When I originally started GarageBoyz Magazine, my intent was to cover the Kulture community exclusively within Montgomery County, Maryland.But as I immerse myself even deeper into our Kulture, I have met more and more people from outside MoCo and have been exposed to the vast thriving kulture community surrounding us. Many local hot rodders and bikers hit the road to attend great shows like the UPS Car Show in Laurel, or the giant car and bike shows at Carlisle in PA, and the Timonium bike show just outside of Baltimore as just a few examples. I have had the good fortune to meet a great deal of people at some of the events, and they are constantly handing me flyers or invitations to their car or bike shows. Sometimes they ask for a mention in the magazine, and often these shows are outside of MoCo.
While the main goal of GarageBoyz Magazine is to highlight the great stuff within MoCo, I can not continue to turn down invitations for car shows or bike shows just because they are not within the County. There are some amazing poker runs and charity events being held all over the area to raise money for some very good and important causes. Am I going to say to somebody, "sorry I can't list or cover your event to raise money for heart transplants for dying kittens, its not in my area". When I'm walking around an event in Prince Georges and see a bunch of MoCo folks with their cars and bikes am I going to continue not writing about or taking pictures of these events? What about when Mrs. Bingo and I hit the Endless Summer Cruisin' at Ocean City and see some beautiful cars that I'm sure others who could not make it would love to see, am I going to just dismiss it all because it's not here within MoCo ?
How can I continue to preach unity of our Kulture and continue to not cover these events or not write about an amazing bike or car that somebody has spent the last 20 years of his life building, because he lives in Annapolis? Well...I can't.There are men and women all over our area in little garages and big opulent shops alike, hammering ,sanding, tuning , collecting, stylin' and profilin' just like us here in MoCo and they are a welcome and vibrant part of our community. I will be proud to meet and feature more people from all over the area, be it MoCo , Howard, Prince George, Washington D.C. or wherever ,that want to share their passion with the GarageBoyz Magazine readers.
I would like to thank Phil of ShiftPoint Magazine for opening my eyes to this. Despite the fact that GarageBoyz Magazine could be seen as competition, he has welcomed the magazine with open arms and has helped me with events, invitations to share a booth and even let me advertise and write an article in his magazine. That is brotherhood and community and that is what our kulture truly boils down to... helping, guiding, teaching and reaching out to one another.
So while I will continue to primarily highlight the businesses within Montgomery County I will no longer draw a dividing line between the people within our Kulture. There will be some changes within GarageBoyz Magazine over the next year or so. I will be reaching out further within our kulture, and if there is a great shop or artist that should be known about because of the contribution or passion they bring to our Kulture then I will proudly feature them here no matter where they are located.
Do I still believe in County Pride, County Wide...Support Your Local Business ? Of course, it's just now I see that local isn't always about demographics and street addresses...it's about Community.
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