Story and photos by Hayden Yu Andersen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

One more big event. today: The Chief Sealth International High School parking lot was a rainbow of colors today as the Chief Sealth Automobile Association held its first-ever car show, in collaboration with White Center community staple Eazy Duz It Car Club. Visitors were treated to rows of extravagant cars, live music, dancing, and food.

Unfortunately for Chief Sealth IHS Junior and club president Richie Nguyen, his favorite car was not in attendance. As he puts it, “A Paul Walker classic – the Nissan Skyline R34” (as in Paul Walker, best known for his roles in the original “Fast and Furious” films).

Despite this, he couldn’t have been happier with the event. The Chief Sealth Automobile Association has been planning this all year, according to Nguyen. Seeing the parking lot lined with more than a dozen chrome-plated bumpers and metallic finishes in colors across the spectrum brought him hope for the future of the club.

“Today isn’t just a way to show off cars and spread car culture, it’s a chance for the community to get together,” Nguyen said. “(District) Funding was difficult to get, but eventually we sat down and figured out exactly what we needed, and we made it happen.”

Nguyen managed to reach every corner of the Chief Sealth community, with music performances from current students and alumni alike. The Chief Sealth MECHLA club attended, and the Chief Sealth Marching band and Jazz Combo, the Star Dance Club, and the alumni-led South Park-based band Opus all performed in the background of the show.

Special Education teacher Sopath Keith has helped oversee the club’s activities, and his connections played a crucial role in making the show happen. The credit should go to the students, though, according to Keith. “I was so impressed by how motivated the students were. Today wasn’t just a club event; it was an exercise in building networking skills, planning, and sending emails. All of those skills are things they’re going to need as adults. I just did whatever I could to help fulfill their goals. Most importantly, these kids worked hard.”

Fulfilling their goals in this case meant reaching out to the Eazy Duz It Car Club, a White Center community mainstay who have been building, fine-tuning, and showing off lowrider cars since 2010. Eazy Duz It founder Keo Sanh says events like these are important for the club as both car enthusiasts and community members.

“(Eazy Duz It) started in 2010 as just a group of friends, but as we got older, we decided we wanted to get involved in the community. It seemed like the responsible thing to do. Events like this are a perfect example. When (Keith) told us about it, we went in full force, we didn’t hesitate,” said Sanh.

The pride and joy of the event for Sanh today was Eazy Duz It’s newest creation, a lowrider in metallic purple. Each year, the club builds a car, which will join more than 140 others during their summer show on July 19th, on 16th Avenue SW in White Center.

As for the Chief Sealth club: “Hopefully we can use this momentum to do bigger and better next year,” said Nguyen, looking ahead. They’re hoping to grow their membership, hold activities during the year, such as going to car shows, and even advising students on safe driving. They also hope to collaborate with West Seattle High School’s automotive club, the “Greasy Peeps” car club (which had its own show last weekend), in a joint show next summer.