Appreciation for all things BMW comes in a variety of forms. In the case of professional skateboarder Ishod Wair, it’s the BMW E30 3 Series, and he and his car are the subject of a new video by BMW. The video is the first in a series from the automaker entitled Obsessed X BMW, and the focus is on meeting the biggest BMW fans out there, along with exploring how and why they fell in love with the brand.
Wair may not fit into the delicate mold of the original yuppie E30 buyer, but there’s no denying that he gets it when it comes to being a BMW enthusiast and embracing the lifestyle. In the video, Wair explains how moving to Los Angeles necessitated him buying a car, and how he was drawn to the E30 despite not knowing anything about cars in general. He also says that learning to drive with a manual transmission in his first E30 made him understand automotive enthusiasm as a whole. Unfortunately, one day while driving his first E30, someone pulled out onto the street in front of him without looking, resulting in Wair’s 1990 325i coupe being totaled. A lengthy accompanying article goes in depth and explains that Wair worked with Castro Motorsport of North Hollywood, California on his second E30, a 1991 318is finished in Cosmos Black modified to run a 24-valve engine from an E36 M3.
Ultimately, the video is perhaps best summarized with a line from Wair featured near the end of the article: “Some of my best memories are from driving, too. Like driving alone through a canyon at 4 a.m. under the moonlight with a big smile on my face.”
Whether it was the E30, the 2002, a generation of the M3, or some other BMW model that initially drew you in, we can all appreciate the enthusiasm and raw passion displayed in the video, and we look forward to the next installment.—Alex Tock
[Photo and video courtesy BMW AG.]
