We Visit Clique 53
Car clubs. Any car enthusiast loves being a part of something bigger and that's where car clubs come in. No matter who you are, there's this Clique that you're all part of the same thing, with one goal, the goal of sharing the same passion, no pre-judgements, just cars and a whole lotta love. We got to chatting with Clique 53 (AkiWai, with input from James) to find out what they're all about.
What's Clique53 all about?
Clique53 started as a VW air-cooled and water-cooled car club, and we slowly progressed into a brand. As we attended shows, people asked us for decals, then T-shirts, so we set up a dedicated website rather than just having a social media platform. We don't really do that much, though. We don't push our brand; we sort of just let it take its own course and let it grow itself. We always say that we are not in this to make money; our motto is Show up, shine and have a good time. Aircooled, Watercooled... It's all cool. We are pretty active on social media, though, and go to various shows with a trade stand or club stand. In 2015 we won Best Air cooled club at VW Festival, and after a few chats with Paul Scott, one of the show founders, we agreed to help with the air-cooled side of things for the show. We hope to be involved with VW festival, again.
Tell us about the people behind Clique 53.
The seed of Clique53 was planted late 2013, early 2014. Just a bunch of regular guys from Mansfield. The main two in the early days were James Drennon (63 Beetle) and Kev Hall (VoodooPaintworx). They created the name Clique53, because at the time they felt that car clubs/groups/crews where all a little too cliquey at times, so it was just a way to poke a little fun at the whole car scene. It really started to grow in 2014. That was when I met James and when we started to discuss where Clique53 could go. We created an Instagram account and a Facebook page and it slowly grew from there. We have loads of different cars associated with Clique53; VWs, old BMWs, Audis, Porsches, even some Jap cars. We don't much care about what you drive, we're just here to have a good time.
What're your feelings on the current car scene?
The VW car scene is quite unique I think, what other car scenes do you know of that has so many different sections to it. There's the slammed group, original/stock group, drag racing group, rat-look group, real patina group, Concours group; the list goes on!
Do you guys have any favourite products?
The car detailing scene has changed dramatically over the years, and companies like Auto Finesse have kept up with what people want; the range of products available to the casual car guy as well as the professionals is unbelievable. Back in the day, it was shampoo, T-cut and a bit of polish. As for a favourite product; I used Aqua Coat on the Porsche recently and the result was amazing. You just simply wash, spray and dry.
Future plans for the Clique 53 brand?
We have a few things up our sleeves. Our long-term plan is really what we are doing now; let the seed grow. We're still a young brand, compared to others. We just do our own thing. We also have our own little thing at Clumber Park in October. We partnered up with another group from Lincoln called Deadhaus. The meet is called MotoUnion! Nothing grand like the big shows, it's just a little get together; BBQ, picnic and some cool cars! Big thanks to Auto Finesse for sponsoring MotoUnion for the prizes in 2016!
