The Determined Society with Shawn French
Fuel Fest 2025: Tyrese & Cody Open Up About Paul Walker, Car Culture, and Raising $700k for Charity
Mon, 24 Mar 2025
In this emotional and inspiring episode of 'The Determined Society', Tyrese Gibson, Cody Walker, and Shawn French discuss the legacy of Paul Walker, the success of Fuel Fest, and how they’ve raised over $700,000 for Reach Out Worldwide. Shawn shares personal stories, including his last moments with Paul in Atlanta, and the emotional significance of bringing Fuel Fest to the city. Get an inside look at what makes Fuel Fest more than just a car show—it’s a party with a purpose! From raising funds for disaster relief to celebrating car culture, this episode will leave you motivated and determined to follow your own path. Tune in to hear about the power of community, family, and giving back. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chapter 1: What is Fuel Fest and why is it significant?
Chapter 2: How did Tyrese Gibson experience his last moments with Paul Walker?
I want you guys specifically to know this from me. We shot Furious 7 in Atlanta. At the end of the movie, when Ben Diesel was in one car and Paul was in the other car, driving down the road, Paul went one way and Ben went the other way. That's actually what happened for me in Atlanta. We were on our way for Thanksgiving break.
We were literally driving on one of those kind of side roads right off the freeway. And I was going to lean up, crack a couple jokes. And we kept driving. You know, when I seen the way the movie ended, it was like, wow, that was kind of crazy because that's actually what happened. This is literally where I got my personal last hug from my brother and woke up to the news of this unexpected tragedy.
This one's luck, I let the pain inspire me. I put my all in everything I'm doing. Up until it's done, I mean for the entirety. I put in overtime. I be working. Just know I'm a go for mine. Cause I earned it. They watching. I know it's time. I confirmed it. The whole society determined. Determined society.
What's up, everybody? Welcome back to the Determined Society. I am your host, Sean French. I have an amazing treat for you today, as always. But first, hit the follow button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple, and get ready for this fast and furious episode. We're going to be highlighting Fuel Fest with amazing guests Tyrese Gibson and Cody Walker. What's up, boys? Yo, what up, Sean?
Hey, man, it's good to see you guys.
Man, good to see you, bro.
Good to be here, man.
It looks like you haven't missed a day at a gym over there, man.
Bro, I'm getting back into it, man. Like, you know, I'm trying. You know, I see some vascularity coming out.
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Chapter 3: How has Fuel Fest grown over the years?
Yeah, the weather in Atlanta is bipolar. We don't want to do that, man. We never know what it's going to be about. But you guys just wrapped up West Palm Beach, right?
Yeah, we did our first year proudly in Tampa. And, I mean, we probably did about 10,000 to 12,000, which is, like, insane. Like, there's no one in music that could go into a market for the first time and say, hi, this is an event called Fuel Fest. Would you guys be willing to show up? I mean, 10,000 to 12,000 people showed up in Tampa. That was our first year. And that was one weekend.
And then the following weekend, we went back to West Palm Beach and did – probably 23,000. The crowd just keeps getting bigger and bigger and crazier. So this year is going to be our second annual QFS in Atlanta, um, where probably I've been living here for the last eight years. And, you know, when we talk about Paul Walker and, our brother that we love.
We try to talk about him and then, you know, because me and Cody, it's real. So if we talk about Paul too much, we'll get sad. But I want you guys specifically to know this from me. We shot Furious 7 in Atlanta. And at the end of the movie, Furious 7, when Vin Diesel was in one car and Paul was in the other car and they were driving down the road, said their final goodbye.
And then Paul went one way and Vin went the other way. That's actually what happened for me in Atlantis. So Paul's best friend is a guy named Roland that me and Cody know really well. He was driving. Paul was in the front seat with his feet up on the dash. We were literally driving on one of those kind of side roads right off the freeway. And we must have been on this road.
And we drove through about 12 lights before we got on the freeway after we left the set. And other than my hugs and all my love, because we were on our way for Thanksgiving break, that was the last time I seen Paul. It was like 6 a.m. in the morning. We did a full night shoot. We were on this road right off the freeway. And we kept stopping at every third light.
And I would really lean up, crack a couple jokes. When we kept driving, another light, lean up, crack a couple jokes. And so, you know, when I seen the way the movie ended, it was like, wow, that was kind of crazy because that's actually what happened. And then, so, and this happened in Atlanta, right?
So the fact that we are finally doing Fuel Fest in the city of Atlanta, it has a very, very big, big significance for me, Cody, and everybody involved because this is literally where I got my personal last hug from my brother. And this is where we were shooting Furious 7 before we all went home for Thanksgiving break. and kind of woke up to the news of this unexpected tragedy.
When everyone showed up last year for the first annual Fuel Fest in Atlanta, I was very happy. It's a big venue, but I was very happy with the turnout. We all believe that this year is going to be even crazier, but I just want the people that are coming out here to Atlanta, traveling from Tennessee, Savannah, and all of the different parts of Georgia, putting their cars on flatbeds, like...
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Chapter 4: What is Reach Out Worldwide and how is it connected to Paul Walker?
And for those of y'all who don't know, Paul founded this charitable organization.
It was after the earthquake in Haiti, right? That's right.
Whenever there's an earthquake, a hurricane, any natural disaster that a lot of people domestically and internationally are heavily affected, Paul was paying out of his pocket, flying in, physically helping with any and everything he can to help people in the middle of these crises. We have raised $600,000 since we've been doing these Fuel Fest events.
So partying with a purpose, embracing the car culture, the gearheads, and just realizing that after 20 years of doing the Fast and the Furious, the fans have literally had nowhere to go. And now we're giving them a place to go. It's called Fuel Fest. So anyway, I've done all the talking, Cody.
if I could really quickly Cody please real quick I just want to edify you for that Tyrese thank you for sharing that it's You know, obviously, you know, not knowing Paul personally, but, you know, it was as real as it could be for someone like me who was just a big fan and just knew what kind of person he was.
So to hear you share something personal like that, I don't want to continue the interview without saying thank you for that.
Hey, man, my pleasure. Like I said, it's a very sensitive thing for us, and it doesn't matter how much time goes by. I know a lot of people that shouldn't be here. They just wake up every day with bad intention. But the nicest, most genuine, beautiful soul, period. And, you know, I don't ever question God, but that was probably one of the first times I ever questioned, like, why him? Why this?
Why that? But we're here now. So, again, coming to Atlanta for this Fuel Fest event, I felt like I really had a responsibility to all of the fans and people and supporters and people that have never attended a Fuel Fest event in their life to have that story and that context in their head as they attend this event. And I think the turnout is going to be pretty special.
And just know that when you get there, you're going to be making a big difference. We're going to keep reaching out worldwide.
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Chapter 5: How does Fuel Fest contribute to charity?
I wanted to create something that Paul would love and that I certainly love doing that could also give back. So I created Fuel Fest. And that's kind of how it all came together. So a portion of the proceeds of every show go back to Reach Out Worldwide. And through Fuel Fest alone, we've raised north of $600,000 actually to date. It's actually probably closer to $700,000 as of this moment.
And it's just crazy. It's so cool. And Fuel Fest has also created a platform for us to educate people on Reach Out Worldwide. Most people know Paul for Paul for Fast and the Furious, and that's great. But far fewer know about his charitable efforts with Reach Out Worldwide. And January of this year, we actually celebrated 15 years of Reach Out Worldwide.
which is insane because Paul only got to see it through its first three years. And here we are 15 years in, and it is just incredible. It's, it's, it's, it's crazy. It's, it's so, it's such a great feeling to see that this part of him lives on and continues to do good work and, and, Um, uh, it's just an honor to be able to do all of this stuff and, and we're having fun doing it.
And I think as Ty already said, you know, we are partying with a purpose at our shows. Uh, it's more than just a car event. There is an underlying meaning behind all of this and why we do this.
And, um, but you know, I think, I think the beautiful thing is that when you come to these fuel effects events, um, It is so much energy. It is like a sea of people, 12 and under getting free. That's been our company policy from the beginning. And the sea, the level of diversity.
We live in a world right now where the political temperature is about black and white and rich and core and this and that. But the one thing that has been consistent from the beginning is that the car culture brings everyone together because whether you're male, female, gay, black, straight, rich, or whatever, wherever you land politically, we all love cars. We all drive cars.
We all love customizing cars. We all have that moment on the freeway where it's like 1 a.m. in the morning and someone wants to just put you to the test and see see what you got going on and you know under that hood you into racing at 1 a.m.
but the freeway is wide open yeah so you know it's it's but the the there's this there's this thing about reach out worldwide that me and Cody and all of us involved we we carry the heaviness of it knowing that we're keeping Paul's legacy alive but It's almost like people are just having so much fun.
They don't even realize how much of an impact that they're making from showing up to support Heelfest. And then when we get on stage and we make these announcements, they're like, well, we we didn't even we didn't even know. We're like, yeah, as soon as a hurricane or earthquake or a
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Chapter 6: What is the personal significance of Fuel Fest to Cody Walker?
Lots of homes wiped out just recently within the last day or two. So, yeah, there's always something going on. That's that's for sure.
What I think is real special too is, and I want the audience to really hear this. So if you live in Atlanta or anywhere close to Atlanta, get your butts to Fuel Fest on April 19th. If you have children 12 and under get in free, go party with a purpose and give back to, to reach out worldwide. Cause that's, that's the thing, right?
We all, the thing that I love about how the two play together is, you know, one we're honoring someone and we're giving a space for the car culture and people like out there that,
go fast somewhere to do it safely in part yes right and then also we're giving back to to those that are that are being challenged right now through you know the natural disasters and i can tell you what i live right here in hurricane alley you know it it shit gets pretty scary guys you know and and just to know that you know there is an organization tied to your brother's name out there helping i'm not surprised but but it makes me feel very very good about this
They've done a lot of work in Florida. A lot of work in Florida. You guys are always getting blasted, it seems like, by these hurricanes. Ian was a bad one.
Yeah, that came right through us, man. I didn't stick around for that one. Well, you know, listen, man.
The crazy thing is, I was born and raised... Well, we were born and raised in LA. And... There is no such thing as earthquake season in LA. So it's not like, you know, every October, get ready. You get ready. Get ready.
Well, dude, I grew up in the Bay Area. I grew up in San Francisco Bay. Yeah. So I'm very familiar. I came out this way after I played college baseball at LSU. But I grew up in the San Francisco Bay. So I was there for the early 89ers. I was in elementary. I'm 46.
I was in elementary school.
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Chapter 7: How does Fuel Fest celebrate car culture and community?
And that was my first time ever experiencing an earthquake. I was literally, I went to a school called Grape Street Elementary in South Central LA Watts. And I was on the playground and I was scared. I just remember everybody was running. Didn't know where the hell we was running to, but we were running and everything was just shaking. It was just crazy. But anyway, listen, guys,
We can't be on for much longer. We got a couple more interviews to do, but go to fuelfest.com. And if you are one of those real gearheads or even not, we find that that and this is really sexy for our event. There's a lot of people that really do this car culture thing. And then there's a lot of people that never, ever go to events that has anything to do with cars.
It is always that perfect balance of. I've never done this before, but look at my collection. Then there's all the guys that really know everything about every engine part, the engine, the tailpipes, the LEDs, and all that other language that Cody speaks and Paul speaks. But I just do the movies, but I don't know anything about the real stuff. But UFS.com, 12 and under gets in free.
And this is our open invitation. We want... We specifically, we got love for every state and every country that we do these shows in. But we really, really specifically want Atlanta to be successful for all of the reasons that I shared. And I've personally never shared this story with anybody. So about last time, I was able to see and hug my brother. So, I mean, our brother. But guys, Atlanta...
What's the name of the racetrack? What's the name of the venue?
Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Atlanta Motor Speedway. FuelFest.com. The tickets are $30 and they will get more expensive the closer we get to the date. Atlanta Motor Speedway. Feel free to empty your garage and bring out 10 or 12 of the cars that you have.
motorcycles, whatever you're doing, let's get sexy, let's have some fun, and hopefully we'll end up having another Atlanta event for Fuel Fest because last year the weather was absolutely beautiful. So it was.
And, you know, I just want to get this in. It's more than just a car show, Sean. It is a we refer to it as an automotive festival. So there's something for everyone. It's a family friendly event. It's it's it's again, it's not just a car show. We've got drifting motorsports. We've got ride alongs. You can go for a ride along in a drift car with a driver.
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