From West Coast to Westside, Kansas City's lowrider culture has spread beyond its Latino roots

What started as a point of pride for many people in one of the city’s historic Mexican American neighborhoods, now includes car shops all over the metro, and builders and riders from every background.
Lowrider culture in Kansas City began in the 1950s as a strictly Mexican American thing. But founders still on the scene say the subculture has grown more diverse over the decades.

“When we first started doing this, it was mostly a minority thing with Mexicans and small group of Black people,” says Tim Lona. “But it gradually expanded to everybody — every color and every race.”

“Like, everybody just wanted to be a lowrider,” he says.