One of the many issues with being a member of the media is never being able to give your truly honest opinion of an event. Through our lens and words, every event has to be the best thing ever — or at the very least, a truly amazing experience. Our job isn’t just to show you what happened, but make you wish you were there. When our scales only go from unreal to truly amazing, how can you ever really gauge an event?
In presenting the best case scenario of each event some truths get lost along the way. We paint a picture of immaculate cars and showcase only the best. Don’t ever get confused and think that any car community is free of mediocre or less-than cars. The truth is every car community is the same, and the ration of cool cars to not-so-cool stays the same. However, when that ration is pulled from a larger population, the number of awesome cars increases.
Stance Wars 2013 – It’s crafted is no exception to this rule. But Mike Tolliver and his crew made sure the cream of the crop rose to the top (and I mean that in an almost literal sense). The event takes places in a parkade at Bellevue College in Washington. In order to be showcased in the actual show, you have to submit your car for approval. If you pass the test, you’re allowed to hang with the best of the best on top of the parkade.
As a guy who takes pictures, this made my life a bit easier. But the event was packed, so life became a little more difficult again. It was no secret that the top floor had all the action. Lines to get into the event were backed up for blocks and the once-empty parkade quickly filled up.
If you chose to leave the top floor of the parkade, you could slowly descend to see the rest of the meet. Once you traveled past the threshold of the top floor to the covered parking below, things got a little more tricky. You’re less likely to see an abundance of coverage from the enclosed parking area from me. This isn’t to say it was a desolate waste land, but the scope of cars changed.
With roughly four levels of the parkade filled with car enthusiasts, it became harder to absorb the great cars the further your descended. However, there were still some great finds to be had; you just had to look for them.
Back up top, you could witness a spectacular view of the surrounding landscape, listen to DJs and be entertained by those things that are entertaining at car shows. It’s also where you find the vendor booths.
We spent most of our time with the crew from “That Steeze,” but there were plenty of others around. There is no doubt in my mind that the top floor was where you wanted to be; not only as event attendee, but as someone showing their car.
At the beginning of the article I said I would try to honestly describe the show to you. As someone who spends a lot of time on the internet looking at all the events I miss, I can attest to just how easily coverage can twist an event to look better than it actually was. In telling you the truth, hopefully I gained enough credibility that you’ll believe me when I say that this was a great event. It was well organized and pulled off with as few flaws as one can imagine. If Stance is your thing, then you should make an effort to attend one of these events in the Northwest.