Episode Transcript
[00:00:02] Speaker A: Welcome to the Edge, a podcast by Tag Heuer. Our guest this time is Patrick Long, one of the most accomplished sports car drivers of his generation. From 2003 to 2021, Patrick served as the lone American on Porsche's roster of factory drivers, winning some of the world's biggest races, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, and the 12 Hours of Sebring. In this episode, Patrick recalls his achievements on the racetrack, the moments that marked his career, and what it takes to drive at the highest level of motorsport. He also tells us about his brainchild, Luftgekult, and the car culture that inspired it. I'm your host, Naomi Schiff, and this is the Edge, a podcast by Tag Heuer.
Patrick, thank you so much for joining us on this episode of the Edge. I always love to give the listeners an opportunity to know exactly where our guests are at the time of recording. So where in the world are you, Patrick?
[00:01:04] Speaker B: Well, I'm in Westlake Village, California at the Luft Gekkult headquarters, sort of my office space and where I do most of my business when I'm not driving race cars or traveling.
[00:01:17] Speaker A: Fantastic. We're going to get into Luftgeult at some point in the podcast, but just can you give us an idea of how your day is going so far and what you' up to over there?
[00:01:26] Speaker B: Well, it's pretty early on, it's, you know, morning time, so it's my time to get things situated, planned for what's upcoming. We have a race coming up with Patrick Dempsey in the Porsche Sprint Challenge, but you know, the season of events and what I do for my day job these days running the brand. We're in our after season. We had four events at the end of this year in six weeks. So it was quite a a big undertaking. Lots of logistics and moving pieces, lots of creativity, storytelling, content and dealing and operating underneath a huge blanket of enthusiasm of Porsche connoisseurs, collectors, fans and experts. So yeah, it's been the other side of my career, my daily life that used to be purely competition and some ambassador work when it allowed with Porsche and being a works driver. But this day and age I'm learning a lot more about the behind the scenes.
[00:02:29] Speaker A: It sounds like you've got a lot of on your plates in any case. And even though you may have left your professional racing driver career full time behind, you seem to be keeping yourself busy with some very exciting projects now. It's funny, whenever we speak to the guests, I always forget that we're in completely different time zones half the time and completely different times of the day. So I'm actually in a recording studio in Paris. It's evening, it's dark outside, and it's very much the end of the day, whereas you're still gonna get to start your entire day. So just always funny to see how big the world is and where people are. Now tell me about where you grew up. I mean, I want our guests to get to know you from the very beginning. So why don't we start there? Where did you grow up, Patrick?
[00:03:08] Speaker B: I grew up in this area, Southern California, Westlake Village, Agora Hills, sort of the suburbs, north of la, just inland from Malibu, so right over the Santa Monica Mountains. Um, pretty quiet, not necessarily a fast paced racing world. Um, but quickly I found that my job and, and my goals and aspirations of being a racing driver brought me to Europe. Um, I first traveled to Belgium in Italy when I was 14 to compete for the first time in karting abroad. And it opened my eyes to this myth that we had always talked about as young Southern California go kart kids of what it was like in Europe. We had heard of Americans coming back racing over there and talking about how it was just on another level. Not only the spectacle and the professionalism and the media and the attention, but the racecraft and the competition was just at a different level. And when I first went over to compete, I found it was everything that I had hoped and expected it would be and then some Extremely, extremely tough physically, mentally, but very rewarding. And it was where I wanted to be. So answering your question about where I grew up, I would say it was partially a Southern California surfing and racing lifestyle. Going to the tracks in Southern California, lots of different things happening from the Long Beach Grand Prix to short track dirt racing, just so many cultures, drag racing, et cetera.
But moving to Europe full time at 16, a couple of years after my first time traveling over there to race, I felt like that's where I really did grow up, literally and figuratively.
Moving to CRG in Lonato, Italy and living above the fabrication and workshops of one of the biggest global karting brands in the world. I had to mature and I had to figure out how to support myself. I left my parents, I left my school with friends like many young athletes do, especially in racing. And yeah, it was the greatest gift that I could have ever received because, you know, it was, it was all about what I applied and how I found success and maturity and so, so grateful to have a diverse cultural upbringing and you know, from karting, I moved all around Europe and lived where I worked or lived where I was aspiring to work, if you will. And that took me through France, the uk, Germany and so when I came back to this area, um, at 21 with a contract to be racing for Porsche, I felt like those six years were, is impactful for me as anything up until that point.
[00:05:49] Speaker A: I can totally imagine. There's so much you said there that speaks directly to me and I can imagine that there's a lot of listeners at home who might not know what it's like to leave home at the tender age of 14. Or you see, you were 14 at the time, right. So it's quite a, it's quite a young age to move that far away from home. But truly, where does your love for cars and motorsport come from?
[00:06:10] Speaker B: Yeah, that, that love for motorsport and cars started at a very young age. No one in my family lineage really did motorsport as a career, but they were enthusiasts and I was naturally drawn to it from as young as I can remember, whether it was holding that toy car or going and attending races and sitting in the, in the stands and feeling the emotion of the compet, um, the engines, the all the sensory overload of it. But driving was a form of independence. A five or six year old to be on a, an ATV or in a go kart, I could go around in circles for hours, um, probably like yourself, it was about honing your craft but it was also that there was nobody in your ear, um, you were all alone and you chose your destiny. And yes, there may have been a coach or a team or a parent within iview, but um, I think that subconsciously that independence to choose your own path and see your own window of life is, is really impactful. And then when you add competition to it, I think it's, it's sink or swim either that resonates for you and you love the thrill and the challenge of trying to compete and win or you're just happy going around in circles. My little brother who has been a two decade, three decade long professional skateboard pro, he had no interest in karting or driving. He had the same upbringing, same parents and grew up in the same area, but went in a more creative way, still competing. But just goes to show, I think there's a nature, nurture, there's definitely an innate attraction to competition.
[00:07:51] Speaker A: Totally. It sounds like you guys had a lot going on in the family, even though completely different now. You were somewhat of a childhood prodigy, a child, a child prodigy, you know, Racing, starting to race at the age of five, six, and then to fast forward within those years, like seven, eight years down the line, you're already making the big move across the pond.
That is, I mean, I already said it before, but it's a young age to be leaving home and it's something that you obviously needed to fully believe in, but also that your parents needed to back 100%. So how, at the age of 14, were you making that decision? How did you know that? You know, racing was what was in your blood and it was what you wanted to see down the line in your career.
[00:08:29] Speaker B: Trying to understand if racing was the path in life and putting all of the energy and commitment that is needed to chase a pro career is a tough one. It's one that I think so many people have faced in any type of challenge or direction that they're going to take where it's all in and you're turning your back on other options or opportunities or comforts.
I think it's a feeling.
My dad raised me with a lot of these little surfer carpenter one liners and it was like, go with your gut. And I still live by that today. I feel like we're in a journey where purpose and ego often are different narratives in your head. There's what you think you should be doing, there's what people tell you you should be doing, and there's what you feel fulfilled and challenged and in love with. And I always felt a natural pull to competition, to being in Europe, to being on my own and to putting it all out there. I believed from a young age that it was going to be very difficult to be paid to do what I loved, which was racing. I knew the numbers were against me in odds. And so one of the pieces of advice that I really lived by and still do is surround yourself with the very best and that will raise your game. And I knew the competition at that time in the late 90s was in Europe, and I knew it was going to be the school of hard knocks and that I was not going to be the big fish in the small pond. But I sort of liked being an American in Europe and being the black sheep and being expected to be off the pace. And when the victories came, it was almost a shock.
It was front page news when I first won in Italy in karting because they hadn't seen an American at the top step of any major carding event in over two decades. And so that took it all the way back to the 70s. And so it was almost like Americans had Been written off at the top level of karting and to get a few victories right out of the gate in the 98 season, that was a wave that I rode of confidence. And even though the season wasn't easy and there was lots of difficulties in my first year abroad, I feel like I had achieved what I set out to do, which was to sort of let people know that it doesn't matter where you grew up or what nationality you are, or whether you come from financial background or in my case I didn't. That if you had the chance with the right surroundings and you were up against the right competition, that would silence the critics.
[00:11:08] Speaker A: Well, it sounds like the perfect underdog story and everybody loves an underdog story. So you follow your gut and that feeling turns out to be the right feeling to follow because since then, and it's. You obviously had an incredibly successful career, but you participated in and won Silverware in some of the most incredible motorsports events. So I want to ask you, out of all of the events that you've participated in, out of all the achievements that you've had in your career, is there any career defining moment that you feel really shaped who you are?
[00:11:39] Speaker B: It's so hard to define one moment. I think Le Mans changed my perspective when it came to sports car racing. It really opens your eyes to what the grand stage looks and feels like.
I first was introduced to that race as a spectator. I was racing in France and living in Le Mans and still had never been near an event of that magnitude. And I only just dreamt and aspired to one time partake in the 24 hour of Le Mans. And I never would have guessed or, or even hoped to do 15 in a row and to win the GT class a couple times and to go there with different types of efforts, including Mr. Dempsey and trying to fulfill his lifelong dream of getting onto the podium. There were so many challenges and so many sweet moments that that place really owns the biggest moment in my life. Although it's many moments, but too many, too many to think of. You know, Porsche obviously was my big break.
Being called up to to join their UPS young driver team as the first non German and then to go out there and in one year find myself promoted to the factory team. It all came so fast that it wasn't that it went to my head, it was almost that I had imposter syndrome. And I asked myself, how could these stars be aligning so quickly after so many years of struggle, so many years of wondering if I was good enough or if I was Going to find the sponsorship to make the next payment to the team.
Was this really an environment that I belonged in? Because I just always was struggling to find the financial support to try and prove what I believed I had in the talent. In the end, yeah, just grateful for Portia and Lamar, but there were so many tentacles of noteworthy connections and people who were willing to help me along the way that it's so hard to define one.
[00:13:52] Speaker A: I can imagine there's so many to pick and choose from. But just for the listeners at home who. I'm sure there are some of you who know what the 24 hours of Le Mans is, and maybe there are even many of you, but for those of you who don't know what the 24 Hours of Le Mans is, there are three main events in the world of motorsport that are considered the Triple Crown. That's the 24 hours of Le Mans, the Monaco Grand Prix, and the Indy 500. So to do well. To do well. And I say to do well, that doesn't even consider even being on the podium, let alone on the first step of the podium at the 24 hours of Le Mans is an incredible, monumental achievement. So I can understand why that would sit at the very top, and I can imagine that the memories must be incredible.
When did that imposter syndrome go away, then? I'd love to know, because you had proved yourself in karting. You had done so well as a young person, and then to then step up into cars and then continue to do well in so many different categories. When did that feeling of being an imposter disappear?
[00:14:49] Speaker B: I don't think it ever did.
At least in the first decade of being a professional. I was not willing to rest on the laurels that, okay, I achieved my goal of being a professional racing driver and driving for one of the most recognizable brands across the board in Porsche. I always pushed myself and realized that there were many people that were super talented and deserving that could take that seat at any time.
As far as being on the grand stage and getting to travel and race in 16 different countries and five continents and meeting and seeing such special people, I felt like that was my real gift. The competition was the vehicle and the opportunity, but I always had this awareness that I was getting to live a very cultured, multicultured, expansive opportunity of education and being able to just experience. And that's the part of, I think, sport that when you strip away records and victories and any other numerical connection, the gift of sport is you against yourself and understanding how to maximize your potential.
To be prepared for if and when that opportunity comes. And maybe it does or it doesn't.
And then also to battle through challenge. You know, everybody base bases their day on what's coming down the pike, what is adversity in their lives. And that could be something small or it could be something major. And how you deal with your own emotions, your own response, and your own perspective as you move through struggle or success in triumph. And that's the journey I'm still on. I don't have the answers, but I love to look at that side of. Of human performance and the mental dynamic of how we operate through our day.
[00:17:03] Speaker A: Totally. I think it's also just reassuring for everybody to hear that people can be really successful in their own space and still have doubt or questions, and they'll always question themselves. I think it's a very human thing to go through. And I think sometimes people idolize whoever it might be that they idolize, and they look up to them and assume that they have it all and, you know, they know it all. And the truth of the matter is everybody's human. And even they will still go through phases where they question themselves or doubt themselves or have this feeling of being an imposter. Well, let me tell you guys, Mr. Patrick Long is absolutely no imposter in the world of motorsports. I'm going to reel off a few of your accolades. Okay. You've done incredibly well in the world of sports cars, and you've won some of the biggest races there are out there. So you've won the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 24 Hours of Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring, Petit Le Mans, and also the 12 Hours of Bathurst. And on top of that, you're three time American Le Mans Series champion and two time Pirelli World Challenge champion. So you've done an incredible amount of winning in the most incredible races when it comes to sports cars. So I want to take you to 2021, the weekend that you announced that this will be your last full season as a professional racing driver. Could you describe to me what the emotions were that you were going through in that moment?
[00:18:21] Speaker B: Yeah. Making the decision to step out of a professional factory position was not one that I took lightly. It wasn't any single event that produced emotion that I thought, this is enough. It was more about recognizing that I had more that I wanted to embark on and that my way of going racist and applying myself, I always felt like I had to work harder than some because I might not have had the total natural ability or exposure that some that I was competing against did, and it wasn't allowing me to embark out into what I thought I still wanted to experience and achieve. And I came to a point in my life where I said, I'm turning 40 years old, I have a young family at home, I have a budding startup, my own brand, my own company, with people who rely on me. And at the same time I wanted to compete and do justice for the opportunity that I had. So I started the dialogue with Porsche a couple of years before I made the final decision to step out of the factory team and a full time racing career. So I was pretty well baked on the idea and I had my plans and my next steps in place. But to answer your question, I really didn't expect the emotion that came out and the timing of how it all happened was that it was the morning before the Petite le Mans in 2021 and it's a pretty big race. We're preparing for 10 hours. And when the press release broke, I think it was the Friday morning of a Saturday event.
I had just come out of the morning practice and the release went out from Porsche that I was making a jump to be an ambassador and a consultant to the CEO of Porsche Motorsport North America and to head out into some new personal challenges. And I just cried.
I cried in private.
I cried in front of whoever was around me in that next hour. And you can hear me getting emotional, just reliving it, because I was just watching a movie on replay, 20, 30 years of this boy who just had a crappy go kart at the local track with his dad and it was just fun. And then this wild multi chaptered challenge. And so there was a lot of relief in my tears, there was a lot of appreciation in my tears.
I think it was just a pressure release valve in my brain and in my emotional spirit that said, you're here, you know, you, you're going out on your terms and this is, this is the right thing to be doing.
And it was beautiful because my family, my wife and my two young kids were there for the race. We had a tremendously challenging race and a successful ending to the race. It wasn't the win, but it was being able to battle back from adversity. And it just ended peacefully. And when I flew home the day after the race, I knew I'd made the right decision.
[00:21:56] Speaker A: Well, we're several years on from that decision and clearly the emotions are still raw.
I think, you know, one of the things with motorsports is that it is like a drug.
You get on that ride and you never want to get off. It's like a roller coaster. But like you say, it's that sustained pressure over many, many, many years. In your case, you described as 20 to 30 years my maths, but I obviously don't know it as well as you do. It's well over 30 years career that you had and it's a journey that you take everyone around you on, right? Your sponsors, your family, your brothers, your sisters, your wives, your girlfriends, whoever it might be, is sacrificing an incredible amount of time. You're missing birthdays often.
There's just so much that goes into it, but you do it because you absolutely love it and you love that everybody around you supports you all the way to the end. So when you make that decision and it's also, you know, you started racing five, six years old, so you know properly from, from the age of 14. But my point is more to say your entire life you've been known as Patrick the racing driver, right? So what's your new identity? How are people going to refer to you? It's a whole identity crisis that's happening all at once. And it's not just happening to you, it's happening to everyone around you who's been on this journey with you. So, so I can tell that your emotions are still raw. It's obviously a lot to deal with. What was the reaction of your friends, family, your team when you made this decision?
[00:23:19] Speaker B: I don't think there was shock from the people closest to me. I'm a pretty intense character. Like you said, when you're chasing a pro sport career or an aspiration or a dream, in any type of facet of life, um, you really do have to go all in. And, and that means that there's sacrifice. Um, I think the asterisk with sport in, in racing specifically in sport is there's so much expense. And that was always the, the evil spirit on my shoulder was like, how are we going to make this work? How are we going to get to the front of the line to be able to have the opportunity to impress the right people or just get the shot, the one test. And so that never really leaves because there's so many talented people in motorsport that the most deserving often don't get to the front and get the chance. And so if you have that opportunity, whether it be, you know, start to end any role within a race team or a race organization and that's your true passion and you could enter any sport into this answer, but specifically with Racing you. I felt this, this relationship and responsibility to do it my very best. So my friends and family knew me from a very young age as a racer, and I think they still see me as a racer. I still feel like a racer. It's just not 99.9% of my daily routine and thought process evolving around competition. But I still think and talk about cars all the time. I still drive and race in cars. It's just not my primary job. So I will say that the journey of coming out of pro sports and as you talked about that identity is certainly a shift. The first six months being out of the car was very different, and you do some soul searching, but you also take some time to be with yourself and, and to really ask yourself a lot of questions. And so, yeah, that retirement or, or walking out off the field is, is something I've read a lot about. I've listened to a lot of podcasts and everybody experiences it differently if people ask. A lot of racing drivers came to me after I stepped out. They were surprised and they said, how did you know why, why at 40, if you could have gone another 10 years? And I said, you'll know. You, you can't, you can't create it. It's. It's something that comes from, from your gut and, and you have to fulfill your purpose. I said one of the measurements of when I knew that I was ready for a new challenge is that I used to wake up before the alarm and just be busting out of bed to apply myself to my sport. And I started to think about sport as work, and I started to think about it as well. I need to do A plus B to get C and I didn't have that inner child burn in my gut. And so that, that told me that I, I was complete in my, in my task and, and it was time for a new challenge.
[00:26:37] Speaker A: I don't know if you even noticed that you did that there, but earlier you said that your old man's advice was to follow your gut. And it sounds like when the end of that chapter was coming, it was yet again about listening to the feeling, knowing what your gut feeling is. So funny how that advice follows on all these years later. So you have your pressure release moment, you come down from the announcement and all the wave of emotions that that comes with. Were you feeling confident about your next chapter? It sounds like you had a lot of interesting things on the table and plans ahead, but how were you feeling? Were you feeling confident about it? Did you feel like the shackles were off and you were feeling great about calling it a day or what exactly was it that was going on around you.
[00:27:17] Speaker B: The feeling post retirement was was pretty clear for me. I still had some work to do to carve out what I thought were were the achievable goals objectively.
The idea of seeing my 3 and 6 year old grow to 13 and 16 and and that part of being closer to home. I just had to come out and admit that to myself and to everybody else. But the other child in my head was Luftgel and this idea of rethinking how static car shows exist in the world today compared to how our parents generation thought of a car show.
There was momentum there and I recognized that I had to focus on it to let it achieve its potential. And the difference in why I had a burning fire in my belly back to purpose and feel was that now there was a team around me and there was a community of enthusiasts. So I had a larger sense of responsibility that the brand could scale. And it wasn't just what I could do on the day when it was my stint in the race car. Now granted, when you're in an endurance race team you have your other co drivers, you have many people and huge teams that put energy the OEMs like Porsche. But it was a different idea of creating a legacy that wasn't Patrick long subjectives. It was how we could create an environment for many people to feel and experience their own journey within the events that we did. So I'm still transitioning and understanding how being in the office most days compared to on an airplane or in a new town with the traveling circus that is racing, it's not completely natural for me. I still find myself pulled to the outside world and the adventure of a different city or a different state. I like to be the front end of the business. I brand manage what is an apparel line and a global experience and event business.
I'm not necessarily the best spreadsheet guy or homework person but I've had to learn that skill set and I've had to learn how to communicate within team environments and how to build org charts of different personalities and talents and how it all works on the day. The recent show that we had at Universal Studios backlot in Hollywood, California, there were over 400 people there working on that day. And that's a big responsibility that I have to not only make sure those people are safe and appreciated, but that they're creating systems that gel so that people can all work towards a common goal. And then when you bring thousands of people in who don't know what to expect and they're there for a fun day. There's lots of human dynamic in today's world of my job.
[00:30:30] Speaker A: So LUFKL very much is your brainchild. So where was the idea born and what exactly inspired this idea? And you know, how do you feel that it's shaping the car culture?
[00:30:41] Speaker B: Well, it centers the idea of Lufthicult centers back around my love for driving in cars, but not in a competitive environment.
I first purchased something that I had aspired to for a long time, which was a vintage Porsche 911. I always loved the look and the tight, small nature of a 70s or 80s vintage 911. I didn't feel I necessarily could afford it, but I started saving where I could and researching what all these different nuances of years and nomenclature and numbers and tail, whale tail, no tail, fuchs wheels, you know, aftermarket wheels. And that was osmosis from living in Germany and going to work every day at Vysach, where all of the streetcar R and D happens, as well as motorsport. I was around the heritage of Porsche and they always have been very connected to what they've done in the past through storytelling and sharing these cars with their rolling museums, et cetera. And when I finally purchased my first 198632 Carrera, I wanted to learn more and meet new people and share. And I wasn't really finding an environment that I loved living in west la. I was living in Manhattan beach that time, not far from Lax and very creative part of town. Apple, Google, you name it around there. There were little blurbs in times where I would see a vintage 9 11, but it was sort of just a nod or a wave. Long story short, my, my world away from racing was very creative. It was very 10 o'clock tacos and beer and cruisy music and architects and creative directors. And then my world of racing was very much 6:00am, um, like the cars and coffees of the world and the different lifestyle shows that revolved around this new found passion of Porsche. And I wanted to bridge the gap between those two worlds. So I sort of mixed and mashed up a celebration at a coffee shop in Venice in 2014, Venice, California. And my idea was to curate 40 cars that told the entire world of air cooled Porsche. Air cooled Porsche being from the inception of the first Porsche 1948, all the way up to 1998 when the last air cooled 911 was completed, the 993. So that was a lot of ground to cover. Many models, many eras, many decades. And so I had to pick and curate and select these cars. And then I had help of some great friends and people that trusted me. And there it was, the birth of, of this idea. Instagram was coming into a pretty strong initial, early point of popularity in 2014 and all the stars aligned. But heading into that first day and throwing my first car party, I never envisioned I'd be talking to you over a decade later and it being my main focus in life.
[00:33:46] Speaker A: And how does it feel? I mean, as you say, we're a decade further down the line. You were able to combine what was your passion, but also a little bit of who you were. The two worlds you say, as you say of, you know, the more California laid back style and then the more structured racing version where you're up early in the morning and having to be bang on time and all that stuff. How does it feel 10 years down the line? Does it feel absolutely natural? Are you loving everything that you're doing?
[00:34:10] Speaker B: I love everything that I'm doing with Luftgelden and through time. I've found many parallels between the event world, storytelling, creative, the things that we do in trying to tell human stories and car stories and make the next generation feel welcome into the world of Porsche enthusiasm.
There are a lot of parallels. I think the most macro level parallel is that in racing, you prepare and you plan and you work with this huge ensemble of people from different worlds that have a common love and you figure out how to bring that car to the track and get it on the grid at the right time and, and battle through for a hopeful achievement at the end. And so there's very much a parallel of that buildup of preparation and planning and logistics and then the event or the competition happens and then the coming down and the lessons learned, the celebrations or the disappointments. And I think there's a great, you know, continuation of my competitive spirit and of focusing on a future event, knowing that that time and date, whether you're ready or not, the people are coming through the gates and there is no pushing your deadline, there is no rescheduling or restructuring. That's a great sort of tip of the iceberg to remind ourselves that we're still competitors. As in our team, most of us have racing backgrounds of some connection. So it's a lot of fun and I think it's paved ways for a lot of new brands and new thinking about how we enjoy our cars on the weekends, how we gather and meet new people. Of course, the digital age is arguably larger and more expansive than ever.
And there still is a thrust and a desire for in person connection and energy. And I love that part of it. I love the part that people have found marriage coming to our events. I love that people have changed jobs or moved abroad because something was awoken in them that day that inspired them to shift. And that's the fun part of that whole narrative we've had today in talking to you, which has been great, which is, you know, follow the feeling, don't follow the thought. Follow the feeling and let the thoughts figure out how to get you to that feeling.
Within our events, we ask ourselves a lot. Why, as a team, why are we putting this post up on social media? Or why are we throwing this event in Poland vs Denmark vs Southern California? And then afterwards, the question is, how did it make you feel? And I've probably used that word 15 times and everybody's rolling their eyes, but it's the word of the day.
It's about experience, it's about emotion, it's about purpose.
[00:37:18] Speaker A: Absolutely. And it sounds like a movement more than anything else. It sounds like you've really got a great combination of what people are passionate about. But bringing people together. Now, one thing that we're definitely not going to ignore, and you mentioned it, I think, once or twice already in the podcast, was that you have raced with and also trained TAG ambassador Patrick Dempsey. Now, what is your relationship with Patrick? And, yeah, how did that all come about?
[00:37:43] Speaker B: First and foremost, Patrick Dempsey is just an amazing human. He's somebody that I didn't know much about. I had crossed paths with him as he started to get more interested in in sports car racing a few times flying out of LA together and just seemed like a really nice guy, but didn't really see inside of his world until 2013 when we first competed at Le Mans together. And that deal came together pretty quickly.
Through that first event, I felt a bond of friendship.
He was a real human who was vulnerable and sensitive and willing to put himself in uncomfortable environments of racing in such a grand stage with arguably less experience than maybe needed in that moment. And it grew to be a student teacher relationship, but also a real, true friendship. And I so much appreciate my time. We talk every week. We've talked every week for the last decade.
And I've seen his kids grow up. And now he's watching my kids grow up. But above all of the yawning storytelling, he's a great human. He's enthusiastic, he's super engaging, and he's kind and traveling all over the world in the WEC or wec.
I always respected how much time he gave to his fans and how human he was and it's, it's a great inspiration for, for anybody who gets to spend a large amount of time around him and, and you know, having Tag Heuer on the side of the car starting, I believe, in 2014 and wearing the timepieces and understanding the heritage of TAG Heuer at Le Mal and having them part of Patrick's story and therefore kind of in a secondhand version, I got to kind of see the inside of the culture of Tag Heuer and how that connection and bond with Porsche has existed and continues to exist today.
That was a super fun way to look at the future and the past and to look at design and engineering and of course that parallel of timepieces and how it relates to racing. So, yeah, grateful for the Patrick relationship and also that I got to meet the people from TAG Heuer along the way.
[00:40:16] Speaker A: Absolutely. I mean, look, I think there's a lot of people that be jealous of the co driver you've had, but most of all, I think I agree with you that it's so respectable to see the world that he's come from and how much the level of dedication and passion that he puts into motorsport is really admirable. Now, Patrick, you have obviously achieved an incredible amount of things in your racing career and outside of a racing career, but is there any particular dream that you have yet to achieve or what are you looking forward to the most in your career?
[00:40:45] Speaker B: The thought of chasing dreams is in my mind, in my head every day. So it's, it's that aspiration to be challenged and to try and fulfill what, whatever that challenge might be.
Racing cars and being next to some of the most famous, well rounded, humble engineers and drivers that I grew up watching in Formula one and battling them on the racetrack, that's more of a dream that I ever could have fulfilled or even asked for. So at this point, it's about family, it's about relationship, connection with oneself and with others.
My dreams are much smaller than they used to be in sport. It comes a lot more around harmony and finding system in culture of, of whatever that team might be, whether it's a local sports team or your team in business or your extended family on a vacation that might feel impossible.
It's just looking at life through different lenses and never sort of resting on the lore of like, well, I am who I am and that person is who they are and it's always going to be that way. So my micro dreams daily are much more human based than they are result based these days and just spending time around people who are interesting and make you think and challenge you and that's how I measure value these days, is who those people are and what you're.
[00:42:34] Speaker A: Creating and what a wonderful place to be and I mean how much pressure we often put on ourselves to fill that level of success based on numbers or trophies or whatever it may be that, you know, you can't necessarily quantify a feeling, but you can quantify the amount of trophies you have or the amount of money you have in your bank account or whatever it may be that constantly makes you feel like you maybe not quite there. Whereas if you're quantifying it and as you call it, value or feeling, then it's probably a lot more satisfying. So, wow, what a wonderful place to be in. Now my next question to you was going to be about what advice. You know, we got the advice from your dad. Follow your gut feeling.
Now I wanted to ask you what your advice would be to future drivers, but I might not even, you know, make, limit you to making it to drivers. Just what would your advice be to the listeners out there? If there's any advice you want to give.
[00:43:26] Speaker B: I talk with a lot of young drivers who have a dream of being a racing driver and I just tell them, work at it every single day. Think about what your competition's doing right now, make sure you're doing more.
But there is so much more than just talent or lap times or love and speed.
You have to basically figure out what the game is and work back from your goal and understand the business side of it, the marketing side of it and how, um, race teams at whatever level you desire to be at are getting to the track and having that car at the front of the grid and, and be curious, ask, ask for advice. People who are successful, experts, experience, they, they love to give advice and, and that's the, the most valuable thing I can tell young drivers.
Speaking about, you know, a driver who's proven himself, proven themselves on the racetrack at maybe a carting level and just want to be in a race car. It's a big leap, as you know. And I, I think the expense of motorsport as we've talked about is, is higher than it's ever been. And so one thing that I always said to myself was I would love to be in Formula one or in Champ Car, Indy car because it was sexy and it was the pinnacle of the sport and the cars were super fast and they looked Great. But I always measured success as being a professional and being able to call my job whatever my love for was and whatever my dreams were around. If you could turn your dreams into a way to support yourself and your family, that's. That's challenge achieved. Um, and so when they're making that transition from cars to cars, I just tell them, surround yourself with people who want your expertise and your journey, and, and you might meet somebody who wants to take you along on their walk through motorsport. That's the highest percentage chance, at least in sports car racing these days. Um, but there are scholarships, there are young driver programs, and getting into those different series promote talent from within. It's something that I work on with Porsche regularly. And I'm. I'm glad to see there are a lot of those opportunities out there. But it's. It's getting. It's getting to that point. As they say, luck is when preparation meets opportunity.
[00:46:10] Speaker A: Well, there you have it. From one successful racing driver to an aspiring racing driver. So if there are any of you out there who are aspiring to be professional racing drivers, keep rewinding this part of the podcast back until you get the advice into your minds.
Well, Patrick, we come to the end of the podcast, before we let our guests go, we always ask them one final question, which is always the same question at the end of the podcast. This is, of course, the Edge podcast, so I'd love to know what the Edge means to you.
[00:46:41] Speaker B: The Edge to me is that point where you're right outside of your comfort zone, but you're still in control. You know, this is a sticky situation or a risky situation, a new challenge, an unknown. But you've worked to be prepared. You've done your homework and your research, and you're walking through that fear with confidence.
[00:47:08] Speaker A: Well, I love that every version of the answer to this question is always like, gives me such a great sense of visualization of what exactly you interpret that to be. And the fact that you say it's, you know, you're outside of your comfort zone, but you're still somewhat in control.
I love that rendition. So thank you very much, Patrick. Thank you for coming on the podcast today. It was lovely to speak to you and to hear more about your story. And as I promised, I will head to your website and check out where I can next come and join a Luftgeld event.
[00:47:40] Speaker B: Well, it's been a pleasure talking to you and your pronunciation of Luftgeld is amazing. So thanks for your time and great, great speaking with you.
[00:47:57] Speaker A: Thank you for listening to this episode of the Edge. If you'd like to listen to more episodes like this one, then check out our interviews with Patrick Dempsey, Justin Bell, and Bianca Senna. If you enjoyed this episode, then don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review. It really does make a difference. Before we go, I just want to say another big thank you to Patrick for joining us on this episode. And as always, I'm your host, Naomi Schiff, and I'll be back in no time for the best of the Edge with all of our favorite moments from this season of the Edge, a podcast by Tag Heuer. See you soon.
