OUR STORY
East Coast Ryders / King of the Street — 25+ Years in the Game
Built From the Ground Up
Two People, a Camera, and a Website
East Coast Ryders started in 1998 with two people — Daniel and Lance — a camera, and a web site. Both with their heart in the custom automotive lifestyle. Daniel owned an auto custom shop and started filming cars for fun with a couple friends, filming Lowriders, street customs, and Euros back when 17″ and 20″ rims were big. He released the first video on VHS — Miami Swangin. Daniel met Lance at a car club picnic. Lance had a web site called Digital Wheels with a large following and a background in graphic and web design. They teamed up with no exact idea of what they were about to create.
East Coast Ryders Is Born
We started to see 22″ rims on vehicles and began to feature them on the web site. We went to our message board and asked members to help create a name to showcase how Miami rides. We received lots of good ideas and came up with “East Coast Ryders.” We created a new web site, released our first video on VHS, received such a good response we went to DVD. Our first DVD featured all types of vehicles, but everyone was so amazed by the big wheel movement that started in Miami — we began to showcase them more. East Coast Ryders blew up overnight. We started receiving phone calls from all over the country asking us to come feature their cars.
Powerfest — Taking It to the Streets
Traveling the country and seeing how cities had their own styles was an experience. We featured vehicles and shops all over the country, then put our first car show together in Augusta, GA with Power 107 — called Powerfest. Our first year we did over 300 vehicles and 5,000 people. The second year it blew up with over 500 vehicles and 10,000 people. We had vehicles that came on trailers from the other side of the country. We started planning more shows across the East Coast.
Maisto — Donks Go to Toy Stores
At the 2005 SEMA show we met Rick and Ralph of Maisto toy company and began talks to create toy car replicas of cars on big rims. A year later we were on the shelves at Toys R Us, Walmart, and stores nationwide. Donk culture had officially gone mainstream — and East Coast Ryders put it there.
King of the Street Magazine
Daniel teamed up with talented collaborators — Phil, Nick, and Frantz — and launched King of the Street magazine. We pushed the first issue ourselves, handing them out and placing them for free in stores. The buzz was immediate and we landed a national distribution deal. Within months we were in 7-Eleven, Borders, and Barnes & Noble. A great achievement cut short by the recession — advertising dried up, print costs were extreme. We stopped after 3 issues but the brand never stopped. King of the Street lives on, now fully digital.
25+ Years of Milestones
Miami Swangin
First VHS released. The shot heard around South Florida.
ECR Goes DVD
East Coast Ryders brand launched. DVDs shipping nationwide.
Powerfest
First car show. 300 cars, 5,000 people. Augusta, GA.
Maisto Deal
Donk diecast toy cars hit Walmart and Toys R Us shelves.
KOTS Magazine
King of the Street hits Barnes & Noble and 7-Eleven nationwide.
We’re Back
New site. New content. Same culture. The network is live.
East Coast Ryders
The original brand that put South Florida donk culture on the map. From Miami to Augusta to SEMA — East Coast Ryders documented it all before anyone else knew what a donk was. The name still rings bells from the East Coast to the West.
King of the Street
The evolution of the brand. King of the Street expanded the lens — who’s king on their block, their city, their coast? Magazine, car shows, digital content. The crown belongs to whoever’s got the hardest ride.