In 2015 Christa Wittmier, a marketing director, newspaper columnist, and DJ in Hawaii, received the news that no one ever wants to hear. She was diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. Doctors said she had less than a year to live. But Christa decided otherwise. Her struggle has had its ups and downs but her fighting spirit remains unbeaten. Last year, her daily driver BMW was turned into an "Art Car" to help her raise breast cancer awareness.
Christa has been fighting the disease for going on two years now. Through a combination of traditional medical treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation, along with holistic approaches and a strict organic diet, she was making excellent progress until the cancer came back with a vengeance in 2016, attacking other organs including her brain.
The setback did not stop the U.S. Navy veteran from continuing the battle. She writes and travels extensively to speak to groups all over the world on her fight and has inspired countless numbers of people. In December 2016, Christa, who is universally acknowledged as the expert on Honolulu's nightlife, attended a huge retirement party and birthday bash with hundreds of her closest friends and supporters. The festival was extensively covered in the Hawaiian media.
Christa's story is fascinating and inspiring all by itself, but what caught our attention was her car—an E46 BMW 325i. To help raise awareness for breast cancer and support for research, Christa's friend and noted artist Aaron De La Cruz applied his talent and distinctive style to create what can only be described as a BMW art car, predominantly using shades of pink, which is instantly recognizable as the color that represents the fight against this insidious disease.
Of course, Christa's E46 art car is not an official BMW Art Car; there are only 18 of those. However, in our opinion and for a number of reasons, we like De La Cruz's treatment of Christa's Bimmer more than some of the "real" art cars. One of the best reasons is that Christa continues to drive it to help raise awareness in her community.
Her friends made a video of Aaron De La Cruz creating the art on this "art car" and its debut at the party.
None of us know what the future holds, but Christa Wittmier is not waiting to find out. She continues to chart her own course and fight the good fight. The future is not coming for her; she is charging toward it, and we wish her the best.—Scott Blazey
[Photo courtesy of Metro Honolulu. Video courtesy of Christa Wittmier and created by Joshua Bowlin with music by Jai Wolf.]
