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In the 90s there was a car show on Fridays at the cruisers car wash on Tampa in Northridge. I met Mark Leader when I was 16 years old. Pretty sure Seb, Ryan (Seedyrom), and Amir (ZamirZ) were with me. His silver car was parked all on its own away from the herd and I immediately gravitated towards it. A man with a mustache wearing a polo shirt tucked into his slacks and loafers with no socks approached me and started talking to me about the silver z32. It was Mark himself. I was in awe of his twin turbo z. It was my then dream car. I now own two. He told me about the car and offered to give me a ride. Of course I obliged. He exited onto tampa hung the first right throwing the rear end out and made a left on Mason heading Northbound. He mentioned that the car had upgraded turbos but I didn't think anything of it at that precise moment. After making a left he floored it and before I knew it I was literally pinned to the passenger seatback. by the time he hit 3rd or 4th gear we were doing in excess of 120mph for sure. It felt like warp speed to me. I was grinning cheek to cheek. We came back to cruisers car wash and i thanked him so much for giving me a ride. Over the years I would see Mark at Specialty Z. Seb and I being friends for many years would always talk about Mark Leader. Every time I saw Mark at the shop, I'd remind him of the ride he gave me on Mason that evening. I heard Mark passed away last week. With another one of our friends Dean passing away the week or two prior, I am reminded how special the Z and the Z community is. These memories would not have been possible without the Z. Mark Leader, sir, you have a special place in my heart. You will be missed. Every time i hit boost in my silver twin turbo z, I am reminded of you and that ride up Mason 25 years ago. Rest in Peace. Godspeed.
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