Liberty Walk Ferrari 458

Liberty Walk, bagged Ferrari 458 Italia / Text by Joe Gustafson / Photos by Taylor McPhail

This car’s owner, J.J. Dubec, works in the E.R. in Canada. And as a doc in the E.R., he stares death in the face everyday. It’s a different kind of life that’s hard for us normal people understand. A constant reminder of how volatile life is, and how it can be shut off in an instant. A low fog of morality that is ever-hanging over him… a fog that most of us are wildly lucky to be free & clear from in our daily grinds.

We talked about perspectives… and the wackiness behind human nature, and how we treat life. How cautious we can be one one hand, but how reckless we can be on the other hand. The guy who chips away at his lifespan everyday with a poor diet & lack of exercise – but says guns are dangerous. The headline-aware woman who won’t go in the ocean because of a shark attack… but doesn’t think twice about getting out in 8 lanes of freeway traffic to get to the mall. And on the other end of the spectrum – the guy who eats right & exercises daily – gets hit by a car while riding his road bike.

It comes down to: how do you see the world? There are usually 2 basic mentalities teeter-tottering around at work here. You’ve got those who make every effort to keep themselves OUT of harm’s way & play it safe… and those who jump on this ride & see where it takes ‘em. For J.J. – he just frankly sees that life can be too short to always be making the ‘adult’ decisions – always.

I asked him, “So what do other Ferrari owners think? …Those who hold these cars in the highest regard?” He says a few have been hostile, but by-and-large, they’re amused & appreciative.

And in a way, Ferrari’s own history is on J.J.’s side here. See – Ferrari road/production cars were nothing to Enzo. He kind of hated them because they were a distraction to the racing program… and Enzo wanted to go racing. But you had to sell some cars in order to fund the racing – that’s the way the business works. So he did it, and he did it to win. But in actuality – it was only the Ferrari owners & enthusiasts that created the aura of the brand. Who put them up on such a delicate pedestal. All Enzo wanted to do was drive the damn things.

This Ferrari’s been chipped, scrubbed, and zip-tied. It’s already been repainted. If you put your ear to your computer right now, you can hear the resale value going down. But the dude-points are skyrocketing. The mods on this 458, and the mentality behind it’s affectionate abuse – accentuate the sexiness of an already sexy car.

“Every day I see people die with the same regrets: of lives lived on someone else’s terms, of working too hard & living/loving too little, of caring too much about the opinions of others.” -J.J.

And while we all get caught up in the rat race, this car is J.J.’s retort. Don’t let the things you own – own you. We all know the line, but do we walk it? There’s nothing saying you can’t start now.