There are some weekends on my calendar that don’t need debating. They’re automatic.
West Texas Shakedown is one of those.
I’ve been making this trip for years. It’s become a yearly ritual for me—part car culture, part reunion, part “let’s see what kind of madness West Texas is cooking up this time.” When the invite comes through from Raymond Garcia (@shakedown.show), I already know what time it is. The only real question is: who’s coming with me this year?
This time, I decided to do something different.
I brought two people who had never really stepped into the car show world like this before: Demi James (@daze.of.demi) and Scarlett XO (@xo_sc4rlette).
Not “car show veterans.” Not “seasoned show girls.” Two first-timers—walking into a full-blown West Texas scene where the builds are loud, the crowds are loyal, and people come ready to represent their city like it’s a sport.
And that’s exactly why it was exciting.
Two cars. Two vibes. One mission.
We rolled out from Houston with a simple plan: get to San Angelo, get settled, and be ready to work the weekend.
We went in two vehicles.
- Demi and Scarlett rode together in one car.
- I rode with my assistant, Little Eric—a.k.a. Chanclas Johnson (@gasskull1)—in the other.
Now here’s the funny part.
When you do these drives, you think you’re traveling as a group. You picture two cars cruising together like a convoy.
Yeah… not this time.
Demi and Scarlett were out there treating the highway like a timed event. They weren’t just “a little ahead.” They were beating us—repeatedly—like they had a prize waiting at the city limits. Every time we thought we’d caught up, they were already gone again.
And that’s when I realized something:
There are two kinds of people on road trips:
1) The ones who want to enjoy the ride.
2) And then there’s Scarlett, who drives like the GPS owes her money.
Me and Eric were doing that road-trip math the entire drive:
“Okay, if we stop for gas, they’re going to be in the next county.”
“If we don’t stop, we might pass out.”
“If we stop anyway, we’ll see them again… probably when the weekend ends.”
Seven hours of Texas roads will humble you, but it’ll also give you plenty of time to laugh at how differently people treat a long drive. Some people pace themselves.
Some people… race destiny.
Friday in San Angelo: booth setup, then my comfort-food tradition
We hit San Angelo Friday afternoon with that exact road-trip feeling: tired eyes, good energy, and the excitement that kicks in the moment you realize you made it.
But we didn’t roll in and immediately kick back—because we had work to do.
We went straight into setup mode, got our vendor booth handled on Friday, and did the little behind-the-scenes things nobody ever sees in the final photos: hauling, arranging, double-checking, making sure the weekend is ready before the weekend actually starts.
And then—once we were finally done—there was only one correct move.
We went to Rosa’s Cafe on Knickerbocker Road.
It’s one of my favorite spots in town. It’s the kind of place I always want to hit when I’m out there, and I swear it feels like if Pancho’s Mexican Buffet and Taco Cabana had a baby—fast, comforting, and exactly what you want after a long drive and a longer setup.
That meal was the reset button. The “okay, now we can breathe” moment. The first real exhale of the trip.
Saturday: the first-timer experience… on hard mode
Car shows are their own universe. It’s not just the cars. It’s the people, the pride, the sound systems, the teams, the families, the whole culture layered on top of it.
And West Texas doesn’t do anything halfway.
This one was especially wild because the show was both indoor and outdoor, and outside it was straight asphalt—the kind that looks harmless until you try to walk on it dressed like you’re heading to a photoshoot.
Demi found out fairly early that stiletto heels and asphalt don’t go together. She slipped, went down, and scraped her knee—so she basically rocked a battle-scar knee for almost the entire weekend like a badge of honor.
It was the perfect “welcome to car shows” lesson: the outfits look amazing… but the ground does not care.
So for Demi and Scarlett—two people who hadn’t really done a car show before—this wasn’t a gentle introduction. This was getting dropped right into the deep end where everyone is out, everyone is looking, and the energy stays high all day.
What surprised me wasn’t that people noticed them.
Of course they did.
What stood out was how quickly they adapted to the flow of the show—how comfortable they became talking to people, taking pictures, and turning quick interactions into real moments.
And once the crowd realized they were approachable and having fun with it? It took off.
Bikinis, builds, and instant fan energy
Throughout the day, Demi and Scarlett were posing with attendees’ vehicles in tiny bikinis—the kind of looks that don’t just turn heads… they stop conversations mid-sentence.
But it wasn’t just about the outfits. It was the full experience: fans getting a photo with their pride-and-joy, being able to talk for a minute, and walking away feeling like they got a real highlight of the weekend.
And you could see it happening in real time—people smiling, calling friends over, lining up for pictures, asking where they could follow them online. They made fans fast, not because they were “put on a pedestal,” but because they were present and playful with the crowd.
That’s how you win at events like this.
Saturday evening: BBQ after day one—because we earned it
After the first full day of the show, we were running on that mix of adrenaline and exhaustion you only get when you’ve been “on” all day—talking, shooting, moving, smiling, repeating it, then doing it again.
So Saturday evening we did what any smart crew does after a long day of heat, noise, and nonstop energy:
We went to The Pit Bar-B-Que.
And the “clean and cute” part of the weekend lasted about two minutes. One bite in, it turned into sauce hands, paper-covered trays, and that kind of laughter you get when you’re hungry enough to stop pretending you’re civilized.
It wasn’t just dinner—it was a little victory lap. The moment where you can finally sit down and say, “Okay… we did Day One.”
And the best part? We weren’t done yet—because after we finished eating, we headed right back to the showgrounds for what everybody had been waiting on.
Saturday night: they entered the bikini contest… and took 1st and 2nd
Then came Saturday night.
Both Demi and Scarlett entered the bikini contest—competing against local girls who had the hometown crowd, familiar faces, and the built-in advantage that comes with being from the area.
And somehow… it didn’t matter.
They ended up taking first and second place.
Not “placed well.” Not “did good.” They took the top two spots and walked away with a boatload of money too—one of those moments that instantly becomes part of the Shakedown story you tell later.
That’s when it hit me:
This was their first real car show… and they didn’t just show up.
They showed out.
Sunday: the tired drive home before the weekend even finished
And then Sunday rolled in with that “last day” feeling—everybody’s moving a little slower, the sun feels heavier, and you can tell the weekend has been taking small bites out of everyone’s energy the whole time.
We wanted to stay until the very end, but real life doesn’t care about car shows.
Right before the show ended on Sunday, we started our trek back to Houston because some of us had to work Monday morning. And I’m not going to lie—by that point it was extremely exhausting.
That drive back wasn’t the fun “road trip” version anymore. It was the “keep your eyes open, keep the wheels straight, and get home safely” version. The kind where you’re quiet for long stretches because your body is still at the show, but your car is already headed back to reality.
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Respect where it’s due
Big thanks to Raymond Garcia (@shakedown.show) for the invite and for keeping West Texas Shakedown strong year after year. It’s one of those weekends that keeps calling people back—because it’s more than an event. It’s a tradition.
And I also want to show love to Exotic Minis Car and Truck Club—the club Raymond is a member of—because they’re a big part of the reason the weekend feels like family out there.
And shoutout to Little Eric / Chanclas Johnson (@gasskull1) for riding with me, keeping the energy up, and watching us get absolutely cooked on the road by a car full of determined first-timers.
And to Demi and Scarlett—thank you for trusting the trip, jumping into a whole new scene, and turning a weekend I already love into one I’ll remember in a completely different way.