The Avants Podcast

Live! An Evening With Lyn St. James!

Recorded live in partnership with ProFormance Racing School and Park Place LTD, we got to enjoy a special evening with the legendary Lyn St. James! Lyn shares some amazing stories of her time behind the wheel and gives some great advice about stepping into motorsports and how to get more women involved in racing. Be sure to check out the YouTube video of this event as well, which we remastered after the recording to give you better audio and video. 

Motorcycles, MotoAmerica, and Museums with Richard Varner

This week we got to talk to Richard Varner, CFO of MotoAmerica, and Chairman of the Board for the incredible Petersen Museum. Richard walks us through what it was like building MotoAmerica from the ground up with his crew, shares some lesser known details of the Petersen, and talks about his love all motorcycles and cars. If you want to see some incredible MotoAmerica action locally, be sure to be at The Ridge in Shelton on June 24th-26th! https://www.ridgemotorsportspark.com/motoamericatickets 
We apologize for a few minor connection issues that caused some quieter, latent audio, but we think we cleaned it up pretty well for you! 

Casey Putsch Makes Us Want to Ride the Big Pokey Thing

Casey is the kind of guy every guy wants to be friend with. From his many adventures, well beyond the car world, to his travels, and to his philanthropy, there was so much to talk about this interview could have gone on forever. There was no shortage of laughs during this episode and we know you’ll enjoy it start to finish. Check out more about Casey on his YouTube channel and be sure to check out Genius Garage, where he’s working to change the world. We’ll see you at Indy, Casey!

Steven Smith - From Dad Shoes, to Yeezys, to Porsches and Everything Between

Steven Smith is an icon in the shoe world known for creating the New Balance 574, 997, and 1500, the Reebok Fury, and then of course working with Ye (formerly Kanye West) on the iconic Yeezy shoe line, where he still works today. Steven talks with all about his creative processes, his engineering background, and of course his air cooled Porsche 356 and his road racing Beetle. Enjoy this very special episode and be sure to check out the Avants article featuring him and Steve Pelletier! https://www.avants.com/news/sole-brothers-of-stumptown-steven-smith-steve-pelletier

Rami Atherton - Quirky McLarens, LM002 Tires, and Everything You Should Know About Buying a Supercar

We sit down and talk with Rami Atherton, brand manager for McLaren Seattle. McLaren might not be new to the area at this point, but OpenRoad Auto Group has recently massively expanded the dealer and we talk to Rami about daily driven McLarens, racing, and the quirks that come with McLarens. We also pick his brain on the other quirky occupants of the dealership - Lamborghini, Bentley, and Rolls Royce. 

Alex Haugland is Peak Avants

Our motto here at Avants is “Drive Everything” and Alex Haugland brings that to a new level. With 170 cars in The Haugland Collection (and growing), driving all of his cars is almost a full time job. Alex tells us all about his massive collection and of rare, fun, quirky, and historically significant cars, and really epitomizes everything we love to see in a car enthusiast. Enjoy this special episode with Master Collector, Alex Haugland, and check out his website while you’re at it to see some of them: https://www.hauglandcollection.com/

An Evening With Randy Pobst

We had an incredible time interviewing Randy Pobst in front of a live studio audience filled with Avants members. Randy shared all sorts of his favorite car stories with us and we know you'll enjoy hearing them too! A special shout out to our friends at Hagerty for partnering with us to make this event happen.

Justin Bell and the Stories of Le Mans, Photography, McLaren, Meeting The King, and Discharge and Recharge Stops

We had so serious fun talking with the iconic gentleman racer, Justin Bell. He told us so many unfiltered stories of his exciting life from growing up and riding motorcycles to deciding to race in his late teens and going on to win Le Mans, work in motorsports media, being a photographer, and now a fellow podcast hosting "Life. With Legends". Justin also shared his entrepreneurial side, giving some great ideas on how to make electric vehicle charging stations more... interesting. This episode is uncut and unfiltered and is therefor marked explicit.