Today is my last day writing for BMWBLOG. Just writing that feels weird, as this has been my professional home since 2015. Prior to writing for BMWBLOG (henceforth known as ‘BB‘), I had my own blog that I created as a way to spill my strong opinions about cars without boring my friends or then-fiancé (now my wife). I would write a post once every few days, maybe once a day when I was feeling saucy. But I wanted more, I wanted in. I grew up reading Motor Trend, Car and Driver, Road and Track, Automobile Magazine—you name it, I probably have several copies of it in an attic somewhere. And I wanted to be just like the journalists in those magazines.
However, I had no experience writing for anyone or anything, never mind a professional publication. So I started reaching out to different blogs, almost begging to write for them. It wasn’t until Horatiu gave me a shot that I finally had a chance to get in. A few months later, I was officially part of the team and I couldn’t have been more thrilled. My day job at the time was pretty miserable, so the possibility of turning a part time writing gig into a full-time dream career gave me a reason to get up every morning.
Ironically, in the summer of 2015, I was laid off from that miserable day job, just a month before I was set to get married. Corporate cost cutting rendered my position obsolete and I was out the door and unemployed just weeks before I was about to start a life with another person who needed to rely on me as much as I relied on her. Thankfully, BB was there to help us through and I’ve never looked back.
Slowly but surely, my involvement at BB grew as my skills improved. Years and years of writing news stories, test driving cars, writing reviews, and shooting videos became my life and I can’t imagine going back to anything else. I’ve seen so much of the United States, been to different parts of the world, met people from different countries, became friends with fascinating people, driven on race tracks, met celebrities, and ultimately had the time of my life. There’s no other job that could have afforded me the ability to do the things I’ve done, see the things I’ve seen, and fulfill so many of my dreams while working almost entirely from home.
During my time at BB, I’ve been to Pebble Beach, did quarter-mile runs in an ultra-rare M5 CS on a airplane runway, driven 175 mph on the German Autobahn, drove from Munich to Austria alone in an M4 Competition during my first-ever trip to Germany without knowing the language, interviewed a James Bond director, and been flown off a cliff in Mexico (if you even catch me in person, ask me about the Mexico story). I’ve had more laughs, unshakable smiles, and pinch-me moments than I can count. And on a near-daily basis, I take a step back, look at this life I live from a proverbial bird’s-eye view and wonder how I’ve been so lucky.
So many journalists, influencers, and YouTubers are jaded. They take this life for granted. They’re slaves to the clicks, the views, and the social media engagement. But I can’t imagine feeling that way. Writing about cars for a living isn’t work, it just so happens that I get paid to do it. Whenever I meet new people and tell them what I do for a living, they always tilt their head and look at me like a puppy hearing a funny noise for the first time. No one realizes this is a job and, when I tell them about, they’re always incredibly fascinated and almost always a little bit jealous. How could they not be?
Since 2015, I’ve never had the Sunday Blues ruin my weekend with dread of the following Monday. I’ve never not wanted to go to work. That’s because writing and talking about cars is what I love to do and BB has been making it possible to turn that into a career for the past eight years.
I’m excited for the future and relish the challenge of new adventures but I’ll never forget my time at BMWBLOG, nor will my appreciation for both it and Horatiu fade. Writing here for the past eight years has allowed me to provide for my family and raise my kids, all while both working from home and sending me all over the world to drive fast cars. I’m living out my dream because of the chance Horatiu took on me and I’ll never not be thankful for that. So thank you all for reading, it’s been one helluva ride.
Horatiu’s Note: Big shoes to fill, but if you think you have what it takes and wanna have some fun in this car world, we are looking for a “new Nico”. Send us an email at [email protected]
