Skate Icon’s Malibu Wagon Lowrider Mixes Bosozoku With Louisiana Soul

How does a skateboard icon in New Orleans end up building a Japanese-inflected Chevy Malibu wagon lowrider? For Philly Santosuosso, there simply was no other way. [CARISMA is our show about the connections between enthusiasts and their cars. See the full playlist: ] “I don’t know where that attention to detail came, but when it comes to the cars, for me it’s like nah, it’s gotta be this way. And most people have no idea what I’m talking about,” he says. “They’re like, ‘what, you spent three grand on used Japanese wheels?’ I’m like yeah, but you don’t understand. You can’t do this any other way.” Philly owns Humidity Skate Shop in New Orleans, and he’s been on the scene for decades now as a skater, designer, and all around creative force. Skateboarding was first a refuge from a chaotic home life, then a second family, then a career. Lowriding? That’s his next chapter. “I want everyone to, when they meet me, be like, oh nah, like this dude put in work to get where he is at. I really