Hard Parking with Jhae Pfenning

Jhae brings back Hard Parking Episode 187 with John and Marcus of The RTWJ Podcast — one of the five episodes he says shows the full range of the show. The original conversation started after he heard their July 5, 2023 episode “Pride Month 2023. Pride Gets Personal” and wanted in. John came out in high school. Marcus waited until his 20s. They talk coming out, whether you can be “gay enough” insi...

Jim Mandel sits down with Jhae as a car-scene friend who also happens to be the bassist in Small Leaks Sink Ships. The Phoenix-born, Portland-based experimental art-pop band has been at it since the mid-2000s, and Jim still daily-drives a black 1999 Honda Civic DX. They talk the band’s run from Mesa’s Beyond Analog days through Golden Calf and 2023’s Low Tide, the skateboarding life that never rea...

Phoenix photographer Matt Engdall sits down in the Gilbert studio and traces the whole path: graphic design at CSU Monterey Bay, a short run at Central Coast TV, the dead-end jobs back home, then a surprise CTE teaching gig at Sandra Day O’Connor High School from 2019 to 2024. COVID put the camera back in his hands. High Line turned car photos into a January 2021 business. Leaving the classroom in...

Jonathon Rivers of Drive Culture returns for his third Hard Parking conversation. Jhae and Jon start with Rivers’ walkthrough of the Acura NEXERA Vision concept — dual-hinge doors, phantom lighting, and the design language pointed at the next-gen RDX Hybrid. Then they talk about the gap buyers keep missing: a prototype is a statement, a production car has to clear crash, cost, and packaging. The r...

EP342 Would we still stop the country for 9/11 if it happened today? Solo Episode 342 drops on the 25th anniversary, with Jhae Pfenning on memory fade, walking the Ground Zero memorial with Ivette in June 2018, and standing in a Grand Rapids bar when the second plane hit live on TV. ABC News posted that a Tesla crashed into Midtown scaffolding and killed a passenger, then deleted the X post after...

Navy Commander Jesse Iwuji went from Naval Academy safety to NASCAR driver and team owner — and he did not start wheel-to-wheel racing until age 28. Jesse talks 16 years in uniform, the 2014 vision that made a late start possible, building Jesse Iwuji Motorsports with Emmitt Smith, and why drifting and sports cars are next. Jesse Iwuji is a U.S. Navy commander and reserve officer, Naval Academy Cl...

Talk2Q is back on Hard Parking. Quincy Shelton joins Jhae Pfenning to preview the 2026 college football season, walk the preseason Top 25, and talk the blurry new line between the NFL and campus football. Before Q hops on, Jhae covers bourbon drops, Blanton’s Gold, skipping a packed Friday line, and a GoDaddy support call that turned into “wait… are you AI?” After the interview, Jhae follows the n...

Paul Bonnett joins Hard Parking for a deep dive into real grassroots drifting. The 33-year-old runs a 2007 Nissan 350Z at tracks like Thompson Speedway and Riverside in New Hampshire. He walks through his path from dirt bikes and a serious back injury into stunt riding, the disaster first BMW E46, and why the 350Z plus a simple drift sim finally clicked. You’ll hear what drifting actually feels li...

Recording right in the middle of Monterey Car Week 2026, Jhae digs into the massive FOMO hitting from Laguna Seca’s rare Raybrig NSX race cars and the quiet free events most people miss while the influencers chase hypercars. He also gives his honest, unfiltered first take on Acura’s brand-new NEXERA Vision concept — the dual-hinge doors, phantom lighting, and design language that everyone is ravin...

Jhae finally sits down with long-awaited guest April Halik (Instagram @ms_snuffy ) at The Warehouse in Mesa for a hot, honest conversation. From her lowered 2000 Honda CR-V and 87 Chevy squarebody to seasonal work in Denali National Park, Buffalo roots, and the origin of the drink they named after her — this is classic Hard Parking real talk. Also covered: the Grim Reaper hospital stunt in Wales,...

The annual Monterey Car Week episode is back. Matt “The Motorator” D’Andria (CarCast / Shift & Steer) and Johnny Valencia (Gear One Agency / Exotics On Broadway) return for the full preview of the biggest week in car culture. Matt covers the overall weekend, the Japanese motorsport celebration, BRE Datsun 510s, Pete Brock, and what he and Adam Carolla’s group will be doing. Johnny focuses on Exoti...

EP 335 | Dallas Walker: Country Music Almost Killed Me. Country singer-songwriter Dallas Walker finally joins Hard Parking after years of near-misses. At 35 he faced a serious health crisis that forced a complete lifestyle shift — spiritual awakening, plant medicine, nutrition, and a new take on life, music, and even aliens. We talk about why he turned down a lot of opportunities, American Purity...

Scantron Test + Rocky Point Mexico Trip Recap. First family trip to Puerto Peñasco — convoy adventures, police realities, Federales, beach life, and lessons learned. Includes my Scantron take on how opinions aren’t always black & white (multiple choices, gray areas, and still keeping the conversation going). Timestamps: 0:00 – Intro & Rocky Point tease 0:20 – Welcome, health update 1:11 –...

Charles Worden Returns: Bikes, Tequila & Clean Nuff 2.0 Charles Worden of Cleannuff is back in studio with Jhae for a fun, conversational catch-up. They talk his big pivot to the motorcycle scene, hosting multiple events monthly on private property, his wild R1 starter bike story, and why bikes feel more manageable than the car takeover world. Plus tequila tasting, road trip plans, community s...

EP 332: Edgar Millan on Patriotism, EVs, Batman Vigilante & Right to Repair Jhae Pfenning starts with thoughts on declining American pride per Gallup, the "Mexican Batman" story, Trump's vehicle repair memo, and LeBron news. He welcomes friend Edgar Millan (OneAuto Movement, Arizona Adventure Group) for conversations on 4th of July meaning to immigrant families, EV road tripping, and community lif...

EP331: Dwayne Johnson of BeagHaus on AI, Aliens, UAPs Jhae Pfenning welcomes longtime friend Dwayne Johnson of beag+haus for a great conversation covering AI's rapid evolution and deepfakes, aliens/extraterrestrials/UAPs, the 10-year journey of his small home design business, and old friendship stories. Includes Traverse City design origins, Monterey Car Week memories, and a recap of the recent Ph...

EP330: Nate Robertson (Arcus Foundry) on AI Controversy, Tech, & Phoenix Car Scene In this episode, Jhae welcomes Nate Robertson of Arcus Foundry / Spark Forge to the studio. They dive into AI's role in business and content creation, a local Phoenix car scene controversy involving aggressive AI use by a known creator, Flock cameras privacy debates in Arizona, NSX projects, and more laid-ba...

Episode Summary: Jhae Pfenning sits down in-studio with special guest Mike Chan of AHC Garage (Acura Honda Classic Garage) out of Pembroke Pines, Florida. Mike made the trip to Arizona for the podcast, a cruise, and good food — their first real extended conversation after crossing paths at events like Long Beach. They explore the welcoming Honda/Acura family vibe, AHC's origins as a low-drama comm...

Episode Summary In EP328 of Hard Parking, Jhae Pfenning starts with his signature Car News segment on recent Dodge SRT and Dodge Hellcat stories, then welcomes Phat “Phil” Cao — stroke survivor, podcaster, and founder of Hope4StrokeSurvivors. Phat opens up about his hemorrhagic cerebellar stroke experience, the road to recovery, mindset shifts, and building new habits while helping others through...

Episode 327: DeVante Mack - Podcasting, Culture & Boundary-Pushing Conversations Jhae Pfenning welcomes fellow podcaster DeVante Mack (The Mackism Effect / Maximum Effect on the Divergent Being Network) to the Gilbert, AZ studio for Episode 327 of Hard Parking. In true non-automotive automotive podcast fashion, they cover podcast journeys, shared car culture interests, friendship, and the kind of...

In this powerful and deeply personal episode of Hard Parking, host Jhae Pfenning welcomes longtime friend and fishing partner Brice Chaidez for his first time on the show. Nearly 11 months after a severe motorcycle accident in Mesa, Arizona that left him in the ICU, Brice opens up about waking up with no memory, his military service, the long recovery road, and how the crash transformed his life a...

EP325: Dedicated to the Moms + 7 Years of Hard Parking In this special Mother’s Day episode, Jhae dedicates the show to all the moms with warm personal reflections and funny real-life stories. He celebrates 7 full years of Hard Parking, shares laughs about a Diet Coke cooler explosion, over-the-top grade school graduations, road rage, Trader Joe’s flowers, and appreciation for the strong mothers a...

Host Jhae Pfenning heads to The Warehouse event center in Mesa, AZ and sits down with automotive photographer and inventor Josh Bryan. They dive deep into Josh’s inspiring journey and his groundbreaking InflateAlite — the revolutionary inflatable overhead lighting system that’s changing how pros light cars, bikes, and large scenes on location. From humble beginnings to creating lightweight, fast-s...

Episode 323: Andre Mullins joins Jhae Pfenning in studio for a full recap of their trip to the Acura Long Beach Grand Prix. In this laid-back, bourbon-fueled conversation, the duo breaks down the last-minute NSX parade team assembly, driving their cars in the 40th anniversary celebration, behind-the-scenes access, celebrity sightings, and all the Honda/Acura community vibes from the weekend. Pure...

Episode 322: Copperstate 1000 2026 Recap Jhae heads out to Tempe Diablo Stadium for the Copperstate 1000 kickoff car show on a windy Arizona day. Testing new wireless mics, he walks the field packed with cool cars, chats with attendees, and captures the pre-rally vibes for the 1,000-mile vintage adventure. Laid-back solo field reporting at its finest. Timestamps: 00:00 – On-site intro & mic check...