MINYME2 - Trista's PL8STORY Podcast Plate 33 with Joey from LA

This week we meet Joey and his 1963 antique Mini, MINYME2. Joey shares the story of MINYME and how restoring him to his original beauty helped him through some very tough times his family faced. After a 2 ½ year battle of childhood leukemia, his daughter is well and their family volunteers helping other families navigate what can be an uncertain and difficult time. Check out the video version to see MINYME in all his glory. And if you would like to reach the organization Joey’s family supports, you can visit www.maxloveproject.org.

For inquires to hire MINYME2 for your next media project, visit  https://www.instagram.com/minyme1275/

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Transcript:

MINYME2

[00:00:00] Trista, Host: [00:00:00] Welcome to this week's episode of Trista's PL8STORY Podcast. I'm Trista Polo from iwokeupawesome.com and I am your host.

Each week we learn the story behind that vanity plate. The one you saw driving down the road, what did it say? What did it mean? Why did they choose it?

This week we meet Joey and his 1963 antique Mini MINYME2. Joey shares the story of MINYME and how restoring him to his original beauty helped him through some very tough times his family faced. After a two and a half year battle of childhood leukemia, his daughter is well and their family now volunteers helping other families navigate what can be an uncertain and difficult time.  

MINYME was not just a successful restoration project. Like many who live in Los Angeles, he's always looking for the next acting job.   He is a working car and can be hired for movies, commercials, [00:01:00] photo shoots, and even chase scenes.    

Check out the video version to see MINYME in all his glory. And if you'd like to reach the organization Joey's family supports and volunteers with you can visit www.maxloveproject.org.

  Now let's go meet Joey.  

  Welcome. I'm really excited to have this week's plate story guest on. It's Joey Arellano from Monrovia, California, which is in Los Angeles County and the license plate. If you're watching on video, you can see is MINYME2. Now, when we first connected it was through Instagram and it was actually through your car's account.

So I can't wait to learn about you, your car and your license plate story. Welcome, Joey.  

Joey Arellano: [00:01:46] Thank you. Thank you for having me.  

Trista, Host: [00:01:47] Yes. It's great to have you. Now we are with you and your car, because this is actually a story about a car as much as it is about you. So can you share your plate story [00:02:00] about MINYME2?  

Joey Arellano: [00:02:01] So, about going in the plate, I, I named my car MINYME2, since this will be my second Mini that I have and I first, when I sold my first Mini, I had personalized plate, MINYME. And then I didn't know at the time I sold the car with the plate. And then when I wanted to get that plate back back to my second Mini, it was already taken.

So then I had to like, you know, try to find some designs, but I ended up with MINYME2, which for me is my second Mini. So, you know,I was happy to get that plate.  

Trista, Host: [00:02:37] Now you are a lover of cars, but specifically Mini's. And I'm looking at the car in the video and it occurs to me that the steering wheel is on the wrong side of the car.

So tell us a little about the origin of the car, how it came into your life and why you chose it.  

Joey Arellano: [00:02:53] well, I, so first of all, I'm left handed. So, if the car is for speed, it's [00:03:00] right hand drive. Originally from England, I imported actually with this car, got imported to Miami, and then I had it in the states here.

And, and just, I just love somehow I just love, right hand drive cars. And when I got into my first Mini, it was right-hand drive as well. It was red with a white top. And when it came around to get a second Mini, I want to look for the same color red to kind of bring me back to my first Mini.

And, I ended up with, with the same, almost the same car and still right-hand drive is fun to drive. A lot of people when I'm driving it, all people, you know, they pull up next to me. They're like, what? Okay, can you drive on the, on the wrong side? I'm like, yeah, everything you can, you can do it, but it's just kind of funny when you're making like, right turns. Cause you can see that curve right next to you making a right turn. You can see the sidewalk or the curb when you make it [00:04:00] simple at the beginning, it's kinda like. I would say it's kind of, kind of weird.  

Trista, Host: [00:04:06] You have to get used to it. It sounds like. Yeah. Because not all of your cars are right hand drive  

Joey Arellano: [00:04:11] for no, this is, the only one.

Yeah. I do have a, a big pickup truck, a big Toyota lifted pickup truck. So when I don't get this feeling anymore, but when I went back to the Mini, I will actually drive my work truck, you know, lifted, you know, big wheels and all that, and then get into my Mini to go for adrive on it. And I'll be like, literally, I'm like, I feel like I'm in the ground because, you know, first of all, so small as like really small and then right hand drive, it will throw me off a little bit.

And then finally, I just got used to it now, I think canswitch back and forth without having a difference. I don't see a difference anymore. I just got used to it already.  

Trista, Host: [00:04:51] You're like car lingual.

Yeah. Now I have to ask because it doesn't [00:05:00] seem like it would be, is it legal to drive a car with the steering wheel on the wrong side of it?  

Joey Arellano: [00:05:05] Yeah, it is. Yeah, it is. It is legal. The only thing is you just have to, when you import cars like this, especially right-hand drives it. The DMV and Highway Patrol give you a lot of hassle, like.

How to like, you know, to try and get it registered in your name. They make you go through a lot of stuff. And it's really, if the car is not registered in the state is really hard for, for someone to get, a car and, you know, have it look through the whole process of the DMV, put in a, you know, especially California is really strict other States.

They don't really, they're not as big as California, California is really strict and re importing cars. Not not, but not just   right-hand drive. But just importing certain cars certain years. So I've got a lot of friends, they have them, and they'll all, they saw a Mini that they got all pumped up. They went and purchased a Mini and then they turned around and like, Oh, I can't I can't register that vehicle in [00:06:00] California.

So what they do, they, they register out of state with, they drive home. They have them here, but without a state license plate, you know, So, but I mean, this is my second one. So I did all my homework on the first one. So when they came around to get my second one, I already knew like, what can you register in California?

And what, you know, all this stuff. I had it all, all narrowed down. So,  

Trista, Host: [00:06:23] yeah. So you'd been through the process before it was a little easier to do this time.  

Joey Arellano: [00:06:27] Correct. Yes. It was a lot easier.  

Trista, Host: [00:06:30] Yeah. Now, now this car MINYME2, has its own Instagram account. Yeah. And it's actually been it's it's like anybody in LA it's a working actor trying to get famous, get your it's 15 minutes of fame.

Joey Arellano: [00:06:47] Yeah.  

Trista, Host: [00:06:49] You're hoping for, right. So it's already appeared in a couple of different things. So where has it gotten some of its exposure so far?  

Joey Arellano: [00:06:57] I in a company called turtle [00:07:00] wax. They sell products for vehicles and then photo shoot for them. And then also been in a couple of photo shoots for Import magazine the most about watching Baltimore or out of the out of the out of the state.

They just contact me through Instagram. They flew over and took some pictures of the vehicle, asked me questions. They wrote an article and yea. Wow.

Trista, Host: [00:07:27] Yeah. Well, you know, the car's in LA wants to be an actor that pretty much tracks, right. And you're like the parent manager who's trying to get it famous. You may as well be Brittany Spears mom.  

So what would be the dream parts that MINYME would love to do the most like TV movies?  

Joey Arellano: [00:07:51] Probably like an a on a, like, going through, through the canyons, like, no, like maybe like, kinda like a, like a talent job type of thing, you know? [00:08:00] And like a get away, you know, they are cars that are really known for taking canyons. The car sits really low to begin with in a car.

It says in the Canyon and they just, on the turns, it gives a little rocket in the Canyon.  

Trista, Host: [00:08:13] Like a good getaway car  

Joey Arellano: [00:08:16] getaway card and a good. You know, you can hide the vehicle and pretty much in any, in a little Bush and you won't see the car  

Trista, Host: [00:08:24] perfect getaway, hideaway kind of car.

I love it. Well, hopefully I'll be a catalyst in MINYME getting his first big break in a movie as a runaway, get away, hide away vehicle.  

Joey Arellano: [00:08:37] Yeah,  

Trista, Host: [00:08:38] I think that'd be a good part for him. So we'll cross our fingers. That's awesome. Now this is an antique, right? what year is the car?  

Joey Arellano: [00:08:51] It's a 1963 Mini Cooper.

Wow.  

Trista, Host: [00:08:55] That's very, very antique. It looks like it's in really good shape for being that [00:09:00] age.  

Joey Arellano: [00:09:00] in England, all the   cars since all the snow and stuff. They're like the bumpers, the grill, the bumpers, the trim around the headlights, the handle door handles.

It's all stainless steel due to so they don't get rusted over there. So then when that, when I , when I imported the car into the States, I actually took   all the, all the stainless steel, because I figured it's a classic car   they need to have some shiny Chrome shiny paint job. I stripped the car or almost halfway on it. And, and then just went through it and it just got all new parts of everything Chrome on it. And yeah, I went through it. I probably, I put a decent amount of money on it. Yeah.  

Trista, Host: [00:09:45] So now he needs to earn his keep.  

Joey Arellano: [00:09:49] Yeah. And now he needs to work it out.  

Trista, Host: [00:09:52] That's right. He needs to get to B, get to work there, buddy.

Obviously you have a love of antique cars and a love of the mini, [00:10:00] but it has more meaning for you than that. Can you share a little bit about his role in your life beyond your love of antique cars?

Joey Arellano: [00:10:07] well, my daughter is a cancer survivor and, so I had a previous car that I wasn't even   into it before this one. That just had it sitting in my garage. And then my daughter got diagnosed with leukemia. And when she got diagnosed with leukemia, our life just went upside down. And we, we were, at that time, we were married for 11 years and, you know, we wanted to travel, wanted to purchase a home before we had any kids.

And then, after 11 years, you know, when my daughter came, she was healthy. And then at 18 months she got diagnosed with leukemia. So we didn't even know what, I didn't even know what was leukemia. And then, I mean, yes, we didn't have any support back then. And then, so I will come home, you know, she spent like almost three months in the hospital, [00:11:00] so I would just come home and get clothes, and we'll take turns and going to work.

unfortunately I wasn't able to take time off from work. My wife did stay with her. So we're going back and forth. And then, when she was finishing up a treatment. then. I purchased this car and then I would just come in the garage and then, you know, I had the car in pieces and that was kind of like my therapy. To all that stuff, trying to get some stuff. Cause my friend will call me like, you know, how's your daughter doing?

And I think if, if you don't go through it, you don't understand like, you know, the whole process. So I will be, I would you be to them all she's fine. You know, she's, she's doing good and that's something I didn't want to talk about it. And so I would just come in the garage, turn my music on and get stuff.

Just work on the car for a few hours. Sometimes I will stay until like two in the morning and then I'll have to get up at five in the morning to go to work. But that all kind of will help me get going through all this process. That's kind of like how I ended [00:12:00] up restoring it. And now that now it means like more meaning to me the vehicle.

Trista, Host: [00:12:07] Absolutely because you had shared with me that you guys were pretty isolated through the whole process, you couldn't really go anywhere or do anything that didn't involve the process of helping her get well. so that must have been really tough for you guys to manage that emotionally, to not really have that support system and to, to kind of go through it in isolation almost,  

Joey Arellano: [00:12:31] right?

Yeah. Yeah. And we, they were like a relation to. The doctor will be, Oh, she's fine. You know, you guys can go out to your friends house. You guys can go out with her, you know, she's fine. And then as soon as we will do that and she will spike a fever. And when they have a port, you know, they get a fever, they go straight to the emergency straight in.

Cause they want to make sure that it's the port doesn't get infected. And if it does, they don't have to do surgery. So there was hundreds of times [00:13:00] where we ended up, her immune system was really low, so it was a bunch of probably over a hundred times a week, ended up at the emergency hospital. I remember coming in and just the whole children's hospital waiting room will just completely crowded.

We would just go right in and, with her. So it was really hard for that. You know what we went through with her that, we ended up pretty much isolating ourselves for almost, almost three years for the treatment is two and a half years, and we'll still wait a little bit longer. And then, then we started, my wife started looking online, like, support, like cancer support for kids.

And then we ended up, finding a, childhood cancer foundation, which is called Max Love. They're based in orange County. It's like a good probably a good hour drive from where we, where we live. So that's, that's pretty much so now we just, she's fine now and she's doing really good.

And so we end up, I know, that's what they're going to drive over there [00:14:00] right now, too. To go with them. We, we donate, Oh, a lot of my time, my wife's time. And then the same thing. They do classes to learn how to eat, you know, that stuff, after they went through cancer, you know, certain foods, you know, you gotta stay away from and stuff.

So they teach, they teach us how to cook healthy food for them. So they don't so they can thrive. Yeah.  

Trista, Host: [00:14:24] That's wonderful that you guys have found a support system. I'm sorry it took you a long time and that you were really isolated in the process for a long time. is that the organization that you have on your shirt.

No,  

Joey Arellano: [00:14:37] this is stand up to cancer, as you know, they do, they do a show every two years and she was, she's also, she'd been on a, on a foundation called Saint Baldrick's foundation, which is based there.

The headquarter is here in our city. They were looking for, for, a kid that it had gone through the process. So, so long story short, she came out, we came on TV, we [00:15:00] went to the telecast in Santa Monica, presented to cancer and they show kind of that her story.

  they did a video on my daughter through that whole journey. Like, you know, how she's doing and the whole process of people that don't know, you know, people think cancer is rare, but it's not for kids.

They think that only adults get cancer case are also dying, you know, different types of cancers.  

Trista, Host: [00:15:26] Yeah, for sure. Well, and you said that she's well now is she in remission? I'm not sure how leukemia works. Is that something you have to watch or is she outside of all of that?  

Joey Arellano: [00:15:37] Shes, outside of all that we just have to watch what she eats, like, you know, stay away from all the more the flours and sugars, but then she can, and she can gain weight really easy. So would you, will she is on like a, a strict diet pretty much. I mean, due to taking, you know, chemotherapy for two and a half years, normally like a [00:16:00] tumor cancer six months and they, you know, and then you're good.

And then hers is leukemia two and a half years. Wow. Yeah. If, It went, it was sort of a long process. Yeah.  

Trista, Host: [00:16:12] But she's good now.  

Joey Arellano: [00:16:13] You're good now. That's wonderful.  

Trista, Host: [00:16:16] I'm happy to hear that. How old is she now?  

Joey Arellano: [00:16:19] She's nine. She'll be 10 on December. Yeah.  

Trista, Host: [00:16:23] So she went through all that pretty young.  

Joey Arellano: [00:16:25] Yeah. Yeah. And I'm going to still remember the first day that when we ended up at the hospital and that she was being diagnosed or like your daughter has, leukemia, where will like, what is that?

And they said, something on her blood. If she might be, she might have a   blood infection. They did tests I'm like, no you got the wrong, you got the wrong child. That's not ours that's no, no, no. We already did a test twice. You're going to get transferred to children's hospital. Well, we'll tell you more.

And then that's when everything started and you know, what  

Trista, Host: [00:16:55] were the symptoms? How did you know that there was something going on that needed to be [00:17:00] tested?  

Joey Arellano: [00:17:00] so, my wife works for a hospital, UAC the hospital here in Southern California. So we took it to, before we took her to the emergency, we went to, we were at a friend's house, just doing a barbecue and stuff, and she was really active and playing.

And all of a sudden before that, a couple of days before that she was limping and she was like running then she limped and she like. She want to be held. We were like, okay, that's kind of strange. So then we let that are like, Did we see any bruises? We think he managed to fail with on her leg and we kind of left it like that.

And then that Saturday, I remember within a Saturday we went to our friend's house. Then we were just having a good time. And then she was playing with a kid and it got to the point where she didn't want to walk anymore. And she was just complaining about her, her, her leg was hurting. So we looked at her again.

So we decided we'll just take her to the hospital in emergency. We took her and then. They were they, they were like, oh no, she's fine. And then my wife said, okay, I want you to draw blood and want to make sure, cause that's not, you know, that's [00:18:00] not normal. She been complaining for the past few days, something going on.

And then once they draw the blood and that's when they that's, when they, we found out she had that. So the symptom was a pain in her joints. And then also high fevers in prior to that, she had maybe two three weeks before that she had high fever and we ended up taking her to the hospital up to her regular doctor and they gave her antibiotics.

They kind of seemed to work and it was okay back and forth. I did it, they went away. So that was also another sign. But we, you know, I mean, we didn't know when she was healthy, then. Yeah, nothing like that  

Trista, Host: [00:18:39] came out of nowhere, which I guess is really how cancer tends to show up. Right. It just sort of comes out of nowhere.

You're never expecting it, but I'm glad they caught it. And they were able to treat her and to make her healthy. That's  

Joey Arellano: [00:18:52] awesome.  

Trista, Host: [00:18:53] Now you guys actually do some things to support other families, so they don't have to go through that isolation [00:19:00] and, Confusion that you had. Can you share a little about the work you do to support other families?

Joey Arellano: [00:19:06] We, that we run into friends or friends, friends that they're in the process. So, you know, we just kinda like coach them, coach them and tell them like, Oh, you know, they shouldn't be eating this or should we put them on a diet? I know, I remember a while back. It was probably about six months ago. We have a farmer market in our, in our town every Friday night. And I see, this couple is young couple. They had a kid and he was, he will bald. So I just ask them, you know, Hey, you know, you feel okay? And they asked, they, they told me, yeah. You know, he's fine. He's in treatment. I mean, he had leukemia and he has his drinking, a Coca Cola, which is really bad, you know, all of these sugar.

So then I just like went on the side. And I told him   the dad and mom that you're not, I don't want to get, you know, I'm just, we went and then I had my daughter with me, so I told her she's a cancer [00:20:00] survivor, she had leukemia and she's fine now we didn't know at the time. so I mean, I will suggest, you know, you know, look up this foundation, look up Max LKove, and also make sure watch what you give him.

Cause then, you know,   cancer cells feed out of sugar. So I told them, you know, what his drinking, you know, he shouldn't be drinking, especially a Coke, you know, you know, that's really bad for them. and then I connected him with, with Max Love and yes, just friends or friends of friends, or from time to time, they called my wife and my wife will talk to them over the phone and then we'll meet them then we'll meet, or we will refer them to Max Love. Yeah.  

Trista, Host: [00:20:39] Yeah. I mean, that's gotta be hard, right? Like you see somebody on the street, you know, they're doing something that's not good for you or good for their child. And now you have to sort of intervene and say, listen, this is not good. So, I mean, that's got to be, that takes some courage to do that, but I really get that the courage comes from your commitment to have them have the same [00:21:00] results that your daughter had and that you guys had a. Coke is not worth the cost.  

Joey Arellano: [00:21:06] Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Even my daughter, she hasn't even tasted a Coke to be honest, like water really going organic. If she wants to use, I have to be organic and it has to be a certain ones and it's just pretty much in water and, you know, . We don't give her none of no sugar drinks at all. And like she does, she does not eat chocolate. When, when, Easter comes around, we'll, we'll do the extra eggs in the front yard and stuff.

We fill them up with, with chocolates. And then we tell her, look, if you, if you get all these chocolates and put them the Tooth Fairy, will come in and give you money and then ask them for toys. So she looks forward to that. Or even at Halloween, either the same thing, the Tooth Fairy she gets all the big pile of chocolate and candy bars.

And then she asked for toys or she asks for money most of the time it's toys. So, I mean, [00:22:00] it costs us more money to buy, to buy all this expensive toy for her, but we'd rather do that than her to be eating chocolate.   I mean, after all these years,  

Trista, Host: [00:22:09] she's old enough to understand the cost that eating candy chocolate sweets could actually undermine her health.

Right. So she gets it logically. I love that you're treating the candy, like green stamps where you collect it, turn it in for stuff where like, when you go to Chuckie cheese, you get the tickets, you know, you turn them in for like a bear or whatever.

Joey Arellano: [00:22:32] Exactly. Yeah.  

Trista, Host: [00:22:33] Yeah. That's awesome.  

Anything else you want to share about your daughter's journey or how it's impacted you or what you've been able to do and create as a result of it?  

Joey Arellano: [00:22:43] I mean,   we had a rough, like a rough beginning of the journey when she started and, thank God, we got a good support and thanks to Max Love. We, you know, we learn a lot of stuff from them, how to cook. And to be honest,   we just keeping her watching and what [00:23:00] she eats and healthy.

Trista, Host: [00:23:03] That's great. Well, I really acknowledge you and your wife for everything   , you have done, , not just for her health, but the health of children, especially those dealing with life threatening cancers, like leukemia. It's clear to me that you took all of your hardship, and turned it into a gift that you could contribute to others

well, I really got, just really enjoyed learning about your car and your life. And of course, hearing the journey about your daughter and what you guys all went through.

It was a beautiful story and it all came from, You know, you tagging your car, vanity plates on Instagram. Yeah. I always like to turn the tables and, and give you a chance to ask me one question. Do you have a question that you'd like to ask me before we wrap  

Joey Arellano: [00:23:49] up? well, it's, it's pretty cool. It's it'sit's cool. What you do. I mean, when you first contacted me, I was like, I get all messages through Instagram for the car, like people from other [00:24:00] country like, Oh, I'm traveling, you know, I'm going to be going into Los Angeles. So yeah, it's pretty cool what you do when you send it, even when you send me the message of like, okay, I'll make it, then I'll respond and see. And then when I saw, when it said, what you do is pretty cool. Yeah.  

Trista, Host: [00:24:15] Oh, thank you. Well, I wish you MINYME and of course your family, especially your daughter, a wonderful rest of the summer, and a lot of health and love and success in all areas of your lives. And I thank you so much for sharing your story,  

Joey Arellano: [00:24:31] sharing it. Appreciate it.  

Trista, Host: [00:24:33] Thanks so much, Joey, have a great day.

Joey Arellano: [00:24:35] Bye bye. You too.

Trista, Host: [00:24:37] Thank you for joining us for this week's episode of Trista's PL8STORY podcast. Please subscribe to Trista's PL8STORY podcast to get the story behind all those vanity plates, driving with you on the road. And if you would like to nominate the owner of a license plate, including you... Or visit any of our partners and sponsors come and see us www.pl8story.com. [00:25:00] That's P L number eight story.com and give us the details.  

If you enjoyed this episode, please drop a review and give us a share. I'm Trista Polo wishing you well on the road to your next adventure.