--- title: 'Kindred Spirits' url: 'https://www.abgase.org/home/en/activities/people' markdown: 'https://www.abgase.org/home/en/activities/people.md' lang: en date: '2026-08-23' description: "Growing up as a young boy, being attracted to exhaust fumes and pollution seemed obvious and natural, because I simply didn't know any different. It had always been part of my life experience, from a very early age. As I got older, however, I was well aware that it wasn't normal. Those kinds of fee…" taxonomy: archives_month: - aug_2026 archives_year: - '2026' --- # Kindred Spirits [ Home ](https://www.abgase.org/home/en) [ Activities ](https://www.abgase.org/home/en/activities) Kindred Spirits Growing up as a young boy, being attracted to exhaust fumes and pollution seemed obvious and natural, because I simply didn't know any different. It had always been part of my life experience, from a very early age. As I got older, however, I was well aware that it wasn't normal. Those kinds of feelings were supposed to be reserved for something else. While I realised how bizarre it was to get turned on by exhaust fumes, I also couldn't change anything about it. Obviously, nobody else would ever be able to understand, so I felt ashamed of it and was very anxious about anybody finding out. It wasn't until around age 13 that I learned, by discovering online communities, that my feelings weren't as one-of-a-kind as I had thought. I was surprised and a little relieved that I wasn't the only person in the world with this strange disposition, but also extremely curious. This quirk made so little sense that I wondered why and how it could've emerged in so many other people. What did we have in common? Which similar childhood experiences did we have? I still find it fascinating to compare these memories and theories. On this website, I write a lot, and in much detail, about my own memories and experiences. But in this section, I'd like to present the backgrounds of a few other people sharing some of my fondnesses. By having several of these stories right next to each other, it might become easier to find possible common triggers. I hope these pages will also make the website be a bit less about one single person's perspective, and allow visitors to see a wider range of viewpoints on these topics. I will start asking a few of my acquaintances from this scene if they'd like to contribute a few paragraphs to this section. If you, yourself, would like to see your story represented here, please [get in touch](https://www.abgase.org/home/en/contact)! It can be as long and detailed, or a short and basic, as you'd like. Below are a few questions to get you started or inspired, questions I'd be interested in hearing people's own answers to. I'll do some basic editorial work on it and check back if the final version is okay to publish. ## Suggested questions This isn't a questionnaire, you don't have to answer any question you don't want to in your "biography". The questions are meant as an inspiration and a help to get you started. They're what I think would be interesting to read about. But feel free to skip any topics you're not comfortable or interested in discussing, and adding anything else you think others might find worth reading about. Click the tabs for different categories of questions. - [Profile](#fb1eb836110) - [Origins](#fb1eb836111) - [Theories](#fb1eb836112) - [Development](#fb1eb836113) - [Memories](#fb1eb836114) - Which specific topics of the ones covered on this website are you into? (Exhaust fumes, motorsports, racing gear, tree fellings, protective gear, water pollution, …) - Do you actively indulge in these passions? If so, how? - Just to get an idea: roughly how old, from which part of the world, and what gender are you? - What are your earliest memories on the topic? When did you first become generally aware of exhaust fumes, pollution, and environmental issues? - What was your initial reaction, what were your thoughts about that back then? - Did it incite you to do anything about it? - Did you see something exciting or alluring about them from the beginning, or only later? - What do you think might have been the triggers for you to first develop an interest in pollution or exhaust fumes? - Do you think those initial triggers already predisposed you to finding something alluring about them? - If you only started to find them appealing later, do you remember when and how you started discovering that appeal? Does it seem like it was a specific moment, or a gradual process? - Are there any specific aspects that you think drew you in? - Did your view on the topics change over the years, and if so, in what way? - What, if anything, did you do to indulge in those feelings? Took up a new hobby, visited events, etc. - Did you ever bring up, or act out, these fondnesses with anyone in real life? - Is there a specific moment, a certain experience, that you think triggered your predilection? - Which other memories and impressions particularly stayed with you? ## Collected stories Hopefully, there will be some here soon! --- ## Comments Sort by: Loading comments... --- ## Navigation - Parent: [Activities](https://www.abgase.org/home/en/activities.md) - Previous: [Community](https://www.abgase.org/home/en/activities/community.md) - Next: [Calendar](https://www.abgase.org/home/en/activities/events.md)