About Us

Project RIDE was started eight years ago due to recognition that subcultures like music, skateboarding, or racing can tie together communities in powerful ways. These ties often transcend different ethnicities, classes, and groups. Project RIDE was started to mobilize the "import car" culture against tobacco industry takeover through leadership development, policy adoption and education campaigns. RIDE is a highly visible program with over 300 volunteers, most of whom are male and ages 18-35 from California.

The import scene began with young adults modifying their Japanese subcompact cars for racing much as their peers did in the 50's and 60's with American muscle cars. This scene has become mainstream, attracting a huge demographic of young adults of all ethnic backgrounds. Therefore, it has become a billion dollar industry with commercial appeals to corporate interests. At the heart of the import scene are "car shows or expos," which, according to one New York Times report, attract up to 20,000 visitors per location. In California, there are numerous car shows per year.

The import car scene's mix of automotive tie-ins, underground appeal, and wide young adult market make it an ideal tobacco industry target. Increasingly, reports from the RIDE network frontlines have exposed the full arsenal of popular media tactics Big Tobacco is using to recruit car show attendees, show organizers, and shop owners. Now in its ninth year, RIDE continues on its mission of fighting tobacco industry sponsorship and remains the only organization in California working on such issues.