By C. Patterson – cpatterson@blitzweekly.com
There is a reason we admire heroes. They accomplish things that we can only dream about. Through any and all obstacles that appear in their way, they transcend. Magnus Walker is one of mine – not because he possesses some superior strength that lets him bend steel with his bare hands or his ability to fight off the riff raff of Gotham, but because he follows his dreams.
I had the pleasure of seeing a documentary trailer a while back entitled Urban Outlaw and on my laptop screen was a scruffy English gentleman telling the story of his love affair with Porsche. And this was no ordinary love, this love began when he was a 10-year-old boy and he wrote a letter to the factory in Germany. This was a love that had seen him through the collecting of over 40 vintage Porsche 911s. His story moved me enough to start searching for the rabbit hole that would lead me to his contact information to speak with him. Luckily I found such a rabbit hole and the Stuttgart automobile enthusiast, owner of Serious Clothing, and son of rock-n-roll agreed to speak with me from his home in L.A. about Porsches, love, and perfect timing.
What’s the best song to listen to while your cruising down the Pacific Coast Highway?
You’re gonna love this, I don’t have a single radio in any my cars that work so my favorite sound is the flat six [engine]. I have never been a radio in a Porsche guy. A radio in the Porsche is a distraction, the radio in the wife’s BMW well that’s a different story.
Which 911 is your wife’s favorite?
Probably the Irish green ’66 that I’ve got. It’s the closest to going back in time. The car is unrestored and mostly all original. It’s got character.
Over the years you’ve had many chances to complete your collection and buy the 1973 911, but which time did you get the absolute closest and it was almost a done deal?
Well the ’73 part to the story in my film trailer [Urban Outlaw] was a little bit out of context. My goal initially was to have one of every year from ’64-’73, but once I found the ’64, which was the Holy Grail, the importance of the ’73 and finishing that particular collection sort of diminished. I could have found the ’73 twenty times over. The ’73 is not that rare of a car, unless you’re talking about an RS Carrera, which also not rare but extremely expensive. So I have owned over 40 911s and I never have had just one of each year. I have between two and five of each year and model. It’s funny, now everyone tries to offer me a ’73, as though I couldn’t find one. Now I’m chasing early Turbos ’75-’77.
What was the feeling like the first time you sat behind the wheel?
Growing up as a kid in England I never even had a driver’s license. I came to America at 19, but I didn’t buy my first Porsche until 27, that was the ’74 911. To sum it up it was like a dream come true. I was 27 years old; I worked hard and finally bought my first Porsche. It was a bit like a pat yourself on the back overwhelming experience like wow you’ve achieved your first big goal. And of course it’s the sound, the acceleration, it’s the connection between you and the car. So when you first get in it it’s a little bit of a sensory overload because you’ve heard so much about them, you’ve read so much about them and I couldn’t believe I finally had one.
So today 40 plus 911s later, where is that feeling?
I am more passionate than ever! Back then it was just sort of a car that I had always wanted, now 20 years later it’s something that I’m really connected to and it’s engrained in my soul. I have this connection and this affinity to Porsche. Each 911 has its own character. No two are ever the same. The cars that I am dealing with are approaching 45 to 50 years old and they’ve got a lot of stories to tell. It’s becoming my life. Before it was sort of a hobby, now its taking over as my reputation and notoriety grows. The trailer has been viewed over a million times. We haven’t even released the documentary, although it’s finished, and now there is a possibility of a TV show. So what was once just a hobby is really starting to shape the next stage of my life.
Why was now the right time to tell your story?
For me things happen organically. The defining flash moment of now’s the time is hard to describe. [Director Tamir Moscovici] approached me after seeing an article in an English magazine called Total 911 and read about me on a Porsche forum where I have an ongoing thread that has been viewed over 350,000 times, which when you consider that there are only a couple hundred active members it shows that people are going back and looking at what I’m doing in detail. I think it was a gradual build-up, you know, being into Porsches for 20 years and over the past 3-4 years I backed out of doing a lot of track days, but I always had this reputation of being somewhat of a fast street driver and a halfway descent track driver and building all these late 60s early 70s sport purpose cars my reputation was building. It was one of those organic meant to be moments. The timing was right and Tamir, to his credit, took that leap of faith. He can down to L.A. on a handshake and a leap of faith. For me it seemed how bad could it be? What’s the worst that could happen? He comes down for four days and I’m left with some great footage? That was the theory for me.
So when it’s all said and done, how do you want to be remembered?
Well I think I’ve got many years before I need to think about how I want to be remembered. I never think that far forward, I barely think about what I want to do this week. But I suppose a passionate guy, who was driven and motivated, that was sort of tenacious and kept going and kept chasing his dreams – whatever they may have been and hard working. I always had that take the leap of faith, how bad could it be attitude. That’s how I want to be remembered.
Last question sir, which car are you going to drive today?
That’s a great question and it all depends on where I’m going. I have four or five cars that I love to drive depending on where I’m going. If it’s an aggressive run through the canyons I take the streetable race car or if I’m just driving up to Home Depot or Starbucks I might take that Irish green ’66. So I not sure which car I will be driving today, but I will be enjoying it.
There is a reason we admire heroes. They accomplish things that we can only dream about. Through any and all obstacles that appear in their way, they transcend. Magnus Walker is one of mine – not because he possesses some superior strength that lets him bend steel with his bare hands or his ability to fight off the riff raff of Gotham, but because he follows his dreams.
I had the pleasure of seeing a documentary trailer a while back entitled Urban Outlaw and on my laptop screen was a scruffy English gentleman telling the story of his love affair with Porsche. And this was no ordinary love, this love began when he was a 10-year-old boy and he wrote a letter to the factory in Germany. This was a love that had seen him through the collecting of over 40 vintage Porsche 911s. His story moved me enough to start searching for the rabbit hole that would lead me to his contact information to speak with him. Luckily I found such a rabbit hole and the Stuttgart automobile enthusiast, owner of Serious Clothing, and son of rock-n-roll agreed to speak with me from his home in L.A. about Porsches, love, and perfect timing.
What’s the best song to listen to while your cruising down the Pacific Coast Highway?
You’re gonna love this, I don’t have a single radio in any my cars that work so my favorite sound is the flat six [engine]. I have never been a radio in a Porsche guy. A radio in the Porsche is a distraction, the radio in the wife’s BMW well that’s a different story.
Which 911 is your wife’s favorite?
Probably the Irish green ’66 that I’ve got. It’s the closest to going back in time. The car is unrestored and mostly all original. It’s got character.
Over the years you’ve had many chances to complete your collection and buy the 1973 911, but which time did you get the absolute closest and it was almost a done deal?
Well the ’73 part to the story in my film trailer [Urban Outlaw] was a little bit out of context. My goal initially was to have one of every year from ’64-’73, but once I found the ’64, which was the Holy Grail, the importance of the ’73 and finishing that particular collection sort of diminished. I could have found the ’73 twenty times over. The ’73 is not that rare of a car, unless you’re talking about an RS Carrera, which also not rare but extremely expensive. So I have owned over 40 911s and I never have had just one of each year. I have between two and five of each year and model. It’s funny, now everyone tries to offer me a ’73, as though I couldn’t find one. Now I’m chasing early Turbos ’75-’77.
What was the feeling like the first time you sat behind the wheel?
Growing up as a kid in England I never even had a driver’s license. I came to America at 19, but I didn’t buy my first Porsche until 27, that was the ’74 911. To sum it up it was like a dream come true. I was 27 years old; I worked hard and finally bought my first Porsche. It was a bit like a pat yourself on the back overwhelming experience like wow you’ve achieved your first big goal. And of course it’s the sound, the acceleration, it’s the connection between you and the car. So when you first get in it it’s a little bit of a sensory overload because you’ve heard so much about them, you’ve read so much about them and I couldn’t believe I finally had one.
So today 40 plus 911s later, where is that feeling?
I am more passionate than ever! Back then it was just sort of a car that I had always wanted, now 20 years later it’s something that I’m really connected to and it’s engrained in my soul. I have this connection and this affinity to Porsche. Each 911 has its own character. No two are ever the same. The cars that I am dealing with are approaching 45 to 50 years old and they’ve got a lot of stories to tell. It’s becoming my life. Before it was sort of a hobby, now its taking over as my reputation and notoriety grows. The trailer has been viewed over a million times. We haven’t even released the documentary, although it’s finished, and now there is a possibility of a TV show. So what was once just a hobby is really starting to shape the next stage of my life.
Why was now the right time to tell your story?
For me things happen organically. The defining flash moment of now’s the time is hard to describe. [Director Tamir Moscovici] approached me after seeing an article in an English magazine called Total 911 and read about me on a Porsche forum where I have an ongoing thread that has been viewed over 350,000 times, which when you consider that there are only a couple hundred active members it shows that people are going back and looking at what I’m doing in detail. I think it was a gradual build-up, you know, being into Porsches for 20 years and over the past 3-4 years I backed out of doing a lot of track days, but I always had this reputation of being somewhat of a fast street driver and a halfway descent track driver and building all these late 60s early 70s sport purpose cars my reputation was building. It was one of those organic meant to be moments. The timing was right and Tamir, to his credit, took that leap of faith. He can down to L.A. on a handshake and a leap of faith. For me it seemed how bad could it be? What’s the worst that could happen? He comes down for four days and I’m left with some great footage? That was the theory for me.
So when it’s all said and done, how do you want to be remembered?
Well I think I’ve got many years before I need to think about how I want to be remembered. I never think that far forward, I barely think about what I want to do this week. But I suppose a passionate guy, who was driven and motivated, that was sort of tenacious and kept going and kept chasing his dreams – whatever they may have been and hard working. I always had that take the leap of faith, how bad could it be attitude. That’s how I want to be remembered.
Last question sir, which car are you going to drive today?
That’s a great question and it all depends on where I’m going. I have four or five cars that I love to drive depending on where I’m going. If it’s an aggressive run through the canyons I take the streetable race car or if I’m just driving up to Home Depot or Starbucks I might take that Irish green ’66. So I not sure which car I will be driving today, but I will be enjoying it.