Chasing Horsepower
By: Alexander Frick
Prolog
Chasing Horsepower is about going full throttle on your dreams. Just like Luca does in this story. He started off as a new car vlogger on YouTube and TikTok and rose to fame following his dream.
Chapter 1: Boost Dreams and Pizza Slices
Luca Marino was twenty-six years old, broke, and obsessed with supercars. While most guys in his Queens neighborhood clocked into jobs they didn’t like and saved for weekend drinks, Luca clocked into YouTube and TikTok, his world filled with Lambos (Lamborghini’s), Koenigseggs, and Bugatti’s. But not from the driver’s seat–from his cracked iPhone screen, usually while flipping dough in his uncle’s pizzeria.
By day, he was the delivery guy who sometimes burned crusts. By night, he was Luca the Lambo Lord–or at least that’s what he called himself on Instagram, even though he had never been within ten feet of an actual Lamborghini.
He watched Supercar Blondie religiously. Her charisma, her access, the way she made carbon-fiber doors and gold-trimmed interiors seem like casual accessories–it was like watching a life he was meant to live.
He didn’t just want to see the cars anymore. He wanted the fame, the followers, the invites to private unveilings where billionaires nodded politely while sipping champagne next to cars worth more than Luca’s entire block.
Most nights, he stayed up past 2 a.m. watching car vlogs and tutorials on how to grow a channel. He had a busted GoPro, a phone gimbal he found on Craigslist, and one stubborn dream: to be the next automotive sensation.
But dreams, like engines, need fuel. And Luca was running on fumes.
Chapter 2: Revving in Reverse
Luca’s first vlog was shot in his uncle’s delivery car–a dented, silver Honda Civic with more duct tape than horsepower.
“Yo, what’s up, Lambo Lords?” he greeted the camera with more energy than the energy had. “Today, I’m showing you a real sleeper build. Don’t let this Civic fool you–she’s got… heart.”
It was a lie, obviously. The Civic had a burnt-out headlight and a half-broken A/C. But Luca did his best, panning the camera like it was a McLaren reveal.
He tried voiceovers. He tried epic music. He even stood on the hood for an intro until it groaned and dipped inward.
His first video got 13 views–seven of which were from him checking if the upload worked.
His second video featured him reacting to other people’s car vlogs. His third video was just him walking around the Costco parking lot pretending the parked cars were supercars.
It was cringey, poorly edited, and full of unintentional comedy.
And yet… there was something in his delivery. Something real.
Chapter 3: Godzilla in the Alley
Luca was about to give up when his childhood friend, Danny, rolled into the alley behind the pizzeria one night.
The sound echoed between the buildings–deep, aggressive, like thunder filtered through a turbine.
It was a Nissan GT-R. Midnight purple. Tuned to hell.
Luca’s jaw dropped.
“Yo,” Danny grinned, stepping out. “You still doing that car vlog thing?”
Luca nodded slowly. “Is this yours?”
“Picked it up used. Been tuning it with some guys out in Jersey. It’s not a Lambo, but…”
“Danny, this is Godzilla.”
Danny laughed. “You wanna shoot it?”
Luca didn’t answer–he ran inside, grabbed his gear, and came back out like he was filming a Hollywood movie.
This time, the vlog had real content. Rolling shots down Queen’s Boulevard. Engine revs in the underpass. A walkthrough with Danny explaining the mods–carbon hood, bigger turbos, aftermarket exhaust.
Luca edited all night. He added transitions, music, and time lapses.
When he uploaded it, he didn’t expect anything. But the next morning, his notifications exploded.
Chapter 4: First taste of Boost
10,000 views.
He checked the number three times, convinced it was a glitch.
Comments poured in.
“This is legit!”
“More of this GT-R!”
Who’s this dude? He’s kinda funny lol.”
Danny shared the video on the GT-R forum. A popular tuner reposted a clip. Luca gained 500 followers overnight.
It wasn’t superstardom–but it was traction.
For the first time, he felt like a vlogger.
He doubled down. Filmed walkarounds at local meets. Interviewed street racers. Caught a flame-spitting RX-7 doing donuts in a parking lot.
He still edited on a free software and recorded sound on his phone. But his energy was infectious. People liked him because he was real. Not some millionaire with a showroom. Just a broke car nerd with a camera and hustle.
Soon, the DMs came in. “You wanna review my E92 M3?” “You gotta see my widebody supra!”
He was still sleeping on his mom’s couch and borrowing gas money. But online? He was becoming someone.
Chapter 5: Burnouts and Beef
At a rooftop meet in Brooklyn, Luca met Riley-aka TorqueQueen. She was sharp, stylish and had a Mustang that looked straight out of Need for Speed.
They did a quick collaboration. She had a bigger following and introduced Luca to a few content creators.
But things got weird fast.
Riley started throwing subtle shade in her videos–mentioning “wannabe vloggers who ride other people’s builds.”
Luca felt it. So did his followers.
Then she uploaded a slickly-produced video reviewing the same GT-R Luca had shot, only now with a $2,000 RED camera crew and drone shots.
Comments exploded.
“She’s copying Luca!”
“She did it better, though.”
“Drama brewing??”
It became a rivalry.
And Luca, stubborn as ever, refused to back down.
“I’m not gonna out-edit her,” he admitted to Danny. “But I can out-hustle her.”
So he did. He went to every meet, filmed every ride he could, and dropped content daily.
Chapter 6: Pedal to the Metal
The turning point came when Luca got invited to ExoLux 10–a secretive, high-end exotic car showcase held at a private airport in New Jersey.
“Dude,” he whispered when he got the invite, “this is Supercar Blondie-level stuff.”
The event was invite-only. No public. Just collectors, influencers, and million-dollar cars.
He showed up in Danny’s GT-R, wearing his only clean pair of sneakers and a cheap blazer.
And there it was: a McLaren Speedtail, a Pagani Huayra, and a Bugatti Chiron Super Sport.
He was buzzing with excitement, filming everything, narrating with his usual goofy charm.
Then he saw Riley. She had a full crew. Mic’d up. Drone in the air. Already deep into a segment with the Bugatti owner.
Luca had no budget, no backup. Just his GoPro and a dream.
But he got to work. Interviewed a guy with a twin-turbo Gallardo. Helped a Koenigsegg owner jump-start his car, then filmed a walkthrough as thanks.
The highlight? He caught raw footage of the Speedtail starting up and taking a slow roll down the airstrip. The sound? Unreal.
Back home, he edited like a man possessed.
Chapter 7: The Real Drive
The video dropped.
Title: “I Snuck Into an Exotic Car Heaven (And Got Sound of the Year!)”
It hit 100k views in a week. Then 500k.
Bug creator reacted to it. Even Supercar Blondie liked the post.
Luca’s Dms turned into a sponsorship offers. A tuner brand sent him merch. An Exotic rental car company wanted to collab.
He had made it.
Sort of.
“No lambo yet,” he said, “and I’m still editing in my mom’s kitchen. But I’m building something. And that’s all you need to do–start. Messy, broke, unsure. Just start.”
He paused, smiled.
“I wanted to be the next Supercar Blondie. But maybe… I’m just the first Luca. And that’s enough.”
THE END
If you’d like another story about Luca and his success please don’t be afraid to email me and let me know. Thank you for reading and have a lovely day.