Tag Archive for ‘stickydiljoe youtube’

Exploring Down Under For World Time Attack Challenge…

Exploring Down Under For World Time Attack Challenge…

I was gonna say “Spooning Down Under” but people might get the wrong idea, lol. So right after New York, I flew home for a few short hours to repack because I had to hop on another flight to Australia. Yasu and I had always talked about going but just never got down to actually planning it. When he told me he was going, I gave him my word that I would meet up with him in Sydney but kind of got carried away with time–per usual, I didn’t book my flight until late. Like two weeks late. After I saw the prices of the flights, I was kind of hesitant on going but then I found out that Spoon Sports would be attending WTAC as well. Spoon, both Japan and USA, were heading down under for exhibition runs with the legendary Eiji “Tarzan” Yamada behind the wheel. I wasn’t going to miss that so I bit the bullet and booked my trip. It was so expensive that I managed to find another flight that would take me to Japan after for just an extra $100. So why not just make a big adventure out of it all, right? Let’s kick things off by exploring the two-day event that was the World Time Attack Challenge. If you’re looking for racing action, there is none of that here, lol. I spent my time walking around the event and studying car builds as I always do…

The Beasts Of WEKFEST EAST…

The Beasts Of WEKFEST EAST…

I’d say that it’s been a minute but that would be an understatement. Working on that ADVAN collaboration has consumed more of my life than I’d like to admit but when I’m not at home working, I’m literally on the road trying to absorb as much car culture as I can! This marks a big few months for me as I venture off into different parts of the world. My journey starts in the Tri-State area as I fly out to New York to attend the annual Wekfest East event. It’s always interesting going out East to see old friends and meet new ones at the show. Immediately after that, I booked an early flight home because I had to repack my bags before taking a 1:20AM flight to fly across the world to attend the World Time Attack Challenge. Before we get into that though, I take you around the early morning hours of Wekfest in Edison, New Jersey…

So What’s Car Culture In Canada Like??…

So What’s Car Culture In Canada Like??…

On the list of “places I didn’t plan on visting in 2023”, Canada was pretty high on the list when my year started. Nothing against the Canadians, I just didn’t have any plans to go. I’ve visited a few times before but it was never really for automotive stuff. I usually get a pretty decent sample size whenever I go to Seattle for Wekfest. A good group of cars come down from Canada for the show and I’m always pretty impressed. I’d like to think that the car community up there is kinda like how it is back at home, just slightly different, like an alternate dimension version. Recently, Reggie Mah from Nightrunner threw the idea out there that I should go and visit Vancouver. He was having his first public event at his new shop location and I had mentioned before in the past that I wanted to check-out the cars at his shop. I don’t know if he just threw the idea out there as a joke, not expecting me to actually go, but I just so happened to have a free weekend on those exact dates. I’m always down to see something new and experience car culture in an unfamiliar place so this was the perfect opportunity! I booked a trip for the weekend and spent every moment of it doing car stuff with some fellow automotive enthusiasts from Canada. It was definitely an eye-opening experience….

Why The WEST Is BEST Part 2: WEKFEST SEATTLE!!…

Why The WEST Is BEST Part 2: WEKFEST SEATTLE!!…

I originally assumed after this event that I hadn’t gathered enough footage for an entire vlog so I totally neglected to put this episode together. The San Jose event was looming and I had already decided that I would try to combine the two shows into one vlog. But, after I came back from San Jose, I went through the content and there was quite a bit of footage from Seattle. As I started adding clips to the timeline, everything that I managed to collect while in the Pacific Northwest was just the right amount. You guys know I love long-form videos so obviously I wish I would have captured more. There were just so many good builds at this event that I really wanted to spotlight. I simply ran out of time. I do so many different things at Wekfest events that I definitely wish there was more than one of me to go around. Seattle truly brings out some of the best in the west coast and we also get a good collection of custom cars from our neighbors in Canada. Sometimes I think I take what we have out here in the West Coast for granted so I thought now would be a good a time as ever to show you exactly what we’re all about!!…

Why The WEST is BEST: WEKFEST SAN JOSE!!…

Why The WEST is BEST: WEKFEST SAN JOSE!!…

Crazy that we are already at the 15-year anniversary of Wekfest! It just seems like yesterday when we were surprised to be at year 10. What a ride it has been. Northern California is the birthplace of Wekfest so we always try to bring out the top-tier builds. It’s understood that expectations are high and all eyes are on what’s happening in the West Coast so no amount of energy was spared in planning out this entire show. As busy as it was, I tried to vlog the entire weekend and put something together for you guys to enjoy. I apologize that the quality of the video inside isn’t the most spectacular. The lighting isn’t the best so I had to use a mounted flash to add some extra light wherever I could…

Once A Year, Honda Heaven Exists In Saitama…

Once A Year, Honda Heaven Exists In Saitama…

On my last few days in Japan, I head back over to the Tokyo-side of Japan to check-out the 2nd annual “Chan-Oka Honda Meet” in Saitama. This meet is a special one for me because its entire purpose is to pay homage to the USDM West Coast Honda scene of the mid-to-late 2000s. While we spent the better part of our adult lives in America building Hondas inspired by the ones we saw in Japan, younger enthusiasts over there were studying our interpretations of their style. In the last few years, USDM Honda culture and style has developed a pretty big following in Japan. It’s become a style almost unique to itself because its an interpretation of an interpretation. Like if one person tells another person a story, and that person repeats that story to someone else, and so on and on, eventually the story becomes different. It just retains certain elements, or the core pieces, of the original story. That’s basically what the USDM Honda community consists of. It features many of the core ideologies of what we did here, but the execution is slightly different. Some parts are different because accessibility to certain brands are limited and Japan just does things unique from us because culturally, they weren’t raised the same. The Chan-Oka Honda Meet is an important gathering because it represents a big part of where the Honda community in Japan is headed in the next few years. For guys like me who grew-up during the golden age of the West Coast Honda scene, this meet is Heaven on Earth—but like, a Japanese version of Heaven 🙂

Exploring Life & Car Culture From All Over Japan…

Exploring Life & Car Culture From All Over Japan…

This one felt like we went everywhere from Osaka to Tokyo, then to Gunma, Saitama, and back to the Kansai region to hit Central Circuit yet again. It was a hell of a busy trip this time around. I really wanted to have new experiences exploring different places and showing you whatever I could while I was in Japan. There was a lot more footage of us just doing random things but I didn’t want to overwhelm you guys. I’d say this trip was unique from the last one because I really didn’t go into it with a plan. The goal was to explore—and that’s exactly what we did….

Pit-Walk At A Honda One-Make Race In Kansai!!…

Pit-Walk At A Honda One-Make Race In Kansai!!…

After Wekfest Japan and Doridore, we had a day-off to just do regular life, touristy things. Obviously I’ve been to Osaka many, many times but Nana had yet to fully experience what Osaka was all about. So we spent a day just showing her around before waking-up early the following morning to go to Central Circuit. Zerofighter was hosting one of their Honda One-Make races there and it looked to have a pretty solid collective of competition cars. Things get super interesting later in the day when it starts to rain pretty heavily but overall, it was another fun day out in Japan doing car stuff. Enjoy!…

DORIDORE Might Be One Of The Coolest Events Ever!!…

DORIDORE Might Be One Of The Coolest Events Ever!!…

I actually found out about this event last year when I was in Japan during Golden Week for Wekfest. I just couldn’t go. “Doridore” is one of those events dedicated to “Shakotandori” vehicles that just sounds fun to be at. It’s drifting but not so much a competition fueled by profit. The event is based more on style where enthusiasts drive the shit out of slammed cars that just look good and aren’t necessarily created to be competitive drift cars. Like, take the strict rule sets out of professional drifting and replace it with super slammed show cars that don’t care about winning. It’s a real visual spectacle. Winning is looking good while driving or parked. Style is everything. Sounds rad right? After hearing about it and seeing some photos from past events, it seemed super fun. I just didn’t have enough time to go so I had to miss it last year. When I heard it was happening again and the event itself was going to be bigger than ever, we decided to wake-up early to check it out. Boy did it not disappoint. I might have to make this a regular event to attend annually.

Back To Japan For Wekfest!!…

Back To Japan For Wekfest!!…

Well, it may seem like I just got back from Japan but here I am, back on a plane again to Osaka! The Wekfest event out in Nagoya is an event I try to attend every year so there was no way I was going to miss this one. There’s been some major changes this year with the event itself but the biggest, most obvious, change is the brand new venue! This place is huge! Before that though, we had some prep work to do and some adjustments after landing back in Japan. Enjoy!