VNTYPLTS: A Photo Series, Part I

A few months ago, for reasons I don't quite understand, I started taking notice of vanity license plates. Once I started, I couldn't stop, like when you learn a new word and suddenly hear and read it everywhere. The clusters of letters that were meant to provide an outlet for personal expression, just above a dirty exhaust pipe, started jumping out at me. With total disregard for my safety and the safety of my fellow drivers, as well as disregard for the risk that someone might notice and punch me in the face, I started taking pictures of these license plates with my phone, usually when stopped at a red light behind one of them.

I would get so excited about finding a really juicy one (for me that usually means one you have to say out loud or have to think about a little to understand, like H2OSKII), that others started snapping pics of vanity plates they saw on the road.

I think what fascinates me most about them is wondering who the people are that go out of their way to get a license plate with a special message on it, and what their license plate says about them. With that in mind, I decided to do a photo blog post series with these license plates and my profile of the person driving the car based on their choice of vanity plate phrase.

To kick things off we have:


Photo courtesy of Jackie Greco


Who is Ruf-Ryda?

Caucasian male, early twenties, 5'11", approximately 135lbs, dirty blond hair, often covered with a doo rag, blasts gangsta rap with the windows down when driving with friends, plays Hootie and the Blowfish's Greatest Hits when riding solo.