When it comes to the ever growing list of “can’t miss” custom truck shows across the US, the Relaxed Atmosphere All Star Event held on Labor Day weekend for the last 11 years has never disappointed show goers and spectators alike. Held in the the quaint small town of Millington, Tennessee (just outside of Memphis) the show and town really do have that small-town feel with a dash of southern hospitality and continues to bring out the best of the best nationwide.
Photos & Words: Juan Trevino
In fact, many in attendance at this year’s event have been attending for all 11 years of the show thus far due to the extremely high quality and mix of custom vehicles that come out from all over. Also, it doesn’t hurt that the event and venue truly live up to the show’s name and is a fun and relaxing weekend. Many show up Thursday afternoon just so they can partake in celebrating the holiday weekend with a few hundred of their closest friends. Not to mention, show spectators and entrants can enjoy the sights, sounds and best of all, the food that Memphis has to offer. Throughout the weekend people can be heard talking about how they spent the evening on Beale Street in Downtown Memphis or that they paid a visit to the home of The King, Graceland and even checked out the location were many rock greats laid down their first albums, Sun Records.
Relaxed Atmosphere pulls out all the stops when it comes to putting on a great event. The location, USA Stadium, is a lush and open baseball and sports facility that features tall trees and a lake on-site only adding to the relaxing ambiance of an already great venue. Everyone gets to take up as much room as they need for their vehicle displays so spectators (and photographers) can get a full view of the custom rides in attendance. The custom made awards and cash prizes attract some of the nation’s best show vehicles from all the best Slam’d genres, which is exactly why this show has quickly grown into one of the best on the circuit.
Some of the noteworthy rides in attendance included:
Brian “BJ” Holthaus of Piqua, Ohio and a proud member of Negative Camber debuted his beautiful “Valspra Negro” black 1993 Isuzu mini truck aptly named “9 years later.” He took home the coveted Best of Show award.
(Left) Kris Smith of Ontario, Canada and newly logoed Relaxed Atmosphere member brought his freshly finished Isuzu minitruck all the way to Millington TN just to share with his RA family and all the ASE attendees his pride and Joy. (Right) Kristin Herbst Cobb was the talk of the weekend because of her cool Chevy Luv that her husband Jonathan helped her build. The light blue paint from the ’70s had developed a perfect patina and besides the ground-hugging stance the little Luv was left completely stock. Kristin was very proud of her little truck and we saw her cruising all weekend long with a big ole smile and she reminded us just how fun it is to build a cool simple mini for the fun of it so she won the West Coast Choice Award.
Little Shop brought out two amazing rides to wow the crowds; (Left) one was this sinister looking Chevelle that was recently completed and it needed to be test driven so Eric Saliba loaded it up and drove a couple hundred miles out to ASE. (Right) They also brought out the now infamous “Ole Crispy” and it featured a freshly detailed LS motor transplant to also give it the roadworthy update to clock some miles.
Show Sponsors:
Drop ‘Em Wear, Lexani Luxury Alloy Wheels, Tuckn’ Clothing, Kinetik, Air Lift, Low Rider Depot, RBP Wheels, Grillcraft, Bellevue Suzuki Kawasaki, Hinkle’s Paint & Body, Key Lane Flooring, CPC Custom Automotive, Driven Fabrication & Upholstery, Glovers Hydrographics, ASM The Auto Specialist of Memphis, Gutter Works, Eastend Baggers, PHAT Designs
