Cross-Breeding Car Culture
Eventually, the parking lot regulars began to call for James to make it official. Their crew was a club, and they wanted to start acting like it. So, like with any of his builds, James got lost in creating the blueprint, thinking about the team’s name, meaning of the name, colors, logo design, standards, code of conduct, originality, quality and overall philosophy. Upon reflection, he realized that the most important part of the group would be its core value: inclusivity.
Growing up in a neighborhood with a wide variety of backgrounds and ethnicities present, James understood the power of diversity, specifically, the powerful magic that can occur when different cultures meet.
It’s how he landed on the name Hybrid: “the offspring of two plants or animals of different species or varieties.” The hybrid idea applied both to the mix-and-matched parts that make for unique and novel car builds, but also to the range of stories, experience levels, styles and personalities that he wanted his club to welcome and foster. Hybrid represents respect for what is, and for what could be. What’s new. And what’s next.
Under the Team Hybrid banner, the crew began working to garner more interest and gain public acknowledgment. They kept their core values close as more people joined and the group became bigger than the sum of its parts. More than a car club, it evolved into an extended family, populated by enthusiasts who wanted to grow in the car scene but also in life. As the culture evolved, they coined the Hybrid Hs — short mantras that the team lives by to this day.
“Hybrid Heart. Hybrid Humble. Hybrid HardTuned.”