For years, Jeep owners have been placing rubber ducks on each others’ cars, as a way to create some community and have a little fun. It’s become so common to see rubber ducks associated with Jeeps, especially Wranglers, that even many non-Jeep owners know about it. However, another group of car enthusiasts is adopting and modifying the trend, as Chevy Camaro owners are now leaving little sharks on each others’ cars.
We at The Drive first became aware of this when we stumbled on a Reddit post a few days ago, asking if anyone else had ever heard of “Chevy sharking.” The Facebook group “Sharked Camaros” has almost 3,200 members and is the group that has really accelerated the trend. However, the actual idea of placing sharks on Camaros appears to have originated from Sharell Lester, a car enthusiast who had the idea to copy Jeep’s rubber ducks after scuba diving in Florida.
“My husband and I had just finished scuba diving at Lauderdale by the sea,” Lester told The Drive. “I got in the truck and was scrolling Facebook, and genius struck me. I’d always loved the camaraderie of the Jeep world (former Jeep owner) and wanted to do something similar [with Camaros].”
The idea is to place a rubber shark on the windshield of other Camaros, along with a friendly note, to spread love for the community’s favorite sports car. If any Camaro sharkers post their sharking shenanigans to social media, they’re also supposed to use certain hashtags, so fellow sharkers can keep up with all the sharking. (Is that a record for uses of the word “shark” in one sentence?)
Before Sharked Camaros, Lester was already in a Facebook group called the “Lady Camaro Gang” where she presented the idea and started a poll about which mascot should be used. “Of course sharks were the first thing I thought of, not only because I am obsessed with sharks, but because the Camaro through the years has always reminded me of a sleek powerful shark,” Lester said. “I immediately made a post in the Facebook group Lady Camaro Gang, it’s just a group of women who love their Camaros, where we can be away from men ‘mansplaining’ our cars to us. We had a vote, and sharks won.”
Lester says that she even bought her current Camaro—which she named Gypsy—because it reminded her of a shark, long before she came up with the idea.
However, after leaving the Lady Camaro Gang, a friend named Melissa started Sharked Camaros for her. And while the initial group was mainly for women, all are welcome to join in on the sharky fun. “It started out that way mainly because I didn’t want to deal with men who would bitch about us touching their cars,” Lester said. “It was just an easy place for me to organize people. Everyone is invited to participate!”
The group is populated with women and men alike, and it continues to grow. “A lot of cars have shark antennae. To me it’s because the Camaro is a fierce Mustang-eater like a shark,” said member John Carter. “Maybe the group founders will weigh in. Even got my buddy printing sharks for us.”
Another fellow sharker, Laura Johnson said “I got Sharked at a car show a couple of years ago and got hooked. I have met so many fellow Camaro owners in many states. I always take sharks with me when we travel.” One member even shared a photo of a Camaro race car owned by drag racer Ryan Martin, of Street Outlaws fame, with a shark keychain on its blower.
What started as a fun little inside joke among a few Camaro owners is now officially becoming a thing. It isn’t quite as much of a thing as Jeep ducks—yet. These Camaro owners are passionate about their shark trend and the larger community that’s growing, which is all the more admirable as the Camaro enters a hopefully short hiatus.
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