How It Started: Calgary’s Car Culture
ClutchCloth started in Calgary, Alberta. Not the first place people think of when it comes to car culture, but anyone who lives here knows it’s real.
You’ve got street-built Subarus scraping through snowbanks in March. Welders fixing drift missiles in alley garages. Kids stretching paychecks to afford coilovers for their daily drivers. It’s not flashy — but it’s honest. And it’s growing fast.
Events like Driven, World of Wheels, Calgary International Auto Show, Cars and Coffee, drag nights at Race City, late nights at Tim’s on Barlow, and cruising Stoney — if you know, you know.
That’s where the idea came from. We weren’t trying to reinvent anything. Just wanted gear that fit the lifestyle. The late nights. The group chats. The engine swaps. The duct-taped bumpers. The builds that never feel done — and maybe shouldn’t be. I know mine weren’t, but I loved them all. From the Nissan Silvia S14 with the SR20DET swap to the AWD monster STI hatch, and now my family beast — Audi Q7. Don’t laugh — it’s fun.
Actually reminiscing about shops like Autodream and Speedtech while writing this.
So we built a few designs, launched the site, and started small. Word spread, and people got it.
Moving to Hungary: Motorsport Culture, but Hard to Get In
After we got ClutchCloth going, our family made the ultimate move to sell everything and head overseas. Brave? Probably. Worth it? Definitely. Our first stop was Hungary.
Europe’s motorsport history is serious. Formula 1, WRC, DTM, DriftMasters. Hungary especially loves the Hungaroring. Race weekends feel like national holidays.
You feel the weight of decades of motorsport just walking through an old town with vintage race posters on the walls.
That part was incredible. But being a small Canadian brand trying to grow in Europe? Whole different thing.
Hungary’s tuning laws are tight. Want coilovers? Get ready for extra fees, inspections, and red tape. Even wheels and intakes can get flagged. Emissions rules are brutal.
We thought living where motorsports thrive would open doors — but for DIY builders, it’s the opposite. Most people just buy stock performance cars: M cars, RS Audis, AMGs.
Finding a project car wasn’t easy. Anything worth touching was expensive or clapped out. Parts were harder to source. Local shops weren’t always welcoming unless you had connections. It started to feel like waiting — not building.
So we stepped back. No project car. No YouTube series. Just the brand.
We focused on what we could control — the designs, the voice, the long game. And we kept grinding.
Coming Home: A Tough Call, but the Right One
We loved living in Europe. The travel, the culture, the people — all of it. But when we had a kid, everything shifted. We wanted our son to grow up around family, friends, and the support system that raised us.
So we made the hard call and moved back to Calgary.
Coming back didn’t just make sense personally — it made sense for ClutchCloth too. The car scene here is alive. Meets are stacked. Builds are wild. People are generous with their time, tools, and knowledge.
You’ve got Cars and Coffee, drift days, pop-ups, industrial park hangouts, even indoor winter shows. The energy here is solid — and it’s a lot more open to hands-on builds than what we left behind.
We’ve got projects in mind. The Q7's getting some love too. Don’t worry — content is coming.
What’s Next for ClutchCloth
- Locking in a shop space: Somewhere we can design, print, build, and film. Not an office — a creative garage.
- Getting back into project cars: One or two builds at a time, documented properly on our YouTube channel. Starting with the Q7 for now.
- Showing up at shows: Local meets, Cars and Coffee, and one day, SEMA. We want our gear on real cars, not just mockups.
- Opening up custom design work: Let’s make your ideas real. Your car. Your vision. On a shirt. Done properly.
- Doing it all in-house: From design to printing to shipping — we want it all done under one roof.
- Tightening up the site: Better drops. Cleaner images. A smoother experience. We’re focusing on quality, not volume.
- Building real connections: Collaborating with people and brands we respect — like SLOBRA and their drag Cobra Mustang. That’s the level we’re aiming for.
We’re not trying to fake scale. We’re building this like a real car: piece by piece, no shortcuts.
Final Thoughts
If you’ve been here since the start, or just stumbled across us — thanks for riding along.
We’re just car people who make good gear and care about the scene. That’s it.
Appreciate the support.
See you at the next meet.
— Clutch
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