FuelFest 2024 touched down in Atlanta for the first time bringing together car enthusiasts and fans from across Georgia; for a great purpose of course. In a JaGurl TV exclusive interview with the mastermind behind FuelFest and the late Paul Walker younger brother, Cody Walker, who shared his insights on the important cause FuelFest supports; Reach Out World Wide.
“Obviously, days like this put a huge smile on my face,” Cody tells JaGurl TV. “I have an incredible team of people behind me to help make all this work. This is a big event, as you can see, so yeah, very blessed with the people behind me and very, very humbled and so thankful for everybody that comes out.”
Reach Out WorldWide (ROWW), the non-profit charity founded by Paul Walker and continued by his brother Cody Walker, was founded in 2010. The organization was created after a massive earthquake devastated Haiti with the inspiration to organize a relief team that responded to the disaster. ROWW’s mission since then has and still is to fill the gap between the availability of skilled resources in post-disaster situations. As of 2024, ROWW has raised over $520,000 through the partnership with FuelFest to benefit those in need and has deployed resources to several disaster areas including Beaumont, Texas, Lahaina, Hawaii, Türkiye, and more including the most receive Hurricane Helene.
2024 marks the first time FuelFest has landed in Atlanta, a city with rich automotive history and connections to the Fast & Furious franchise. “Atlanta’s always been a place that I knew we needed to do a FuelFest,” Cody tells JaGurl TV. “There’s so much automotive history here. It’s such a mecca for motorsports.” The city also holds personal significance for Cody, as Fast & Furious 7 was filmed there, a project in which he played a role after his brother Paul’s untimely passing.
FuelFest, however, is more than just an automotive celebration. It is deeply intertwined with Cody’s dedication to continuing the work his brother started through Reach Out Worldwide (ROWW). Cody emphasized the heart behind the festival: “We are partying with a purpose here to support Reach Out Worldwide, which is obviously very important to me and to a lot of us,” Cody continues, “That was the catalyst for FuelFest.”
As the younger brother of the beloved Paul Walker, Cody has a unique perspective on the global impact of Paul’s life and work. Reflecting on the significance of FuelFest as a tribute to Paul, Cody said, “I’m just so humbled and grateful… He was a huge, huge example for me in my life. We were super close, despite our age gap.” FuelFest’s success in bringing people together to celebrate car culture and Paul’s legacy is creating a huge impact on the world. “For other people that didn’t even meet him to feel that connection with him too, it just feels so cool. I was such a lucky guy that he (Paul) was my big brother.”
Through FuelFest, Cody and his team are able to make a difference by donating a portion of the proceeds to ROWW. This year Lowes presented FuelFest with a $100,000 check to ROWW. Additionally, the festival helps spread awareness of the organization’s mission, with booths throughout the event selling merchandise and educating attendees.
The impact FuelFest makes is truly remarkable, and it shows though the work ROWW continues to do around the world.