Vaughn Gittin Jr. 2010 Formula Drift Champion hires me to MC his “Smoke Shows” and we kicked it off right at The St Louis Auto Show, 4 days of awesome drift shows driving a Mustang RTR and his demo vehicle skinned to look like his comp car…

Tires burned, fans happy and good times…

Early AM flight from SFO to STL…

BB’s Blues…
Booze and Blues…

That’s JR being a creeper.. haha

Nope no snow in St Louis this trip, it was GOLDEN GIRLS!

Looks kids Big Ben, Parliament & the St Louis Arch…

There it is, officially!

Mean Green machine…

Skatecar, RTR-X, Demo car and Mustang RTR P1 + Optimus Slime Green… JR’s rig…

Don’t mess with the locals..

#AbbyGittin grams…

Photog pose needs work but the Fatlace sticker on the tripod is on point…

Ripping, blipping & grippin!

The shows got more & more packed each day…
about 1,500 people on avg per demo…

Late night fun…

There it is again…

Like it..

Scion showing off the iQ but no FR-S in sight…

I LOVE WAGONS!!!!!!
Caddilac CTS-V wagon yum!

Mustang RTR in sweet gunmetal grey…

Come outside & see the show…

Drove the demo car loud & proud on the street, funny sight pulling up next to ya huh?!

First ya see them &….

Now you don’t!

So much awesome in this pic…Classic, respect!

Support locals Drift STL.com
Bunch of rad drifters said whats up while there, thanks guys and gals, keep it moving, be respectful and hopefully Gateway opens and lets ya’ll drift!

Queing up, sorry British came on, they’re lined up for an autograph…

Grimey rad spot…

Crabby!

SMASH!

2013 Mustang…

Alright lets jump trucks!
HPI Racing 5sc RTR

This is a first, icey!
JR on Ice!

My father in law getting ready to ride shotgun…
Thanks for coming out and… not puking haha

Hitting the streets!

Wait a minute I’m riding shotgun?!?!

FINAL SHOW of the weekend…

We out!

Vaughn Gittin Jr. aka JR is NEVER not working, probably the hardest working dude in the drift world! A consummate thinker, worker and “do-gooder” for drifting in general of course building his driving prowess, his “brand”, the sport and just getting more people to learn, understand and expose people to drifting…
Thanks JR for the good times!
See ya soon buddy!

Myself, Chris of St Louis Auto Show, JR and “Square” Blair…

Oh yeah told ya I saw Nelly…

Thanks Scion and wow this car is just fresh!!!
So as the sign says, do so and witness “Behind the scenes of the 1st ever Scion FR-S commercial” the new Scion FR-S the car I call “The Game Changer”

When in the bay area I have to see some peeps, have some GREAT beers and food!

Car service and hang out sesh with Tyler “The Rock” McQuarrie…
(BTW, he is NOT on Scion program just a bay area homie)

Swung by Fatlace Paddock & RWB USA to see the homies…

Get to see the main man of Fatlace, Illest, Slammed Society, ALL THINGS fresh and living up to FATLACE’S slogan, COLLECT EVERYTHING! My birthday brother Mark Arcenal..

Just KAWS Henny, numerous bottles btw…

NBD…

Lunch is served, Pliny the Elder down and some double IPA after that yum!

Only one design has graced his head, The Rock McQuarrie…

Got to catch up with the LIFEBLASTERS fellas Geoff and Andrew but no pics of them just their stuff and the awesome late night Chinese food, which was an adventure in itself

She needs a hip replacement that amount of dancing she does!

J-Rod smash!

Agenda is CLEAR!
FR-S Launch commercial!

Site!

SIGHT!

Mount…

The Armageddon will be captured…
aka “The Russian Arm”

Can I borrow some cable…

These 2 guys are solid gentlemen and make things happen behind the scenes at Scion, Owen runs National Marketing & Communications and Scion VP Jack Hollis!

“Video Village” is where everybody reviews footage either live, taped, audio, etc…

The commercial director Simon chatting with Jack…

Here’s looking at you kid!

The new Pioneer Bespoke system that’s launching in the FR-S…

The driver behind the wheel of the FR-S in the commercial will be Ken Gushi, not just a drift driver anymore, now stunt driver and….

a hand model! He puts the man back in MANicure as he got a manicure for his hand close ups!

Myself, Gush & Jack…

LUNCH!

The Russian Arm operator catching some bites as he’s been working the camera from the rear seat! Talk about back seat driver, LITERALLY!

The spread was sick…

So much equipment, I love seeing the inner workings of commercials and productions of this magnitude…

This Firestorm Red FR-S does have the 1st ever TRD lowering springs on it, they’re prototype and DO NOT, I repeat do not come standard!

Another interior shot, while Gush’s helmet rides shotgun…
BTW, the floormats will NOT be tan like that, just some mats to keep it clean!

These are a few of my favorite things, cyclists were going up & down the road we’re on, it’s a VERY popular cycling road… I was jealous of them to be honest riding or maybe of Gushi because he’s driving regardless, I’ll keep blogging!

Bring your own signs just in case!

A moment to reflect on the magnitude of the Scion FR-S, my life and all life has to offer…

Screeching tires…

Simon with his weapon!

water trucks on hand to wet the road for aesthetics, not needed it rained the day before plenty

Gotta love craft services on site! Bangin lunch…

Gushi working it!

Owen & Simon scheeming on the copter shots!

Simon (Director), Gushi (Drifter) & Owen (Marketer)…

Simon rapping with the helicopter pilot…

Double your pleasure!

Spot the “T Pattern”… It’s repeated through the car…

“T Pattern” on the gauge cluster…

“T Pattern” on the dash…

“T Pattern” on the doors…

This badge WILL go down in history, I promise..
Notice the boxer pistons, the “86″ of course and check this out the 4 “holes” in 8 and 6 mimique the sideways action of a drift vehicle…

Storyboard…

Even coyotes like the new FR-S…

Tale of the tape, interior exterior…

Performing surgery on Capturing interior shots

So much going on…

The door opens wide, looks like they took it off from this angle but it’s there…

Helicopter and the nose camera…

Peek a boo…

Checking the footy!

Captain my captain, wish I could’ve taken a ride but had to ride off…

Yeehaw sky cowboys…

Adios muchachos…

2 devils in the night!

I’m out, thanks Scion for the good time, creating a rad car that I know people will love and just for the experience…
Until next time, Golden Gate bridge at 4am…

Beat ya sun!

Scion corporate did BLOG their own version of ‘Behind the scenes’ if you wanna see it, check it out HERE

Camelback mountain is the mountain you always see when you land and take off…
I’ve lived here for 7 years and haven’t climbed it until now!

Starting the climb…

I like the matte green crib…

Where’s Warty?!?!

Made it! Almost 4 miles roundtrip…
Cold can of Simpler Times, not a great beer but tasted good, it’s Trader Joe’s house brand…

Great view!

Blogging the Instagraming…

Weeeee!
Mike will be climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa next month so this climb was nothing, go get em!

Sweet crib right near the trailhead…

So FFWD to yesterday, Thursday, burgers at Joe’s Farm Grill, Bikes in Scottsdale and beers at Papago Brewing, not bad for a Thursday!

I was riding my STATE Bicycle FGFS and Mike was riding my 29″ SE Bikes Big Ripper…

Free Museum visit at Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Arts...

Check it out!
The scenery driving from the Phoenix area to Park City was stunning, different colors, shapes and backdrops covered the land!

We arrive to Park City and rendezvous with our friends and are staying with our friends The Block family, yeah that gentlemen Ken Block and his family were nothing but awesome & their house is an amazing piece of architecture, design and livability with a great sense of function= fashion!
This is a bad cell phone pic of the “mud room”…
Gear, mid century modern furniture and a sweet Siberian Husky, RAD!

Hit the mountain with our other friends who we rendezvoused with Vaughn Gittin Jr. the soon to be Mrs. Gittin, Abby & JacobChills…

Wifeys…

Homies..

Let’s get lifted, the snow wasn’t amazing but it was nice weather, warm, decent blown stuff but all good for a SoCal kid…

Night time was dinner time, hit a place that’s BANGIN!
Wahso on Main St and it ripped!

One of many awesome dishes, pork belly in a Vietnamese bun …

One of many awesome deserts…
Coconut Creme Brulee’

Hit the bars and saw some Banksy hits from last years Sundance attendance…
Plexi’d for security and even framed in the next instance…

A separate night we hit the St Regis via the Funicular...
Fire, fire fire!- Beavis & Butthead

Ken & I…

JR & PJ, 2 peas in a pod!

Sledding with the dogs & fam…
What up dog?!

You can’t see me!

Great time with the fam!

The final night was spent hangin with the whole gang, my family, Blocks, Gittins, Jacob, & the MWRT team Ron, Matt, Mike, good times!
Here’s the living room, pong/dining table, yep that’s function=fashion at it’s finest + Ken WILL smoke you LEFT HANDED at pong!

You canna canna roast them marshmallows!

A crappy cell phone pic, with a not crappy friend and also an amazing piece of artwork in the back HAROSHI’s moose that Ken acquired a while ago, rad right?!?!
Ya like the ‘TIRE SLAYER’ tee? Peep HOONIGAN’S page now to acquire!

The drive home was just as beautiful of course!

Grand Canton rim in the distance…

A great week came to a close as the sunset on the way home!
Thanks to my family & friends, #HomeLife can even be experienced on the road!
Thanks to The Block family, The Gittins, Jacob, Ron, Mike & Matt, you guys and gals all rule!

Andy Yen & I arriving to a wet Kuala Lumpur

About an hour from the airport to the main city of KL, seeing some old school houses…
But no means is this the norm in KL…

Taxi sir..

BTW, I fit and carried on everything I needed from Thurs midday to Monday afternoon in THIS Incipio Weekender bag incl:
2 pairs of pants, 2 pairs of shorts, 7 t-shirts, 5 collared shirts, underwear, socks, toiletries, one pair of shoes, chargers, iPad, headphones, magazines, iPod & that’s for real!
INCIPIO WEEKENDER BAG can be seen HERE

3 days of set up, then qualifying on Saturday and “Game Day” on Sunday…

Ryan Sage, Co-Founder & I swung out to grab some sights and grub…

Prosperity Meal bro…

You are here, I was there…

That’s some nice literal tagging, I like Fixed huh?! Cool!

Then maybe another literal tag, The Freaks…
Sounds like a gang from The Warriors

I love making Ryan laugh, getting birded out!

Drivers Meeting! Pay attention Kiki!

1 too many r’s but still a cool gift from Mervyn Nakamura, he got it in Australia

CMYK in the graphic, rad…

Our nice hotel for the weekend…

The 4th tallest building(s) in the world…
KL Petronas Towers…

BTW our backdrop for this event is pretty rad, don’t ya think?
Merdeka Square

Hey lil buddy!

The Champ, The Technical Director and The Yen!

This dude Koh Kae from Thaialand rips sooo hard, he’s got a great attitude and pushes HARD!

Lil car parade action…

If you know Ryan, you will know how hillarious this pic is! It’s ALL TIME!

The PTT lubricnats team of Thailand is like a Man Band…

I’m not mad at this car, the graphics matching the wheels etc. Not a fan of the red & blues though…

The 2011 FD Asia Champion trophy, good choice of fingers btw

Going at it…

Big time slam…

Winning car of Daigo Saito…

Hello Orido…

Yeah Robbie

The Top 3 for the weekend and the 2011 FD Asia Champion Daigo…

Mister RE Amemiya

Our after party was at a rad bar called EST 1/2 of the place called EST.TATE…

One place is called EST and down the walk a low key door is called TATE…

Walk in & see this

Cool shirt huh…

There he is the nut literally Koh Kae, his family makes snack foods Koh Kae

Tengku Djan “Prince of Drift“, his beautiful wife Shan as they’re expecting a baby next year!

Thanks Marcus Lim for everything, Dai for being you buddy and Jason for your hard work…

Monday had a bit of time so hit China town..

Def NOT the newest Ken Block or DC shoes, yuck!

DEF NOT Chris Forsbergs NOS Energy Drink 350Z take note of the door plate, not “YSOHIARA” either…

MEGA MALL!

Bears!

Liked this sign display…

We arrive to Kuala Lumpur it was pouring, we stay and it’s nice, we lave and it’s pouring, we were blessed with some nice weather for sure!
Peace out KL, til next year!

Hello ARIZONA! HOME!

Check out what I’ve been getting into lately…

Parker & I hit the Lucas Oil Drag Boat Races…

My old homie Robert hooked up the tickets & the hospitality…
Thanks Robert!

Robert offered to Parker & I to ride in the helicopter, oh word?!?!
Parker just wanted to see it, but i went high to check out the bird eye view!

Here’s the birds eye view o fthe Top Fuel boats hitting 240 MPH on the water, nuts right?!?

Will, the pilot & I…

What’s up AZ…

Saturday caught a burger at Zinburger with some homies Marc & Karl…

Fast forward to today, finished my long standing tattoo piece, bout 2 years in the making if I can recall…
Mike Roper finished it off, stoked on it…
Remember this was taken just a few hours after the spotting and stuff was put on…

This is Mike’s studio…

Speaking of more bicycle goodies from my last post of State Bicycles; Today on more door step, my friend hooked up the LOADED Precision products goods, they make primarily some killer mountain bike components & products but my homie Anthony hooked up some parts that are applicable for road cycling, spacers, skewers and chain ring bolt kit even a tee…

+ of course a part that’s good for all souls! a pint glass, CHEERS to Loaded!

Whipping around in Joes convertible Aston Martin makes the drive proper like…

1st stop,
Lola Coffee, downtown Phoenix owned by Daniel Wayne…

Legit Latte…

Daniel hooked up a bag of FRESH still warm bag o’ beans, it’s EPIC!
Seriously craving it in the morning, Thanks Daniel!

2nd stop for a crepe..
Jobot Coffee Shop…

Liked this sticker…

Rad piece by El Mac…

Stop #3
Headed to the Phoenix Food Truck spot where all of them park, no pics bummer focused on eating…
Had Short Leash Dogs, Joe and I split the Aiko…

Gotta love the old architecture around PHX…

Stop #4
Next and one of my faves, Pane Bianco…
Yes the same Pizzeria Bianco you’ve heard about…

Great build out, vibe, etc..

Met Chris’ brother Marco who’s the man behind the dough and the baking, GREAT guy!

So the market sandwich of the day was lamb something or other, but it was AWESOME!!!!!!!

Marco hooked up some awesome essentially desert bread with cheese, red onions and a fig jelly, phhew! Bangin!

Stop #5
Ventured next door to LUX for a man drink…

Mixologist went to work and…

voila a My Michelle…

Joe gets down!

What, camo bike tires, NEED!

Stop #6
Hana Japanese…

Yes, that happened, salmon, + some baby thai snapper and cant recall what else, but wow GREAT fish, fresh sooo good!

Cruising the strip on Veteran’s day we saw some peeps leaving the parade, check it…

Then some people that wanna leave the country!

Stop #7
Sun Up Brewery Restaurant

Cheers big ears…

There’s a RED modern furniture spot on Camelback that’s rad, yep RED Modern furniture

Who’s towing who?!?!

Last stop, Gore Design Co./Concrete Cartel/Hard Goods/Good Dude!

He makes EPIC stuff, like the erosion sink! Save your pennies, well worth it!

Fast FORWARD to TODAY, Wednesday Nov 16th,
San Tan Brewing collab between Joe & David of Liberty Market & San Tan Brewing,
12 DAZE…

There’s the 3 dudes that made it happen..
David, Anthony & Joe…

Pork Sandwich using the beer to compliment, yum!!!!

BUT right before SEMA I ventured to Jakarta, Indonesia AKA The Big Durian for the 1st ever Formula Drift Indonesia round of the SE Asia Formula Drift Championship….

Yep, I carry on even when I fly International, that way no chance of losing my sweet Incipio luggage…
Check the INCIPIO goods, Expat backpack, Weekender bag, f38 headphones, feather case on iPod and Kickstand case on the iPad…
INCIPIO’d OUT!
WWW.MyINCIPIO.com

First leg, well PHX to LAX then LAX to Hong Kong…

Next leg…
International = free beer & booze…
Caught up on a few documentaries & flicks…

Lonely island…

Touchdown in Jakarta 2pm on a Friday afternoon, head straight to the track…

VISA…

SCOOTERS ARE everywhere and the most popular form of transportation in Jakarta…

Marcus, the BOSS MAN for Formula Drift SE Asia, thanks for everything buddy!

Robbie “Bushido Blade” Nishida in the mix…

Ryan showing off Millions!

A large field of up & coming and very talented drivers…
SE Asia is a hot bed of talent…

The last we’d fortunately see of rain and it let loose!

“The CHAMP” Formula Drift 2011 Champion Dai Yoshihara is in the building!
Hooked him with a new Incipio iPhone 4 STEP case...

Scooters everywhere!

Our hotel view…

This is Cheryl Tay, she is a hustlin maniac in SE Asia…

The J Crew even in Japan, Robbie, Gushi & Daigo…

Ryan suited & booted!

Now Ryan getting BEATS!!!
Ryan and I spend the most time together around the world, working at FD events, Voiceover etc. He’s a good adventurous type to see the world with, he’s become a great friend and somebody I can have some great conversations with, thanks Ryan!

Track is HOT, literally & figuratively, it is SE ASIA!

Sunsets get me every time…
Especially in far off lands, I can’t believe drifting has taken me around the world! UNREAL!

Sunday morning school children working out…

Some of the crew…

Homeboy hooked up some shirts even for my son!
GANBATTE WEAR.com

It’s all OVER Daigo from Japan wins…
For more on track coverage that I can’t snap because I’m MC’ing CLICK HERE on the SPEEDHUNTERS.com site with Cheryl’s coverage…

Knock off tee’s make me laugh…

Congrats Achilles Radial for the podium sweep and look forward to seeing more of the Purple & green next year in FD USA…

19 years old! Youngest FD drivers to ever podium congrats buddy!
(correction Ken Gushi was 18 years old when he podiumed at Formula Drift Houston in June 2005- Thanks Jacob)
Dido Armando

Celebratory beers…

Now, homeward bound to catch Halloween with the family!!!

I was literally in Jakarta 58 hours and I was traveling longer than 60 hours, haha Oh well not complaining just facts!
Home for 12 hours for halloween then NEXT STOP Vegas for SEMA in the next blog post!

3-2-1 Let it rip!

My wife caught a cute lil monster!

Hit sushi at home with wifey, son and my friend Nic…
Escolar is our new favorite fish, it sits on top of spicy yellowtail with a sweetened jalapeno, yum!

Nic laced me with a sweet bottle of Peligroso Anejo tequila..

Then Friday night had a banging concept party, beer & wine tasting party, was a blasty blast!!!!!!

Usually I take a gang of pictures but ya know what I didn’t because I just wanted to enjoy it, sometimes it’s just about the experience and the memories!

Packed DeAnda Dojo!

Thanks again to everybody this years birthday was a blast!
It was just 33 so it’s not THAT special, go ahead & listen to one of my favorite comedians Patton Oswalt’s piece on only 20 Birthdays allowed!!!!!!!

Can home some fun with some R/C Cars like this beast from HPI…
1/5th scale off road truck from HPI Racing Baja 5sc
Check the custom body just for Vaughn, rad! I want one!

2nd place overall in the 2011 Formula Drift Championship, Justin Pawlaks telling me whats up…

These guys having some fun in the shadow of Sam Boyd stadium in Vegas…

J. Brad & Nick hanging and drinking Monsters that match Falken colors, convenient huh J Brad…

Vaughn’s set up is pretty legit, custom rig, trusts and wraps etc…

Crazy steady cam set up then a GoPro atop it, haha

Hanging with JacobChills, GAndy and doing burnouts for the heck of it in the Mustang RTR…

This was the finale, both cars and Nick Apex the stunt bike rider on track smoking em out…

After the demo we got to watch the race, Ryan Villopoto put it down, caught the million as I caught a plane home!

The track set up was crazy, kind of whacky to be honest but looked fun!

Whats up…

So now Monday, Parker and I got some time just us to hang and kick it, we had a great day at the Arizona Science Center downtown Phoenix…

One of the 1st motorcycles…

IMAX saw Hubble 3D narrated by Leonardo Dicaprio was really good, made ya feel real small not the screen I’m talking about the images that the Hublle catches…

For lunch we hit, Pizzeria Bianco, some say the best pizza in the country…

Yum…

I LOVE MY SON!
He’s soo funny

What’s up cat..

Victorian style in AZ, Historic building in AZ once owned by the mayor built in 1890′s…