Caffeine and Octane Podcast

Anderson Dick built his first ECU in his bedroom at 19 because he wanted something better for his own car. That project became FuelTech.

On Episode 26 of the Caffeine & Octane Podcast, Anderson joins Grant Van Brewer to talk about starting the company in Brazil, breaking into the U.S. market, and testing new ideas on his own cars.

There’s plenty to talk about in his garage, including a Ferrari-powered DeLorean and a V12 Mercedes SL600 he bought after an Instagram challenge brought in thousands of comments. Anderson shares the stories behind the builds and what it takes to get them running.

They also talk about how Caffeine & Octane inspired car gatherings back in Brazil, whether EVs can have soul, and what AI tuning could mean for the people behind the laptop.

Subscribe for new episodes of the Caffeine & Octane Podcast, plus show coverage and automotive features.

🎙️ Hosted by Grant Van Brewer

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What happens when car storage becomes a community—and a trip to Barrett-Jackson turns into a collection of impulse buys?

Grant Van Brewer sits down with Dave Codrea of Ride Lounge to talk Atlanta car culture, the friendships behind the cars, and what goes into building a space where enthusiasts want to hang out.

From a wild-paint 240Z and a Porsche 928 to the story behind a $13,000, high-mileage Maserati, they get into the Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach purchases that made the trip unforgettable. Plus, Dave shares the vision behind Ride Lounge’s expansion and the challenge of growing without losing the culture that started it.

Subscribe for more Caffeine & Octane Podcast conversations, automotive stories, show coverage, and features.

🎙️ Hosted by Grant Van Brewer

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From growing up around Los Angeles lowrider culture to helping carry that culture forward in Atlanta, Keith “Big Whit” Whitner has a story that goes far beyond the cars.

On Episode 24 of the Caffeine & Octane Podcast, Grant Van Brewer sits down with Big Whit of Obsession Car Club to talk about his early days around lowriders, his first ’64 Impala, his professional baseball journey, and how Atlanta became home.

They also get into the story behind his incredible 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air, a build that took nearly six years—or roughly 318 Sundays—to complete, plus family, the Atlanta lowrider community, and how that same ’57 ended up with Ice Cube behind the wheel at Dodger Stadium.

Subscribe for new episodes of the Caffeine & Octane Podcast and more stories from the automotive community every week.

🎙️ Hosted by Grant Van Brewer

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In Episode 19 of the Caffeine & Octane Podcast, host Grant Van Brewer sits down with Atlanta artist and automotive creator Amir “Mr. Totem” Alighanbari for a conversation about art, cars, creativity, and building something that unmistakably reflects who you are.

Totem’s passion for cars began with his father’s 1968 Camaro, but over the years, his worlds of art and automotive culture began to collide. From his recognizable visual style and Black Cloud Battalion to his unforgettable custom builds, Totem approaches a car as another canvas for self-expression.

The conversation dives into Vengeance, his 1967 Camaro, and LouZfer, the Datsun 240Z he brought to Caffeine & Octane, including how his artwork and signature style make their way into the cars themselves.

Totem also talks about why he believes a great build should fit its owner like a tailored suit, what separates a truly personal car from one built from a catalog, and whether today’s high-dollar builds have become a little too polished and predictable.

🎙️ Hosted by Grant Van Brewer

#CaffeineAndOctane #CaffeineAndOctaneShow #CaffeineAndOctanePodcast #MrTotem #CarCulture #AutomotiveArt #CustomCars #Datsun240Z #Camaro #ProTouring #AtlantaArt #AtlantaCarScene #BlackCloudBattalion

Garrett Reed built AmericanMuscleHD into an automotive media brand with more than 2.4 million followers—before being an “influencer” was really a career.

On Episode 23 of the Caffeine & Octane Podcast, Garrett joins host Grant Van Brewer to talk about turning a lifelong passion for cars into a career, building credibility with major automotive brands, SEMA, OEM relationships, and what it’s like getting behind the wheel of cars before the public can buy them.

From bringing one of his first project cars to Caffeine & Octane to experiencing Le Mans, Indy, and pre-release track cars, Garrett shares how automotive media has changed, what it takes to earn real access, and where the industry is headed.

Subscribe for more conversations with the people, cars, and stories driving automotive culture.

🎙️ Hosted by Grant Van Brewer

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Paarth Shah joins Grant Van Brewer on Episode 22 of the Caffeine & Octane Podcast to talk about his journey from discovering Japanese cars through video games to traveling to Japan and building ATL JDM.

They dive into what it really takes to source and import JDM cars, the risks and realities buyers don’t always see, how the JDM scene has changed over the years, and which Japanese cars enthusiasts may be overlooking.

🎙️ Hosted by Grant Van Brewer

#CaffeineAndOctane #CaffeineAndOctanePodcast #ATLJDM #JDM #JDMImports #JapaneseCars #CarCulture

From W204 AMGs and unforgettable mountain drives to R8s, GT3s, and years inside Atlanta’s automotive community, Dani Freedman has experienced car culture from more than one angle.

On Episode 20 of the Caffeine & Octane Podcast, Grant Van Brewer sits down with longtime friend Dani Freedman to talk about their early AMG days, Dani’s journey from South Africa to Atlanta, some of the cars that defined those years, and the stories that came with them.

Subscribe for new episodes of the Caffeine & Octane Podcast and more stories from the automotive community every week.

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Gray Bishop joins Grant Van Brewer on the Caffeine & Octane Podcast to talk Corsa Rally, Atlanta car culture, the Aston Martin DB11 AMR, and cars in film.

Gray shares stories from his journey through the automotive world, from exotic-car rallies and Caffeine & Octane to putting cars on movie sets and working on Takeover.

Plus, they dive into supercars, car culture, rallies, and some rapid-fire automotive opinions.

🎙️ Hosted by Grant Van Brewer

#CaffeineAndOctane #GrayBishop #CorsaRally #AtlantaCarCulture #AstonMartin #CarCulture #Supercars

Stephen Moore joins Caffeine and Octane to discuss restoring his number‑matching 1965 Riviera, running a one‑of‑one Pro Mod Vega, and building street‑drivable race cars like a stretched GT40. He also explains Shield Tech’s work solving hidden heat and underbody cooling challenges for major OEMs.

Along the way he shares father‑son projects, lessons from drag racing, and how practical engineering keeps high‑performance cars safe and reliable.

From the early Datsun Z cars to the Nissan Zs that followed, few nameplates have built a legacy quite like the Z.

In Episode 17 of the Caffeine & Octane Podcast, Grant Van Brewer sits down with Vince Cory to talk about his life around cars, his time with Gwinnett Performance, and his longtime passion for Datsun and Nissan Z cars. Vince shares stories from his years in the automotive world, his experiences at Gwinnett Performance, and his perspective on the history and evolution of the Z platform—from the classic Datsuns that started it all to the Nissan Zs that followed. It's a conversation about the cars, people, and experiences that shape a lifelong connection to car culture.

If you're into classic Datsuns, Nissan Z cars, Japanese performance, or automotive history, this episode is for you.

Subscribe to Caffeine & Octane for more conversations with the collectors, builders, drivers, and personalities behind car culture. #CaffeineAndOctane #Datsun #NissanZ #Datsun240Z #GwinnettPerformance #JDM #CarCulture #ClassicCars