Posted by Teemu Peltoniemi
on March 04, 2025
We headed to Västerås to hear what the local raggare think of Dick Johnson's pomade.
It’s a Friday night in Västerås, central Sweden. But this isn’t just any weekend in the Swedish version of Lahti – it’s the legendary Västerås Summer Meet, one of the largest car gatherings in the world. Around 15,000 American classics roll into the city, along with a massive crowd of raggare.
To celebrate Dick Johnson’s 10-year anniversary, we came to ask these grease-hair experts what they think of Pomade Inepuisable – our first-ever product launched in 2014. And after a few beers, even Swedish is starting to sound fluent!
“It smells f***ing amazing!”
It’s 10 PM at the Lögarängen parking lot, where rock music blares and a parade of chrome rumbles past. Dennis and Leo have arrived from Mora in a 1960 Chevrolet Parkwood station wagon.
- Tonight’s plan? Raggaring, booze, and music
- They’re even firing up a bubble machine
Dick Johnson pomade is a welcome addition to the night’s festivities.
– Hell yeah, I’ll try this. Let me slick back real quick, says Leo.
– I’m an all-natural man, Dennis hesitates at first.
Leo rubs the pomade confidently into his hands and smooths his hair with style. The look is polished rockabilly – finished off with a Dick Johnson comb. That’s about as close to a rock god as it gets.
– It smells f***ing amazing!
After Leo’s slickback, Jailhouse Rock blasts from the speakers. Inspired, Dennis gives in and styles his hair too.
– Works like a charm!
Soon, Kenneth from southern Sweden rolls up in a turquoise Cadillac. He offers homemade moonshine from his trunk, and the rest of the evening starts getting blurry.
“Holds up great, even in the rain!”
I crack open my crusty eyes somewhere 20 km outside the city. A morning shower washes away the sins of the night – and luckily, the camera still works despite the kebab sauce incident.
After hours of cruising and a few “leveling” beers, the moonshine hangover starts to ease. By midnight, I arrive at Hammarbyrampen gas station – one of the main hangouts during Summer Meet. Despite the rain, the atmosphere is buzzing.
Since I cheated my way through both basic and advanced Swedish in school, interviews haven’t gone super deep – so I look for fellow Finns.
Not hard. Every year, Västerås attracts a solid crowd of Finnish raggare.
One of the car guys hanging out is Toni from Pirkanmaa, Finland. His crew rolled in with a 1965 Ford Country Squire.
– Is that Dick pomade oil-based?
Nope – but it still holds like hell and washes out easily.
Toni also praised the scent and, despite the rain, decided to fix up his slickback.
– I just wish I had a mirror!
Still, the style came together smoothly.
- We Finns like to think Swedes are soft – their “strong beer” is 4.5%
- Yet here in Västerås, there’s homemade booze in every trunk
- I was supposed to find six testers – but moonshine derailed the mission
Still, we had a hell of a time. Better luck next year!