You see, this man was afflicted with depression and anxiety - two debilitating mental illnesses that almost made my new friend a shut in. These days he makes YouTube videos and says it helps to bring out his confidence and his true character.
And you can tell in the videos. This is a clean, well spoken guy that had issues when he was younger. I've noticed this trend with some car enthusiasts. I've heard of people beating addiction by focusing on cars. It's therapy. A true car lover knows this. Fixing something gives you a similar satisfaction to completing a good workout or accomplishing something at work. It's your brain's reward system. You get a hit of dopamine.
The man himself, Louis Borbon. Looking as classy as his car. His Instagram is @1classy_ls4.
Matter of fact, that's what Louis says. Wrenching on the car takes his mind off things. Accomplishing his goals with the car, he says, helps him to push himself in other areas of his life. He knows that you just have to push on - it's hard at times but you can do it. Many people can learn from that. It's the only way to become stronger. You have to challenge yourself.
I regress. Let's get to this man's car which is as unique as he is. When he explained to me that he doesn't want to do the same thing everyone else is doing, that rang true to me aswell.
That was my idea!
He says he's going for 17 inch rims - a throwback to the Yakuza. They weren't using 19s on their VIP vehicles. Louis's car also sits on air bags that he had for another car when he bought his Lexus. Side note; 17s is what I want to keep with the car lowered.
It sports a diffuser that Louis was able to fit from a Lexus IS250. I saw the video he did on that back when he first posted it. I had no idea we would one day collaborate. That was one of the very first videos I saw on these cars. I distinctly remember wanting to work on mine after seeing it - a mark of a good YouTube channel.
His channel is going to reach 1,000 subscribers soon so we have to help him. It may seem small to some, but 1,000 subscribers actually takes a lot of effort to get. Congrats Louis.
RS Creations - Louis's YouTube channel
Where did Louis get his inspiration? He tells me that when he was a kid, he would make videos for his friends and family using Hotwheels cars. I played with those too but I never filmed them. You can tell it's in Louis's blood and I hope his YouTube channel takes off.
His reason for doing it is twofold; to help and teach people, and as a therapy for himself.
Can you tell he keeps changing it?
He says he has gained a lot of confidence back in two years and I wish him the best of luck. Many of us deal with mental issues that go largely ignored and many fail to deal with them.
"It helps me become more of myself and shows who I really am. I'm still learning and still opening up but I get inspired to do my best when filming because it helps me to open up and that helps me as a person and to grow and to just gain more confidence." Strong words with real meaning behind it.
Back to his car. Like I said, it's original. With the bags, diffuser, and normal rims, the car stands out to me. It's not your typical VIP car, not that I don't love those anyway. I personally want mine lowered just a bit but the goal is to keep the car's functionality. Louis has done that pretty well, with the bags instead of permanently lowering his car. And no, bags aren't for trash... (I saw that on a bumper sticker.)
I don't want to have to be careful going over speedbumps. Although I know someone that seems to love scraping his car but maybe that's another article. That man, Hachi, has a very nice, very low VIP car.
Louis has hefty plans for the future. I was a little surprised at his list and I can't wait to see it even halfway done. I should say halfway through the list - the man says his car will constantly evolve to please his desire to be original.
He already has some new wheels he is waiting to put on along with a new bumper. He wants his windows tinted and a spoiler, the latter of which I've considered myself. A quieter exhaust is then going on the car but it will have a cut-out for when Louis wants it loud. I think that's a great idea and I'm sure some of you had a lightbulb turn on above your head, too.
The big future plans are a possible turbo which is possibly the nectar of life or at least one of the sweetest things in car history. A turbo LS400 just makes me all tingly. He says he will probably swap out the motor soon as it's building up a lot of miles, somewhere in the range of 220k. That's not very high for a stock LS400 but if he wants a turbo, good idea. With a six-speed swap to top it off, this is going to be an amazing car. Of all people, I trust Louis to put it together in a pretty package.
Louis says he hasn't done much to the interior. It has a wrapped aftermarket steering wheel and not much else. The car is a very clean example though.
Although his focus has been on the outside, the man is planning on changing the interior but we will all have to wait to see that.
Sort of like my car, his is ever-evolving except he's not broke so you don't have to wait months for an update! I urge everybody to have a look at his YouTube channel. It really does have some good tips, especially when it comes to bodywork which is what Louis Borbon seems to be best at.
Thank you Louis for sharing your car, life, and passion with us. I am not the only one that is motivated by your story. Like I said my friend, a lot of us have moved onto cars after a bad phase in our life. May everything go well for you and your car!
We can all learn from this. Everybody makes mistakes but that's not the problem. The problems come in when you don't learn from your mistakes. Have a great day, people. Go watch Louis's YouTube videos and then get to wrenching. You know you want to! Don't do that if you're reading this from work, please. I am not liable for you getting fired.
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