overground

It’s funny how things change. Drifting started out as something fun to do, something cool and interesting, a sport that didn’t rely on clocks and judges and crap. It used to be pure, fun, and a downright good time with a group of friends. Obviously no awesome underground movements stay underground for long, and as soon as the regular public gets a hold of something great it quickly turns to garbage. You would think the people that really are down for the sport, the guys that have always had the sport’s back, would resist the change and stay cool.

Unfortunately that’s not the case. I have been following this rad kid Matt Powers for years now. He used to be a pretty decent driver with an awesome styled car. His s14 was low, simple, and downright gritty and cool. He used to drive as an amateur and his car was something that I admired. I really liked the guys driving style and really really liked his car.

Then he became a driver in Formula D. I am not trying to be rude, jealous, or snobbish at all, but his car took a serious downhill fall. More like an abrupt drop off a cliff. It got tall, ugly, and cluttered. The exact opposite of everything that I used to love about it. Nasty ass Need for Speed vinyl ruined the car. The ride height got raised a few inches. Overall the car went to complete shit. I am sorry Matt Powers, but take it back to where it was. You ruined a great drift car.

Before (cool)



After (yucky yucky sauce)

State of Mind

There are some things that go hand in hand with drifting. The first thing is style. Since drifting relies so heavily on car and driving style, most people that drift cars have a great sense of style in most other aspects of life. They are very into fashion, arts, and other expressive forms of sport. Just go to any drifting event or street spot. You won’t find too dudes rockin’ Walmart Jeans and Velcro shoes.

When it comes to traditional team sports, the terms expressive and style are both heavily frowned upon. Coaches will rip you a new one if you do anything that screams “Hey look at me, I’m cool”. Well guess what coach? I am a badass and just beat up your son who just happens to be the star athlete on the team. That would be a true drifters response.

That is why we don’t play traditional sports. We snowboard, we skate, we ride bikes. We wakeboard, we paint walls, we take your dream girl out on dates (and usually to the bar). We wouldn’t have it any other way.

I love expressing myself in just about everything I do. All of my toys are either customized or heavily modified to look damn cool. I like attention, even if its “hey look at that stupid colored bike”. Atleast I got you to break your neck staring at me. I must have done something right. This bring me to my latest purchase, a new fixed gear road bike from State Bicycle. This thing kicks ass, it looks cool, and it rides fantastic. I love speeding recklessly through traffic, making my mark on all the normal people on this earth.

Check one out, buy one.

Damn it feels good to be a gangsta

I have always been fascinated with cars. Back when I was young, like really young, it was lowriders. I couldn’t get over the crazy paint, chromed out everything, and hydraulics. I swore when I got older I would build a slammer and cruise up and down the block in my ’64 (don’t mind the Ease-E reference). I used to build lowrider model cars to help pass the time and loved the customization and attention to detail that these old school sleds received.

Then, I got older, and quickly grew out of that stage. When I was just starting to drive I loved my car, but all my friends were rocking big Cadillacs, Lincolns, or pretty much anything you could throw 22’s on. I was all into that stage and tried selling my car to get an Inifiniti Q45, put it on some deuce deuces, and drive around swerving like an idiot. I never really got to that point, but man did I try.

Now I am back to my humble roots. Driving a slammed out, fully stripped and caged race car to work every day takes a certain amount of courage. Squeezing past the roll cage and jamming myself into my racing seat, all while wearing a neatly pressed dress shirt and tightly creased pants, is just part of my daily routine. Clients love it, hate it, or just look at me kind of strange. Its cool, Im used to it.

At some point I’m gonna get back to my grizzy and get this bad boy. An Infiniti QX56 on 32’s. I’ll probably have to remove my $300 sunglasses to see the looks on their faces (don’t mind the Lil Weezy reference).

I have always wanted a motorcycle. I learned how to ride a bike without training wheels at the tender age of two and never looked back. I was jumping and racing around by the age of four, and got really into bikes in my teenage years. I can ride wheelies for miles, jump just about anything, and have virtually no fear of doing anything on two wheels. I have numerous battle scars to prove it.

My love of motors extends far beyond my automobile addiction. I have owned go karts, r/c cars, go-peds, anything that requires gasoline is fine by me. The combination of my two loves, bikes and motors, naturally ends with me riding a motorcycle. But there lies a small problem.

I have friends who ride bikes all the time. I am fascinated, jealous, and scared all at the same time. Every single one of them has wrecked. Some worse than others. A good friend was in a coma for a week thanks to a Suzuki GSX-R. That does not scare me. I have the skills, the knowledge, and most importantly the attitude to conquer the streets on two wheels. The only thing holding me back is my car.

The 240sx takes up all of my resources. Time, energy, and most importantly money. All of my extra income goes into making my car handle better, look cooler, or do something that it didn’t do before. Cars are an expensive hobby and require dedication and sacrifice. Damn you, Nissan.

In the meantime, while I am dreaming, check out this gnarly video of the Black Devil cruising the streets of Moscow. I say cruising in an all-to whimsical manner. Rad.

Damon's 180sx Type-X

The internet has brought a whole new way of living life. Blogs allow us to read other people’s thoughts on a daily basis. Web sites give us buying power that was once only dreamed of. Forums allow us to connect with others and meet people from all around the world, people we would normally never even come in contact with. It is always cool to know people on forums, talk to them and share thoughts almost daily, and really never even have a clue what they are really like on the other side of the computer. Sometimes you get a chance to meet them, most of the time you do not. My buddy Toby Broadfield likes Nissans just as much as I do, and has a cook out every year celebrating the brand of cars that we all cherish. It is a good time to meet with old friends, check out each other’s cars, and meet people who normally are just a username on an automobile forum. This year I met a guy I have known and talked to on zilvia.net for quite some time now. Damon has a really sick 180sx, a car that I have wanted to check out for a while. He is sporting genuine Type-X aero and a nice set of Work Emotion CR Kais. The car is neither perfect nor finished, but damn is it cool looking. I love the way Type-X aero sets a hatchback off, without being over the top. Here is a few picture of the bomb-ass whip that Damon drove down from Michigan.