Brandon's Testimony
Part 2
The following is an interview with Zap Batteries Caribbean's Drift Champion of 2017, Brandon De Pree.
I got the opportunity to interview this car-athlete that practices the art of drifting, an art that is being appreciated
by many on the island, by both fanatics and by plain motor enthousiasts. A special thanks to Brandon for allowing this interview
to be posted for the world to share in his passion.
- Zap Batteries Caribbean's finest -
Continuation from Part 1
Brandon:
First thing that I was thinking was "Man…what would my mom think", because my mom already told me "Brandon!...,
why you go do that, look what you're doing to your beautiful car! You're gonna go mess-up your car", and I
was like "Mommmm...I really want to go drift!". I mean that was like back in the days that they were not
really supporting me in that stuff. They were like "man you can’t do that" and "that's a waste of time".
Well man, after all that I got my car fixed and a week after that I went drifting again bro...
(Brandon laughing after he says this).
Jordan:
So you couldn't keep yourself at a distance from your car?
Brandon:
No, and my car was like clean and nice and everything man. This is embarrassing, because like a
week after I got my car.... I hit it again bro...
But it wasn't as bad as the first time because only the front bumper got a little shattered.
Before it happened I didn't get the chance to press the break on time before I messed up the
whole car. Again man, my mom got so mad...
Jordan:
But Brandon, what is it actually that took you from the point where your parents were not supporting
you, to this point where your parents are supporting you.
Brandon:
Well, I have to tell you. Every time I went to practice and stuff, they were telling me not to do
it, blah blah blah. But every time I went practicing I kept getting better and better, and it finally
started to look as if I could connect the dots, because every time I would get in a turn with my car
I started connecting the drift perfectly man. I waited in telling the others until I started drifting
good, and then I told my mom and my dad again. I told them "just one time...just one time...come and see
me, see how this is". The day they came and see me, I won third place. My car had practically nothing
customized to it. The only customization we had was an ACT clutch, and that’s it man. My car was a
monster from the factory bro.
Jordan:
And Brandon, you said that you had a mechanic that would help you.
Brandon:
Well that was afterwards. I mean in the beginning I had to do it myself, and I had to learn at the beginning
just like anybody else. So I started working on my car, doing things myself, but with supervision of someone
that knows and can correct what it is that I am doing. After that I had a really good friend that knew how to
work on cars, and after that I started getting professional help. I got the chance to meet Bryan Brouwer. He
has been a very big inspiration to me, and right now he is the official mechanic because he helped put the car
together. Another mechanic, called Mike, is always there with me during the competitions. In case anything goes
wrong Mike is the one that takes measures on what it is that we should do next.
Jordan:
And now you have your friends and your family supporting you, and they enjoy seeing you win.
They enjoy seeing you in your game, because of this having become your passion.
Brandon:
Let me tell you man, I can still remember the words, I can still remember my dad talking like "Brandon mi yu...
ta kiko bo ta hasiendo?!!!... E kos aki ta perdementu di tempu"....and look at my dad now man. He is the first
one that tells me "Brandon wake up, we have to go", putting the tires in the truck and everything. I mean he
is the one that starts preparing me for everything. I still remember how it was back in the days man, and I'm
really glad the way things turned out. Right now I'm just looking forward to go up man, I want to become the best.
I want to make a name for myself here in Curacao. I want to beat the best, so that I can be the best!
This article has been written by
Jordan T. Emanuelson
CEO of jConsultancy
Email: jordan@j-consultancy.com
Website: www.j-consultancy.com
