Welcome back to Hang 10 with Birdie, where we catch up with friends Birdwell has made along the way, in and out of the water. In this edition, we’re sitting shotgun in a speeding vintage Porsche, white-knuckling it with our old friend Rod Emory—you might remember seeing his face in our Racing Jacket newsletter with his custom ‘356 Outlaws’ patch. A motorsports and a track-certified car-building legend, Rod’s never far from one of the Stuggartian beauties, whether he’s racing, restoring, or building one of his highly sought-after, completely custom Emory Specials. Back in the ‘80s, Rod and his father Gary cut against the grain by fusing vintage Porsche genetics with race and rally-ready upgrades, practically creating the massively popular ’Outlaw’ scene that thrives today. Alongside his wife Amy, he and his workshop, Emory Motorsports, have turned out more than 150 of them to date, and neither Rod nor his cars are showing any signs of slowing down soon.

 

 

1) What's your super power?

• My superpower is that I do not require any sleep.

 

2) Would you rather be invisible or be able to fly?

• I would rather fly. On those days when the traffic is unbearable in Los Angeles I would leave my Porsche in the garage and fly to work.

 

 

3) Which three people, living or historical, would you invite to dinner? Why?

• Ferdinand Porsche because without him my lifetime obsession with these amazing cars would not exist.

• Tony Robbins because the dude knows how to get shit done and find the best in every situation.

• Shakira because I like the way she moves.

 

4) If you could only listen to one album for the rest of your days, which one would it be?

• Ozzy Osbourne – Blizzard of Ozz

 

 

5) Guilty pleasure?

• Barstow Del Taco spicy Jack quesadilla’s. The only Del Taco that does them right. And I don’t mind driving a few hours across the wide open desert in my Porsche GT3RS to get one.

 

6) What posters did you have on your walls when you were growing up?

• Porsche martini poster, Heather Thomas in a bikini, Bigfoot Monstertruck, Honda ATC, Rambo, Volkswagen, and Kenny Roberts

 

 

7) What’s your favorite word, or one you use all the time?

• RAD...

 

8) Best compliment you ever received?

• In 1998 at Porsche‘s 50th anniversary I drove one of my special Porsche 356 is that was heavily customized and some of the old time factory guys thought it was built in the Porsche special build department.

 

 

9) What’s in your car trunk right now?

• An oldskool Powell/Caballero and an extra pair of Vans

 

10) Dawn patrol or sunset session?

• I am always a dawn patrol guy! Nothing better than getting up before everybody else and enjoying the peace and quiet.