Sara Choi Is Racing To The Top

In Bustle’s The Pregame, we ask athletes about their pregame rituals. How do they get in the zone? What do they listen to before a competition? Do they have any lucky superstitions? Here, professional drifter Sara Choi talks muscle cars, Korean skin care, and her favorite stress-relief practice.

While growing up in Honolulu, Hawaii, Sara Choi hung out with self-professed “car kids” who would get together and cruise the highways at night. “This was a known island thing where every weekend, the cars would meet up at the Navy Exchange to race,” she tells Bustle. Like any 15-year-old girl, she eventually fell in love. The object of her affection? A '99 Honda Civic EK Coupe.

Choi followed her interest to her first job at an auto shop, where her boss took her under his wing and eventually bought her the Coupe, which she paid off with each paycheck. He would also toss her the occasional part, and show her the ropes. “Through working there, I learned a lot about cars,” the 32-year-old says.

As her love for Honda grew, Choi began posting about her car on Instagram and started to build a following. In her early 20s, she moved to Osaka, Japan, where she was exposed to the world of drifting — a motorsport where you purposefully oversteer to slide sideways through turns, just like in the movie The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. There, she honed her new craft.

According to Choi, drifting is nothing like Formula 1, drag racing, or rallying. “I think of the car world like music, where there's R&B, EDM, hip-hop, and alternative rock,” she says. “They’re all music and they all bridge each other in a certain way, but they're separate worlds when it comes to audiences and fans.”

Also unlike Formula 1, where the winner crosses the finish line first, the winner of a drifting competition is based on more unique factors: The best drifters maintain a high speed and fluidity through turns, perform high-angle slides without straightening out, follow an ideal path through the race course, and add some flair while doing it. When it comes to scoring points, style and commitment are major factors.

“Style points are what I love most,” she says. “Every single driver has a different style.”

Choi has been a professional drifter since 2023, competing in events like the FAT Ice Race in Montana, the Indonesia Drift Series, and the Mongolia Drift Series. Next on her schedule is the Gumball 3000, a driving tour that starts on June 4 in Miami and ends June 12 at the World Cup in Mexico.

In February, Choi launched her own streetwear label, Badseki, and she’s also part of OpenAI’s “ChatGPT for Pros” community, which highlights how users integrate the platform into their routines.

Here, Choi shares how AI helps her behind the wheel, her favorite breathing technique for nerves, and what she listens to on the track.

How do you get in the zone before a race?

I'm a huge Wim Hof fan, so I do a lot of his 10-minute breathing exercises. Sometimes I do tapping strategies, and if my anxiety is really bad, I’ll listen to EDM. I like that the beat is predictable. It calms my nervous system.

Do you have any pre-race superstitions or rituals?

I always make sure I'm wearing something red. I did a Feng Shui element reading and found out I need more fire in my life. That's why I have this little red bracelet on, or I’ll wear a red belt or red underwear. My suit also has red on it.

What’s your beauty routine on race day?

I’m a huge Korean skin care girl, so I always start with toner, then my best serum, lock it in with moisturizer, and top it with sunscreen. I have to wear a helmet, and as someone who loves makeup, I hate it. My foundation always smears, so I have to fix it post-race.

How do you use ChatGPT in your work?

At a race, I’ll sometimes end up in a car that I’ve never driven before in my life. When I know that’s going to happen, I’ll punch in a bunch of questions about the chassis. I recently drove someone else’s Porsche on ice in Montana, and typed in, “How does this specific car drive on ice?” to feel more prepared.

What’s the vibe like on the track right before a race starts?

At some races there are only two or three other women, but sometimes it's just me, and it can be a vulnerable moment. When there’s so many eyes watching, it makes me worry what people are thinking. The worst part is when you’re waiting in a line by yourself with no phone or any distractions, and there’s so much time to get in your head.

How do you cope?

I’ll do my anxiety tricks, like looking around for three things I can see, three things I can feel, etc. It’s like exposure therapy. I’ve realized that it’s true what they say: When you do the uncomfortable and just keep doing it, it gets more comfortable. I’ll also tell myself, “Nobody cares what happens. Do your best. You love this.”

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.