by Steven Perez
posted on October 26, 2018
Welcome to this month’s edition of Ask a Gearhead, our Q&A series with enthusiasts and influencers in the automotive space. Last time we spoke with Sam from YouTube’s Seen Through Glass, and this month we are pleased to feature Brendan Fallis!
Brendan is a DJ, entrepreneur, YouTuber, car enthusiast, and more — this is a genuine modern renaissance man. He hails from the land known as Canada, where he learned wrenching with his first car, a 1988 Audi 5000 CD Quattro. He soon developed a love for Volkswagens, and later ran an auto detailing business that exposed him to all kinds of cars at a young age.
Recently, Brendan has been fostering his online voice, diving into the worlds of automobiles, watches, fashion, and men’s lifestyle, working with all sorts of brands and publications. Documenting his enviable adventures in the heart of the music scene, travels around the world, and dream car cruises, he has attracted a large following on Instagram and created a distinctive, picture-perfect, and aspirational personal brand.
On his YouTube series Dream Garage, Brendan drives head-turning cars and interviews interesting people from walks of life as varied as Brendan’s own work. Subscribe to his channel to keep up with Brendan and see his upcoming adventures with cars from Turo.
WHAT WAS YOUR FAMILY CAR GROWING UP?
The first car I remember was a Buick Estate Wagon with the wood paneling on the sides. It had the rear seats that flipped up so you could look out of the back window. It was just beige and wood — really not an attractive vehicle at all. Then we had one of the early Jeep Cherokees. We are Canadian but my dad always wanted to buy American cars; somehow they still felt foreign and interesting.
WHAT’S THE WORST THING YOU’VE EVER DRIVEN?
The Kia Sephia. My sister and I rented that car and drove from LA to San Francisco, and with our bags in the back it would barely make it up hills on the interstate. That was my first real rental and I had never been in a new, low-market car before, and I remember thinking “man how could a car be so bad?” That thing was tough.
IF YOU COULD OWN JUST ONE CAR FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
I’d have a Land Rover Defender. It’s so classic and will be cool forever, even when nobody is driving anymore. It’s good in every situation — the desert, the city, the beach, the snow. It’s just a great all-around car and it’s more inspiring than like, a Jeep.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE ROAD TRIP?
I really like doing the PCH from LA to SF through Big Sur. I first made that drive in a Mercedes-AMG C63, I think it was, and it was really fun and comfortable cruising. I did it again recently in an X5 M, and the views are just amazing through Big Sur. I think that area is so underrated, at least as an East Coaster — it’s so picturesque you almost cannot believe it’s America.
WHAT’S IN YOUR NETFLIX QUEUE RIGHT NOW?
We [Brendan and his wife, Hannah] just finished “The Sinner,” which we loved. And “Ozark” season two just wrapped, so I’m looking for new suggestions now.
YOU’RE DIRECTING FAST & FURIOUS 9, WHAT’S THE HERO CAR?
I think a crazy modified 911 would be really cool. Like if you went to Singer and asked them to make the hero car for Fast & Furious, what would that come out like? I’m sure that would be just an insane project.
WHAT WOULD BE THE BEST ANIMAL TO RIDE IF IT WERE SCALED UP TO THE SIZE OF A HORSE?
An ostrich would be crazy. A kid I knew growing up had an ostrich farm, and he used to put socks over their heads and try to hold on as they ran around, which is a totally crazy thing to do. It would be such a wild ride. Yeah… they had a full ostrich farm, I don’t know what they did with them though.
WHAT ACTIVITY ARE YOU EXCITED TO BE ABLE TO DO IN A CAR WHEN SELF-DRIVERS ARRIVE?
Oh my god I would be the guy who could catch up on emails and work while going places. I love driving but I’m always like three hours behind whenever I arrive at places and then I have to catch up. I am looking forward to that because I hate driving in heavy traffic.
WHAT’S YOUR GO-TO MARIO KART CHARACTER?
I would switch it up a lot but Toad is the man. You gotta be a Toad man if you’re trying to win, right?
WHO WOULD PLAY YOU IN THE BIOPIC OF YOUR LIFE? AND WHAT IS IT CALLED?
I’d have to compliment myself and give the role to Ryan Gosling. And let’s call it “Driven by Purpose.” What’s his purpose you ask? You have to watch it to find out.
IF YOU HAD AN ICE CREAM TRUCK, WHAT SONG WOULD YOU PLAY FROM THE SPEAKER?
“Ice Cream” by Raekwon.
WHAT’S THE VERY LAST CAR YOU RENTED?
My last car was a brand-new Cadillac CTS. And I was actually pretty impressed by it to be honest. I hadn’t driven a Cadillac in a long while and it was way more functional than I thought it would be. Very solid, very fun.
Steven Perez
Steven is an avid car guy and content maker at Turo. Between Golden State Warriors games he can be found getting lost somewhere in California.
