The Avants Podcast

This week we got to speak with Fabryce Kutyba about the leading racewear brand in the motorsports industry, Alpinestars! More than just a guy who sells motorsports gear, Fabryce is and has always been a major gearhead with connections to Aplina, GMG, and much more. He's a racer to the core, has great taste in cars, and has some great stories from a lifetime in motorsports. On top of all that, he's an Avants member! 

Dan actually wanted to work really for Alpinestars back in his 20s, and if you dig into the episode notes on the Avants page, you'll get a good laugh at his 20 year throwback. 

This week we got to speak with Michael Honn of STEK USA all about protection film and the many differences. This isn't just some ad for STEK though, Michael rallies, rides, off-roads, and drives everything just like the rest of us. He's a real enthusiast with a passion for motorsports and the STEK products he believes in. Come meet Michael and see the STEK demos at Avantsfest, August 6th!! 

Here on the podcast we're not shy about admitting we are long time fans of the Griots. We don't just mean the products, we actually like the Griots family and all the work they do. This time we talk with Phillip Griot who is running Griots Motors. Griots Motors offers car restoration, sales and consignment, storage, and detailing, all at the level you'd expect from a name like Griots. Listen in and hear more about the shop from the guy who's name is on the building. You can find out more at https://griotsmotors.com 

When Jake decided his International Scout restomod build didn't turn out the way he wanted, he decided to something we all wish we could; build it the way he wanted himself. Jake started Bulletproof Restorations out of a bit of spite and took restomodding Internationals to a new level providing LS swaps for proper power, next level interior upgrades, and full frame off restorations and upgrades. We talk with Jake all about the restomod business and what it takes to build perfect Scout. 

This week we talk to Evan Zema! We've known Evan for quite a while as a car collection manager, but now he is working with our long time friend in Hagerty in their very exclusive Radius program. This isn't an ad for Hagerty though, Evan is a serious enthusiast with boosted E30 325i he built himself, and much like us, likes all things with an engine or motor.

No one who runs into Natasha is going to call her boring. When every car you have is a project car you're not going to have a lot of dull moments on or off the road. Natasha takes the term "project car" to new heights with her off-road built Lexus LS400, but that's not all of course. Listen as she tells us all about herself and her many very fun projects. 

I don't know what you were doing at 19, but we sure weren't racing Lamborghinis for a living like Bryson Lew. Add on to that he's full time student, a black belt, plays piano, and helps coach our friends at Flying Husky Racing, and you could say he's got his life together better than most of us do even now in full mid-life crisis mode. Bryson tells us what it takes to pilot some of the most exciting cars in the world.  

Karen knows her stuff. Not only does she race some of the toughest cars around to drive - Cobras and Daytonas from Factory 5 Racing, but she's also highly educated and extremely engaging to talk to! Karen is a personal life coach, driver development coach, career path coach, and even has expertise she can share in motorsports team organizational development. On top of all that, Karen has over 200 first place finishes in various forms of motorsports; she talks the talk and walks the walk! We had a great time getting to know her we know you will too.

Recorded live in partnership with ProFormance Racing School and Park Place LTD, we got to enjoy a special evening with the legendary Lyn St. James! Lyn shares some amazing stories of her time behind the wheel and gives some great advice about stepping into motorsports and how to get more women involved in racing. Be sure to check out the YouTube video of this event as well, which we remastered after the recording to give you better audio and video. 

This week we got to talk to Richard Varner, CFO of MotoAmerica, and Chairman of the Board for the incredible Petersen Museum. Richard walks us through what it was like building MotoAmerica from the ground up with his crew, shares some lesser known details of the Petersen, and talks about his love all motorcycles and cars. If you want to see some incredible MotoAmerica action locally, be sure to be at The Ridge in Shelton on June 24th-26th! https://www.ridgemotorsportspark.com/motoamericatickets 

We apologize for a few minor connection issues that caused some quieter, latent audio, but we think we cleaned it up pretty well for you!