A short interview with Sam Chae.

BRYAN: What can you tell me about the whole street racing culture?

SAM: I can tell you it's a $25 billion market. Street racing is hands-down one of the most popular sports, in some cases more than baseball, basketball and golf.

BRYAN: Do you think The Fast and The Furious had a lot to do with that?

SAM: Yeah, but I mean street racing has always been there. It's huge. If you go to the right spots in Chicago on Friday or Saturday night, you'll see 400 to 500 cars sitting there ready to race. It's like scenes in The Fast and The Furious, but even more extreme. And it's happening every weekend.

BRYAN: So is your company at a lot of these events?

SAM: No, we can't. Those are illegal and getting busted is bad publicity for us.

BRYAN: Do a lot of your parts and accessories show up at events like that?

SAM: Yeah, I send some of my guys down there to take pictures and check out the scene. But I try to stay away. When I first started in this business I didn't know better and would go promote stuff. One time we went to this event in China Town with maybe a couple hundred cars. They took over an entire abandoned warehouse - spray painted the streets and everything. There were about 500 people ready to race. Then, just like in The Fast and The Furious, fifty police cars came and ran us all down. They were arresting people left and right. Luckily I got away but one of my employees got arrested, so it looked really bad for us.

BRYAN: So now you stay away from that stuff?

SAM: Yeah, we stay away. It was one of the things we learned through experience and a lot has changed since then.

BRYAN: So tell me some crazy stories here man. I know you've got them.

SAM: Bryan, I want to formally invite you to a party we're having in Vegas November 2nd through the 5th. There's a huge car show that goes down every year where everybody in this business meets up. We're getting the playpen suite at the Palms for four nights - which goes for about $2,000 a night. It's like 2,000 square feet and we're going to throw a huge party there. I'd love it if you could make it. That'd be awesome.

BRYAN: Yeah, dude, I could probably manage that.

SAM: I didn't realize that some people in the business world have so much money, its ridiculous. Last year for my 20th birthday, a few of my buddies like real estate guys and investors called me up and said we should get together. A pack of eight stretch limos showed up to my house. One was a Hummer limo with an open top and a whirlpool in the back. All my neighbors came out to see what was going on. Next thing I know we're at this huge club downtown that they had rented. It's just crazy... a whole different level.

BRYAN: So how is it being at those types of places when you are just twenty?

SAM: It blows your mind. It's just totally outrageous. That's the only word I can think of to describe it.