VIVA LAS VEGAS

Chuck Dekett

I HOPE TO MAKE IT BACK THERE AGAIN SOON.

First off, I want to thank Daniel Ramey and STANG Magazine for inviting me to attend SEMA for the first time as well as giving me my first opportunity to see Vegas. It was an amazing (and expensive) trip; I hope to make it back there again soon.

Being that this was my first time, I was under the impression this was going to be a big show like the large scale shows I’ve attended in the past. Shows like Carlisle Ford Nationals, yearly International Auto Shows, and World of Wheels; back in the 80s and 90s for those of you who can remember. Man was I wrong!

My first day in Vegas started off with a Tram ride to the Las Vegas Convention Center where SEMA is held. As we ap - proached the terminal, I got my first glimpse of the show and shortly after I would start to realize this is no ordinary large-scale show. Coming down from the Tram station I started thinking I’m in for a lot of walking and a lot of fun. There were custom cars, trucks, ATVs, motorcycles, and even pedal bikes there for every type of automobile enthusiast. Basically, anything that had wheels was customized to the hilt. I mean, there were pedal bikes so well done they could win a trophy at a local car show. It was insane and this was just on the outside of the convention center.

This year’s show took up four two-story convention halls plus an outdoor track. Also, they had just opened an underground tunnel system where you could catch a ride in a Tesla to go to and from each convention hall. After getting my badge I proceeded to meet up with my buddy, Rob Walko, and attempt to cover as much ground as I could. I was thinking I could probably get through two convention buildings before the end of the day. We met up in front of the closest convention hall between the two of us. After walking through a sea of aftermarket performance part vendors, monster trucks, low riders, and custom bikes, I met up with Rob and we proceeded into the first hall.

This hall consisted of more aftermarket automobile specialty vendors specialized in car audio, vehicle wraps, suspensions, tires, interiors, vehicle accessories, and custom builds. The hall was also host to SEMA ELECTRIFIED, SEMA ARTWALK, and SEMA BATTLE OF THE BUILDERS events. It was filled with opportunities to talk with some of the top people in the