- A lot of people see a low riders
going down the street,
low to the ground, scraping, hydraulics,
and they think that you have to be a gang member,
you have to be part of the wrong crowd,
and that's not true at all.
I have a lot of friends
who have low riders.
It's a hobby,
and it's a hobby that everybody has to have.
Some people play golf.
Some people play basketball.
I pull my car out, wipe it down,
and go for a cruise.
("Better Days by Bensound)
My name is Rudy Peter Campos Jr.
My car's a 1946 Chevy Fleetmaster.
The unique thing about the 1946 Chevy
is the hood emblem.
Right above the bow tie, the Chevrolet bow tie,
and it's actually shaped like a V,
which stand for victory;
and on the hood, there's what's called a flying goddess,
or a flying lady,
which also makes it unique for that year.
You can tell the difference between a 46, a 47, and a 48
based on the grill.
It has like a mustache shaped grill.
My car originally comes with a 216 engine.
My dad had it changed to a 235,
and it's a floor shifter,
which is unique to this car
because this comes off from a 1950 Chevy.
I wanted to go with a different look,
so I added a 1957 Cadillac hubcaps
along with changing out the headlight visas
from a 1953 Cadillac.
The interior is tan in color.
My father had it done,
and it's the same interior from 1982.
When I did the restoration,
I made sure that we wouldn't change that;
just to keep it as a memory,
a memory for my father.
(pensive music)
When I was four years old my father was killed.
He was murdered in gang violence.
So early on I had to take the role
of being the head of the household.
It was a role that I had to step up to,
and for many years my mom had the option to sell that car,
and get red rid of it and make ends meet.
She chose not to sell it,
and to keep it for me.
The incentive was to graduate from high school.
She always told me if I would graduate the car was mine.
So I graduated,
and that car stayed with me,
which is the same incentive I've given my son.
If he graduates, the car would be his.
The car sat in storage at my house for a couple year.
One day I had the itch to,
hey, let's get this car
back out on the road again.
I pulled it out the garage, and we took off for a cruise.
I said "Let's go down Whittier Boulevard.
"Let's go eat down at Tommy's."
Car started up no problem.
We start heading down toward Tommy's,
and fan blade breaks on the engine,
and that was the beginning of, what they say,
opening a can of worms.
I started to seek out people,
turned out to be the worst thing
I could've ever did.
The painter came to the house
picked up the car,
told me it would be a couple weeks,
it ended up being a couple months.
Went and check on my car one day, he was gone.
He got in a plane, and he went back to Korea.
I mean my car was a shell when I got it back.
The members from my club stepped up.
One phone call was made,
and within 30 days the car was fully restored
back to the way it looked before,
that's what a car club to be was,
ya know, making a phone call,
and saying, "Hey I need help,"
and again without hesitation,
them putting all their work aside,
and taking my car in.
My car club is Bridge Town Oldies
from La Puente in the San Gabriel Valley.
When I first joined the club,
I was 17 years old,
and I came home with a plaque,
and I thought the plaque looked cool.
Silver plaque, never seen a silver plaque.
Everybody had gold plaques,
and when I showed up with that plaque.
It was World War III in my house.
I got thrown out of my house,
and I thought that was going to be the end of it.
My mom was really upset,
and I think she was upset
because not knowing first off
who the members of the club were,
she had protected me and my sister for so long.
But at the end of the day,
when they put my car back together in 30 days,
and she saw what they did,
it opened up her eyes to who they truly were,
and she cried for days.
She appreciated what they did,
and I appreciated what they did.
They really, really stepped up and helped us out.
(upbeat music)
So it's a tradition with our club
that prior to going to an event,
we make it a habit to go through Old Town La Puente,
and cruise through there before we meet on Third Street,
before taking off,
to let people know that
hey, the cars are coming through.
We're a small car club, about 20 members.
We're not about numbers.
We're about family, friends, the quality.
Being part of the car group for over 20 years,
it's never changed.
It's not a what people think it is;
it's a brotherhood.
Low riding is not for everybody,
and I know that first hand,
especially when I first met my wife.
First thing I started to realize or figure out
is if she even liked to be in my car.
And when my wife accepted it,
I knew that she was the one for me,
and to this day we get in the car,
and we go for a cruise, me and my kids.
It takes a unique person,
a unique couple to enjoy low riding.
(upbeat music)
When I was a kid,
I always wanted to be a police officer.
We used to play cops and robbers,
and I was the only cop.
It goes all the way back
to sitting in the back of the Monte Carlo,
waving at the police officers passing by.
I've been a police officer for over 17 years.
Started off with the Baldwin Park police department
as a police explorer.
Went through the ranks of police explorer, police cadet,
was hired as a police officer for the city of Baldwin Park,
and then transferred over to the city of Irwindale in 2007,
where I'm currently employed.
My assignment as a police officer for the city of Irwindale
is working the streets,
residential and commercial streets of Irwindale.
We have about 1400 residents in the city of Irwindale.
During our patrol,
we're looking for traffic violations;
we're responding to emergency calls for service;
In progress calls, we assist our local agencies.
What scares me the most
is knowing that when I leave home,
there's a possibility that I'm not going to come home,
and that's what I keep in the back of my mind.
My ultimate goal on a daily basis
is to make sure I make it back home to my family.
Luckily my wife's in law enforcement,
so she knows what I go through,
but it's very challenging for any police officer.
You're never home,
you work odd hours,
and you try to balance that with kid's sports,
kid's school;
and having a hobby helps you relive that stress.
As a police officer,
we're stereotyped as being racist.
People think that we're not human,
we're not approachable.
Realizing where I came from,
the way I was raised,
what happened to my father,
has lead me to become a better police officer.
I enjoy helping out the youth,
and being with the Baldwin Park Police Explorer Program,
I wanted to give back to the youth.
The same program that I was involved in,
that helped me out,
I wanted to help out.
Seeing those kids go through the program,
mentoring them as a mentor,
and then seeing them go through an academy,
and eventually becoming police officers,
that's the biggest reward
that can be given back to me from them.
There's a lot of stereotypes with low riding.
People think that you have to belong to a gang,
that you have to be a gang member,
that you have to just hang out with gang members,
that you sell drugs
because you have a nice car.
That is not true at all.
There's a lot of professionals
that love low riding as a hobby.
And especially being a police officer,
you have to have something to keep your mind occupied
away from work.
When my fellow officers find out that I have a low rider,
they have the same reaction.
"Does administration know what you're doing?"
We're not doing nothing wrong.
It's just a love for cars,
a passion for the car,
and again, 'cause they realize
that you need a hobby away from our job,
you need to take a break,
and you need something to keep your mind occupied.
We can't wrap our whole life around law enforcement.
We're there to help,
we're there to serve,
but we're also there to live a healthy life
and make it to our retirement.
Low riding has taught me dedication,
responsibility, friendship,
the values of having a family,
and not taking life for granted.
I would like to thank my father.
If it wasn't for him,
I wouldn't have this car.
I wouldn't be here today.
And at the end of the day,
I think things happen for a reason
and he's looking down,
proud of me and my sister.
My sister, being a sergeant
with the San Marie Police Department.
Both of his children are in law enforcement today.
My advice would be to never give up.
If you have a dream,
you have to go for that dream.
You can do anything you want to do
if you put your mind to it.
Also not forgetting where you came from.
You can not forget your past.
There is a past
and that's your drive,
that should be your drive to get where you want to go.
My name is Rudy Campos Jr.
I'm a police officer
and I'm a Low Rider Role Model.
("Better Days" by Bensound)