s, Dodge Chargers, even a Lamborghini Gallardo and a Bentley have turned up along with hundreds of others, all tuned to their performing peak with customised bodies that look more like artwork.
One of five founders, Jason looks over the spectacle without any sign of bewilderment. In all my travels so far I’ve never met a cooler character. He leans on his car at the crest of the road overlooking a kingdom he’s helped to build and indulges in the atmosphere. Jason doesn’t race anymore and hasn’t for some time, he’s more of a coordinator now days and on tonight is a main event that has a prize bigger than my monthly salary. As we wait for the course to be set up he takes the time to answer a few of my questions.
Jason tells a story that could be converted into a prequel for the Fast and Furious movies. A rough childhood fuelled by a passion for everything fast but survived by natural street smarts, a small stint in jail for some minor offences and the inevitable wake up sadly caused by the death of a close friend. Jason along with the other founders started The Circus as a sort of sanctuary for people, like my cousin, who share the same passion but don’t particularly like the scene that comes with the standard street clubs. They have developed a sort of unspoken agreement with the local police, as long as violence is kept in order and gatherings are kept to the barren parts of town no one is disturbed. Races however are still very illegal so the whole setup has to be fairly organised.
Jason offers to drive me down to the start line at the end of the street. With all the lights, switches and gadgets, the inside of his Nissan looks more like a submarine built to entertain than a car. Retired from the lucrative races and without pulling off the bank heists or being a drug runner like in the movies I wondered how he made his money. Even though it was none of my business, I still couldn’t help but ask and to my amazement he said jewellery. Jason’s day job is designing rings and chains based on car models for an online business called Fast and Furious Jewelry. He showed me the pieces he had on. Each one was based on some cars he’s had growing up, a couple 1970’s classics, an old Mitsubishi Lancer and his current Nissan 370z.
From start to finish the race lasted about two minutes and unfortunately didn’t live up to the expected hype. An Audi R8 creamed the rest from the beginning and was never caught. The celebrating was brief before the crowds moved on, most headed into the city to party through the night and I was taken for the ride. Much from this point on becomes blurry thanks to the rapid pace of L.A. drinking but the memories that have remained are golden and I’ll save them for another day. Right now I’m headed back to bed.
Special thanks to my cousin Max for giving me a taste of the fast life and Jason for taking the time to chat with a country kid from Aus.
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