Back in July, Jeff Zander of KRZ Customs and Kach Hovanessian of Kach Studios put together the 1st Annual River Run, which was held at the Riverland Resort on the shores of the Kings River. The event was expected to bring in a few hundred vehicles from the central California area as well as some friends from the northern and southern regions, but needless to say, they got more than they ever bargained for.
By 7 a.m., the roll-in line was backed all the way out of the Riverland Resort, through the access road, down the freeway onramp, and onto the freeway. It was nuts, but fortunately for Jeff, he had the great club Dangerous Toys helping him out. Together, they rolled in nearly 600 vehicles, only about a hundred of which had preregistered for the event, and packed the showgrounds.
While the morning turned to a warm afternoon, swarms of people began entering the show to check out the goods. On hand was everything from minis to semis and '30s to '03s. Just about every class was represented, including under-construction, which was lead by Mini Truckin's November cover truck belonging to Chad Lucas.
As the crowds walked through the show, it was sometimes hard to gauge the amount of heads bobbing through the rows. That all changed, however, when the bikini contest was announced. As the hot bikini babes hit the stage, a sea of raging testosterone surrounded the platform. The girls, loving every minute of it, danced, jiggled, and exposed their tender-loving hearts to the cheers of more than 5,000 fans.
After the skin show came to a close, everyone made their way from the center stage to the 559 Customs hopping competition. Several trucks rose through the ranks of 'bagged hoppers, and a few were kind enough to blast the crowd with a blown 'bag or two.
You really can't ask for more from a veteran show, let alone a first-time event. According to the Riverland Resort, it was the biggest crowd that had ever filled its gates. The resort's onsite bar ran out of beer, the general store was completely wiped out, and the surrounding gas stations also ran out of frosty beverages. If that's not success, we don't know what is.
To register for the second installment or just to place bets on how many hours Jeff can run around like a chicken with its head cut off, give KRZ Customs a call at (559) 266-9116 or visit www.krzcustoms.com