57 Teaser

This week I had the pleasure of shooting some cool cars over at SledsVille. We met the guys out at the Grand National Roadster show and it turns out that the painter and I go way back. It's always cool to run into old minitruck and lowrider guys and see that they are turning out some badass customs. So we don't spoil the shoot planned for Cruisin' Magazine Japan, I can only show you a few quick teaser shots of their killer '57. Stay tuned for more in an upcoming issue of Cruisin'.

Portland Trip

Although many consider Portland a bit "off" as it is portrayed in the show Portlandia (Click here to watch a skit) and by the city's motto "Keep Portland Weird" - it is actually a city full of rich history, culture, beautiful architecture, and amazing handcrafted beer.

The wife and I took a long weekend trip up to Portland to see her old stomping grounds. She grew up in Portland as a youngin' so we had a great time checking out her old neighborhoods, and touring the city. We fit in a ton of sight seeing thanks to Captain Jim's memory and the extensive public transportation systems in place through the "Max" and light rail systems. It definitely gets more apparent how much of a tourist I become, the older I get. Snapping pics of everything in sight, there were so many cool buildings, architecture, scenery, and a ton of great sights to take in.

We also managed to tour many of the local breweries and taste some of the countries best beer, which is always a plus as our family vacations happen to be quite beer friendly.

An amazing weekend filled with family, fun, history, and BEER! Can't beat that, we're already planning and looking forward to our next adventure... stay tuned-

Bagged Magazine

A lot of people have been emailing and messaging me trying to get a hold of a subscription to Bagged Magazine Australia here in the states. This mag features all of the sickest minis and customs from Australia and is definitely a fresh take on minitruckin' world wide.

It's a larger format mag (European size) with thick paper weight so they are not cheap, and obviously shipping from Australia adds to the price, but it's definitely worth it to see these killer customs! To order single copies or a subscription CLICK HERE and follow the instructions to order from the US.

Inspiration

Inspiration comes from many places, and more times than I care to admit, my inspiration has come from a few close friends of mine. As much as we act like brothers, fight, and put each other down - it's oddly our way of showing each other we care (yeah, guys are pretty much retarded ha ha). One friend in particular who I've never actually told how much he's inspired me because generally we're too busy competing on our next build or arguing about something, is Ernie Macias.

You see, while I was too busy going nuts and trying to finish a full frame minitruck on 22-inch wheels, with a 350 motor, Ernie was DRIVING his truck to and from shows all across the country. In 2003, he drove his first cover truck to the Showfest show while I was busy dumping loads of moola into a truck that would never see the light of day.

After the first time we  met I knew we would become long time friends (that's another story for another time ha ha, but next time you see Ernie ask him about it). But ever since then I've looked to him for advice on different things from trucks, to magazine work, to old car builds and more. He was actually the reason behind the Blue Steel Tacoma build, because after showing unfinished projects for over a decade, and going for cruises with Ern in a few of his builds, I knew it was finally time to finish a truck I could enjoy and DRIVE! But the latest inspiration I've drawn from him comes in the form of tragedy.

Ernie recently completed his latest creation - WAS STK, formerly known as STK TRK - and has been driving it to local cruise nights and shows around Southern California. Unfortunately, at last weekend's Galaxy cruise night the truck was rear ended and smashed up pretty bad. But to my surprise, Ernie was super positive about the rebuild and purpose of this truck to begin with.

He said "I never built it to keep it in the garage. I build my cars to drive them, like they're supposed to be. I don't regret pulling the truck out of the garage today, shit happens. No use crying over spilled milk. I'm just happy that I wasn't hurt. I came home to my family today and that is what's important. Thanks to everybody for the love today and the well wishes. Only time will tell if the Mitsu will be rebuilt. I don't fully know the extent of the damage yet, but it did push in the cab pretty good. I still drove it to a cruise night and pulled best of show! Even if shes rebuilt, she won't look the same. Shes a part of history now!"


Like I said, inspiration comes from many places, but at the end of the day I'm glad that I have some good friends that give inspiration even when they don't know it. Take the time and tell your friends how important they are to you and that they inspire you, you really never know when things might change for better or for worse.

To read up more on Ernie's thoughts and what might come of WAS STK, check out his blog -
Mind of Macias

California Drag Strips Closed?

One of California's greatest automotive pastimes just took another big hit. It now looks like both the Irwindale Speedway and the Fontana drag strips are closed indefinitely. Are Californians going to stand by and let one of our greatest pastimes filled with so much rich history just go by the wayside?

Recently, I was out at Irwindale hanging out and watching the races with a few friends visiting from Japan. Even those that travel from other countries have come to know and love California's racing heritage. Luckily I was able to snap a few cool pics, hopefully this won't be the last time we get to shoot there!

One of the coolest thing about the races are the tents and displays on hand. It's really quite the sight, as you wander the grounds seeing everything from 2,000hp dragsters to cool vintage bikes. This will definitely be one of the parts that I miss the most!

To read more check out Hot Rod Magazines recent posts on the subject. And do your part to fight the good fight wherever and whenever possible!