Despite how many years have passed, you certainly remember the mix of emotions when you first got your driver’s license.
For some it was an eager excitement; for others a sweet liberation. Perhaps there was also some nervous anticipation in the air. But no matter how comfortable or confident you were behind the wheel as a new driver, getting that driver’s license meant one thing for all of us: freedom.
The ability not only to drive, but also to travel somewhere. To get away. To go anywhere, anytime and create all the experiences that come with it. That’s something you don’t forget.
Like many, I spent the first week after getting my driver’s license carefully driving to school and to my then-girlfriend’s house in the family minivan – a slightly embarrassing Toyota Sienna.
But videographer Mark Vasilyuk – i.e Skuraweekly – took a much cooler route. Immediately after taking his driving test, Mark drove his Nissan S14 project car 2,000 miles from Washington State to Southern California (and hopefully back again). Present for the ride was his older brother Ruvim, who drove a JDM S13.
How can a barely 16-year-old afford such a project, you may wonder? Well, Mark was busy creating and editing videos even before his teenage years. By the time he was twelve, he had a special exemption to make videos at his local drift track, creating content for friends and eventually clients long before he could even drive.
“I grew up in a family of fourteen (no typo), so we never traveled at all. One of the things that made me get into videography was that it was a way to travel and have new experiences. The first time I flew an airplane it was for work. I always wanted my work to take me out of my comfort zone,” says Mark.
This work led to Mark producing one of Kansei Wheels’ early promotional videos, which featured Ruvim’s S13. The video was shown at the SEMA Show that year and the relationship with Kansei continued from there. The company later invited Mark and Ruvim to showcase their cars at a drifting event in Southern California at the Apple Valley Speedway (or ‘The Grange’, as it was then known).
So when the time came, Mark’s S14 – bolted on coilovers and some Kansei wheels up and down – was ready for its first big adventure. Only a driver was needed. Or better said: one with a license. Just days after that milestone was reached, it was time for a road trip.
A quick disclaimer: these photos are almost seven years old, so Mark is well into his twenties now. But recently I came across these photos and felt compelled to revisit them.
Not because the cars or the story are particularly unique, but because they reflect something universal. The early days of driving are formative and, more importantly, they are shared experiences. But we don’t always realize that at the time.
From the archive
So Mark set out from Washington with Ruvim, the most mechanical of the pair. It was Ruvim who had been instrumental in teaching Mark how to repair his car in the years and months leading up to his younger brother getting his driver’s license.
Naturally, this dynamic also brought them closer together. “Cars have united us. You have the usual arguments as young siblings, you grow up and then you find common ground. For us it was cars,” Highlight stocks.
This was their first road trip of this magnitude, and for Mark it was the first major trip where the costs were covered by a client.
The ride was mainly provided by Cheetos and Red Bull, so a ham and egg breakfast from my local restaurant felt like a luxury after hours on the road. Then we drove to the beach and hit one of my favorite side roads of all time before Mark and Ruvim continued their journey south.
I’ll never forget driving Mark’s S14 that day and how excited he was about the car and sharing it with me. But beyond that, I had a front-row seat to something much bigger: Mark’s world was expanding exponentially, all thanks to the privilege of driving.
It’s easy to take for granted when you’ve been driving for years, but moments like this remind you that something as simple as getting behind the wheel can still be a life-changing experience. Years later, Mark says he and Ruvim still talk about that trip.
“Ruvim moved to Seattle a few hours away and we’re both married now, so we don’t see each other that often. These are the stages of brotherly relationships…we never realized how cool that opportunity was at the time. Looking back on the trip, they were just wonderful times,” says Mark.
So the next time you’re traveling or driving down a back road, take a moment to enjoy it. Experience it to the fullest. You never know, you might just make one of your best memories yet.
Trevor Ryan
Instagram: purposebuilt_trevor
www.purposebuilt.media