Late last year, thanks to Zerotohundred and Shell Helix, I had the opportunity to travel along with the Blue Jackets Fraternitas in two separate drives; down south to Johor, and another up north to Penang. This was in conjunction with the Shell Helix 2011 Invasion Tour, and since the journey included a nights stay at each location, let’s just say I had ample time to mix, mingle, and prod their minds.
Some of you will already be familiar with the Blue Jackets, having seen them before at other large car gatherings around Malaysia. But for the uninitiated, who exactly are these people? Take a deep (mental) breath because this is going to be a long one - they are a group of like minded people who participate in high society and bespoke experiences, with emphasis on establishing and maintaining friendship amongst the Asia Pacific supercar community. One of their major drives in 2011 was a northerly trek; kicking off from KL, they made their way to Koh Samui, Hua Hin, Phuket, and Krabi before returning back to KL. The entire journey spanned five days and 3,145km – clear testament that the boys (and girls!) have strong camaraderie amongst themselves and, more importantly, really, really enjoy driving.
I don’t use this term very often, but I’ve got to say this: the folks from the Blue Jackets really are a swell bunch of people. Completely approachable, I spent a fair amount of time getting to know some of them better, discovering their passion for automobiles, and the hard work they put in to get to where they are today. Malaysian cynicism is common, and many would be quick to assume that every supercar owner was born into wealth. Not true – there are so many stories of success, many of which are literally from rags to riches. Proof that fairytales do come true when proper amount of grit, determination, and hard work is applied.
The Blue Jackets are also no strangers to charity; they have organized several charity drives in 2011. Perhaps the most memorable one was when they worked together with Make A Wish Foundation of Malaysia where they fulfilled Derrick Ivan’s (a 15 year old cancer patient) wish to sit in a Lamborghini Murcielago. In true Blue fashion, it wasn’t just a Lamborghini Murcielago that turned up to give Derrick a ride; the whole posse appeared – Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Porsches, Skylines, even Bumblebee made an appearance to help fulfill Derrick’s wish. Together with the Make A Wish Foundation, they realized that creating this unique experience for Derrick (and individuals like him) can help to strengthen their spirits and resolve to continue fighting their battle. Truly inspiring stuff, and for this, we take our hats off to them.
Facebook is another platform where the Blue Jackets connect not just amongst themselves, but also with their fans & followers. There are a fair number of ‘exotic spotters’ in Malaysia (some of you will know that I came from there), and the Blue Jackets do occasionally share the supercar experience during gatherings/events to the few who gather up courage to speak to them. In fact, they’ve just run a photography contest where they’ve invited fans to post up pictures from any Blue Jackets event.
2011 was clearly an eventful year for the Blue Jackets Fraternity and with three drives (Genting, Penang, Fraser’s Hill) already completed in 2012, I am sure will see a lot more of them this year. You can browse through my albums on Facebook to view more pictures from past events.
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