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Words: Wooley // Photos: Ty Cobb

If you’ve owned 108 cars, and one of them is NOT an Ariel Atom – you’re doing it wrong. Fortunately, this guy Travis Chaney, is not one of those people. The short story on Travis is this: he’s owned 108 cars… compacts to exotics, and a good number of those have been epic & noteworthy. But that’s NOT the reason why Travis is a success story in my eyes. What makes Travis one of the real POSITIVE inspirations of the Southeast import scene – is he’s that guy who went out there, and put his smarts & his skills to good use in order to make a better life for himself. As a result, he earned genuine success running his own business. However, the illusion that money could, or should change his social status never seduced him. To put it simply, Travis Chaney is the guy who drives an Ariel Atom to the import meets and then jumps out to go check out the Hondas, leaving you standing there like WTF.

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I know a decent number of you guys reading this magazine have met Travis in person… or have at least passed by him at events. And TELL me he doesn’t remind you of Matthew McConaughey. It’s true. He’s so damn smooth & confident with that Southern drawl. He’s got that twinkle in his eye… like he’s ready to do some wild shit that will probably stir up the police. That same twinkle that gets him in trouble, also somehow wiggles him out of trouble. Anyway look – I’m not here to try and get a date to the prom, I’m just trying to paint a little picture of how timelessly cool this guy is. My 2-cents is this, as I look around at this culture on a daily basis, I recognize the fact that we NEED more guys like Travis around us in our atmosphere to inspire us.

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We need motivated, successful influences in our peer group to push us, coach us, and raise the bar of possibilities for our own lives. Trust me – it’s VALUABE to be around, positive successful peers. Not only will they get you thinking & dreaming on a bigger scale, but guys like this don’t waste time whining & hating. They know what they want, and they aren’t too lazy to work hard in order to make it happen. Notice I said ‘work’ for it… not ‘hustle’ for it… or…

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