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  1. Foo2rama Keeps his worms in a ball instead of a can. Jul 6, 2018

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    Enthusiast- noun

    noun: enthusiast; plural noun: enthusiasts

    1. a person who is highly interested in a particular activity or subject.

    What is and is not an enthusiast has come up a few times for me over the past few weeks. I have being seeing lots of examples of what I see is and is not enthusiast behavior and it got me to thinking. Additionally over the past few days I have attempted to explain my watch passion and my car passion to multiple people at their unfortunate request. In these attempts to answer certain questions asked to me, it forced me to look at how I view these two passions. While I see them the same way and assume many of my peers do also, I began to wonder if other people actually see it the same way I do. Because of this I have tried to attempt to define enthusiast.

    I live in Southern California less then 5 miles from the Original Cars and Coffee which is still going strong in its 3rd or 4th location in about a decade. What makes this show special besides spawning countless sister shows across the US and the world, is that this show happens every weekend with an amazing amount of cars, from classic American iron, everything Euro, vintage race cars, perfect condition 70-80's JDM all the way to the newest hyper cars, and everything in between. So Cal is special... 1/4 of all 911's came here, 1/3 of all AMG's came here, the largest MB and BMW dealer in the world are here and have 4 other dealerships apiece within 25 miles. Within a few miles from me I have Bentley, Rolls, McLaren, Ferrari, Lambo, and even a Pagani dealership... not to mention everything else. While cars are huge here, we also have low humidity year round and very mild winters so cars last forever here. In addition to the C&C show there are 5 other shows that happen every weekend and at least 3 other shows on a non weekly basis that rotate focus or location. Its insane how many shows there are and new cars are always showing up.. these are not small shows they go up to the hundreds of cars, and are never smaller then 25 with an average size of around 50. How can we sustain this amount of killer cars every weekend in just one small area! This does not include the shows in LA county which are just as numerous...


    While trying to explain the show I was at last weekend which was a once a month show with a rotating focus (this month BMW M), I had to explain that car culture at these shows is not about who brings the most expensive car. Often a new Lambo or 458 will show up and no one cares (well some people freak out.) That sweet Mazda Rotary truck, or 70's Alfa is way more interesting. Sure that raced at LeMans Jag D-Type is worth an insane amount of money and is massively interesting but its not price that made it interesting. The Yenko Corvair is almost as interesting as the street driven 904 factory Prototype... well ok that is going a little far maybe... But that real BMW 3.0 CSL and 2002 Turbo are just as interesting as the F40 and 959 parked next to it or even that La Ferrari and 918... Bring a 1969 MB 600 and you get mixed reactions...

    So its not the price... and maybe not the rarity either... Historical provenance? A sliding scale between these things ?

    I have noticed this on watch forums and at GTG's often times the most looked at watch is far from the most expensive, at least on this forum a killer vintage Seiko gets drooled over just as much as a new GO. Is it about liking and or paying attention more to something actually in most peoples aspirational price range?

    Is it about the respecting the passion it takes to own something special? Is an enthusiast someone that is open and respects all types of an object regardless of price as long as for some reason it is considered good? What is good? Style, performance, history, value, rarity, something along a sliding scale...

    The way I see it is that someone that just owns a Patek is not an enthusiast... they just went out and purchased the most expensive thing out there with no research... sure its a killer piece but does it show the person is an enthusiast? Similarly is someone that just owns a single current issue Sub an enthusiast? Am I being harsh to a new watch person that only has a Sub C and trivializing/generalizing them?

    I see an enthusiast as someone that gets excited and researches and learns about things. The person loves talking with others with similar knowledge and interests. I see that person respecting others that do the same thing regardless of the level they are on, or spending ability.

    Respecting the guy that seeks out the perfect Benrus Skychief more so then the guy that just has a Sub and knows nothing about other watches. Enthusiasts are not about money, but about the sharing of knowledge and respecting the passion of people to go out of their way to research and find a killer example of something. Maybe it is respecting the quirks that older items have that give it personality even if it is not as good on paper as something new. That sexy little Alfa is no wear near as good of a car as a new Camry... That guy wearing the 6109 has a watch nowhere near as nice as that New Aquaracer....but I know which owners I want to talk too...


    I don't know I don't think I am capturing it in words... What do you think?
     
  2. Mtek Jul 6, 2018

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    Enthusiasts are excited about rarity and exclusivity, which favors vintage, but not necessarily expensive. The car club is having M month (any series or yr I presume) it would never have modern 330i month. A new 330 is a sweet ride, but a dime a dozen.

    My opinion
     
  3. Larry S Color Commentator for the Hyperbole. Jul 6, 2018

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    Oh Hell.. I love: Not in order ...Records, Audio Gear, Watches, Cooking, Restaurants, Boats, Bicycles, Media, Dogs, my wife, Travel, Booze, cars if I had 10 acres and a huge garage. I’m a life enthusiast!
     
  4. aap Jul 6, 2018

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    Better not be in order - your wife is 10th in this list! :p
     
  5. shishy www.hpmor.com Jul 6, 2018

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    Enthusiast = big nerd
     
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  6. Bushido Jul 6, 2018

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    I think you said it very well, at least from my point of view. An enthusiast enjoys learning, experiencing, and sharing a particular subject matter. For watches, it's less about the name on the dial or the number of zeros in the cost. There is a passion which supersedes other modus operandi.
     
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  7. oddboy Zero to Grail+2998 In Six Months Jul 6, 2018

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    An enthusiast is someone who has an opinion on the topic in question. To have an opinion, you have to know something about the topic. It could be a naive opinion, an experienced opinion or a contrary opinion, but having an opinion is what makes engaging with an enthusiast interesting.
     
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  8. Braindrain Jul 6, 2018

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    Great post. It's about going the extra mile and learning what's behind the hood, so to speak. I'll give the Rolex or PP collector my time if it's clear they did their research and knew exactly what they were looking for and how that particular watch scratched that itch.

    Yup, it's never about the most expensive toy. It's always about who has the most interesting story.
     
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  9. sdre Jul 6, 2018

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    Great post.

    An enthusiast I feel is someone who has put in time/energy/effort and not just cash into studying, preparing, learning, talking, asking questions about a certain hobby.

    Also, sometimes the definition of an enthusiast gets muddled because of money. Like it or not, money makes the world go round, especially of things that can be bought. So with a good amount of money, you can go to the highest order of "trusted" dealers and get almost the best examples. But does it mean you know every exact detail of the watch? Maybe not if you didn't study it.

    Great analogy of a sliding bar because on one extreme end it's all hunger for knowledge and knowing the facts and seeing special examples and on the other it's how deep your pockets.
     
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  10. dsio Ash @ ΩF Staff Member Jul 6, 2018

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    this imo, and I'm a big nerd in many ways
     
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  11. AAAKK First listing in the ΩF B2B phone book Jul 6, 2018

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    ”Enthusiast" is a great euphemism. For example:

    "You're an alcoholic"

    ”Wrong, I'm a drinking enthusiast!”
     
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  12. Vitezi Jul 6, 2018

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    An enthusiast can recognize - and appreciate - enthusiasm in others.
     
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  13. Foo2rama Keeps his worms in a ball instead of a can. Jul 6, 2018

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    That’s where it falls apart for me. The guy with the customized lambo with wheels and wrap looks down at the superbly modified track rat 2002. I see many snobby guys call themselves enthusiasts and look down on anything not in their price range. Example a Rolex snob could be a Rolex enthusiast but not a watch enthusiast.
     
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  14. oddboy Zero to Grail+2998 In Six Months Jul 6, 2018

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    That will always be part of the equation.

    Edit to add, I think maybe those snobs are the ones who think their opinion is more correct than anyone else's and they are no longer interested in engaging or learning.
     
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  15. ulackfocus Jul 6, 2018

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    Very simply, an enthusiast is someone who is enthused about a subject and makes it an important part of their life.
     
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  16. Mad Dog rockpaperscissorschampion Jul 6, 2018

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    I’ll buy that for $1. :thumbsup:

    Currently...I’m a novice skateboarding enthusiast and a novice [Moon] watch enthusiast...they are both an important part of my life at this time. :thumbsup:



    3F8FA609-98D9-442F-832C-1EAFE7F923ED.jpeg
     
  17. Aussie Jim Jul 6, 2018

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    I don't want to be seen as a wet-blanket, but I can see a number of potential risk points in your new enthusiasm.

    Shall we start with: "old-bloke on young-bloke device", move through: " have you got paid up health insurance?" and importantly go to: "What about the watch hitting the concrete?"

    Have fun. Looks great
     
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  18. Mad Dog rockpaperscissorschampion Jul 6, 2018

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    1. I’m not old...I’m only 54. :thumbsup:

    2. Affirmative. :thumbsup:

    3. There is no concrete...it’s a NERF skatepark ;) ...and my [Moon] watch is protected by either a Raine Inc. protective band or a Rothco protective band...as well as the wrist guard wrapping. :thumbsup:
     
  19. Aussie Jim Jul 6, 2018

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    Fears allayed. Carry on.
     
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  20. merchandiser Jul 6, 2018

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    Good stuff and I tend to agree with your assessment of what an enthusiast is. A couple weeks ago I attended a Hodinkee GTG in San Francisco with a couple guys from the forum here. We all have different watch collections and genuinely appreciate each others' horological passions. There were definitely some people there that fit the bill of wearing a nice new Patek, Rolex, VC,etc and seemed to be into their watches, not so sure about being true enthusiasts but perhaps by attending the GTG they'll be bitten by the watch bug.

    I do know one thing, I'm not a Rolex guy but a couple well-known vintage watch dealers were there wearing amazing vintage pieces. One was wearing an explorer dial sub, unsure what reference, but I'm guessing that it was a 6538. The other was wearing the most beautiful gilt dial 5512 sub I've ever seen, real perfection. The explorer dial sub may be worth more money but I'd take that 5512 over it hands down. Enough of my rambling, but I do find this to be an interesting topic.
     
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