So many of us have some fun hobbies and take some cues from our work to enjoy life and be the people we want to be. Whether that person is a full-fledged nerd who loves science fiction or are a sports junkie, it can be fun to immerse yourself in your favorite activities and follow along with admiration what is going on with our favorite things to do.
Unfortunately sometimes life has a way of challenging our ability to enjoy life to the fullest and causing us to face situations we are not ready for. Such was the case for Dirk Vanzuuk. Dirk is a hardcore Mad Max fan, a sign designer, a hobbyist who enjoys building model cars and life like slot car tracks along with racing his own car. The car of choice for Dirk of course is a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro, what else would you want for a true muscle car and with the help of some of his friends, his Camaro has been not only street worthy, but track worth for some time.
Driving in just about anything he can, Dirk’s favorite ride is his Camaro which offers nearly 500 horsepower but the crazy thing about that is the fact that a go-cart accident actually sidelined him. Sometimes in life one injury that sends us to the doctor allows the doctor to find something else and this was the case for Dirk. Diagnosed with asymptomatic tumors in his throat and lymph nodes, radiation therapy was immediately begun, causing Dirk to be sidelined from some of his favorite activities for a great deal of time.
As an avid Mad Max fan, Dirk explained to his doctors he had tickets to the premier of Mad Max: Fury Road in New York City and he really wanted to be able to attend. The doctors worked hard to try and get Dirk to the premiere and even put a post of the cover from a magazine featuring the movie on the wall in his hospital room to help keep his spirits up and help him work through the treatments and stay positive.
After his battle with the cancer, Dirk finally won and with the support of his wife, Patti, he was able to make it to the opening weekend but not to the premiere. The next choice he had to make was to figure out what to drive to such a show and in true groupie style he chose to deck out his Camaro with just the right touches to make it worthy of being taken to the film.
Dirk, being the artist he is added several paint features that gave the car a worn over look and added a skull to the front grill to give it a seriously mean effect. In addition to the skull, he added spikes to the grill and added some velocity stacks on the hood which was actually made from plastic solo cups. With all this on the car he was able to attend the opening weekend and have a great time even though he had only been out of therapy for a short while. If nothing else, Dirk showed the tenacity and fortitude to not succumb to cancer, fought back, and has come back better than ever, just ask Patti.
This post may contain affiliate links. Meaning a commission is given should you decide to make a purchase through these links, at no cost to you. All products shown are researched and tested to give an accurate review for you.
