Tru 1nz Car Club cruises and connects with Greeley community – Greeley Tribune

When you’re driving through the streets in daylight or as the sun sets, it can be euphoric to enjoy a car that you’ve spent time, money and work on.

Just you – and perhaps a special passenger – are along for the ride, with no specific destination in mind. The view while cruising always shows what lies ahead, and that’s the view Elijah and Yesenia Lucero want to provide with their Tru 1nz Car Club, which Elijah founded in the summer of 2021.

The two Jefferson High School graduates bring a positive view of lowriding culture and show youth in the community that what lies ahead does not have to be the same as what lies behind them.

Yesenia, co-founder and club coordinator, said they wanted to start their own car club. Something that reflects their values ​​and represents their character.

Shortly after the club was founded, a club member was informed that a child in the community had cancer and his family needed financial assistance. This led the club to not only help that one child, but also help his community.

“So we started doing community events. We started helping one person and it just clicked,” she said.

Since that event, the club has partnered with the Weld Food Bank, the United Way of Weld County and other organizations including the Greeley Fire Department. A few years ago, the fire department demonstrated what to do in the event of a house fire at one of its car shows with a model house, Lucero said.

Lucero wanted the fire department to release this information at a show because it saved her and her family’s lives years ago. When she was younger, a lamp in her younger brother’s room caught fire. But he remembered what to do after going through a fire simulation – save her life.

“If it helped us, we know it can help someone else,” she said.

A few summers ago, the club partnered with the University of Northern Colorado’s Cesar Chavez Cultural Center to host the club’s car show on campus. The fair featured the North Colorado Health Alliance, North Range Behavioral Health, the fire department and 30 other providers. The show was not held this summer due to unforeseen circumstances, but the club is preparing to host it in the summer of 2025, either at UNC or another local venue.

Organizing car shows takes a village, but the club and its six members have come together to put on events in just a few weeks, Lucero said. While this type of effort may cause members to “sweat bullets,” the result is always worth it.

While the club maintains its support for the community with supplies and other items, it also gives back with words of wisdom and change.

Lucero said she and her husband returned to Jefferson High School to talk to students who were in a similar situation to the Luceros years ago. Her message of hope shows that just because you are in one place today does not mean you have to continue on the same path tomorrow or the day after.

“Not everyone has to grow up and be the way they are now. Elijah and I had enemies (at the time) that we are good friends with today,” Lucero said. “We all get together and do things with each other. We try to make sure we always instill that positivity to destroy what we went through and not repeat it.”

From being a young mother to experiencing homelessness, Lucero said, every struggle Lucero has overcome in her life sets an example for others that they can too. Her past is the reason she and the other members of the club want to move forward with positivity and change.

The club also wants to change the perception of lowriding culture. The club is predominantly made up of lowriders, typically associated with Mexican Americans. Combined with the colorful paint jobs, hydraulics, and self-expression, lowrider culture can and often does attract negative attention.

“I think a lot of people … they associate lowriding with gang affiliations, or I would say careless or reckless people from what I’ve heard,” Lucero said.

The club focuses on love and respect while breaking cycles by giving back to the community.

This year was the club’s “most blessed year,” Lucero said. They gained contacts and sponsorship while reaching new parts of the community. In 2025, the club wants to continue to build on what it did this year and find other ways to give to the community.

The club has sponsorship to film films in the park, as the cities of Greeley and Evans do in the summer. The club wants to host “pop-up films” in both communities, which will also feature food and the lowriders on site.

Back in September, the club held its first annual Christmas in September Car Show in Greeley. The show benefited the Sleigh Riders Motorcycle Toy Run. Toy donations for the toy run can be made through Sunday, Dec. 15, at BSC Design, 2028 9th St., Greeley, and Fedora Tattoo, 2406 W. 17th St., Greeley.

Most of the club’s events are pop-up events that appear on the club’s social networks, namely Instagram, @tru_1nz_cc and Facebook. To inquire about sponsorship or joining the club, email Lucero at [email protected] or call her at 970-978-0979.

“It’s a great feeling knowing we’re involved in so many things and just giving back,” she said. “For me this is the most beautiful thing. What’s the point of having all these blessings if you can’t share them with someone?”