Welcome to RISING EDGE, a new online publication by Thomas Lathrop. Thank you sincerely for spending some of your time to check it out. As an introduction to the site, let's go over the Five Ws of RE.
Who
Hey there, I'm Thomas. It's great to have you here. I'm a Christ-follower, husband, father, founder, enthusiast, and life-long learner. Since a young age, I've been obsessed with doing the best I can with the resources that I have, all while learning and having fun along the way. My obsession has led me through hobbies like r/c cars, cycling, and watches, to gigs like photography, web design, and over a decade running my own business (s/o Crown & Buckle), and to life-long passions like cars and racing.
I was privileged enough to have a BMW E30 as my first car; a sterling silver 1990 325i that my parents bought from a family friend. I'd say the rest is history, but a lot has happened along the way! While in high school, I founded what became, at the time, the largest and most modern BMW E30 web forum, E30Sport. After helming the site into my early college years, I became frustrated and disillusioned with the work that went into it, and basically just shut it down [kids, amirite?]. Thankfully, Jordan Sarette picked up the torch, and the site lives on to this day as R3VLimited. The old domain, E30Sport.net, fittingly found new life as an archive of the late Gustave Stroes' web site, which is a veritable goldmine of E30 M3 / DTM knowledge and research.
Over the years, I've had some forays away from E30 ownership, like selling my first E30 to purchase an E36, then eventually going JDM for a few years (GV-chassis WRX, baby!). In 2015 I bought an E30 again, and I've owned four of them since then, including the two I currently own (which you'll see a lot on this site). Though I had done some occasional autocrosses over the last ~15 years, it was in 2015 that I dove into track driving, and I haven't looked back. Since 2020, I have been competing in NASA Time Trials (TT5), but what's next on the horizon is unclear to me. That's a topic I am sure we will get into soon.
Oh, yeah, and if it isn't readily apparent yet, purple is my favorite color.
My one-track mind takes me down deep rabbit holes, emerging with new knowledge I hope to share here.
What
This journal of sorts will explore topics that I have been researching, refining, mulling over, or just simply want to share with the world. The ideas and stories will generally revolve around cars, with a focus on building and track use, but topics will likely wander into other areas as well, such as personal improvement, training/fitness, contentment, influences, and who knows what else. There is also the potential to feature interviews/profiles of other drivers, builders, and industry insiders, or to have guest posts authored by the same types.
Do you want to hear more (or less) about a certain topic? I need you to share your feedback and suggestions here. They will truly help me a lot!
Where
Right here at RISING EDGE. But of course, you can find RE on the typical socials as well. A follow is always appreciated!
When
One new article will be published each week on Thursday. Please sign up for the email newsletter to be notified of each new post (only one email per week). I promise that the newsletter will:
- be free
- be worth your time
- never be spam
Okay, so #2 is pretty subjective, but I'm going to try my best with that one!
Why
This publication is a creative outlet, sure, but it's born out of a desire to share some of the thoughts, ideas, and knowledge that bounce around in this mind of mine, in the hopes that it will help, encourage, or otherwise entertain you. If nothing else, it will be a great way for me to look back and retrace my own progression and growth.
So what do you think? Are you in?
Let's drive fast and have fun.
