Adam Royea

I had only ever seen Adam’s (@royea_roadstar) posts on Instagram, I’ve never met him or seen him. Mainly because he lives in another country. We’ve talked every now and then but that was pretty much it. Near the end of 2021 we started planning his trip to come down one weekend sometime in 2022 and pick up some wheels I got for him. We figured since he’ll be here, he should attend one of the events because he’s only ever seen them on Instagram. During his stay, I had to get an interview. His roadster is already so iconic in the community so it was only right to listen to the person who created it.

L: Let’s start with the basics. A: My names Adam Royea, I’m 22 now, and I’m from Vancouver B.C. (Canada). L: So you want to tell everyone how you got into the scene? A: Yes, my uncle. Pete or @oldgrayleather on Instagram. He’s the one that first got me into roadsters. Seeing his car early on showed me what you can really do with these cars. Although the very first car I drove was when I was 16. It was my cousins car, not Pete’s son but my other uncles son on the same side of the family, my dad’s side. My cousin Lachlan, he had his dad’s car. There’s a whole story behind it but I’ll let Pete tell you that one, anyways my cousin had the car. I was 16 at the time, didn’t even have my permit yet. He took me out to a parking lot and he let me drive it. We went around in circles, learning how to use the clutch, and he told me his dad took him here and taught him how to drive too. We had the top down and it wasn’t terribly warm. I can’t remember what month it was but we just went driving all day just the two of us. L: Was he like that cool older cousin that had all the cool shit? A: Haha yeah, he’s awesome he has a Tacoma now and loves off-roading he’s crazy. But yeah that first drive in the roadster and not even driving it, but being the passenger feeling how zippy it was, I was totally incapsulated. It’s different than other old cars, it’s more secure I feel like. L: I totally agree. A: And after all that driving he was like “that only cost me $20 in gas”. I was like no way! I could have this much fun for that much money?? Because at the time I was really into video games and it was so expensive. But long story short I learned how to drive in the family 240, but I learned how to drive manual in my moms Nissan Versa. Then my dad and I had gone down to California and that’s where Pete let me drive his BRG. L: Was this when he still had the gold RPF1’s? A: I can’t really remember but he had only done a few things to it so it had to have been before the mk2’s. But I was actually driving a roadster this time unlike last time where it was just circles in a parking lot, and after I drove his car I was like okay, this is something special. This is different than the 240. Different than the Versa. I found out that this is what I really liked driving. I love a small engine, small car with super good handling. A car that you could just rip around and you’re not really going like super fast? But you’re in total control. I was looking at cars to buy before that, and after that drive I was like okay I have to get a roadster. I have to get one of these.

L: Your first car was a roadster right? A: Yeah it was a 1991 NA6. Oh it was a pile of shit. It was red, but resprayed red. It was flat and super patchy from the previous owner. L: I remember the photos. A: Yeah it had like a racing stripe that was made from electrical tape and it had no cat. So it was like way too loud. When I bought it, it was on steel wheels with studded winters because it was up in the mountains. Up in Whistler which is like 2 hours north of where I live. But it had a hardtop and everything, I think I picked it up for $3k in 2018? L: I feel like that’s pretty high for 2018. A: Yeah I didn’t really know what I was doing. But funny story it’s a quick one. When I went to go buy the car with my dad the guy lived in like this tiny apartment with about 8 other people. I swear it was like a 1 or 2 bedroom apartment. L: Oh shit, like his family or friends? A: Friends. Or I don’t even know if it was friends. Just random people. L: Oh gosh. A: So we walk in and everybody is there, we knew nothing about cars. And the guy was just like “oh this is the cat just get some shop to put it in.” It was literally just a piece of pipe. L: So like, it wasn’t even a test pipe? A: No it was just a piece of pipe that you buy and me and my dad were like “oh okay”. L: That’s too funny. And this one got into an accident right? A: Yeah it was about 5 or 6 months after? I was driving home from my new job and I was going down this road, then a lady in this BMW i3 does a full U-turn across 4 lanes of traffic and T-bones me. It was more of like, our noses hitting each other so all my momentum just went spinning off to the side. So I think if it was a full T-bone I would’ve been killed. L: Wow. A: Yeah both cars totaled, both had to be towed out of there, it was really really bad. But nobody was hurt thankfully, I was completely fine. It was really sad to see that car go because it was my first car you know, and I only had it for a few months. L: That’s super cool though for it being your first car because you still have one to this day. A: Yeah, I had to get another one. I didn’t have enough time with it. I didn’t have enough time to really enjoy it and do what I wanted to, I felt like I was robbed. When I bought that first car I had like this vision to do a retro style roadster from the get-go. L: So like the style you currently have? A: Mhm, the style that I achieved is like, what I wanted 4 years ago. L: Maybe it was good that it wasn’t with that car though. Maybe it had to happen. A: Yeah because I would’ve had to get it repainted, it was a good car other than those problems I’ve mentioned before so. L: If that car was still yours and you didn’t get into the accident, do you think you would have gone with a color similar to the color you have now? Because you bought it already painted. A: The car was already painted yes due to an accident from the previous owner, they just got ICBC to cover the cost and get a full repaint. L: Me and a few other people were talking at the meet about the color. We were saying that it fits the aesthetic so well that if it was a different color- A: It wouldn’t work. L: Yes exactly it just wouldn’t work. Like imagine if it was classic red. A: Right, whole different vibe. It would look more reminiscent of… what’s his name, @caelgaite? L: Oh yes, Mike. A: It would be way more reminiscent of his car. I’m not a huge fan of the OEM red, out of all the colors roadsters come in, in my opinion I’d say it’s near the bottom. I would just never have my car in that red by choice. But it is always nice seeing a red car done well, because most of the time they’re pretty basic. L: For sure. A: But getting back to your question, I really like black roadsters with tan interior, or just any dark color with tan interior. L: We were talking about this off record earlier but with black cars, it’s honestly really hard to see what’s done to it. A: That’s true. L: Like say you have an intake headlight lid, it blends in too well especially if the car was freshly painted jet black. I know on a faded black car it’s a little easier to see. A: What I really like about black roadsters though, is that they look a lot smaller. L: That’s true too. A: Me and my mom parked our cars next to each other and her car looked tiny, even though it was not as low. But my car looked huge compared to hers even though they were the same size. If not black I really like this two tone drawing of this roadster from guy I follow on Instagram. It’s like green with silver but I feel like I could never do it. L: Why’s that? A: With green you either get it too green like almost highlighter green or way too dark. So I just probably wouldn’t do it, I might try a wrap later but I’m not sure what color. L: Has your moms car always been in the family? A: We’re gonna go back a little bit further for this one. L: No problem. A: When my mom first moved here, she’s from Argentina, she moved here when she was 25. Her dream was with her first paycheck, to buy a VW Beetle. She’s always loved old cars. I think it runs in the family we all love old cars. She ended up not getting it; she met my dad, had me, and actually ended up getting a Toyota Tercel as her first car. She sold it a little bit later because she needed more room, she had a kid, and that’s when she got the Versa. Then I think in 2015 she was like, “Yeah I think I want an old car.” And she had a friend that was said, “You’ve wanted an old car since you were 25. Now is the time to get it.” So she bought a 1977 Mercedes SLC. L: Oh wow. A: You know, big ‘ol Mercedes coupe, has a big V8, it was just so cool. It was the weekend car because she still had the Versa, and for a while she wanted something smaller. She always felt bad driving pass people that were waiting for the bus because she had this massive car. She could take people and offer them a ride but she knew if she asked, nobody would take her up on that offer. L: Are they just like, really stand-off ish? A: Yeah. The people in that area just keep to themselves and just not very friendly either. L: I see. A: Anyway, my mom always felt guilty that she couldn’t give these people out waiting in the rain a ride and so she’s like, “I’d feel better if I was in a smaller car”. I think she didn’t like how big it was anyways since she didn’t need all that space. Then I recommended she need something Japanese, simple, and reliable. L: That sounds like something familiar. A: Right, I started convincing her that she should get a roadster. We went to look at this NB but the owner was kind of an asshole and I drove it around. I was like ehh, its close but it’s not the same. L: It’s a different car for sure. People try to say they’re the same exact car but I’m like no, if you’ve ever driven both you would know that they feel very different. A: That’s true, very similar but there is a fundamental feeling about it. Anyways I then found the one she has now, a 1997 black and tan. I remember showing her it and she’s was in awe because her favorite Miata color is black with tan. She always wanted a black car because the black looked so sleek, and with the tan interior oh man she fell in love with it. L: Ohh shit. A: So we pull up in my Miata and meet the owner, he was super relieved that it was going to someone who knew about these cars because he was like, “Now I don’t have to explain the lifter tick” and what not. And I was like oh I know all about that. But that car is just super clean. L: When was this? A: I was still on the mk2’s at the time so I think it was 2020. At the time it had a roll bar, and some kind of MOMO race wheel, so we started to change some things. I showed her some Road&Sters I had and took a look at the vintage style. So we got some mirrors for her the S800 mirrors, she really liked those. We removed the roll bar because she didn’t need it plus it looked too racey. L: Especially on a black and tan I feel like it doesn’t need that at all. A: Exactly. We also put in the old steering wheel from my first car as well; it’s getting there and there’s some wheels planned for it. But yeah she’s been loving it. Every time we go on a drive in it I always tell her she has such a cool car and she’s like aww. It’s been great it’s her daily now.

L: Right now, for whoever’s reading this. You’re in Oregon, but this isn’t your first time. You were also here in 2006. How many times have you been here? A: My dad and I, we would go down to Cannon Beach. We’ve probably been a handful of times. He had a green Saab. Some 90’s Saab and I remember being in the back seat probably in a booster seat or something, driving down the winding roads. We wouldn’t go through Portland then to Cannon Beach, we would turn right after Astoria. L: So you just went along the coast? A: Mhm. I remember being in the car driving down the winding roads. I’ve always had a soft spot for Cannon Beach. I loved the movie The Goonies growing up so I just love that area. It’s awesome. L: Very fun. So you just turned 22, outside of roadster talk what do you think is the next “big step” for you? A: I guess the biggest thing right now is trying to move out. I’ve been living with my mom for a handful of years now and it’s great, it’s just the area. It’s nice but it’s not for me. It’s too close to the city. I feel like I need a little more quiet. But other than that I wanna get a lot better at my photography. I’ve been working on it for a few years, but now I want to start doing it more professionally. L: Like paid jobs? A: Ideally I’d go freelance and do any job. But it’s just hard to get a good start with that kinda stuff especially nowadays. It seems like everyone is too busy to give young people a chance, not interested, or just never respond to my emails. Also with phones, pretty much anyone can take a photograph and you can get a huge following from just taking iPhone photos. L: And Lightroom editing. A: Yes exactly. So true photography is dying in my opinion. I don’t think people nowadays see the importance of a photographer. A true photographer. Someone who has spent their time learning their shit. L: No I get it. It’s just not real. The way I look at it is, think of a drive-in movie or even a movie theater. A drive in is super dated, and a movie theater has ridiculous prices for snacks, but that all doesn’t matter. People still go to it because of the feeling. Like you have the convenience of watching the movie in the comfort of your own home, own snacks, own couch. But you still go to the theater or drive-in because of that feeling. So I feel like that’s what a lot of people lose over time when it comes to photography. Why would they want to spend money for someone else to do it when they can just do it themselves? Especially with today’s generation and how short attention spans are. Nobody wants to wait for a photo to develop, they want it now. A: That’s what I love about film photography. Other than scanning and posting photos on the internet, it’s completely separate. It’s like all manual, you’re literally just capturing light. It’s crazy to think about. And then you use chemicals to make photos. It’s all analog and I love that about film photography. In a digital age it’s like one of the few things that’s just real. L: Yeah no I love that. Now that we’re on the topic of photography what got you into strictly film? Like do you shoot digital at all? A: I do shoot digitally just a bit. If I’m shooting like real estate or an architectural firm, I’ve done that a few times. With digital you can take a lot more photos and it’s not as expensive unlike film getting super expensive nowadays. L: Especially if you don’t scan and develop yourself. A: Exactly yeah which I’m trying to do. I have my own scanner at home and stuff but developing color can be tricky. L: Yeah I heard black and white is a lot easier. A: Yes a Lot easier because you don’t have to like heat up chemicals or anything. But if I shoot digital, I never want to post it anywhere. I feel like it doesn’t represent my interests if that makes sense. L: Yeah. A: Like I love using old cameras. I love waiting and reliving the memories when you see them again rather than taking a bunch of digital photos, then editing them right after the event and then posting them out. L: Capture the moment and move on right? A: Yeah. Everything is super fleeting. Like fame. You take the photo, you do the whole thing and you post it then it’s gone, and then nobody remembers it. So with film photography it’s a much slower process. You have to wait to get the film back if you’re going to a lab. I’ve been getting into printing and that’s a super slow process. You have to get the film developed then you shine light through the negative to project the image onto photo sensitive paper. Then you put it in chemicals and you make a print that way. L: That’s awesome. A: So it’s all analog there’s no digital anything about it, to make prints. It’s super cool. The slower process really makes you think more about each photo and the photos become more special. L: I totally get that. A: And that’s not to hate on anyone that shoots digitally. For me it just doesn’t stay with me and it doesn’t feel as authentic. Like they can be beautiful photographs, I’ve seen some people do amazing work on digital and I wish I could do that you know but it’s always the film photos that stick with me. L: Yeah they’re here to stay. A: Especially with taking photos of cars, it just gives me the feeling of looking through magazines or old Road&Ster magazines because all of those photos were shot on film. L: Yeah like the old stock photos of US Racing Sports bumpers that were shot back then are still used today for the photos on Rev9 or something. A: Yeah exactly! I just love old things so it kinda goes hand in hand I guess.

L: What was your first film camera? A: My first film camera was a Kodak Breeze. It was this little white and pink point & shoot camera that I picked up in Argentina. 2018. Early 2018 like March. We were at this flea market and I remember seeing and thinking, that’s super cool. I need it. L: And you knew nothing about it? A: Well, I had shot on disposables before but that was from when I was like a kid. But I remember at the time I picked up this camera, I was really into old movies. I still am actually. But there’s a certain look to old 70’s, 80’s, 90’s movies that I just can’t get over. It definitely is lacking in todays movies because of the technology obviously but you know what I mean. L: What’s one movie that’s always gonna stick with you? A: Oh Bladerunner for sure. That’s my favorite movie, like ever. Visually that movie is unreal. The amount of time and effort into all the set design and everything is amazing. I love that movie so much. Originally when I got into film I wanted to emulate that movie look. Because at the time I was really into movies and wanted to make photos that looked like that. But yeah I pretty much just looked up if film is still even a thing. I had no idea really. Then from there I just kept doing research on YouTube and found all these videos of people really deep into it that will help out beginners like me. L: I know the feeling. A: And so after I shot a few rolls on that my mom was like “Oh I have a film camera” and she gave me her SLR. L: Do you remember what it was? A: It was a Vivitar V2000. And that’s when I really started getting into the “art” side of photography. L: So from those videos you watched on YouTube, what did you see in them that You wanted to achieve for yourself? Like did you want their knowledge? Or did you want the outcome, or their eye? What really pushed you into it? A: I think it was what they were able to produce so yeah, definitely the outcome. Like seeing what kind of colors you can get with film. The look, the grain, and the kinda softness film has. Digital is super crisp and sharp. It’s quite a different look. L: For sure. A: So from there it was just buying a bunch of different cameras, trying new film stocks and I was really bad in the beginning. Like I’d look at old photos and be like what the hell is this photo? Why did I take that? But my mom was super encouraging and she has an eye. She used to shoot film back in her day. So she definitely helped me get a lot better. I’d come back with a roll and she would just go through the whole thing and be like “crap, crap, crap, crap, this one’s getting there it’s okay, crap crap…” She would give me really good criticism and not some mom and son “Oh honey that’s so cool” shit because with that you wouldn’t get any better you know. L: With those compliments from a parent, it might be nice in the moment but it kinda makes it so you just tread in the same place and don’t improve. So getting the criticism from your mom probably really helped because it was from your mom. It made it like “I wanna do better” because out of all those craps, the one good one she saw probably made you feel really good. A: Yeah yeah, no definitely. I’m really thankful for her because she helped me get a lot better very quickly. I don’t really have a lot of friends that are into photography to like talk with or even show my work to. It was kind of just my mom and my dad, both my parents are creatives. My dad has a very artistic eye as well. He’s doing abstract photography, it’s very interesting. L: So your whole family is just a trio of greatness. A: Haha yeah. L: That’s awesome.

L: I think I was following you when you still had your stock bumper, but the 2021 look is how I remember the car. And then recently, Sexy Cowboys. A: Hahaha. L: In case people don’t know, what’s the whole story with that new look? A: So basically me and my friends were getting ready for this new years touring event. The back story to that event is, in Japan in the 80’s, the teenagers would get together and build crazy kaido cars. They would like chop the roof, someone made a tissue box car with massive pipes, there’s crazy super small and wide wheels, they would just go all out its super cool. So a couple guys, Reid and Keith in Vancouver, they hosted this event and they built this crazy Datsun S110. Had crazy big pipes, insane offset wheels, it was a very cool car. But basically me and my friends wanted to do something special for that event. We had the idea of making a team name, and it had to be something with cowboys. When we first all hung out together and went on a road trip up to Kelowna, we had a group chat called, “The K Town Cowboys”. Not only that, we’re always doing cowboy shit you know? We’re just breaking cars and going drifting, it was the wild wild west haha. L: Haha. A: My friend Lance who runs Hatagallery, it’s a blog, he came up with the name “Sexy” Cowboys. It was inspired by the same Japanese kaido racer culture, the team names are similar to that. Like “Beautiful Boy Racer” or something of that sort. L: Oh I know exactly what you’re talking about I see it in Road&Sters all the time. A: At first we were like ehh do we wanna be “Sexy” Cowboys? And then it grew on us, it works really really well for some reason. He did the design for the front and rear banner. So that’s where that name came from. L: We love to see it. A: And then the 4 on the door is inspired by this frame in Cowboy Bepop where Spike is getting his ship fixed, The Swordfish, and the guy who’s fixing it used to race his ship, so there’s a photo of the previous owner of that ship standing in front of it and it has the number 4 on it. L: did it have the same slant and font like on yours? A: Yes the slant, everything. It was exactly like it. I love Cowboy Bepop it’s my favorite show ever. I had the idea of putting the 4 on the doors for a while after seeing that episode. L: I think the front and rear banner compliments it well rather than the 4 being by itself. A: I agree I don’t think it would work as well, because now it ties the whole white together. Even though it was just for that one event, I plan on keeping it a lot longer. L: So sick. Speaking of Japan, you and Pete were there at the same time is that right? A: Yes so he was there for a business trip. L: Okay so he wasn’t there specifically for the Karuizawa Meeting? A: Correct it was just for work. I actually found out about that event while I was there because I was there for two weeks. I was like oh my god it would be amazing to go, but I’d have to train it there and it would’ve costed a lot of money for me at the time. It just didn’t work out for me to go there, so instead we met up in Kyoto. One of my friends I was with, was with his girlfriend since he lived there and the other two were just sitting in the house so I was like okay well, I’m gonna go hang out with my uncle! So we met up and we had ramen in this little shop. L: The dream. A: It was pretty surreal meeting up with him across the world. L: I know right, the time and place is just crazy. So you were there for leisure and he was there for business? A: Yes but he did go to Karuizawa. It was so unfortunate that I couldn’t go I really wanted to. I think when I found out about it, it was like the day before. Was just way too last minute to make it work. L: I see. Is it every year? A: I believe so. I believe every year in May. L: Oh wow I need to go.

L: For the people that missed out on your tapes, if you wanna tell them the whole story on that we could end it there. A: Yeah that sounds good. So I bought some tapes from this artist called Yung Bae. He does like city pop remixes. I think the proper term is like future funk? I bought a couple tapes from him and I got this pink one and this blue one. When I saw that I was like, that’d be super cool to paint the tapes. L: You’re also a big cassette guy anyways right? A: Yeah I love cassettes. Again, something old and isn’t the best option but it’s this physical thing that you can hold and record onto… I realized you can paint them and I just got super excited. I have my very first one I ever painted but it’s really really rough. L: You have it with you? A: Yes I’ll show you after this. I was experienced in making a few tapes because I made some before for an old friend, and I was really happy with how those turned out. So I was making playlists for driving my roadster, and it was kind of all this Japanese jazz/fusion from like the 70’s and 80’s which I was really into. Then I thought of making the Roadster themed mixtape. Music for driving. L: It suited the driving really well from when I listened to it. A: Yeah exactly it was music that I was listening to while driving and I was like I need to save this. I knew I wanted to do something Mazda related for the tape and that’s when I thought of the 787B livery. L: Super badass. A: I tried to get the little white lines as well but they just weren’t working. Plus you get the same idea even if I didn’t do it. L: Yeah I knew right away so it was fine. A: And I wanted to do a cartoon design as the cover, but I’m no artist. I can’t draw to save my life. My cousin, Pete’s son who is driving the BRG now. He’s a great artist. Super talented so I commissioned him to do the art for it. So it’s kinda this family type thing- L: I love that so much. I love that he did it. A: I know right and he knocked it out of the park. He got exactly what I wanted. I wanted an M2 car but blue didn’t quite work. L: Yeah I was surprised you did yellow for an M2, but I liked it. A: It was more fun and upbeat I feel like. It’s more funky. L: Especially with the sunset. A: We went through a couple different revisions but I love driving at sunset. Colors and everything, it’s just so nice. So I think it looks really good. L: What I really like about the cover, is that the car isn’t actually on the road. Or at least the rear. It just looks like something you would see in a cartoon. Just this little car flying over a hill in a rush to get somewhere. A: Haha. L: I saw that little touch and I was like, I love that. That’s my favorite part about the cover. A: Hahaha no I know what you mean. And I also love it because my car looks like a cartoon too. Small wheels and big tires. I got really inspired by the Road&Ster magazine cartoon but also didn’t wanna copy it. L: Oh for sure. A: The reception was amazing. I couldn’t believe how many people ordered them I was shocked. And I know about 90% of the people don’t listen to cassette tapes. L: I’m pretty sure a lot of people bought it for art and to show support. A: Yeah exactly and I know of a couple people that bought it and are now putting cassette players in their cars. L: No way, that’s super sick. A: It’s unreal to think about that, it’s very special. L: It’s very cool. Good creation, very good work. A: Thank you. L: Is there anything else you wanted to add in? Any last words for our readers? A: On the same theme of cassettes, I will be putting out a Volume 2. L: Oh yes. When they get to the end of this interview they will be pleased. A: Yeah so this new one will be a completely different design. Completely different music as well. It’ll be special for sure. As for Volume 1, that’s it there’s no more. L: So no more period. A: Correct, all gone. The last few sold out at the meet yesterday. And I’m not making anymore. But, I will be making a Volume 2. L: Amazing. Before we go do you have anyone you want to thank or shoutout? A: Definitely my uncle, Pete. If it weren’t for him and my cousin Lachlan, I don’t think I would be as into roadsters as I am today. And another thanks would be to the whole community. Everybody that I interact with is just super genuine and kind. They always have nice things to say. I love talking with you guys. The community. Just by the tapes alone, that kind of support is really special. So thank you.

Photos of Adam’s car can be found here.