Finding A New Lane: Debo Williams Talks Football, Cars & ‘Sync My Ride’
When our site sat down with Debo Williams, it was clear that what makes him special goes far beyond numbers or awards. A true leader and the heartbeat of South Carolina’s defense, Williams became a two time Rex Enright permanent team captain by earning trust through consistency, toughness, and accountability. His impact showed every week, finishing his career with 225 tackles in 51 games and delivering a standout 2023 season in which he led the team with 113 tackles, earned first team All SEC honors, and was named the Joe Morrison MVP for Defense.
In 2024, he started all 13 games once again, added another captain honor, earned the Strength and Conditioning Award, and balanced football with academic success as a member of the SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll. This interview matters because it introduces a different side of Williams, one rooted in car culture and innovation, and explains how his lifelong connection to cars led to the creation of Sync My Ride, a platform designed to bring the car community together in one place.
With that in mind, Williams walks us through the moment he saw the gap, the purpose behind the app, and how his leadership background continues to shape its growth.
You went from being a two-time football captain to launching a tech platform in the car culture space. What was the moment that made you say, “This is the next lane for me”?
So I grew up around a car family. My father has always been into Dodges like the Chargers, Challengers, and Durangos, but also old-school cars. He’s had a ’64 Ford Galaxie for a long time now, and during COVID, car meets got very big so people could communicate without having to touch each other. I realized some of the things that were needed regarding car meets and car shows, and that was having a specific app where people could communicate and meet up instead of using other social media outlets. Now it’s one specifically for them!
There are a lot of car shows and meetups out there already—what problem did you see that made you feel Sync My Ride needed to exist?
Yes, like I said before, I just bridged a gap because people were using Instagram, Facebook, group messages, etc. to make these meets and car shows work, and so I wanted to bring everyone together under one umbrella.
Car culture has always been about community. How does Sync My Ride keep that authentic feel while still modernizing the experience with tech?
It keeps the community and authentic feel because it keeps everyone together in one app and not spread apart. If you’re an organizer on the app, you can set up everything, invite who you want, and set it to whatever place you want it to be at.
You’ve started getting interest from major events and influential names in the space. How do you balance growth and visibility without losing control of your vision?
It’s an honor to have people wanting to work with Sync My Ride—that is definitely a part of the vision. My background in football, being a captain, a team player, and doing whatever it takes to win keeps me focused without losing control of my vision, because I just want Sync My Ride to keep succeeding!
Where do you see Sync My Ride in five years—and how do you want people to remember your impact on car culture?
I see Sync My Ride leading the way for the car community—the app everyone uses when it’s time to make or join a car meet or car show. I want people to remember my impact on car culture as Debo Williams putting his mind to something and getting it done by any means necessary, and this time it was to help the car community navigate easier.
