By Ryan Benoit, DODOlogic
In 1967, some faux surfer dudes from California who usually wrote songs about surfing released a song called Good Vibrations. This seemingly simple song written by Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys is now heralded as a masterpiece. Fast forward to 1991 and you’d find Mark Walhberg and his Funky Bunch chompin’ at the bit to tell you about Good Vibrations and how it’s such a sweet sensation. Some time after Marky Mark had his way with the word vibration, the public decided to simplify it to vibes.
Enter modern day and the phrase “good vibes” can be found everywhere. It feels like you can’t walk into a boutique without finding it plastered on shirts, throw cushions or mugs. I don’t know really know who coined this positive affirmation and to be frank, I don’t really care that much. What is clear is the concept of “good vibes” is a culmination of all the variations of good vibrations that came before it. And it’s for that reason that I think the name so appropriately suits the Good Vibe Street Tribe.
I’ve never met a group of guys so conscious of their inspiration and role models. With Japanese car features plastered all over their garage walls and an expansive knowledge of every well-styled drift team – past and present – it becomes very easy to see why they do what they do and just how they do it.
The Good Vibes guys are pretty much third generation Japanese-inspired automotive enthusiasts. Now this may seem like a complex idea, but allow me to explain. When I say third generation, I don’t mean their grandparents were Japanese street drifters who balanced style with function. What I mean is that they’re the direct result of those North Americans who were a direct result of Japanese drifting.
The second half of their name, Street Tribe, is pretty self explanatory. Not only does it help hone in on all their actual team through all the other “Good Vibes” marketing material in the world, but it accurately describes them.
You may wonder, “Does Street Tribe only refer to street drifting?” The answer is no. Plenty of the cars that sport the Good Vibes name are just there to be ambassadors of “the vibes.”
However, saying the “Street Tribe” portion of their name has nothing to do with street drifting would also be a lie.
By street drifting, I mean, of course, deserted business parks that are a good hour or so outside of main urban living areas during off-peak hours.
Street drifting is a subject fraught with controversy. I’m not even going to bother taking a crack at it right now. What I will say is if you’re going to take to the streets, don’t be an idiot about it and read this article on street drifting.
That being said, it’s not unheard of to find the Good Vibes guys on the track. In fact, that’s one my favourite places to watch these guys drive. Street drifting has an aura of cool around it, but a track is where you really see what someone is made of.
Plus, at the track you aren’t always looking over your shoulder, wondering if a cop will show up, and asking the guy holding a camera (me) if he’s a little too old to be out doing dumb things with his friends.
To recap, we’ve established that the Good Vibes Street Tribe is somewhat of a contradiction. They are sort of a drift crew that calls themselves a street tribe, but do not exclusively street drift. So why be a street tribe? Probably because Good Vibes Street and Track Tribe doesn’t have the same ring to it.
Actually, I’m sure the real answer has something to do with a broad strokes all-inclusive team/crew mentality. That’s all fine and good, but also a little boring. So, I’ve concocted my own interpretation behind the name. Regardless of where they drive or what they’re doing, they all drive street cars – nice street cars. It’s pretty rare you’d see any of these cars on a trailer; in fact, most of their cars look as much at home at a car show as they do on a track all wrapped-up in a neat little package called street style.
What amazes me the most about the Good Vibes Street Tribe is that most of them live in Vancouver proper, or at least the greater Vancouver area – which really isn’t a car-friendly environment, unless your parents live overseas and send you money to help you buy status symbols. For us regular folks, living in Vancouver is expensive. Plating and insuring your car can be expensive, and finding a place to store and work on your car is expensive. With all that being said, these guys still manage to build some truly impressive cars and don’t mind taking them out for some thrashing every now and then. It proves that there are no excuses, especially when the results look this good.