Matt Earnest was working as a festival production manager before he signed up to drive for a new on-demand ride service called Lyft. After three weeks he gave notice at his day job. After three months, the number of drivers in the community had tripled. Today, another two years later, there are thousands of drivers giving rides to users in cities all across the U.S. I sat down with Matt in Lyft’s now former office space in the South of Market District of San Francisco, a building now used to house boxes upon boxes of Lyft’s trademark pink “Carstaches.” We talked about the growth of the company, how his role has changed over the years, and of course, his life driving as the infamous DiscoLyft.

Thelma:

So let’s jump right into it, how did you go from simply giving folks rides in your Prius to providing a much more intense experience as the “DiscoLyft”?

DiscoLyft:

Originally I just had some LED lights around the ‘stache, and some on the bumper. Someone pointed out that the car kind of had a face with the ‘stache as the nose and that made me realize how fun it could be to keep adding new features. So I added a DJ System in the trunk, LEDs along the running strips on the outside of the car, a 3800 Watt power inverter, a smoke machine with led club lights, a 3-way PA system, a Smule-Sing karaoke system on TVs, and lastly a projector to display images on the roof.

T:

But why not “ClubLyft” or “DJLyft”? Not all of that stuff exactly screams Disco.

DL:

I took a picture on the red carpet outside the 2012 Giants World Series Dinner and posted it in the Lyft driver Facebook group. By the time I got home, Emily Castor, one of Lyft’s community managers, had shared the picture on Twitter and Instagram with the title “Disco Lyft” – so I just kind of ran with it from there.

T:

With all those amazing features, people must really love to get picked up by you, but what was the most fun YOU ever had on a ride?

DL:

The bachelorette party of eight bridesmaids who ordered two Lyfts. I was with the maid of honor, bride to be and her other two best friends. We were heading to a club to meet the rest of their group but wound up standing them up to catch the view from Twin Peaks. They sang “I left my heart in San Francisco” at the top and then went back down to the club to find the rest of their party pretty upset, but I think the fact that they had somewhere else to be than with me is part of what made it so great.

T:

Not every ride can be fun though, have you had a lot of negative experiences?

DL:

Not a ton, but I had one rude passenger. She declined to introduce herself to me and was concerned about the route I chose to take. Fortunately most passengers are amazing, friendly and grateful. I do my best to please everyone, but we all have our bad days. The main thing to remember is that I’m sharing my car with you, and you’re contributing to my time and hospitality by donating. Lyft is your friend with a car, not a private chauffeur or bellhop, so I always encourage passengers to sit up front to share a fistbump and some conversation.

T:

It seems like there are a lot more friends with cars lately. Lyft is big now, but where do you see it in five years?

DL:

Most of what I want to see is more passengers and more drivers, but I also hope for more spirit animals to reach their #LyftCreatives theme by creating new interactions and experiences through our community movement. We’ve been doing a lot more charitable work such as free rides for seniors of an organization called Little Brothers. Oh, and also: if Earth has a colony on Mars by that time, I’d love to see some Lyft Martian rovers.

T:

So #LyftCreatives is the title for any drivers that trick out their cars in some way, right? Any shoutouts you want to give to some cool Lyfts?

DL:

#LyftCreatives is a collective of drivers who are dedicated to sharing something inspirational about themselves, through self-expression within the ride. There’s a huge list I’d love to mention, but off the top of my head: @KaraokeMoodLyft would have become the original party mobile by default, I haven’t read the books but @HarryPotterLyft is awesome, @LootLyft has a trivia game with tons of prizes in LA, @CookieWarsLyft bakes 2 batches of cookies and has passengers taste test, and I just collaborated with @HipHopLyft on a sharing documentary film. @HinduLyft in Chicago, I can go on and on, there’s not a lot we won’t do to make our passengers feel like stars.

T:

Anything else you want to add?

DL:

Yes! I want to make sure I encourage the different Lyft communities, drivers and passengers alike, to connect with one another! Together we drive this amazing revolution to get around affordably and easy. I’m blessed to get to travel around to different cities that Lyft is in and to meet all the amazing people promoting ridesharing in their hometowns. I hope that everyone gets an opportunity to experience it!