On May 20th, 2010, the very first episode of Riders, Rangers, & Rambles was released onto the world. Aptly titled “Riders, Rangers, & Rambles – Episode #1: Buwaa, Gurrooo, Shittttt” (it’s like we were prophets), the first episode was nothing short of an absolute mess, but I honestly wouldn’t have it any other way. The show’s concept began early on when Kevin (Jedimon2005), another user whom may or may not even be in the fandom anymore, and myself became friends on the CS Toys live show chat. We hit it off, and wanted to begin a CS Toys podcast to discuss tokusatsu. We really wanted Mr. S on the show, but due to time zone differences, the idea never really panned out, and the idea was shelved.
Fast forward a bit, Kevin and I befriended DosmRider, and eventually the idea of a podcast resurfaced. There weren’t a ton of tokusatsu focused podcasts around at the time, and those that were just didn’t match the level of crazy that we wanted to bring to the table. After much discussion (maybe? Knowing us, probably not) Riders, Rangers, & Rambles, complete with a Red Ribbon Army look-alike logo, was born. We wouldn’t ever call it RRR though, that would be stupid.
The remaining seven years in the history of the original podcast are honestly a blur. Hell, when Josh told me it was the tenth anniversary of the show this week, I couldn’t believe it. We never really got a huge audience. Most people in the fandom didn’t take our crazy, unstructured, uncensored, barely edited show seriously, and I don’t really blame them for that. But when we created RRR, my goal was to create a show that emulated a bunch of friends talking about something they loved, like you would on a focused radio show. Something that felt live and a little bit off the hinge. Even if people hated us, I always felt we succeeded in that. Our small, dedicated group of fans kept us going, and we eventually spawned a website that was dedicated to bringing you the latest toku news in the craziest way possible, in all the ways possible. It was a huge undertaking, and eventually staff differences and overambitious natures forced us to close it down. Thankfully we rescued Aresol from the sinking ship. I’ll forever be thankful to him for bringing some much needed sanity and focus to the show. Some of our best discussions of all time came from his participation, and he’ll always be an important piece of the RRR puzzle.
The podcast continued until September 2017. We had been doing the show for seven years at that point. None of us were the same people we were when the show started. Kevin was married with kids, both Dosm and I had moved into our own places and heavily focusing on YouTube, and Aresol had decided to step back. Time wasn’t something we all had a lot of anymore and getting together for a few hours became more and more of a struggle. We tried to move to a monthly format, but even that didn’t quite work out. We never even got to swan song out of there. The show just sort of quietly died in its sleep.
That is until June 2018 hit. Will messaged me one day with a request that honestly surprised me. Him and a group of old RRR faithfuls wanted to revive the brand in a new liveshow format. I was absolutely floored that someone remembered the show (even if it had only been a few months) much less wanted to associate themselves with it. I was honored, and after a quick check with the others, gave my blessing for them to use the name. On July 6th, 2018, RRR the Streets went live, and the RRR legacy was reignited. It took a lot of time for me to become a regular on there, but I’m happy they welcomed an old fart like me back with open arms, and it continues to be a highlight of my week.
After finally getting off the floor and realized my friends and I created a legacy, I was shoved back onto the damn floor when SpringRoland asked Will if him and a couple of the RRR the Streets faithfuls could start a livestream show to lead into RRR the Streets that was more focused on the Super Hero Time discussions and Discord incorporation than what The Streets ultimately becomes each week. After a short time, Will was honored that someone wanted to spin off his show, and I was honored someone wanted to spin off the spin off of my show. I’m a grandparent y’all.
Here we are. May 20th, 2020. Ten years ago me and two buddies sat down to record a silly show about Japanese super heroes. If you pulled me aside that day and asked where I thought it was going to go, I never would have thought that the legacy would not only still be going every week, but now give the title of “RRR Host” to 13 different people, not to mention the handful of guests that have been on multiple episodes of both the original show and The Streets. I will forever be baffled on how this stupid little show lasted so long, and brought in so many people, but I’m forever thankful. RRR is my baby, and always will be.
To Dosm and Kevin, thank you for starting this show with me. There’s no two idiots I’d rather have done the show with. To Aresol, thank you for joining us when you did. You were a breath of fresh air among the crazy with just the right amount of knowledge and sass. To The Streets Crew, thank you for taking our vision and bringing it into the current age while still keeping it crazy. You have something good on your hands. To The Breakdown Boys, thank you for adding some discussion and community interaction to the RRR format, but more importantly, thank you for wanting to take our vision and make it your own. It’s an honor.
Finally, to the fans that have supported us, thank you. Whether you started from Season 1, Season 3, Season 6, or just started watching with The Streets, you’re a part of this community. I never expected so many people to like our silly show, and the fact that this small little community continues to not only band together, but collectively expanded and grow this brand is nothing short of amazing to me. I am 100% truly honored.
Thank you for an amazing 10 years. With any luck I’ll see you all for the 15th where I get emotional all over again.
As always, thanks for listening, take care, and have a great one…
~ Shuki
CollectorShuki.com