On February 9, 1959, the nation was mourning the recent loss of Ritchie Valens, one of the first major Hispanic musicians to reach major crossover success in the United States, and a 2001 Rock 'N Roll Hall Of Fame inductee. However, in the small town of Superior, Az., Richard and Linda Ochoa were celebrating the birth of their first child, Richard. Years later, as the jefitos continued to instill family values to all four siblings, the Ochoas' moved to Mesa. Those values included, without exception, to love, respect, and support the familia, and to use passion to take on life's challenges and opportunities. For the last four decades, that passion has belonged to lowriding, and it has run steadily through the veins of this 2009 Lowrider Hall of Fame honoree.
Richard Ochoa's love for cars, especially lowriders came very easy, as it was in his blood. A second generation Lowrider, Richard recalls his father cruising the streets of Superior in his '55 Pontiac. Today, the family album still has the nostalgic photos of the elder Ochoa posing in front of that lowered Star Chief. In the mid 70's, with his father's influence of cars behind him, and the cruising scene in the Phoenix area surrounding him, Richard knew it was time to build his first lowrider. This desert low, '64 Impala, boasted an extraordinary California style paint scheme that was deemed "ahead of its time" by many of the AZ cruisers. Throughout the years, Richard has built numerous rides, some of which have made the pages of LRM, most notably his '76 Monte Carlo, "Sweet as Candy". As he became known for the custom paints layered on these vehicles, it was the intricately customized interiors that truly became his calling card. As a previous upholsterer by trade, Richard has always created the interiors in his Ariza cruisers, and is currently near completion on his latest creation, a '59 Impala H/T.
In the late 70's, Richard co-founded Pride C.C. Although, the club was well known in the Mesa area, it too, was not immune to the period's conflicts between rival barrios and neighboring cities. The conflict inevitably affected the club's base of members. With the violence reaching the club internally, it was time to apply those instilled values and protect his wife and son; it was time to leave the club. This life-changing experience and lifestyle change would set an example and be an inspiration for fellow cruisers, friends, and siblings. For the next few years, Richard continued cruising without a club plaque, but with the heart of a hundred members. And there, at Pioneer Park, is where he discovered that others had similar sentiments regarding the incorporating of family values and using them to move lowriding into a more positive light. In 1980, Richard founded Society Car Club behind those initial philosophies, which still hold true today within the clubs' charter. These morals carried over into what would eventually become his inspiration as a cultural leader and positive role model for the next 30 years.