Low riding is about family.
That's what El Camino and South City High students learned at Skyline College’s Ride Conference on April 26, 2024, which was organized partly in celebration of a 2023 law that legalizes cruising in California.
“If you can dream it, you can build it,” said keynote speaker John Ulloa, a history professor at West Valley College. “Every car that’s out here—this bike, this conference, started with an idea. It started with a dream, and this is the realization of those dreams.
Before Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 436 into law in October 2023, low riding was effectively illegal in California due to a more than 30-year ban that cities had imposed on cars with parts extending below the bottom of the rims.
However, thanks to grassroots efforts that began in 2021, the low rider community managed to get the ban repealed through a combination of community organizing and political outreach.
“It's a culture that I haven't really indulged in, but I definitely was interested in learning more about it,” said South City High junior Reuel Jerric (‘25).
At the conference, Reuel and his classmates attended workshops where they learned about things like pinstriping, low rider pedagogy, and Chicano car culture.
“Low riding comes out of the barrio experience,” said Ulloa during a workshop, “but cultural diffusion has caused low riding culture to move across the world.”
El Camino High sophomore Ruby Rodriguez (‘26), who was checking out the cars parked in the courtyard, echoed one of the recurring themes of the conference when she talked about her love of low riders.
“The reason why I got into the car community and the low rider community is mostly because of my father,” Ruby said.
Reuel, standing nearby, said he understood.
“At the end of the day, it's about family and just loving being a part of a community and having a sense of connection with that group.”