Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Joe Raiti. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Joe, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s something crazy on unexpected that’s happened to you or your business
In 2019, I was still juggling my teaching career and building my YouTube Channel, Raiti’s Rides, when I was contacted by Donut Media, a major automotive content outlet with millions of followers. At this point I had 75,000 which I was thrilled with but is still relatively small in comparison with Donut Media’s viewership. They wanted to offer me an opportunity to partner with American Honda and take a ride in what is known as the “Fastest Seat in Sports” – a Honda 2 seat Indy Car. Not only that, but it would be a the Indianapolis Grand Prix and the car would be driven by none other than Mario Andretti! I was selected for a private tour of the Museum before the race, then the following day, the day of the race, I woke up and was suited up by Honda. Then they took us to the green room where the drivers all huddle before introductions. It was overwhelming to see Indycar greats like Scott Dixon, Will Power, Helio Castroneves, and many more! To top it off, I was there with Mario and frankly, the moment we walked on stage, I felt like a rock star. Everyone was cheering and taking pictures, crowds of people were gathered around, it was like nothing I’ve ever experienced. We walked with great fanfare down to the car, and to my surprise, we were mic-ed up so that I could be interviewed on Live TV by Leigh Diffy, one of the best sports commentators of our time. It was an honor when he told me that my commentary was the best they’d ever had for the Honda 2-seater drives! Mario did an extra lap and he did not hold back, It was an adrenaline filled experience that I’ll never forget!
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I am the Owner and Editor-in-Chief of Raiti’s Rides YouTube channel which highlights all things cars – from new model car reviews to race track action and live Q and A’s on all things automotive.
My passion for cars began at an early age. Growing up in my old man’s mechanic shop, I learned quickly how to appreciate the inner workings of the internal combustion engine. After graduating from college, I raced formula cars professionally for several years, further sparking my obsession. Just after the tech bubble in 2001, I moved from behind the wheel to the front of the classroom, becoming a high school history teacher for the next several years. Since then I’ve found many ways to keep the racing bug alive. Through Raiti’s Rides, my YouTube Channel, I now get to share my passion for cars with hundreds of thousands of people all over the world! Check out our videos on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/c/RaitisRides
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
I think what helped me the most is my vast array of experience, starting from growing up in my old man’s mechanic shop. On the weekends when I was 7 or 8 years old, I’d go to my dad’s shop, pick up dirty rags and pour the used oil into the recycling bin. I then started changing oil, doing tune ups and lubing chassis. I even rebuilt an engine or two! Then after college, I followed my childhood dream to become a professional race car driver for 4 adrenaline filled years. This gave me such a tremendous understanding of automotibile handling dynamics, car setup, and race craft. After the tech bubble burst in 2001, I lost my funding and was forced to hang up my helmet. I then moved to the front of the classroom and became a high school history teacher for the next 18 years. This experience was pivotal in my career because it honed my public speaking skills and ability to speak to the camera for my subscribers on YouTube. I’ve had numerous journalist colleagues tell me they’ve tried to “reverse engineer” what I do and they say they simply can’t do it. I tell them to just go and teach high school for 18 years and then come back and they will be good to go! All of these experiences, starting from when I was just a little boy, gave me numerous skills and abilities and helped me to develop my passion for all things automotive.
What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?
I started Raiti’s Rides on YouTube for fun back in 2017. I was still teaching high school for over 17 years at this point, but what I didn’t realize was that things were about to change. The county was discussing shutting down my school due to a variety of different reasons. To take my mind off of losing my job, I started filming cars for fun. I would go to local cars and coffee events and pick 10 or so cars that stood out to me. Then I’d do a quick 5-8 minute static walk around video, incorporating my experience as a former race car driver and enthusiast. My videos naturally developed into mini history lessons that were fueled with car passion from my racing career. I was certain when I told them I wanted to create a YouTube channel, that they would laugh in my face! To a high school student, if you are over 30 you are ancient. But to my surprise, they were all very excited and tremendously helpful in getting me started. During my after-school car club, they even took some time to show me how to edit and post videos on YouTube. During this time, it was very challenging to manage a full-time career along with growing my YouTube channel. I was up late nights and most of my weekends were booked solid with filming and working on my channel into the late hours of the evening. My wife is a very understanding person and she helped me to time block and carve out personal time to keep me sane. Within a few months, a local dealership saw me in action and asked me to come and film their new inventory so they could attract some younger clients. When I added new cars to my YouTube channel, my following grew rapidly and before I knew it, my side hustle was more profitable than my full-time career. I then made the difficult decision to leave teaching and become an automotive journalist on YouTube full time. I couldn’t be more grateful to my wife as well as my students who helped me get started. I am thrilled when one of my former students reaches out on social media and tells me how excited they are to see how far I’ve come, having been part of the early humble beginnings. Today we have over 1.15 Million Subscribers on YouTube, over 450,000 on TikTok, and over 173,000 on Instagram. We have relationships with all of the major OEM Public Relations teams and my wife now travels with me full time as my lead videographer and Production Manager. Check out our videos by searching raitisrides on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.youtube.com/c/RaitisRides
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/raitisrides/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raitisrides/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joeraiti/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/RaitisRides
- Other: https://raitisrides.com
Image Credits
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