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One of the most anticipated unofficial events during Mustang Week is Retro Meet, hosted by Lue Creative, which is held at Suck Bang Blow in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina. Born out of the desire to celebrate throwback Mustangs, this event has become a sensation thanks to its mix of cars, throwback fun, and tire smoke.
Retro Meet has always been a celebration of the ’80s and ’90s centered around ’79-’04 Fords, throwback tunes, and Retro Styles… — Harris Lue, Lue Creative
For its ninth installment, Retro Meet once again took over Suck Bang Blow in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, for an action-packed evening that celebrated old-school cars and vibes. The brainchild of Harris Lue (center stage), of Lue Creative, the event is run by just Harris and his wife, Emily Butler, but it has become a phenomenon thanks to its mix of burnouts, costume contests, drifting, and classic car displays.
“Retro Meet has always been a celebration of the ’80s and ’90s centered around ’79-’04 Fords, throwback tunes, and Retro Styles, but we never could’ve imagined it making the impact that it has,” Harris Lue, of Lue Creative, said. “We set out to have a little cruise in for the forgotten Fox-bodies in 2017, and it’s blossomed into the epic retro party and smokeshow that it is today! And with amazing partners and great merch sales, it’s still completely free to attend and have the best night of your life!”
Vaughn Gittin Jr. and his merry band of Funhavers have long been a part of the Retro Meet action. This year, Gittin and his team driver Ben Hobson slayed tires in RTR Mustangs, while giving rides to several lucky fans, to the delight of the crowd.
Retro Meet was nonstop action that included an RTR drifting exhibition, a costume contest with some amazing prizes, and the grand finale of The BEAST Burnout Contest hosted by Cobra Sam.
Maxed Out
“Last night went off without a hitch! We had Suck Bang Blow maxed out with Hemmings Rad Rides thanks to meticulous lot planning from Emily Butler and our amazing parking staff,” Lue said. “The RTR Crew opened the event with their amazing smoke show thanks to Ben Hobson and Vaughn’s expert driving in the pit. There was also a surprise proposal in the middle of the Drift Demos (she said yes!) All of that led right into our largest Costume Contest showing ever, where we crowned two winners and an overall champion.”
“We even had a few wild card vehicles like JD Joyride’s F&F Eclipse, Rainey Higginbottom’s Lightning, Chris Mason’s Tempo, and a DeLorean from Ethan Mize! Vinny Giglio and Vaughn Gittin Jr. also brought their GTDs to add a bit of futuristic flair!” Lue said. While it isn’t retro, Gittin’s freshly painted Mustang GTD made its first appearance during Mustang Week, and the Blue Oval supercar drew lots of attention from attendees.
It seemed that everyone in attendance had a blast, and from the sounds of it, the Retro Meet has no signs of slowing down.
“We are confident in the success of our current formula and have become quite the well-oiled machine over the years. While we are always trying to find new ways to spice things up, the basics will always be there: rad cars, radder people, and the best merch you can buy!” Lue added.
Smoke Show
While the S550-and-newer crowd is prominent during Mustang Week, Retro Meet shows deference to the classics. There were plenty of sweet Fox, SN-95, and New Edge rides on display at Suck Bang Blow. Among them was this ProCharged, Gen 3 Coyote-swapped Fox. With skinnies up front and big meats out back, this hatchback looked ready to race.
A highlight of Retro Meet is always the costume contest, which ultimately evolves into a costumed dance-off. All the contestants sported exaggerated, colorful attire that celebrated the ’80s and early ’90s. Initially, the men and ladies compete separately until the final boss battle between the most popular from each group. In the end, it was Nathan, better known as “Boombox,” because he brought an inflatable boombox on stage, who danced away with epic prize packs from Retro Meet’s Harris Lue (right) and guest judges Vaughn Gittin Jr. and Ben Hobson of RTR, as well as a set of Koni shocks and struts.
The festivities ended with the most anticipated action of the night. Suck Bang Blow has its own burnout box and several cars sent plumes of smoke into the night air — and a few used up more than their rear tires and didn’t leave the box under their own power. “We capped the night with The BEAST Burnout Contest hosted by Cobra Sam in the iconic SBB Burnout Box and had our first-ever Encore burnout by Brian Sabat as the grand finale,” Lue said. “We couldn’t have asked for a better event, and hearing the cheers from the crowds of smiling faces made it all worth it!”
