driven to change

VOL 14 NO 8 - DECEMBER3RD - december 9th / DTLAWEEKLY.COM DRIVen INTO CHANGE

In 2015, at the tender age of eighteen, Chris Calderon, decided that he was fed up with the donuts, erratic crowds, and disorder in the Southern California car scene. Chris wanted to see a change in the car community. However, to do that, he would have to take matters into his own hands and start his own parking show. He did.

CAR CLUB FOUNDER CHRIS CALDERON TALKS CHANGing the NARRATIVE and how HE FORMED ORIGIN KAZOKU

the BLOC ROOFTOp in DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELS

Chris, the founder of the “We basically give the address an hour car collective Origin or two before. So no one in all Orange County, San Diego, LA, Inland Empire, or Kazoku, isn’t just a car Bakersfield knows the location of the enthusiast. He’s also a event. Everybody just has to be close to a certain area and when we post the concerned citizen. address everyone just shows up.” said Chris.

“We’re trying to change the perspective in a lot of people’s minds that they don’t have to do crazy stuff to have a good time. You don’t have to take over an intersection or be in the middle of the freeway doing donuts. You can park your car and actually communicate with one another.” Chris told “I started alone in the beginning and throughout the years it started growing and I needed help. Because at the same time, you always have those bad apples that like to do the crazy stuff. People that like to do burnouts or high-revs and things like that. And it was getting hard for me to control it by myself so little by little I started growing my team to help me out with the bigger crowds.” Originally the events featured standard imports such as Hondas, Subarus, Nissan, and Mitsubishi. But as Origin Kazoku’s brand grew so did the size of the attendee’s wallet. Now Origin Kazoku events largely consist of high-end vehicles such as Lamborghinis, Ferraris, and even the occasional Bugatti or McClaren. Chris DTLA Weekly. says the shift in vehicle quality is a positive sign Growth and Expansion that the car community is becoming more In three years, Origin Kazoku ballooned of a safe place. As car owners don’t have to from over a dozen cars to thousands. worry about their vehicle being damaged. After only five years it’s one of the largest Nevertheless, Chris has made some adpop-up gatherings in the nation. Before justments over the years due to an inthe pandemic, the weekly events were crease in Origin Kazoku’s popularity. a unique blend of multi-ethnic pulsing CONTINUED ON PAGe 14 crowds, expensive cars, contests, and entertainment.