Passion and Pain: Griffen’s M3
I’d say at some point in most people’s time on this earth, people get possessed by a certain idea that consumes them to a point where they have no other option than to chase after it. Some people chase fame and fortune, while others seek family and freedom, and some people chase that perfect setup for their perfectly preserved E36 M3. Griffen happens to be that person and unfortunately crossed paths with me. I say unfortunately, because this shoot did not go off without a hitch, in fact it was quite the opposite, but in our pursuits we often face setbacks to our goals. This photoshoot turned into a minor setback, which was not the first in Griffen’s pursuit of his goals, but hopefully it will be the last. I won’t say I enjoy when I happen to be the catalyst for a moment like these, but I do take solace in the fact that I was there to at least document it in some regard, which I believe makes for a greater story.
My initial introduction to the car was during the Riverside 8 Pre-meet back in April. I almost missed it in the weaning evening light. The rich custom black-grey paint hid it well in the shadows, but the unbeknownst to me monoblock Enkei five spoke wheels, finished in an nearly luminescent white, drew me in. Initially I just saw a cool set of wheels, but when I got right next to the car, that’s when I really knew I was looking at something special. It wasn’t yet another mad-scientist attempt at a DTM tribute or a 2016-era stance build to “kill the game,” but it was reserved, well kept, and highly original, attributes that I’ve grown to appreciate more than the aforementioned styles the older I’ve gotten.
Later that same evening I would come to meet the owner, Griffen, thanks to a mutual friend of ours, my brother Ryan Coffel. We riffed for a bit, talked about BMWs and then I asked Griffen if he wanted me to shoot his BMW. Initially he refused because he couldn’t afford to pay me, but I didn’t care about that. I wanted to put the car in front of my camera, so after some charismatic strong-arming I got him to agree to a shoot. The next day Riverside had wrapped up and my friend Chili and I set out to the spot I had chosen to shoot it. I was very excited to go do this, it was my first shoot in a long time and I was even more excited I got to bring Chili with me, after all BMWs run in their blood.
Last year, on the journey to Riverside 7, Griffen had an unfortunate accident on the highway in his E36. He had put so much work into it at that point and still had it taken away. This year order to make sure his M3 didn’t suffer a similar fate, he loaded it up on a trailer in. It was a simple five minute jaunt down the road to the spot I had in mind. The pavement was smooth, the crown in the road was negligible and the traffic was non-existent; Griffen would simply drive his M3 down to the spot. What’s the worst that could happen? Well, in the pursuit of having an exceedingly low car you often find that even in near perfect conditions, you find weird little stress points. In this case, in the action of simply parking the car, the deep tread of the tire grabbed the lip of the fender and pulled it into itself. With a little help from power steering, Griffen’s near perfect M3 was now sporting a brand new caved-in fender.
My insistence on getting a photoshoot with Griffen’s M3 had inadvertently lead to yet another Riverside trip for him, where his car had come out worse for wear because of it. In the moment I wanted to tuck tail and go because I felt terrible about the whole thing, but thankfully Chili and Griffen insisted that we just do the damn thing anyway. All in all, regardless if we are the fifth or the first owner of a car, we are all just stewards until it reaches its next owner. We take care of these things, modify them, all to create a grander story for the car. While I’m proud of the photos I’ve taken, they are not the only result of this photoshoot. While it wasn’t anyone’s intention, the M3 took some damage. That being said, these photos are here for Griffen and whoever else might own the car next as a visual record, not only of the car itself, but of the insistence of the owner’s efforts to make the car the way they envisioned.
What more can I say? In terms of Griffen’s car, I really appreciate the direction he’s taken it; he’s preserving what makes an M3 of this vintage so exciting with his own twist. I’m thankful that he allowed me to shoot it, and that he didn’t tear my head off when things went sour. He’s a kind soul and I’m looking forward to see his continued progress on his M3 and all the plans he has for it come to fruition. Whenever that might be, I hope I get to shoot it once again, but this time without incident. Keep working at what you’re working at, it will pay off. Thank you for reading.
