LOS ANGELES -- Furious 7 costar Tyrese Gibson was in a pickle last week when he needed to get from San Francisco to Los Angeles in a few hours after missing the last flight out of town. Luckily, a fan came to his aid via social media and whisked Tyrese and his bodyguard away from the San Francisco Ritz Carlton in his RAV4.
Tyrese to fan: Let’s go fast, or I’ll get furious
Bill Hanstock is a writer, author and Emmy Award-winning producer. He began writing for SB Nation in 2011.
I asked Tyrese to walk me through their adventures together. Here now is that tale, told entirely in Tyrese’s own words and videos.
★★★
It was in the Bay Area and I surprised the crowd out there in San Francisco at the first screening of Furious 7. I just kinda popped up on ‘em, which was really cool, just feeling all that energy. And then I said, “Let me go to the hotel and take a quick power nap.” And I overslept, man. I missed my flight.
So I started getting these text messages and phone calls with a reminder that I have a 7 a.m. interview with Big Boy. Now, Big Boy just left Power 106 and he just started [with] his new station, 92.3. This was like, I was praying for him and I was meeting up with him. And I was literally a part of all of his energy to keep him inspired during his transition from one station to the next. So it wasn’t just a matter of “I can’t cancel this interview.” It was a matter of “I can’t cancel it because of the relationship, the significance of our relationship and our history.” [check phone] This is him texting me now. So, you know, I cannot promote this interview on the level I was promoting it and then not show up. Me, specifically. I’m not doing it.
So I put up on my social media [asking if] there’s anyone willing to drive me to LA. And a lot of love showed up. The fans, the energy. And I jumped in the car and I did the six-hour road trip, man. Made it to the radio station on time.
Post by Tyrese Gibson.
We left San Francisco at around 12:30 a.m. and got to LA at around 6:30 a.m. It was a real six-hour hop. We got pulled over, it was all kind of shit happening.
Post by Tyrese Gibson.
[The cops] let us go. That was one of the videos I put up. The police officers came up with their flashing lights and I was like, “Man, I’m so sorry. My name is Tyrese.” And I went into the whole spiel. But it was a lot.
Post by Tyrese Gibson.
Post by Tyrese Gibson.
The dude was Filipino. He was the nicest guy ever, funny as hell.
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He was doing what he had to do to stay awake, but I didn't really want to wake up to Metallica, or whatever that was playing.
Post by Tyrese Gibson.
And because he was so exhausted, I gave him a suite at a hotel and gave him a surprise of a thousand dollars waiting for him under his pillow. We took care of him, made sure he ate and got back to the house. I'm also going to take him to the Furious 7 premiere.
Post by Tyrese Gibson.
My thing is, I look at him as an extension of the Fast Family. He helped us out when it counted the most.
★★★
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