Past and Future of Gateway Rides
The Gateway Rides page on Instagram was created on October 6th, 2019. At the beginning of Gateway Rides there was no true vision for the brand. I was at a point in my life where I felt like I needed a new mission, a new passion to fuel me. My mind wasn't passionate about what I was doing at the time everything felt routine and stale. I wanted to push myself and try something I had no experience with or knowledge of. During those days I would spend countless hours scrolling through various car pages, and this made me think, why don’t I start my own car page. I have always had a deep passion for cars and talking to others about their cars. I spent days thinking if I would grow, if it were a waste of time, how does running a page even work.
I then spent time trying to pick that perfect name that would stand out. After a list of easily over fifty names I finally settled on Gateway Rides. I thought it suited what vague vision I had in mind for the brand at the start. I wanted a place where people like myself could come for daily content of a variety of cars. I didn’t want to limit myself to only a certain type of car. I wanted to be able to share whatever car I wanted and have the ability to show off every variety of car the world has to offer.
Once I finally chose the name, I wanted to reach out to other car pages to learn all I could. I reached out to many pages, many didn't respond, some gave quick answers but there was one that gave in-depth answers and shared his knowledge with no hesitation. I couldn't believe one of the biggest cars pages on Instagram was talking to me, American Muscle HD! Ever since then, I would consider Garrett (American Muscle HD) one of the biggest influences on me and my brand. He is a truly humble great person who has helped me grow my brand to what it is today. To this day watching his page grow and him receive the opportunities and recognition he desires fuels me to push harder. Using the knowledge Garrett gave me as well as reading countless articles and watching hours of YouTube videos I continued to grow the brand.
First messages from American Muscle Hd
I became obsessed and passionate about every aspect of the brand. I wanted to share more content, create merchandise, learn more about people’s cars, and much more. I began to push myself to make my page something I was proud of and something that provided joy or value to others. Over the years since I started the brand, I would say I accomplished these goals. I have created a page with nearly twenty-five thousand followers. From these followers I have had the privilege to talk to many people about their cars and their passions.
I took screenshots at the start of every person/brand I have been inspired by, bought something from, watched on tv or whatever else. These are just a few of my most memorable ones.
I religiously used to keep track of my growth. Every Friday I would take a screenshot or when I hit a major milestone. It is crazy looking back at before I even had a logo and only had 30ish followers.
Even after "achieving" my goals I knew I wanted to continue to grow the brand and expand into new avenues, which is why I started this website. I wanted a place I could try new things and explore my other passions such as photography and being an entrepreneur. I have no regrets over the countless hours and days I have poured into this brand. Time spent finding content, scheduling content, writing articles, researching. Or even the hundreds of dollars I have invested into the brand creating the merch, purchasing the website, and everything else. This brand has been an experience I will cherish and something I look forward to continuing and growing.
Which brings us to what the future of the brand looks like. Throughout the journey of growing this brand I have always said to myself I want to turn my brand into a page like American Muscle HD and a brand like 80Eighty. I want the brand to reach a level where I can give back more to the car community and my followers. I want to make large monthly donations to different charities thanks to merch sales. I want to be able to post rewards for stolen cars to help some guy or girl reunite with that car that has become a part of them.
I want to create a brand that people recognize all over the world. I want people to see someone wearing a Gateway Rides shirt and, in their mind, know exactly what the other person is like. They will think I know that person is passionate about cars, their car is a part of them, and they show respect to every other car lover out there. On the lines of merch once revenue justifies it new merch designs will come out. There is just a point where money can't keep being thrown at bigger and better things when the money is not being recouped from those things that are already in place. I would love to bring all the new designs I already have in mind to life. However, the cost associated with getting someone to design the merch and everything else that goes along with it is just too great for my wallet to manage at this time.
I am also looking forward to creating more of my own content. I love sharing other people's content and bringing the car community together. However, in the end I want to make more content that is my own and something of which I am really proud of. I don’t want people to always think I am just stealing others' content. Which is one of the reasons I started writing the articles, I wanted to make something that was my own. This content will be more of my own photography, short videos, more articles, and possibly the occasional podcast episode. I hope to keep writing deep dives on people’s cars as well as continuing to have question and answer type articles from people associated with all aspects of the car community. I’m looking forward to talking to more photographers, custom car builders, shop owners, car designers, anybody who has a hand in something car related. Long ago I had the thought of starting a podcast, however, at the time it just didn’t fit my schedule. I am hoping in the coming months I can see this goal through. There is just something about sitting down and hearing the passion in someone’s voice that I love. There are great things about written text and there are great things about long form audio content. I hope one day I can combine both visions and create weekly content everyone can enjoy. Let’s make this brand the equivalent of Joe Rogan but in the car community. Be sure to check the website and Instagram page to see more updates as this content is rolled out. Also, do not hesitate to reach out if you feel like you would be a good fit for an article or podcast episode. Or even if you just have an idea, you think it would be something cool to add the brand. Or even if you just want to talk about cars or anything else, don’t hesitate to reach out. One of the things I always tell myself is “What is really the worst thing that could happen? They say no.”
In the end with the hundreds of hours and hundreds of dollars poured into this brand. The money I have not been able to make back yet. The thoughts like do people even like what I do, how can I compete with the huge pages, is my content good enough. I constantly think to myself look how far you have come. You started this with no vision, no direction, just a passion for trying something new that involves something you love. And even with no clear direction you have posted almost daily for nearly three years. You have started a website that you had to teach yourself how to make and then market to others. You talked to people from all over the world about their cars and other passions. You have made new friends and new connections that have added value to your life. I truly thank all my followers, friends, and everyone else who have allowed me the privilege to do this. Thank you all and here is to the new adventures that are still yet to be completed.
Those mentioned in the article:
Personal: Garrettisthename
