On Serendipity

A few months ago, my family and I took a vacation to Maui. The Hawaiian island was as a perfect getaway for us to reconnect with one another while recharging our batteries. The trip was excellent, but the definite highlight for my daughter Sonia and I was meeting Richard Rawlings.

For those not familiar: Richard Rawlings is the owner of the famous Gas Monkey Garage, a Dallas, TX based auto shop focusing on buying, restoring and building hotrods and muscle cars. Richard is also the star of Discovery Channel’s popular “Fast n Loud” TV show – which has 12 seasons currently under its belt. If you like cars, I highly recommend watching the show.

My daughter Sonia first spotted Richard at the counter as he was arranging his helicopter flight. I was paying for a commemorative helicopter photo and was focusing on the transaction, when Sonia tapped my back. She excitedly whispered:

“Daddy, that’s Richard Rawlings!”

Of course, I didn’t believe her. She’s known for her pranks. But I looked again and sure enough – it was him! After shaking his hands, his wife Sue offered to take a photo of us together. In the snap below, you can definitely see the excitement on our faces.

Meeting with Richard Rawlings was the highlight to an already incredible family vacation. He was such a cool guy! Sonia was giddy with delight for the rest of the trip, constantly looking at the photo. Seeing her face light up like that was awesome. We’d share high fives each time we talked about that encounter.

Flash forward a few weeks. On Instagram, I drew and inked and illustration of Richard. I didn’t think much about it. He saw it and really liked it! He asked me if I could send a print. Absolutely!

Below is a photo of Sonia with the print. We framed it to keep it safe on its journey to Gas Monkey Garage.

A few days later, Richard received the print and posted it on his Instagram account.

He told me he’s going to hang it up in the Gas Monkey Garage, so make sure to keep your eye out for it in upcoming episodes of Fast n Loud.

-Krishna

Krishna March 2, 2018 Gas Monkey Garage, Richard Rawlings