Tribute: Fast and Furious
Paul Walker inspired a generation of enthusiasts
I HAVE never met Paul Walker, but his death last week left me devastated.
I would have loved to have met him because I feel like we grew up together. And we had a common passion: cars.
To those who do not know who I am talking about — Walker was the co-star of The Fast and the Furious franchise and a motoring enthusiast, who died in a fiery car crash in California last weekend with his buddy Roger Rodas.
To me, he was an inspiration — and to many others.
Nothing is annoying me more than people who are calling him “just an actor”. Because that is the furthest thing from the truth. He was a huge motoring enthusiast, but he was also a humanitarian, animal lover, sports fanatic and a father.
In 2001, when the Fast and the Furious franchise began, guys were still street-racing and modifying and customising cars.
The internet was not as omnipresent and you could not access your smartphone for information and specs on something you knew little about.
I am willing to bet that there were millions of people who did not even care for drag racing before Brian O’Conner (Walker’s character in the films) “fried his piston rings” and “blew the welds on the intake” of his Eclipse.
Back then, it was the lifestyle we all wanted. Even if we were not driving an Eclipse or a Supra or Silvia, we all wanted in. We all wanted crazy graphics, big wings, racy spoilers and Altezza taillights. Why? Because it was the cool thing to do.
We all wanted to belong to a crew, to be part of a group of individuals who drove together, who raced together, who made memories together.
As unrealistic as it may have been at times, it taught us about the drifting culture and physics-defying flying cars. The fact that The Fast and the Furious is one of the highest grossing franchises of all time says a lot.
A testament to Walker’s influence on the industry as a whole can be seen in the way major US-based firms, racers and celebrities have admired his work and truly applauded his and The Fast and the Furious’s contribution to growing this industry into what it is today.
Many people might think he was a lousy actor, but the bottom line is that he was a motoring enthusiast. Yes, there are people dying around the world — every minute — but I, for one, grew up with Walker.
We are not sure what happened with the Porsche GT, but I can tell you that I mourn his loss. RIP Paul Walker. Sherwyn Maistry is a motoring enthusiast