Petersen Spotlight: CF200 Members Mike & Steve Denkers
Published on Jan 27, 2025. Written by Andy Wasif.
"It's hard to be bad," Mike Denkers replied when asked how he was doing. As I conversed with the head of War Chest Partners, a real estate and construction company, and an Eccles Foundation trustee, I quickly understood what the 29-year-old Utah resident meant. Mike and his dad Steve are, among other endeavors, car enthusiasts. They are also CF200 members and fans of the Petersen Automotive Museum.
It’s not too much of a secret that the Petersen provides not only cars but also a sense of community for those who appreciate all aspects of the automobile. And Mike can appreciate that. “The car community," he says, "is very unique and amazing. It’s something I definitely take for granted because when I have a non-car friend who sees the connections and things I gotta go do just because I love cars, they’re like, ‘Why the hell am I not into cars?'" And with a neverending sense of duty to provide for those less fortunate, the Petersen Foundation and the esteemed Eccles family, of which Mike and Steve are descendants, are a match of altruistic synergy.
Mike's family has been a fixture in philanthropic work ever since ancestor David came over from Scotland in the mid-1800s and began thriving as a serial entrepreneur. The seeds he planted have since grown to form one of Utah's most recognizable families. Mike is the great-grandson of Willard Eccles and if you've spent any time in Utah, you're no doubt familiar with the name from buildings and landmarks. The Eccles Foundation supports a variety of noble causes through grants including education, environment, social services, basic science, and healthcare for the underserved.
Having been members of The Petersen for several years, it is through their philanthropic efforts that Mike championed the non-profit 43 Institute—the Ken Block Foundation on which Mike serves as an advisory board member to the Museum. With Ken Block’s passing, Mike was worried that Block's memory would pass as well. But with exhibitions like the one at the Petersen introducing the legendary rally racer, businessman, and YouTube sensation to new fans daily, Mike is confident that Ken Block’s influence on automotive culture will be felt for years to come.
Mike’s own love of automobiles grew from what Block did. Though Mike and Steve have many favorites to drive—Land Rovers and Audi—they are, at their core, Porsche fans, which Mike calls "the best worst idea you ever had." Though he relents when considering all the fun adventures his cars have provided. "At times you’ll wonder why you ever did it. And then at the end of it, you’ll be very happy."
But, the primary motive for Mike and Steve in buying cars is to drive them. And they drive them a LOT. Between the two of them, the Denkers put around 100,000 miles a year on their vehicles. It was this that spurred Mike to sell what he calls "the prettiest, cutest car we ever had." One-of-four 1993 Porsche 911 RS Americas in the world that was “paint-sample fly yellow” was simply not long for their purposes—they put fewer than 6000 miles on it in three years. For that reason, they swapped it out for a brand new Porsche 911 (992) Dakar. "You know a lot of these cars, you sort of kick yourself and say, 'Oh my God, I should have never sold that,'” he says with a chuckle. Though he acknowledges that for every one sold comes a new love.
Regardless of what car they're in, time behind the wheel has created a lifetime of memories for Mike and his dad. One such experience was in a 1994 Lancia Delta HF Integrale EVO II which they took on the Annual Delta Snowdon through the Snowdon Pass in North Wales in 2023.
The Lancia remains the owner of Mike's "favorite story of any car we've ever had." But it was certainly not an inexpensive one. Bought off the Bring a Trailer website as a consignment auction, the import process—from Japan to the U.S.— began in 2019 and wasn’t completed until 2021. Then the real fun began due to, as Mike put it, “a catastrophic engine failure.” He highlights the primary concern with maintaining beautiful, little Italian cars is "project creep" where one fix inevitably leads to one tending to every other part of the car. Such was the case with a 15-month restoration process at Delta expert Tanc Barrett’s shop two hours north of London.
Still, that did not stop Mike and Steve from meeting up with 50 other Delta EVOs (maybe 10% of all running EVOs in the world, by his estimation) for four days while rallying across the fantastic roads of Wales. (The Snowdon Pass itself sits on the highest mountain in Wales with an elevation of 3560 feet above sea level.) Part of the joy for Mike was watching "every single dude in a utility van hanging out of their car giving us a thumbs up" as their Lancia passed. Mike called it “the most incredible fun event that we could have done.”
But an embarrassment of riches leaves the Denkers with choices and it was the Porsche 911 Dakar that was Steve’s machine of choice for this year’s Petersen Rally—the annual pilgrimage made from the Museum up the coast to Monterey Car Week. Chiming into our conversation, Steve mused, “It was funny because I was in the Dakar and there were other guys in Porsches and Lambos and I think four or five of the guys got flat tires or curbed their tires" on the dirt roads of the vineyard. Such is the benefit of having a car that's “rough and ready.”
The episode speaks to Ken Block's penchant for such vehicles and the inspiration he was to the Denkers. “What he [Block] did inspired me to do more interesting and different things than others are doing. So that’s something I’ve never seen replicated before, the way he did it, so… It’s amazing, it’s unique, and it started multiple different industries.”
One new avenue of entrepreneurship for rally cars is in content creation. It led Mike to "perhaps the most fun we've had"—a “Safari Party” down in Southern Utah hosted by his friend and talented photographer Tanner Seymour. (For those not in the know, a Porsche Safari is a modified Porsche 911 that's been adapted for off-roading, a tradition that began in the 1960s.) The event allowed the Denkers to combine some of their favorite things—Porsches, off-road adventures, stunning landscapes, and community. It was originally the brainchild of Seymour and Brock Keen, a fellow content creator.
Before the Safari Party, Tanner took a couple of other Porsches to Knolls, Utah in the Great Salt Lake Desert to shoot some videos. "The sand is fun in these cars—slippery and you don’t need a ton of power," according to Mike. They shot some fun videos without any real plan, and Seymour put them on Instagram. (The three videos Seymour posted of the day have eclipsed ten million views at the current tally.)
Later, Seymour and Keen put out Instagram and Facebook posts saying, “Hey, we’re putting together a Porsche rally in Southern UT.” The plan was to bring a ton of videographers and photographers and have some fun. It was also an opportunity for all those who showed up to advertise through sponsorship. Though others doubted its success, including organizers of other Porsche events worldwide, no one expected it to blow up online as much as it did. At the end of October 2024, there had to be 35-40 other cars and maybe an equal number of cameras.
This was heaven to the Denkers—Mike in his '83 Safari and Steve in his 992 Dakar. It was a diverse group from all walks of life, and not necessarily of only Porches. The postings brought all sorts together including a 944, a Cayenne, and even a crazy lifted E-class Mercedes. "Out of all the events I've ever done, it was the only event that everybody felt totally comfortable being around everybody else. There were no conversations of ‘How much was your car?’ or ‘What else do you have in your collection?’ but rather, ‘I can’t wait to get out tomorrow and see what the dunes are gonna be like and the different landscapes we’re gonna see.’ And one funny thing was how a bunch of air-cooled 911s that were never made to go off-road went down to Southern Utah beat themselves up and not one of them broke.”
The highlight that stuck the most with Mike is how "two random guys from Utah with a couple of fun cars threw their cars in the dunes with a bunch of other car enthusiasts from all walks of life." Mike's theme comes through loud and clear without him saying it directly—Be a part of it. Live a little. All are welcome!
The Denkers recognize that. The Petersen Museum recognizes that. And we know that visitors unaware of Ken Block's legacy at the Museum will soon recognize that. What Block did to bring fun to the mainstream will live on. So many who come to the Museum are met with a community who believe that there is something truly special about the automobile. It is indeed, to paraphrase Mike, hard to be “doing bad” when you are a part of something special that the car community provides.
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