BONUS EPISODE - Overland EXPO West, Flagstaff

[00:00:10] Hello everybody, welcome to another bonus episode of the Subie & You Podcast. This one is coming from Overland Expo West in Flagstaff. I went there last weekend to go check out Overland Expo and be part of the Subaru booth and the Subaru experience and I am extremely grateful for Subaru inviting me out to come participate and record with some of the people that were coming through the booth and to come to the next episode.

[00:00:40] And of course talking to the people that had their cars there at the booth. So we had Kathleen with All Trek Itz Yagi and then we had John who had his Subaru there, his Subaru Crosstrek Tiggerroot or Texas Tiggeroo. So and then of course I got to see some friends again that I haven't seen in a long time and then I got to meet a lot of new people so it was a really really great experience.

[00:01:05] So that's what this bonus episode is, is my experience at, well I guess I didn't really talk too much about my experience while I was there recording with people. I mean I kind of just commented on the booth and everything but it was mostly me asking people what their experience was like there at Overland Expo but also what they thought of the Subaru booth and the setup and just to kind of get their feedback for it.

[00:01:32] So that's what these conversations are primarily about and then we talk about their Subarus too of course. You can't not talk to somebody and not talk about their Subaru. So but my personal experience at Overland Expo West was a really really positive experience and again I'm extremely grateful for Subaru to bring me out there to experience this and also to help you know get some conversations from people that were attending the event.

[00:01:59] But Overland Expo West was humongous. There were so many vendors and now it makes sense that this Overland Expedition is three days long. I don't see how it would be possible to see all of the vendors in one day or even two days. I mean there's that many vendors.

[00:02:22] So there's there's just you know if you're there observing and you're just checking out the expo it's really great because you'd get a chance to walk around and see all of the vendors there and see what everybody has to offer. But being in the booth it's kind of hard to go out and see everything.

[00:02:38] But being that I was at Overland Expo and there's all these vendors not only did I record with people there at the Subaru booth but I ventured out into the expo and I captured some conversations with Bruna from RICA because he was the one that I had on the podcast to talk about RICA when they were a guest. And then I stopped by the Dio Dynamics booth and talked to some people there.

[00:03:04] So it was a really great experience and I wanted to be able to share those conversations as well. So those will be throughout this episode. When I started dropping all of the audio files in here the time span just kept growing and growing and growing. And so this episode is going to be pretty long but I think it just makes more sense to have it all together rather than to break it up.

[00:03:32] Now if it would have been over three hours with me dropping in all the audio there was I knew there wasn't going to be a whole lot of editing that I was going to do. I would have broken it up into two. I wouldn't let this thing be like three plus hours and not break it up. I would have done like a day one and a day two. But I put it all together for this one and I think that's just the best way to do it. But had some really great conversations. Again met some really great people and of course saw some friends that I haven't seen in a really long time.

[00:04:01] I thought that the way the whole Subaru booth and area was set up was really really nice. They did a really great job. It was very welcoming. Of course you've got the big love sign which Subaru is all about love. The Subaru love promise. And then of course the logo and then you had the Subaru wilderness logo. These were like big plaques that were on the outside of it so when people are walking by they can see kind of what Subaru represents.

[00:04:30] But as a whole I think that the experience that people would have gotten coming into the booth especially if you were a Subaru owner. But if you're not a Subaru owner you get the feeling of being welcomed. The feeling of community. And just you know the love promise that Subaru represents. So they did a really really great job. So kudos to all the team. Everybody on the team that helped work to put that together.

[00:04:59] Because not only did somebody have to set it all up. But somebody had to design how it was laid out. So really really great job. And I think it turned out great. But in the area you also had some dealer cars or some factory cars. There was the hybrid Forester. There was a Subaru Outback Wilderness. And then there was an Ascent. The Ascent had a trailer attached to it so you could kind of see you know what its towing capacity is.

[00:05:27] So it was just really really great setup. And again just a lot of great people coming through. And then all the people that were participating in the event there for Subaru. And then all of the owner vehicles. It was just it was a really great time. And I'm just I'm so great that I got. I'm so thankful that I got to experience this great event. The weather was also perfect. I mean it was cool in the mornings. And then it got warmed up some during the day.

[00:05:55] The sun was kind of beating down. It was a little bit warm. And when you were out in the sun. But in the shade it was nice and cool. The only bad part about the weather was on Friday it got kind of windy. And we were in this dusty area. And you'd get these dust clouds and little dust storms coming through. And it was occasional. But on Saturday it was pretty bad. So but it kind of you know just added to the outdoors experience I guess.

[00:06:24] But it was still it was a great time. And I'm very very glad that I was able to go out there and participate. So for this whole episode and the conversations I'm just going to let them run together with a little bit of space in between. So that they can kind of get broken up. But yeah we'll go ahead and get into these conversations here. And I hope that you really enjoy it. And if you were thinking about going to Overland Expo. One of the additional locations that Subaru is going to. And you weren't really sure. I hope this will encourage you to go.

[00:06:53] And so you can kind of hear you know that everybody had a great time. So thanks again everybody for tuning in. Thanks for listening. But here we go with these conversations from Overland Expo West in Flagstaff.

[00:07:07] Hi I'm officially here at Overland Expo. And we're in the owner tent. And I'm sitting here with Milton. A.K.A. Silver Bullet XV. How's it going man? Oh it's going. It's a little warm and sunny today. And we're just hanging out in some shade. I'm loving it. Yeah I know. It's like in the shade.

[00:07:36] It's a little cool. But out in the sun it's really warm. Yeah. And like being from Houston the cold here is way different than the cold in Houston. Because like the cold in Houston there's some humidity with it. So it feels different. Yeah. No. For sure. So when did you get in? Oh we flew in. I think it was Wednesday. So we were in around maybe 2 o'clock. Okay. Picked up a rental Impreza. And I've been running around. Nice. Yeah. Nice. So you've been up here for a couple of days. What have y'all been doing for the past couple of days?

[00:08:06] Oh yeah. So like I said we picked up an Impreza RS from the dealership. Grabbed a quick lunch and then ran straight out to the nearest trail you could find. Of course. We went out to Cinder's Hill. Okay. Which is a big OHV area. It's a lot of like volcanic rock and sand. Nice. And just explored around there and saw what the Impreza could do. Yeah. How did it do? It did pretty well. It could use a little clearance for sure. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:08:34] But it made it through the whoops and it played in the sand, you know, at 40 PSI in the tires. Yeah. And it still made it pretty good. We got stuck once but a little shoveling and we got out no problem. That's good. It was a good experience for sure. Nice. Yeah. So what is your role here at Overland Expo? Because I know you're not just here to see the expo which by the way I parked and I started walking in. And I didn't realize that it was going to be this big. Yeah.

[00:09:01] Like they're just, I don't even know how you could make it to all the vendors that are here. There's so many. It's a good thing it's a three day event, right? Yeah. Yeah. It's pretty incredible. No, this is great. We came a few years ago and got to experience the Flagstaff Expo and it's really fun to be back and see some of the similar booths and some new stuff. Obviously Subaru is here which is awesome. Yeah. But yeah, we've just been running around and looking at stuff and it's been really cool. I'm definitely enjoying it.

[00:09:28] A lot of cool rigs and really good food too. We already had some breakfast. Nice. Nice. Yeah. Had some good stuff. Yeah. So I'm excited to be here. I'm thankful for Subaru reaching out to me and asking me to come out and participate in the event, especially like the first event where Subaru is going to be here at Overland Expo. I know they did a little pilot last year and they decided that they wanted to go ahead and

[00:09:56] come out to all the different events this year. Yeah. And so I know I missed the one in California just because it was, that one came up really quick. So it would have been hard to make it out there, but I'm glad to be here at Expo West. And I know that they said this is, I think the biggest one that they do. Yeah, I think so. And, you know, so I'm looking forward to the one that's in Oregon because I'm sure it's going to be pretty incredible too. And being that I'm making a vacation out of that week as well with my family and getting

[00:10:24] to bring them to Overland Expo out there, they'll get a chance to kind of see what this is all about. And then also get to see Subaru set up at the event, which, you know, again, I'm just, I'm thankful for this opportunity, not just for me, but for my family out there. So, no, that'll be awesome. Great to see you and Gary again. Yeah, it's good times. And finally get to meet Kathleen and see people from SOA again. So, uh, see some people back from Texas.

[00:10:51] We've got clean man hands, you know, him and his wife here, Sean and his wife are here. So it's just been, it's cool to like travel far away from home and then see people that you're familiar with. Yeah. Yeah. That's always, always makes it better. Absolutely. Yeah. And then back to your earlier question, I totally skimmed past it. No, no, that's great. That's fine. That's what this is about. Yeah, exactly. Just having fun. But, um, but yeah, Gary and I, Gary Lando, we're here, um, to do a couple of talks. We're going to be talking about off-road basics and your Subaru.

[00:11:20] Um, we've got a few every day. We'll be giving these, um, these speaks, uh, or these talks. Yeah. Um, so if anybody wants to come down, if they hear this in time, if not, no big deal. But, um, and all the expos will be, um, except for Expo East, we'll be giving talks every day about off-road basics in your, in your Subaru, in your crossover even. So, so are y'all going to be doing this at, um, the expo in Oregon or is that going to be a little bit different? So we'll be doing this at Expo Oregon as well.

[00:11:48] Um, like I said, I think we do about two every day. Um, so sometime around 10 to noon and like two o'clock, something like that changes each day, but we'll be giving about a 45 minute talk, um, question and answer type of thing. Um, and then we'll also be doing some, uh, trail runs for some, uh, select people, um, that we'll be doing as well. So, so this, yeah, so this will be, uh, this will be, I'll put this out as a bonus episode after this event. Okay, perfect. So unfortunately people won't get to hear it, you know, live.

[00:12:17] But what we talk about here, it'll be good to kind of put some things out there about what people can expect at the next event. Yep. So that's kind of the purpose of this, but also just to put this out as, you know, what the experience was like here for me and for other people attending the event. Cause my goal here and my, I guess the plan for me being here is not just to interview people like you, the owners that are here participating in the event, but also interviewing

[00:12:45] prospective customers, you know, and talking to them about Subaru and everything. So it's, uh, you know, it'll be, I don't know, it's just going to be fun to be here and record with people. So just a lovely organic event. It's a lot of good conversation. I think that's what you're going to be here for. So welcome to the podcast again, Carrie. How's it going? Is this like number 17 that you've been on the podcast? That's a couple. Yeah. We've been a few times. I like to chat. Yeah. That's good. Yeah. Lots of things going on. Yeah. That's good.

[00:13:14] I know. Rebel Rally. This. Yeah. Yeah. Overland Expo. It's a lot of fun here. We've got a great setup and some new owner vehicles here for everyone to take a look at. Yeah. I know. I haven't even really had a chance to look at them yet because I got here and got right to it, but got to say hi to everybody first. We're stoked to see it. Yeah. It's nice to see y'all again. Yeah. So, uh, have you, had you been to any Overland Expo events before? I've been to quite a few. Yeah. Oh, okay.

[00:13:44] Yeah. I started going to Overland Expo events. Was it 2022? Yeah. It was 2022. Okay. Um, I came out, um, with one of my, uh, uh, partner companies, Wagon Tech. Yeah. They, um, supported us, uh, during my first Rebel. Um, and then we were in the booth, um, after, after that with them. And, um, yeah, Overland Expo has just like a great, um, it's a great resource for

[00:14:14] anyone who likes to do camping, off-roading, overlanding, you know, anything outdoors. They've got so many vendors here. I, it's, it's way bigger than I thought it was going to be. I mean, I knew it was going to be probably pretty big, but getting here and walking from like the vendor parking all the way down, looking for the booth and finally finding it. It was, uh, I got to see a lot of vendors.

[00:14:38] And then I was like looking down a row of like so many other vendors and, you know, I can see why now, like Milton mentioned, that's why it's a three-day event, you know, because there's no way you could get to all vendors in one day. It's just like so many. There's some great giveaways. Um, in the evenings they do, uh, gear giveaways. So you can get like rooftop tents, you can get, um, whole recovery kits, um, all kinds

[00:15:05] of things that the vendors will, um, you know, donate goods to the giveaway. Um, and it's always a fun time to, to see people winning, winning some gear and learning from all of the, the, uh, educators and trainers here. It's awesome. So Milton was telling me what y'all's role is here to talk to people about stuff. So what is it that you're like looking forward to with being here and being able to share that your, your knowledge and your experience? Yeah.

[00:15:32] Just always love talking with people about, you know, the capabilities that a Subaru can do. Um, you know, that for, especially for folks that aren't on social media and they don't, you know, they're not engaged with the kinds of things that we do on social media. Um, but just kind of letting people know that you could go, um, off road and how to do it and things to look out for and how to be prepared and just showing our, sharing our knowledge and things that we've learned from other people who've shared their knowledge with us. Yeah.

[00:16:01] And we're in the owner tent right now and I see they've got you up on the wall, which is really cool. So I have to get some pictures of this later on, but yeah, this is a, it's a really cool event and it's nice that, you know, people are able to come out here and participate in it. Yeah. I'm thankful that they asked me to come out as well and record with y'all and record with potential owners, you know? And I, it is nice to like be able to talk to people about the capabilities of Subaru, like you mentioned.

[00:16:30] And, and also I think the capabilities of Subaru's just right all out of the showroom floor, because while you and Milton and like John over here with Texas Tiggeroo, you know, you've got all these modifications on, you can still do a lot with them more than you think you could just straight off the showroom floor. Yeah. I mean, we, we came out, um, for this event and, uh, was fortunate to have a loan vehicle

[00:17:00] from the local Flagstaff Subaru dealership. Um, and it was a, it is a, um, a brand new Impreza. Um, so it's, it's not a cross track. It doesn't have the off road, the lift or anything. And, and we were able to take that brand new Impreza, um, on a trail run yesterday with, uh, the owners, um, the ambassadors. And it did great. Um, we had to be very careful with our lines. Um, I think that's the most important thing and, and mind the balance with the suspension.

[00:17:29] Um, but, uh, yeah, it did great with just stock right off the showroom floor literally. Yeah. So yesterday you were just talking about, you did like, is it was a trail run bot with the ambassadors for, okay. Cause I'm going to have to remember that. Cause I think next year, if they're, I'm sure Subaru will probably come out again next year, if they do that again, that would be fun to participate in that. Yeah. It'd be a lot of fun. Yeah. Are y'all planning on doing something similar in Oregon? Yes.

[00:17:58] Well, uh, so like on Wednesday or something? Um, they're still working out the, the scheduling, um, but it'll probably be on Thursday. Okay. Cause we'll be out there already. But they're still working on the scheduling. So that'd be great. You can hop in a car with us. It'd be a lot of fun. Yeah. Yeah. So, but yeah, it's, uh, I don't know. It's, it's, it's a little overwhelming with all the vendors here and the amount of, I guess, property that it's taking up, but it's just, it's, it's so cool. Yeah.

[00:18:28] The West, the Flagstaff, um, Overland Expo is definitely the largest, um, and most, most volume of vendors. Uh, PNW is probably the second largest. Okay. Um, it's not quite as, as huge, um, a little easier to find your way around. Okay. It'll be a great one to, to come out to, uh, for folks. Awesome. All right. Well, thanks for hopping on the mic with me. Yeah, absolutely. And I've got my dad here, so I just wanted to, to give a shout out to my dad.

[00:18:56] He's the OG, uh, Subaru owner in the family. So yeah, pass it on down to all of us. Yeah. I'm trying to think of what year that was. I think it was 99 or 2000 for the Outback Sport. Outback Sport. Okay. Which now has evolved into the, uh, Crash Check. Yes. Yes. Yep. All right. And my brother has a Subaru as well. Nice.

[00:19:24] And both of my kids have Supers. I know, but so do mine. My son has a 2010 Outback 3.6R and my daughter has a third gen Crosstrek and they, they both love them. So the Outback needs some work. It's going to need another transmission at some point. Unfortunately, I don't live up here where I can just like, Hey, can I bring it over and y'all can change it out for me? Yeah. Four hours. Yeah. Four hours. Done. That would be so awesome. But yeah, I don't, I don't know anybody down there in Houston that can, can just do it,

[00:19:54] help us out with it. Like I have to pay the labor charges. Yeah. Yeah. So, well, I'm going to go over there and talk to Kathleen for a little bit. Sounds good. Yep. Absolutely. Thank you. Hello, Kathleen. Hey, Ralph. How are you doing? Good. Nice to meet you in person. I know. Finally. Yeah. Yeah. So, how was, how was your drive out here? And where were you driving from? Because you're all over the place, aren't you? I am all over the place. I actually drove from home this time.

[00:20:21] So, I came down from Kanab only three and a half hours. Oh, that's not bad. Which turned into a five hour drive because I had to stop and do things. But yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, it's not bad. Okay. So, what is, what are you doing out here with your Subaru? Actually, it's on display for Subaru right now, which is really nice. I've got my tent on there. I've got it all set up. So, everybody can see what kind of setup it looks, what you can do with different Subarus. Yeah.

[00:20:51] We've got all the Subarus set up differently. So, that comes out pretty nice. Everybody can see different ideas. Yeah. Talking with people. Good. Having a good time. Yeah. So, I know I need to go around and look at all the Subarus because I haven't had a chance to look at all of them yet. And just, especially the, like the New Forester and the Outback Wilderness. And I don't even know that I've seen an Outback Wilderness in person. I've seen the Crosstrek Wilderness in person. Oh, wow.

[00:21:18] But definitely want to go check out your rig and see it in person. I've seen John's in person. But, yeah. It's just, it's so cool to see Subaru being a part of this event this year. And I hope that they will continue to do it for years to come. And, you know, it's great to see you out here and that they asked you to put your vehicle on display. It's the same with John. And John driving all the way out from Texas, you know. I know. I can't believe, honestly, how well Subaru is actually doing as a booth.

[00:21:48] I actually just walked around and was looking at some of the other booths and stuff. And this one is very busy compared to the other ones. There's a lot of interactive stuff going on here. They're really getting people involved with the Subarus and the Subaru community. So, it's really cool with pictures and dogs and cars and all kinds of stuff going on. It's really nice. Yeah. I know. They did a really good job with the setup and, you know, everything that they have here for it. So, they definitely, you know, thought it out.

[00:22:17] I love the little, I love the little love area that they have over there with the photos and stuff. That's a nice touch. And then just a little Subaru arch here. So, it's just, yeah. Yeah, it's, yeah, there's a little booth over there with shelves that the wind is picking up. So, things are starting to blow over. Yeah. No. It is really nice though. Yeah. And it's great to see so many people walking around looking at all the cars. Yeah. And checking them out.

[00:22:43] And I hope that, you know, there's, I hope that this will be able to convert some people who don't have Subarus but have been thinking about Subarus and get them into one. And then potentially, you know, like if there are people that own a Subaru and come out here and see what it's capable of that they maybe didn't think that it was capable of or didn't know about. And that's the thing is every, I mean, John and I have totally two different vehicles.

[00:23:12] And just looking at what he's got, I'm getting ideas from him. He's getting ideas from me. And then we've got the campground full of vehicles that are all different. And everybody's getting ideas like, oh gosh, I can do this. I can do that. Although a lot of people don't realize some of the things you can do with these things. And it's just amazing all the stuff you can do with them now. Yeah. They're coming out with more and more stuff. So, have you been, have you had people come up and talk to you about your vehicle so far? Oh yes. It's been very busy all morning. Oh, that's good. I had to escape.

[00:23:39] That's why I had to escape and go walk around a little bit because I can't get away from the car. The minute I walk over there, I'm getting hundreds of questions. Yeah. They just want to know the setup. They want to know about the car itself. Yeah. I know. And you've, you've traveled to like around to so many different places and you've done so much with it. I think it's like a really good, I think it's a really good, I guess like you're a really

[00:24:04] good person to kind of showcase what you can do with a Subaru and not just the modifications, but just all the places that you can go. And, you know, there's a alarm went off. That's John over there with Texas Tiggeroo. Yeah, so we were paying attention to Tiggeroo. Yeah. Just great for people to see like the reliability of Subaru and like, so I mean, as much as you

[00:24:33] travel around, how many miles do you have on your car now? And what year is it again? I bought it in November of 2020. It's a 21 sport. I just topped out at 123,000 and the year is just starting. So yeah, it'll be up there. I mean, I, I rolled over to 126 recently. Did you? Yeah. Mine's a 21 also. I noticed that you're up there too. Yeah. So you're getting the mileage too, man. So are you here for all three days of the event? Do what?

[00:25:03] Are you here for all three days? I am. My car is held captive. Okay. I am not allowed to start it, move it for until after 3 p.m. on Sunday. So. Okay. So how are you getting around? My husband's actually going to show up here in a little bit. Joe from Subaru has actually been calling me back and forth to the hotel since last night. So I've gotten a ride. It's only three miles up the road so I could walk up there. It's not that far. Yeah. But he, my husband will be here this afternoon. Nice. So hopefully you'll get to meet him. Oh, good. Good.

[00:25:32] Yeah. He's driving down from Colorado. So he should be in about five hours or so. Okay. And then I'll have a ride to get some places. So I won't be stuck here all day. Is this your first time to an Overland Expo event? No. Remember last year Subaru sent me to the one at Mountain West. Yeah. Okay. Just to check it out before they actually set up the booth just to see what that was going to be like. That's right. Yeah. This layout, I like this one really well.

[00:25:59] Nothing against Mountain West, but it's just, it's out on the plain somewhere. It's kind of dry and dusty. It's not the best environment. I'm loving the way this is set up though. Good. This is nice. Good. This is your first time to Flagstaff? Not the town itself. No, I've been to Flagstaff several times. Okay. Yeah. I love Flagstaff. Yeah. It's nice here. Yeah. It's beautiful. We go through here a lot. When I was a photography guide, I would take people through here.

[00:26:26] We'd stay the night sometimes between the North Room and Tucson, photographing storms on the Grand Canyon and stuff like that. Nice. So yeah, I've been here a few times. Good. Good. Well, thanks for hopping on the mic with me. Yeah. It was nice talking to you and getting to meet you. Yeah. Finally. And I'm here today and tomorrow, so my plan is to interview people, you know, owners, and then interview people just looking around at the booth and what they've got here. Yeah. Yeah. Definitely.

[00:26:55] It seems to be drawing quite the crowd, so you're going to be busy. Yeah. There's a lot of people here. All right. Well, thank you. All right. Thanks. You're welcome. Hello, John. How's it going? It is going so good, I can't even put it in words. Ah, so what brings you out to this part of the country? Our wonderful friends at Subaru invited us to come out back at SubiFest in October. Yeah.

[00:27:21] They asked if we would be interested, and we said we would have to look at the time schedule and the budget at the time and see if we could do it, and fortunately everything came together. Good. How was the drive out here? Beautiful. Beautiful. We had no problems. Took two days. Went from Central Texas to Santa Rosa, New Mexico, and then from Santa Rosa we came into Flagstaff,

[00:27:48] and traffic was not bad at all, and just had a nice, pleasant drive, and when we go back, we're going to go take a more southern route and go through Roswell. Nice. Nice. Yeah, it'll be fun. Have you ever been there before? I've never been there either. I haven't either, yeah. So it'll be nice. So just for clarity, I'm sitting here with John, who goes by Texas Tiggeroo with the Super Orange Crosstrek and all kinds of great stuff on it.

[00:28:16] So I'm glad that they asked you to come out and be a part of this, and also that the trip was great, and it's definitely a great place to be. Flagstaff is beautiful. I've been out here before, and so it's nice to be back. And I just, I love being out here and seeing mountains off in the distance. This is our first time in this area, and kind of one of our first really road trip adventures,

[00:28:46] and it's just been amazing. The trip from here to Sedona yesterday was stunning. Yes. And then this morning going on the, well, yesterday, we did the trail ride up to Edge of the World. Yes. Oh, yeah. So our friends that used to live here took us there, and that was incredible. That was so beautiful out there. And then they took us to Sedona after that.

[00:29:14] I think, I don't remember if it was the same day or if we went the next day, but when we were up here, we just, we had a blast, and it's just been, I love it up here. It's so amazing. But, so what do you, what do you think about the whole Subaru setup here, the booth and everything? I think it's a very good mix of new and old. I love, love, love the fact that they've invited owner vehicles. Yes.

[00:29:42] It gives people an opportunity to talk with folks who've had their vehicle for a while and have done modifications. And a lot of people have come over and they're like, wow, this just gives me so many ideas, things I hadn't thought of, things that we could do. And I've just had a marvelous time talking with all of our Subaru fans.

[00:30:07] And remind me again, what year yours is, what year your Crosstrek is. Tigger is a 2018 Crosstrek Limited. Okay. So you were the first year that they had, so the second generation. Yes. First year, second generation. Yep. Yeah, I know. And now they've got the third gen. My daughter has a 2024 third gen and I love it. In the wilderness edition. Yeah. OMG. Yeah. Yes. Yeah.

[00:30:35] So how many miles do you have on yours now? Tigger is over 161,000 miles now. Oh, okay. Yeah. I just hit 126. So we're getting up there and we added 1,000 coming here. We'll probably have another 1,000 going back. So we should be in the 163 to 164 range when we get home. Yeah. So if you had a chance to walk around any and look at all the other vendors and stuff here.

[00:31:00] Because I was walking in from where I parked and just totally blown away with just how many vendors are here. And like, just, I mean, it's overwhelming. We walked in from the front entrance this morning and if you want it for off-landing or over-landing or off-roading, it is here.

[00:31:25] And for practically every vehicle imaginable and some that you may have not even imagined existed before. Oh, I've seen some vehicles that I've, it's like some big truck looking, like almost tank looking things. Yes, like converted army vehicles. Yes, yeah. So there's some pretty crazy vehicles here and it's really cool to see all the different vendors and what they've got out here.

[00:31:49] And I've been able to go around and I talked to some guys from Dio Dynamics, which was great because I had them on the podcast. I still need to visit with them. Yeah, they're not too far away. They're one of my sponsors. Yeah. And so, and then I also visited with Bruno at Riker Wheels because I had Riker on the podcast.

[00:32:07] And so, yeah, it's just been, I'm sure there's some other vendors out here that I've had on the podcast, but it's just, it's, it's pretty, the vendor list has just got to be like a few pages long. It is. I've looked, I've had to look up where people are at. So I, when the time comes that I get to go out and wander, I can make a beeline for who I want to talk to first. Yes, exactly. And then I can get distracted by all the goodies later. Yeah. Oh yeah. Yeah.

[00:32:32] There's definitely plenty of stuff here for, for anybody that's, you know, from off road, like you said, off roading, overlanding, camping, mountain biking. I mean, it just seems like everything is here. Anything outdoors. It is. So, well, thanks for hopping on the mic and chatting a little bit. Oh, I always welcome. And one of these days we'll do the whole interview. Yes, I know. We're working on it. It's been a couple of years, but we'll make it happen. Yeah. Yeah. So it's great to, again, to see you out here.

[00:33:01] I mean, another fellow Texan. So it's been great. Thanks for stopping and chatting. Yeah. You're welcome. Thank you. All right. So I'm here with, what is your name? Maria. Maria. Nice to meet you. So what brings you out to Overland Expo? I entered a competition as a Subaru owner for a weekend pass at the Subaru campground and got a spot. Nice. Nice. Congratulations. Thank you. Yeah. Is this your first time to Overland Expo?

[00:33:31] No, I actually taught classes for yoga slackers here a few years ago. We taught some slackline and yoga classes. So that was my intro to the whole overlanding subculture and why I applied to come back this year. Okay. So I'm guessing you own a Subaru? I do.

[00:33:51] I've got a 2016 Forester and it's been such an awesome car, but now I'm eyeing the wilderness or the hybrid wilderness, which I just heard is coming out. Oh, okay. Nice. I'm out of 26. Nice. Yeah. Yeah. So do you have any modifications on your Forester? Mostly MacGyvered homemade ones. Okay. That's good.

[00:34:21] What's wrong with that? I'm a rock climber and I'm an older, new climber that if I'm going to go out on a four or five day climbing trip, I can't sleep on the hard ground and still climb hard. So I built a sleep system and my own SUV tent that goes over the hatchback for the back of it. Okay.

[00:34:46] You know, kind of just customized to what I need and how much space I need for climbing gear. Yeah. Yeah. So I know like a lot of people that I talk to on the podcast, they do car camping or, you know, hiking and stuff and overlanding and stuff. So they end up building something and buying things that, you know, suits their lifestyle and what it is that they want to get out and do. So yeah, creating something in your space that works for you is like such a great way to do it.

[00:35:13] And most of the places, the all-wheel drive on the Subaru is plenty good enough. Oh, yeah. I'm kind of looking at the wilderness just to get those skip plates and a little bit higher. And I tucked a guy in the campground that had done just like an inch and a half lift.

[00:35:37] So that's kind of where I'm going because there's still a handful of places where it would probably be better to have a true four-wheel drive. But so far, my car's baby blue and I call her baby. Oh, nice. You know, nobody puts a baby in a corner. Yeah, yeah. And she's gotten me everywhere I want to go. Yeah, I mean, just the Subarus in general, just the ability to go off-road is great because you can get off the pavement.

[00:36:06] But the all-wheel drive system is so good. It works so well. And then just, you know, for people that just want to get outdoors and explore, it's such a great car. They're very affordable. They're not massive, you know. And they get really good gas mileage, you know, until you start adding a whole bunch of stuff. And I know people that are down there like the 16s. No, I mean, it's my daily driver.

[00:36:31] It was my cart, cart the kids back and forth to school and to swim practice. And it was our, still is, our car to drive back and forth on family vacations because it gets better gas mileage than my husband's sedan. Yeah. And it's more comfortable for all of us. You know, I mean, 100,000 miles and it hasn't had any major services.

[00:37:00] So you have 100,000 miles on it? Yeah. It's a 2016? Okay. I have 126 on mine and mine's a 21. Yeah. Yeah. You know, so it didn't get driven much during COVID at all. Okay, yeah. Because I stopped working out of house for, well, pretty much just started again. So it got a lot less miles for a little while. Yeah.

[00:37:27] But now that I'm back out working and climbing, I can back up pretty quick. Good. So what do you think of the whole Subaru setup here? Oh, I love it. And I know that they were saying that the whole, like, Camp Subaru thing was a work in progress. But I'm having a blast back there. It's so much fun meeting people and finally finding my way over here to the booth.

[00:37:55] The booth is a blast. And, yeah, Subaru people are cool. Yeah. Yeah. It's been, like, for me, I bought my car in September of 2020. Knew very little about Subaru. And I ended up connecting with so many people on Instagram. And then I started a podcast and then got contacted by Subaru of America. And so, you know, that's led to this, me being here and being a part of this event. And I think it's great. Same here.

[00:38:23] I'm kind of eager to get a little bit more involved. I love and support the company. Yeah. Well, thank you so much for stopping by the booth. And thanks for hopping on the mic. It was great talking to you. You're welcome. You have a great day. You too. Thank you. Bye. Yeah, so I'm here at Overland Expo again, still. And I'm sitting here with Sean. How's it going, man? It's going really good. Happy to be here. Yeah. It's nice to see you again, too. Absolutely. Yeah.

[00:38:51] Always a good time seeing you, Raphael. Thank you. Yeah. Yeah. I know I ran into you in Houston and then ran into you for 48 hours of Tri-State and then now here. Yeah. Yeah. I feel like there's one more in between. SubiFest as well. Yes. Yes. SubiFest, Texas. Yeah. That's right. Yeah. So what brings you out here to Overland Expo with Subaru? So, yeah. So we've been participating in this Overland Expo series.

[00:39:19] This is the first full year that Subaru's actually participating in and we'll be at all five of the Expos. And right now this is the second one on the journey. We were at Overland Expo SoCal a couple months back and now we're here at Flagstaff. But this one's really special because this is the first time that we've actually had Subaru owners and ambassadors come out. Okay.

[00:39:47] And participate in a camping experience. Nice. And yesterday we did a nice little trail ride out to the edge of the world. Yeah, I heard about that. Yeah. I've actually been out there before. Yeah. Yeah. It was a really beautiful ride. So, yeah. For those who haven't been there, scouted out right outside of Flagstaff. Definitely. And it was about a two hour drive. Okay.

[00:40:11] You know, we had about 17 or 18 vehicles join and we got some great pictures and videos from that. Nice. Nice. So are you going to be at all of the events? I'll be at at least four of them. Okay. I think the only one I'm not going to make is Mountain West. Okay. Is that the one in Colorado? Yeah, that's Colorado. Okay. Loveland, Colorado in August. Yeah. Yeah. So I'm at this one, obviously. Yeah. And then I'll be in Oregon.

[00:40:40] I don't think I'm going to Colorado either. Okay. And then I'll be at the one in Virginia. Cool. So we'll have some fun stuff lined up in Oregon. Okay. Depending on when you arrive. Okay. Well, I'm actually going to be there. I'm wrapping that in with my family vacation. So we'll be getting in. I believe we're getting in the Sunday before. Oh, okay. Yeah. So you'll be out there all week. Yeah. Cool. So I had been talking to some people that live out there that I've had on the podcast. Yeah.

[00:41:10] And I said, we're trying to plan a trip to come out there to Oregon because I've been wanting to go out there as just to go, you know, explore. And then after I started kind of making some plans to go out there, it was when Joe contacted me and Joe was like, he sent me the list of locations and I was like, oh, well, we're planning a trip to Oregon. So that, that works out perfect. Yeah. Oregon. Have you ever been? I've been, so I've been to Portland.

[00:41:39] I've been to Corvallis and I've been to Eugene, but only in like the cities and towns. I haven't been outside of those and I went for work. So I've never had a chance to like go exploring for Oregon, but I've heard it's beautiful. Yeah. I've done a little bit of exploring out there. Oregon's one of my favorite States to visit. You got so many beautiful sites on the coast. You go out to the forest. Yeah. Actually where we'll be in Redmond, Oregon, which is considered the Oregon desert.

[00:42:06] So it's a little bit of a different vibe than the rest of the state, but beautiful nonetheless. And, you know, it's always a great spot to visit. And then we'll also be doing an owner experience out there for a small select group. Okay. About 20 super owners that'll be able to camp at the event. And then we'll do some premium activities like a group drive and then some hiking experiences. Okay. So what do you think about like the setup here?

[00:42:35] And is this setup here the way that it was done in SoCal? I mean, with all the same stuff? Similar. The dimensions are a little bit different at each location. Okay. But we have two owner vehicles here, two corporate vehicles, and then the ascent that travels with the expo. Okay. So, yeah. Nice. It's a similar vibe, but each expo has its own unique flavor. Yeah.

[00:43:01] So what is your role as, you know, with Subaru being here at Overland Expo? Yeah, absolutely. So I work on the Subaru Ambassador Program. Okay. More specifically on the event side and connections with ambassadors and Subaru owners. So I help coordinate some of the activities around and supporting the expo, like the pre-meet and the group drives and some of the camping.

[00:43:30] So I help with the selections and communications that go out to the ambassadors and owners and everyone who's participating throughout the weekend. So just help throughout that spot. Yeah. So now that Subaru has been a part of Overland Expo for two events, Nick, what is your favorite part of it and like what is your kind of takeaway from it so far?

[00:43:54] I always love, you know, having the conversations with owners, just hearing what's special to them, what makes each one of them unique and really what they enjoy most about, you know, their Subaru and the adventures that it takes them on. Okay, good. Yeah. Well, I'm glad to be out here and this is really cool to see the setup, you know, the whole event itself is humongous. Yeah.

[00:44:20] And, but, you know, it's really great to see Subaru be a part of it. And I was actually, so I told Joe while I was here, I want to try to connect with some of the vendors that I've had on the podcast before. So I went and talked to Sky from Dial Dynamics, met up with Bruno from Riker Wheels because I had Riker on the podcast. And Bruno was saying he and his buddy there, they were like, yeah, we saw that there was, that Subaru was here. What are they doing here? That's so cool, you know?

[00:44:50] So I think other people are excited to see Subaru here as well. Yeah. You've got so many interesting stories, so many interesting owners. And just hearing the conversations and just getting to know everybody. It's something really special and you see it at different events. Each event's unique, so. Yeah. It's great. Have you talked to, have you had a chance to talk to many owners here yet?

[00:45:17] Yeah, so we had quite a bit of time yesterday connecting with each other. I joined with Jason on the Edge of the World Drive. And, you know, we had about a two-hour conversation just hearing some of the unique things that he does. He's an adventurist and has really cool experiences hiking, like local trails.

[00:45:47] And just hearing, you know, how special participating in an event like this was to him, you know, made it feel rewarding for me. So. Yeah. And then on the way back, I drove back with Carrie and Milton. Nice. Nice. And they're always a good group. Oh, yeah. To connect with. Yeah. Yeah. I've actually had the pleasure of riding with Milton and his cross trek going like 60 miles an hour down one of the trails. And it was a lot of fun.

[00:46:17] Yeah. Milton's a really skilled driver. Carrie as well. Yes. Yes. Both of them. So. It's always a pleasure joining them for any type of ride. Yeah. Yeah. So. What do you, what do you hope to see, like, throughout this weekend as far as participation with people coming to the Subaru booth? Yeah. So a lot of owners, as you know, came out from different distances. We've had some folks travel between 16 to 18 hours from Texas.

[00:46:46] We've got some folks coming from Nevada and Utah and then locals from Arizona. But I just want to make sure that everybody that comes out really has a special experience and something that they can remember and something that they'll treasure because they're part of something really special and unique. Yeah. We enjoy having them out. Yeah.

[00:47:07] And I think for Subaru owners, too, it's, I think it makes them proud to see Subaru at an event like this, you know, that they're able to participate and come out and show off the, again, the, you know, a couple of owner vehicles and corporate vehicles and, and just see the love that goes and the care that goes into this and, and connect with other owners, too. Yeah. Yeah. Because then you, you know, you know, you know, that the people are just as passionate as you are.

[00:47:35] And whether you have mods or not, you know, there's so many people that just really enjoy their Subarus and, you know, it's, it's like, it's good to talk to the enthusiasts who are making the most of them. Yeah.

[00:48:15] Absolutely. And see it grow and continue to have more people come out and get that brand recognition out there. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. All right. Well, thank you for hopping on the mic. Yeah. Thanks, Raphael. You're welcome. All right. So I'm here at the, uh, Rika booth here at Overland Expo West. What's up, man? How are you? I had you on the podcast. It's been a while. Yeah. Now I get to meet you in person. This is great. It is good, man. It's good to finally put a face to the name, man. Yeah. Thanks for coming out. You're welcome. So what's new at Rika?

[00:48:45] Because whenever I had y'all on the podcast, you, you didn't, you had a few wheels, but I think it was just Subaru, Jeep, and like one other manufacturer. Last time we were just focusing on the CUV fitments, the, uh, the Subarus, um, some of the Toyota RAV4s, a little bit of the Jeep Renegade stuff. But now we've, we've expanded. We got into truck stuff. We got truck fitments. So five lug for the Jeeps. We got six lug for trucks. We're actually getting into the eight lug stuff also. So 2025, we got eight lug stuff coming in.

[00:49:14] Um, we tapped into the van market and we've actually hit a home run with the van stuff right now. We, we developed this new super single, um, basically take a Mercedes 3500 van, sprinter van. That's a dually in the rear. You eliminate the inner wheel and this wheel here turns it into a super single. So now you're running four wheels all the way around instead of six. Nice. And then we designed this super cool. And it's super unique. Um, and it's really one of a kind.

[00:49:43] Nobody offers it in the market besides us. We designed a universal spare. So this spare, you can flip it around. And I'm sure, I'm sure you'll drop a link in there so people can see what we're talking about. But you flip this thing around, you can run it in the front and you can run it in the rear. So it's dual drilled. You got 12 holes. You got your countersinks here. But when you flip it the other way around, the countersinks are on the other side of that hole right there. So this van stuff has just done so well for us, man. We got into bead locks. We got forged bead locks.

[00:50:11] Um, I don't have anything for the CUV market. I know we get a lot of, maybe not a whole lot, but we do get some inquiries. People are asking, you know, I want a bead lock for my Subaru, my Crosstrek. And it's just so hard to swallow that pill and make a bead lock for a smaller vehicle. And the tolling, the costs, you know, it gets difficult. So what do you have for the Subarus? Subarus, so we got some new stuff, man.

[00:50:38] We got, um, so we still have the R15, the R20, the R25. We're launching the new R45 right here in the R30. So the R30 has been around for a while. Yeah, this is such a nice wheel. And, you know, like, so I have the Tetons, which I absolutely love the Tetons. But whenever I saw those, I was like, oh man, if those would have been out too, it would have been a really tough decision to go between those and that. So we got the new R45.

[00:51:06] This thing's going to be available also for the Subarus, but we're only doing 17 inch right now. Okay. I know the 15 inch is super popular with the Subaru, but it just, it's like five to one, you know, when we sell them. And it's so hard to, to, to really just justify the cost of tooling to bring in a 15 inch wheel is a little difficult. So we're going with the 17 inch because it's what sells. It's, it's popular. Um, the big box customers love it. How are the, uh, how are the 15 inch wheels that you do offer? How are they doing? It's still what?

[00:51:36] Five to one. Yeah, it really is. Um, I think the thing is with a lot of the newest Subarus, they're all five on four and a half now. Okay. So everything that's already in the market in a five on four and a half bolt pattern is 17 inch. Yeah. It's usually only the five on one hundreds that come available in a 15 inch, but because Subaru is getting away from the five on one hundred bolt pattern. I know they're all 17 inch now and they're running, they're running larger brakes now. So you can't even run a 15 on a newer vehicles. They want 16s or 17s. Yeah. I'm thankful for my 15s.

[00:52:06] I love them. Absolutely love them. Yeah. Yeah. They look great. Yeah. So yeah, thank you. It's a, it's nice to see y'all here. It's nice to, this is my first time coming out to an Overland Expo. Yeah. Overall. Yeah. Overall. I've never been to an Overland Expo event before. So this is like really great to be here. Thankful for Subaru bringing me out to be part of this experience. Dude, that's awesome. I told them that, you know, if there are some vendors there that I've had on the podcast before, I want to go stop by and say hi and get them on the mic. Thanks for stopping by, man.

[00:52:36] Yeah. As long as I have my, my cross-trek, I'm going to have my Tetons, man. That's right, man. I like to hear that. Yeah. I love them. I just, I, I like, so there's, there's this kind of like side profile that when I come up to them, you can see them like kind of sink in like a dish a little bit. I just, this looks so great. I love that. That's cool, dude. Yeah. Cool, man. Well, thanks for stopping behind.

[00:53:04] Thanks for chatting about the wheels and check out the website. We'll share the links with you so you can share them with your people also. Awesome. All the new stuff we got rolling up. Okay. Awesome. Thank you so much. Thank you. I'll kick it off. All right. I'm here at Overland Expo, of course, and I'm here at the Dial Dynamics booth and I'm talking to... John Collier. I'm a part of our marketing team. Okay. Great. Great. Nice to meet you. Yeah.

[00:53:29] I had Trevor on the podcast whenever we had, I had Dial Dynamics on to talk about, you know, the business and how it started up and everything. So it was great to now see the booth. You want to walk us around a little bit and talk about what you've got here? Yeah. On top of that, we've had Trevor on the team for years. He is incredible. Such an asset. And a lot of what you see here on the wall has been made possible due to him. But yeah, here in the trailer right now, two really big highlights that you don't want

[00:53:57] to miss here at the show or any future shows. We've got our all new Dial Dynamics D-Switch. This is the latest switch panel to hit the market. It's been making waves online. We've been moving tons of units. Proudly designed, engineered, and we do assemble a good portion of the product at our HQ in St. Charles, Missouri. Okay. Yeah. Would you like me to showcase the D-Switch? Talk anything about the features? Yeah, sure. That'd be great. Yeah, because this episode will come out after this event, but I know that y'all are

[00:54:27] going to be at future events. So I'm also going to be at Oregon and I'm going to be at the one in Virginia. So this will be great for people to listen to and see what they can expect at future Overland Expo events throughout the remainder of the year. All right. Yes. So we have the D-Switch here at our trailer that goes to majority, if not all of our shows, primarily on the West Coast. But the D-Switch, the big thing about it, you take a look at the hub that we have on display. It goes in your engine bay.

[00:54:54] You're going to find four 15-amp outputs and four 30-amp outputs. Now, the big flaw we saw was a lot of products like us, we have the backlighting feature everyone knows and loves. Whether your pods glow amber, red, or multicolor, you're wasting your main input. So now we have a dedicated backlight bus bar. So you're not wasting any of your main inputs on those low requirement wires or leads. We also have a dedicated backlight button on the controller.

[00:55:24] So, you know, there's no fumbling around. If you want to throw on all your accent lights, if you've got amber on the front, red in the rear, scene lighting on the rack, you can press that backlight button and fire everything off for style or function. So what exactly is the backlight? Yeah. So that's a huge thing that's really taken over a lot of the pods in the market. It's an accent light. It makes the optic or the back of the pod glow. You'll see this with diode products, many others in the market as well.

[00:55:53] It's when the main beam's not in use. So if you're driving on the road and you want to have the optic of your fog lights or your ditch lights or a big light bar glow a nice subtle amber or another color option, it really just adds a little flair and style to your vehicle. It's also functional too by all means. It can be used as marker lights, DRLs, and so much more. It gives other drivers good visibility too. Absolutely. It's a great just indicator light overall. It's not a main beam.

[00:56:21] That's, you know, yeah, just not a main beam. It's a little addition we throw in. Okay. Yeah, that's nice. Nice. So what else you've got set up in here with the booth? Yeah, so D-Switch furthermore, we've got our controller that you can use or you can use the D-Switch app on your phone. So if you want, tuck that controller away in the engine bay. Use your phone. Use your tablet. Whatever device you might have mounted in an overlanding rig and download the D-Switch app. It is fast. It is flawless. We're able to add to it.

[00:56:50] It's one of the best apps on the market. Yeah, that's the biggest thing is we saw a lot of lagging, a lot of slow capabilities, and we wanted to fix that. You touch, you go. It's ready to fire off whatever you have, lights, accessories. It's really an incredible unit we have on display. If you haven't seen it or you're in the market, you have a lot of lights, a lot of accessories. This is a panel that you do not want to miss. Okay, great. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah, I know.

[00:57:15] And then we've got like some of these SSD5 LED pod, you know, on display. Yeah, we've got all our pods in our lineup on display from our C1s, 2s, 3s, and 5s. But the big highlight here is showcased at SEMA 2024, the all-new stage series light bars. Not our old rally-style light bars that kind of came out years ago. They're still phenomenal. Great performance, great value.

[00:57:41] But the ones revealed at SEMA are on display in the trailer at all shows on the road. These have the backlight, the startup sequence, the all-new optics our engineers put so much work into. I mean, we could dive deep into these. A lot of people are very well-versed. This is the most anticipated product lineup. We get 30 messages a day. Everyone is stoked. What makes this so anticipated and makes it so great?

[00:58:11] There's a new light bar on the market that is not a pod-linkable light bar, but a slim, you know, performance off-road or road legal if you choose a certain size. But this is, no one's seen a light bar in quite some time. So we took our old fantastic bars, completely revamped them. They look like our pods. They match. They have the backlighting. The optics are completely redone as stated before. There's, you know, modularity.

[00:58:37] If you want to buy a 50 and change out the outer, the inner, you want to have antler white. Okay, nice. Nice. You can make the inside spot driving the outside flood. You can really tailor it to your exact vehicle. So it's very customizable. Absolutely. It's great for off-road rigs. You've got the van life that's taken over here, a lot of the shows. These guys, we've got a size from small to big. One big thing to note about these light bars that I'd love for everyone to know is we've gone to traditional sizing.

[00:59:07] So we get a lot of brands like C4, Sherpa, everyone who knows and loves. And they were like, hey, we want to work with you, but we need you to make your sizes standard like everybody else. So now we have six, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50. So the adaptability or the possibility for it to be capable with all these brands, we want to make sure everything fits. We want to make sure you can rock diode.

[00:59:31] If you've got diode ditch lights, you've got an aftermarket bumper, we want to make sure our product will fit in that slot by whatever brand it may be. Great, great. Awesome. Thank you. Yeah. All right. Anything else you want to talk about while we're here on the mic? Yeah, absolutely. I mean, if you stop by our mobile showroom here at any of the shows on the road, and if you want to know where we're at, you can go to diardynamics.com, click the events tab, and see where we'll be next.

[00:59:53] But in this mobile showroom, you're going to find everything from pods, rock lights, our hitch mount, full headlights, and our Elite Series lineup. We've got a little bit of everything here to showcase. It's interactive, and we can really just get you tailored exactly what you may need. The biggest thing is education. Education. Don't feel like you can walk in the trailer and you've got to buy. This is a place for education, and really to figure out what we're about and what we have for you. Great. Awesome. Awesome, man. Appreciate you.

[01:00:23] Thank you so much for your time. Thank you. You're welcome. All right. Well, this one's yours. Okay. You can sit down, actually. Okay, yeah. That would be lovely. Yeah. After the whole day of walking and talking. Oh, gosh. Yeah, my back is hurting. Ask me all the questions. Okay. Yeah, so I'm here. We're at the little Subaru camping spot outside of Overland Expo West and sitting here with Chris,

[01:00:52] and he has a very interesting story. So, we're sitting here next to his Forester, and we were talking a little bit over at the Subaru booth, but I found out that he's got some interesting setups as far as how to fuel his vehicle. So, first of all, well, I kind of got started, but welcome to the Subaru podcast. Welcome to Overland Expo West. Thank you. Thank you for allowing me to be in the podcast.

[01:01:21] It's super nice. I feel very good with that. So, I'm a little bit tired, so I'll be probably missing some words, but generally, I'm happy to join the podcast. Yeah. So, tell everybody where you're from. Well, originally, I'm from Poland, although I do a lot of traveling with my Forester, and lately, I am in the US traveling.

[01:01:51] Well, doing the plan of taking my Subaru somehow around the world. Okay. I do this in stages, so I kind of go back to work as every other person, and work for a couple weeks, and then continue the journey. And so, in total, the journey in the US started last year in the end of September. Okay.

[01:02:16] And it's about four months in total that I did travel, mainly Western USA. I had a much richer plan. I wanted to go around the USA, but it is such a huge country. Yeah. It would take me a year or two just to do that. So, I kind of postponed some parts of it, not because I don't like it, but just I really

[01:02:40] am on the tight schedule with the import rules of the car, because it has Polish numbers, K1 Chaos, and I actually have to take the car out of the United States within a year from its arrival. Okay. So, right now, I am actually negotiating with the PCB, or how are they called? Is it like Customs or something? Customs, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[01:03:09] So, I'm negotiating with Customs if they could extend that on terms that this car goes around some shows as well. Well, so, I don't know. If not, then in the end of October, I will take it to Mexico. Okay. To Guadalajara, where it's going to be stored for a while. Well, then I can actually enter the States back. Okay. So, it's just going to be a little hassle, because I will have to leave it there for some time, come back, again, like renew the permit and everything.

[01:03:37] I can't do it like straight away, so the car has to be there. So, understanding my own life and how it works, it means that this will probably start the Pan American journey in the end. Okay. So, we will go all the way to Ushuaia in Argentina, and the next stop would be Siberia. We will ship it to Russia. We would like to drive to the coldest part of the planet inhabited by people, which is called Yakutia. That's about minus 74 degrees Fahrenheit in winter.

[01:04:07] That's so cool. So, they don't turn off their cars in wintertime. They're all the time running. Really? Really? You can learn it. Just type in Yakutia live, and you'll be blown away. Wow. I have a friend who actually drove a motorcycle there in winter, in the same conditions. It's crazy. Yeah. So, we want to do that, because I want to see the coldest place on the planet when it's so cold, the first thing. But I think this will be the ultimate challenge for the car as well. Yeah. We will have to prepare it.

[01:04:36] So, I actually did the whole... I posted on my Instagram that I want to do it, like a story, and all of a sudden, a couple guys from this area, they're like, Chris, whenever you really plan that, we will help you to prepare the car. We tell you how to prepare it. We will do all the necessary stuff that you can actually do it and survive it. So, you can stay at my house or something, you know, because, you know, I cannot camp there.

[01:05:04] So, it will be a non-camping trip. You don't want to sleep in your rooftop tent in minus 74 degrees? Come on, man. I will maybe try to do that once. Like, I will try to do it, although I don't know what will be the outcome. So, I will not switch off the car, for sure. But I will try to put the tent, I will try to turn on the diesel heater, and I will try to kind of insulate the tent. But I think that minus 74 might be just so critical that it's not going to work. That's pretty cold, man. Yeah.

[01:05:33] And the rest of the trip would be, we would go to Mongolia, all the way to Kazakhstan, all the eastern countries, you know, and probably going around Iran because, like, I would love to see it. I have friends who did Iran, and they were very happy with it. So, gas is super cheap and everything there. People are very humble, but there are some restrictions around the world. If you enter Iran, then maybe I am not able to enter the U.S. anymore. Or many things like that.

[01:06:02] So, we will probably go all the way to Baku, take a ferry to Armenia, take it back home, restore it a little bit after all these trips. Because since December 23, we covered, like, 35,000 miles with this car. So, it was a car while working, while rebuilding it. It's been in the shipping for three months in total. So, I think in that time, the car was, like, one year, not, like, not used, but it was, like, somehow on hold. Yeah.

[01:06:31] So, we can say that it's a year and a half for all these miles. So, with all the miles that you've put on it, and then all of the, quote-unquote, rebuilding that you've done with it, let people know about the engine. Oh, yeah. So, I know that this is a very interesting part. So, first of all, the car has original engine that was there. That's two-liter turbo. So, that's an XT.

[01:06:58] It is an original, original, never-rebuilt engine with 190,000 miles on the clock now. I think it's going to be a little bit more at the moment. And it has some WRX parts, like TD-04L turbo. It has some extra maps. It has a little bit bigger intercooler. You know, some little, little tuning. Yeah. To keep the heavy car going. And the most interesting part for many people is that I can actually run the car out of liquid propane. Yes.

[01:07:27] So, that's a dual petrol car, which is not so unusual back in Europe and Balkan countries and some other. But, like, people do that because the first thing is that the liquid propane has two advantages. It's about 50-60% cheaper than regular gas all around the world. And second of all, usually it is in the same quality. So, like, you know, keeping the quality of fuel in Subaru is very important.

[01:07:55] So, I am prepared for many scenarios. So, let's start from the ground up. I have four maps for that car. So, I can run 85, 87, 89, and 91 premium. Actually, 98 European as well. So, I have five petrol maps, gas maps, which I can remake with my laptop. And then I can switch the button, as you've seen. Then the OEM ECU is being turned off with the OEM fuel pump.

[01:08:24] And then instantly the fuel pump from the gas, from the LPG, kicks in with the injectors and with the secondary ECU. And we are raising our power significantly because it's much more octane-ish petrol. Much cleaner. I pass off emissions, even though I have straight pipe. And, yeah, and it's like I do more mileage on that. So, the fuel consumption is lower with the LPG gas.

[01:08:53] So, I can use the same LPG that runs my cooker. So, in critical situations, if I would be stranded somewhere, I always have some five or six cooking cartridges. So, I can actually press them in. And I can go back. I can at least wish that I go back, you know. But sometimes that four kilogram, you know, these four bottles of the propane that I use for cooker can save your life. Idea is that there are many countries that they have really bad quality fuel.

[01:09:21] And in order to avoid it, I did it this way. And exactly the other thing is that fuel is much significantly cheaper. So, it's like an old Forester 2004 model this is. I love it. Yeah. So, like, I don't know. It's like there's something that I wanted to be able to travel a little bit cheaper and cover more miles. Yeah. It is a huge investment, you know. This car does...

[01:09:50] Oh, yeah, this is a good question. So, this car does 10 miles to the gallon plus minus. Oh, wow. When I drive normally like 70, 75. When I drive like below 60, 50, which is the traveling, like, you know, sightseeing thing. So, then I do much more. Then I'll do like 15 miles to the gallon. So, it's not a very economical car, right?

[01:10:18] Like, a big van can go cheaper, you know. So, keeping that... Having that factor of having that gas much cheaper on the travel is something. And extending the range as well. So, like, I have actually extended the range double. So, I think I have about 360 miles of range with the LPG and with that tank that you see here. That's a gas tank. That's a spare gas tank. I lost the cab somewhere. I have to fix that up.

[01:10:46] So, transmission is swapped as well. So, I have... We have made it custom. So, we took European Impreza with low range. We've rebuilt it. We've added some gearing from the Forester XT. We've added some gearing from Outback. I don't know anything about that. My mechanic did it. So, I can't explain how this happened. But we also reworked the sender div. So, like, my four-wheel drive kicks in much faster.

[01:11:15] So, it works a little bit like torque locker. Although, it is not torque locker. Our viscotic clutch is completely remade. The back differential has the same feature. So, the LSD is also rebuilt. Front is completely stock. Drive shafts, CV joints, all stock as it was 20 years old, you know. So, this is the first time I'm snapped. I didn't snap the CV, the whole shaft on the left side. But the rubber part is broken. Oh, okay.

[01:11:45] So, I will be replacing that. Brakes are upgraded. I have DBA Australia brakes. WRX spec. I had a better suspension from Australia. Now, we are here in the U.S. in the kingdom of suspensions. So, we are working with one of the American companies on suspension. So, you see, while I drive, we actually built the car in some shops. Magnesium wheels from Audi. These are magnesium ultralight. I have crazy...

[01:12:15] This is going to be very interesting. So, whenever I had the stock suspension in the back, I used to break the shocks because of the weight. I have a rooftop tent, all these boxes, solar panels, all that stuff, right? Right. So, when the shocks break, the tire rubs the shock and you can't drive, literally, right? Yeah. Because it will rip the rubber. So, I actually came to conclusion that I need two spacers.

[01:12:39] So, I have a spacer that changes the bolt pattern from Subaru to Audi because these are Audi wheels. And I have a go-through spacer, two centimeters, half an inch, pretty much. So, whenever I would bend the shock, when I did bend the shocks, it was the dimension, it was different diameter. And I could actually take the wheel out, turn it around 180 degrees and put it on and continue the journey. Wow.

[01:13:07] So, when we were like, for example, in Moab last year, when we tried to do a health prevention, we break the shocks. It would be a three-day stop, no traveling. That's not possible. I cannot... You know, I would get crazy. Or just split the tire around. Yeah. So, take the tire around. Then the tire is like, you know, outside look cambered. It looks like crazy offset, but still I can travel. So, we ordered some parts at the mechanic. I called Peders. They shipped me the shocks.

[01:13:34] And I could drive the car for three days, do some sightseeing, go to National Park, to Arches. And then after three days, rebuild the suspension and continue. Nice. So, how many countries have you been in? Have you taken this to? About 18. Okay. So, we are talking about Turkey, Armenia, Georgia. We were in like northern Iraq, but we had to reverse the trip. So, we didn't cover the Iraq because it started to get dangerous.

[01:14:04] At the time when we wanted to go there and explore the country, Iranian militia started to bomb them and we decided to not do it. Better to be safe. Yeah, better be safe. So, you have to think about that. Although, it's a great country. My friend went there two weeks later when the situation got calm. And it was absolutely crazy what he showed me like positively. So, we did Serbia. We did Bulgaria. Romania twice. All around Carpathian Mountains. Slovakia, Hungary. Czech Republic. Austria.

[01:14:37] Balkan countries, which means Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania. Poland, obviously. I was at borders of Ukraine. I wanted to go to Ukraine because we did some stuff when the war started. We were actually supporting some people there. But I didn't take the car there at the end because I was afraid. It looks a little bit military sometimes. I was afraid they would impound it and it could end up crazy. And then, as I told you the story, a guy came from America.

[01:15:06] One of the people who was liking our posts and following the page. So, he bought from me some parts that we manufactured for the car. But he said that he actually came all the way just to see the car live. And I'm like, this is crazy, right? And then he showed me a photo of his car at Royce Motel in Amboy. And I had just that spark. I'm like, oh man, this is what I have to do. This is what I want to do. He's like, if you ever bring that car to America, you have so many places to see.

[01:15:35] And this idea, he planted a seed. And that was February 2024, last year. And August 24th, I started the trip. Sorry, September. But the car arrived to the States at the end of August with the shipping container. So, that was crazy. It's crazy because all things just happen. You know what I mean? It's just, I don't kind of plan them. They just happen and I'm just here. Then I'm there. Then I'm there. And that's, you know. Yeah, yeah.

[01:16:05] So, as far as you being here at Overland Expo, like what is, you're here for a reason. So, what is your reason for being here at Overland Expo? Well, the first reason is that Subaru of America through the G7 company, they actually invited me to come here to be their influencer at the DM to do some reels. I don't know how to say it. I never had this situation.

[01:16:35] So, they asked me to partner with the show. So, like, but the main thing is that when Subaru and Matt, they reached me out and they're like, if I would like to attend the show and being around, I'm like, I just told them that, you know, I'm in Poland at the moment. And I didn't plan that. And, like, but, you know, if you're, like, welcoming me, if you invite, then I'll be here. I'll be there.

[01:17:05] So, you know, I just took a plane 24, 25 hours of travels to LAX. The car is in Rancho Cucamonga usually. When I'm back home, you know, I have a friend who stores it for me. And then two days of driving here and here I am at the Overland Expo and being the partner of Subaru of America in this event, which is absolutely awesome.

[01:17:33] And I actually appreciate it a lot and being happy, super happy that I have this opportunity to be here and talk with you guys, like the whole community. Oh, yeah. And support the brand that I really like, although I had some hard feelings with my old Subarus. But I never had money to buy a really good car. So when I was younger, I would buy, like, very old, very beaten cars, which they didn't have any future, obviously.

[01:18:02] And this one broke the whole thing because when I bought that one, even though it was rust and everything, right, the engine, everything was just opposite experience of what I had before. And I started to drive it again and I started to remind myself how unique experience the Subaru delivers. Yeah. Because it is a unique experience of driving.

[01:18:23] And there is something special about this generations of Foresters, the SGs, just the Subarus of these times, like, you know, late 90s, like 2000s. And they were very raw and they were like, kind of a, whenever I drive it, I feel like I would be on a rally. You know what I mean? Even though it's a daily drive, even though I have all the kilograms on it. But I wanted that car to connect a couple of worlds.

[01:18:51] I wanted it to be like a kind of a daily. I wanted to be able to go fast in off-road, like on some corrugated roads, on some gravel. And in the end, after having all of that fun, I wanted to be able to go on the camp spot, which no one can get to, like with normal vehicles. Set the tent, enjoy the views. And I think I kind of connected all of these features in this one chassis. Yeah, no, it looks great.

[01:19:19] I mean, just, you know, looking at it from the exterior, it's like, I mean, you can tell that it's a Forester. But with everything that you've done to it, it's very unique. And so, but you can also kind of follow along with your build and everything that you've done with it on Instagram because you said you've rebuilt it. So everybody can go look at that, correct? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. So if I can market myself a little bit, it's WeRoamWorld, WeSpace, RoamSpaceWorld.

[01:19:48] And actually, at the beginning, I didn't really realize what I'm doing, seriously. So there's not so much content on the whole build, like on my Instagram.

[01:20:00] But I am bringing some of these memories now because it's like after two years, actually, like, okay, nearly two and a half years after I finished the build, after realizing what we did, after realizing all these travels, I'm like, this is some kind of a crazy thing that happened in my life that I did it, right?

[01:20:32] Yeah, yeah. And they didn't give me that much fun that I wanted. And this car started to deliver a lot of fun. And this is why I came to a conclusion that I have to give it a new life. Yeah, yeah. And you have. So as far as like Overland Expo, like, what did you think of the whole Subaru setup, you know, with their little booth and, you know, their seating areas and all that kind of stuff? What was your impression of that? I think, well, to be honest with you, like the last year I was at LA Auto Show. So let's start from the beginning.

[01:21:02] And the Subaru had the best, I think, the best kind of a space that I ever seen in my life. And then coming here, again, seeing their booth, it's again kind of a different booth than anyone else. It's very unique. It's very community related. Yes. It's very community related. And I think that Subaru in, like in America, it's a completely different thing than Subaru in Europe.

[01:21:29] Because Europe is kind of a focus on Subarus being WRCs, STIs, you know what I mean, Impressas. Not many people take these rigs Overland. And I think also Subaru in Europe is marketing a little bit different. And whatever I saw today at the booth, it was great to see that you guys bring so many positive energy. And this brand is not only about selling cars, you know what I mean?

[01:21:57] It's about creating a big community of nice people who can travel their cars, who can do overlanding stuff. You support a lot of... Subaru Expoop supports a lot of cool ideas and cool things like, you know, with the dogs and a lot of things. I'm amazed, actually. I'm really, really amazed to see how it is in the U.S., how the whole scene looks and how you guys kind of do the thing around the brand.

[01:22:25] And being a part of it, even though I have an old vehicle, you know, but being a part of it... We love them, though. We love them here. Being a part of it is being... It's a great honor to be part of it. And being, like, able to join Subaru of America and cooperate and partner, that's actually really, really an honor. And what I like about the booth and the cars, I got some swag as well. I got some shirts. I got some presents for my friends. Subaru freaks back in Poland, you know.

[01:22:55] So, there's a lot of stuff that you can actually do. But, like, I think I'm in love in the Outback Wilderness as well. Yes. Yeah. Those are so nice. This is going to be my next car. Awesome. So, like, I am literally... I love this car for every aspect. Like, interior, exterior. The new Forester is also a great vehicle. Although that Outback is a daily car for me. So, it's a thing that I have two Huskies. Yeah. Yeah.

[01:23:24] And that Outback, you know, back is just a little bit bigger so I could fit the Huskies. They don't travel with me. That would be crazy. Yeah. If we have two Huskies traveling. Although we do travel three people sometimes because my friend, a great friend of mine, who's doing some photographs in our business, he's, like, doing a lot of travels with us. So, last year, I called him, like, hey, Andrew, listen up. I have this plan to send the car to the US. Well, actually, it's already on the ship.

[01:23:52] And I'm going there in September. And we will be traveling around for three, maybe three and a half months. You want to join? Yes. Yes. Okay. So, then I had to come to conclusion how to inhabit three people in that vehicle. So, two people sleep in the tent. So, me and my girlfriend, he had his little tent in the back, which you could see. Yeah. We have a diesel heater with a splitter, so he has warm air. Oh, that's awesome. We have warm air.

[01:24:17] So, this car, whenever it's all set, it's kind of, it's looking more like a space station rather than like a Transformers. Oh, that's funny. So, you know, this is kind of a, this is then like a little bit heavy on the mileage, obviously, on consumption. But nothing could bring me so much joy and happiness. Moab. I mean, I think I'm the most in love. I'm in Moab. Like, completely. Like, being in Moab. So many people say they love Moab.

[01:24:47] Oh, it's crazy. I wouldn't even imagine that it's so cool. I could see some movies, you know. We did Chicken Corners. We did White Rim Trail. We did Part of Health Revenge, Fins and Finks, other trails. And I didn't want to leave. I was like, I can stay here for another week and drive and drive and drive and drive. Although we just had a plan when we had to continue. So, in the last year, we covered 16 national parks.

[01:25:13] So, for us, it's like covering 16 countries because your country is so huge. Yeah. Sometimes I'm like looking at the map and like, oh, it's quite close. And I'm driving four hours. It's not that close. It's not that close. Yeah. So. Yeah. Well, thank you, Chris, for taking the time to hop on the mic and chat about your car and your experience here at Overland Expo. It's been a pleasure. Thank you. Thank you for, you know, enjoying. I'm sorry. Thank you for welcoming me to the podcast. It's been a pleasure.

[01:25:43] And as I said, great honor. We're so happy to be around your community here. And I think I'll be more often because my travels will obviously like, you know, take place. Although America seems that to be the place where I really want to come back more often with the car, travel, see it. There's a lot of places to see. Oh, yeah. A lot of places to see. Yeah. All right. Thank you. You're welcome. Thank you. All right.

[01:26:12] I'm sitting here at day two, day two of Overland Expo. I'm sitting here with my buddy Neil. How's it going, man? What up, Raphael? Bro, I miss you. Yeah. I came here to hug Milton and to give you a hug. Yeah. So I appreciate you. Yeah. Yeah. I know. It's been a long time since we've seen each other. And I think the last time I saw you was what? At Subie Fest, California? Was it Subie Fest, California? I think so.

[01:26:42] Where I rode with you for a while. We went hit the hill. Yes. Yes. I think that was it. We went trailing. Yeah. That was when carnage happened. Yeah. Many flat tires happened. Yeah. Skip Place got ripped off. Yeah. Ryan Redbeard, he got mudded. Yeah. So yeah, that was the last time I saw you. That's crazy. Yeah. So what brings you out to Overland Expo West? Well, I pretty much come here every year. Let me put my glasses on here before I get dust in my eye. I pretty much come here every year.

[01:27:12] So this is probably year four. Oh, nice. I think I came out here 2021, 22. Yes, year four. Okay. So, you know, it's probably seven and a half hour drive here. So usually I camp with friends and stuff, but I knew you were coming. Oh, nice. You know, solar trips are fun. I like to just, I had a pretty crazy last couple of days at work, so I needed some nature. So came out here. Yeah, I live in Southern California, so it's not too bad to drive. Yeah.

[01:27:42] And I mean, what a better place to be than Flagstaff. I mean, the weather's great. It's a little windy. A little windy. It's chilly under here, but it feels good. Yeah, but we're under the Subaru awning right now. Yeah, we're in the owner tent. Yeah. We're special. We're bougie. Yeah. So, you know, come out here every year and, you know, I usually do free camping, but I just kind of came by myself. So I found a paid campsite. Oh, that's cool. Which is nice. Yeah. You know, but obviously just, I want to see you guys and hang out. And, you know, if I walk around the expo, you know, by myself, but I know probably quite

[01:28:11] a few people walking around. Okay. I'll eventually find someone and, you know, meet the new, you know, subie peeps here in the booth. Yeah. Yeah. So this is the first time that Subaru has been at Overland Expo West. So what do you think of the whole setup here? I like it. So I went to Southern California Expo. Okay. And obviously this is the first time in Expo West, but I thought they did a great job. You know, they handed out the, you know, badge of ownership, the fancy ones, the Seeker one. Yeah. I like it. They have a really nice setup.

[01:28:39] They have really good, you know, they have pictures of, you know, a lot of the Subaru owners on the wall. You know, Carrie's represented. They have really cool graphics. The music's popping right now. I don't know if you guys can hear the music in the background. It's a rave over here. Yeah. I like it. They have, you know, obviously the new Forester. It's all about the Foresters. Yeah. I like it. It's, they got snacks. That's good. But they did a great job. It's about time. Yeah, I know.

[01:29:05] It's, whenever they reached out to me and told me that they were doing this and invited me out, I was like very thrilled that they wanted to have me as a part of this and come out and record with people. So I'm very thankful for that. Cool, man. Thanks for hopping on the mic. Yeah, yeah. First person. I'm going to see if I can get these people. Do you want to hop on today? Yeah, shoot it. Yeah. Yeah. So she can tell you the story about we wanted to buy a Porsche and we left with a Subaru. Okay, yeah. Here, we can sit over here on the couch. Yeah. You want to sit too?

[01:29:35] I want to let you sit. All right. Okay. All right. First, go ahead and introduce yourself. Hi. My name is Shailen. All right. What do you drive, Shailen? I drive a Subaru Forester. Okay. And it's relatively new, right? It is. Yes. We just got it in January. Okay. Yes. And is this your first Subaru? It's my first Subaru, but our second Subaru. Okay. All right. Yes. And he had a, what year was it? 99. 99 Forester. Oh, nice. Yeah.

[01:30:03] I love the older Foresters, the boxier ones. So what do you all think about the new Forester compared to the old Forester? I like all the new features of the new Forester. So I actually came from a Lexus and I, I really, I actually like the Forester better. Nice. Okay. Well, that's great to hear. Good. Good. Yeah. And how did, how did you like your, how do you like the new one compared to the older one? It's more refined. Okay. Yeah.

[01:30:31] Being in the desert, we love the cool seats. Oh yeah. Yeah. That's awesome. Yeah. Yeah. So I want to introduce myself to you. My name is Raphael. I host the Subi and You podcast. So I'm here to talk to Subaru owners. So, so what do you think about the whole Subaru setup here? I really enjoy the setup. We learned, we've met a lot of new people and learned a lot more about Subaru than I knew even before with us opening the Subaru. Yeah. So have y'all been to Overland Expo before?

[01:31:00] No, this is our first time. Okay. Yeah. Okay. And did y'all know that Subaru was going to be here? No. Okay. So y'all came into the events, saw that they were here. Yeah. We stopped by to say hi. Yeah. Good. Awesome. Yeah. I'm glad you stopped by. Yeah. Yep. So yeah, this is my first time to any of the Overland Expo events. Okay. So it was like great to see this set up and because they like included me as part of the program and the plan that they were doing. So I didn't get a chance to go to the one in Southern California. Oh, okay. Okay.

[01:31:30] But I'm here at this one. I'm going to go to the one in Oregon and then the one in Virginia. Okay. That's cool. Yeah. We've never been to an Overlanding show or anything, but we've done lots of more of the off-road. Yeah. Okay. The off-roading shows. But this is awesome. Yeah. This is awesome. And I'm hoping that they will continue to show up at Overland Expo after this year and you know, they'll, they'll go back and they'll, you know, talk about how it went and the successes and everything. Yeah. All that sort of stuff. So hopefully that'll bring them back again.

[01:31:59] Cause I know that they did a little pilot last year. Oh, okay. And based on that pilot, they went around to the event and just kind of saw what the other vendors were doing and then made the decision that, Hey, let's go to all the events in 2025. Yeah. So it worked out well. Yeah. I think Subaru out of all the other car companies that are here, it seems that I like their setup the best. Yeah. Yeah. It is really nice. Yeah. So we feel included with our, with the member lab. That's awesome. Yeah.

[01:32:27] Subaru is a brand, you know, they're very community oriented and then all the other people that own Subarus, you know, it's like such a great community. I don't know if you have an Instagram account for your car, but if you start an Instagram account and you start like throwing out some Forrester hashtags, you'll get connected with a ton of people. That would be awesome. Yeah. Because like I bought my Crosstrek in 2020, back in September of 2020. It's a 21.

[01:32:56] And I started an Instagram page for it. I'm thinking like people are going to think I'm silly. Yeah. No. And I connected with so many people. And like, if you have questions, people are extremely helpful. So it's like such a great community and there's all kinds of help and resources out there. And if you want, go ahead and start listening to the podcast because. I'm going to have to check it out. So, yeah. So the podcast is I interview primarily people from the community that are out there. Oh, okay. And that was like, it's, it was community focused.

[01:33:25] It was like, you know, driver focused. Yeah. So I'm up to, I think I'm going to be releasing episode 202. Oh, 202. Or no, 203 pretty soon. Wow. Yes. Okay, we'll have to check it out. Yeah. Maybe on the way home, we'll put it on and listen to it. Okay. Yeah. Great. Yeah. So have you done any mods to your Forrester yet? Not yet. Not yet. Oh yeah, that's it. Okay. Yeah, just the rack. Yeah. Okay. So. I know there's quite a few things that you can do. Yeah.

[01:33:52] So do y'all have kind of a list or some plans for it? I'm sure a lift kit maybe, some different tires, and then we'll see. Yeah. We'll see from there. Depending on where you decide to go, like tires are very important for traction, of course. So I have like a ViAir compressor that was like $85, I think. It connects to your battery. That way you can air your tires down for better traction and then be able to air them back up. Yeah.

[01:34:21] So that's a good recommendation. Also, again, depending on where you're going, if it's going to be a little rocky or something, skid plates are definitely important. Oh, we've heard that. We've heard definitely. Yeah. So, because a lot of times when people buy their Subaru and they want to go start off-roading, they're like, what do I do first? Like, what's the most important thing? So your stock tires will actually do pretty well, again, depending on the trail. Skid plates, you know, are really good if that's like the first thing you decide to get.

[01:34:50] Because you might end up getting into a situation where it's like, I'm not so sure about this. And then you don't want to bust your oil pan. Then you feel a little bit more comfortable getting yourself out. Yeah. To skid plates. Definitely. Yeah. Yeah, I think that was the first thing I did. And then I did wheels and tires. Okay. Cool. Yeah. And is your car here that we can look at? No, unfortunately it's not. I can show you pictures after we've done. Okay. I'm from Houston. So I flew out. Oh, you did tell us that yesterday. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Yeah.

[01:35:19] So it would have been quite a drive for me. Yeah. So how many hours did I forget? Oh, I don't even know how many hours. Oh, it's about. Okay. So for me, it would probably be 16 to 18 hours. Oh, yeah. That's just a little bit of a drive. Yeah. We did drive from Houston to Colorado. And so I know going from. That would be a fun drive. Yeah. Houston to Flagstaff would be about the same, but it would be totally worth it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Someday. Someday. Yeah. So, well, thanks for stopping by and hopping on the mic.

[01:35:49] It was great talking to y'all. Yeah. Great talking to you too. And what was your name? Eric. This is Eric. Yeah, I'm Eric. Okay, great. Eric and Shay. All right. Thank you. You're welcome. Thanks. All right. So we're here at Overland Expo, day two. And I'm sitting here with Delia, right? With Delia, yes. Delia, yeah, yeah. So you were initially introduced as Becky, but then they had to correct you and say, no, Becky is? Becky is the name of my Subaru Baja. Yeah. Yeah. That's so cool. So when did you get the Baja?

[01:36:19] We got her two years ago. Okay. 2023. Nice. Nice. Summer of 2023. We got her in Ohio. Okay. And we live in Lincoln, Nebraska. Oh, I've been to Lincoln, Nebraska. Yeah. Yeah. I like it. It's a really cool little town. It's a cute little town. Yeah. And so we were in Ohio visiting people. And so I was looking at the area for Bajas.

[01:36:46] I had been scouring Facebook Marketplace for a Baja for a while now. Oh, that's okay. And finally found one in Ohio that was the good price point. The head gaskets had recently been rebuilt. Oh, nice. That worked out. Yeah. So that was the big selling point. So we picked her up in Ohio, drove it back to Nebraska. How long of a drive was that? 18 hours.

[01:37:16] Was it 18 hours? Yeah. How did it do? It was great. We just had to add a little bit of oil. Okay. Typical. Yeah. And we did half, we did eight hours or nine hours one day. Oh, maybe it was 16 hours. It was eight hours one day, eight hours the next day. And she made it home great. Great. Yeah. And then she sat for like four months. Yeah. Yeah. Because we went up to Alaska. Oh, hey.

[01:37:45] Well, that's a good reason to sit. Yeah. Yeah. So what brings you to Overland Expo this year? Have y'all been before? Yes. Yes. Okay. So I am a new Subaru owner, but previously my partner, he built out a Nissan Xterra. Okay. And it's fully kitted out to Overland in. He actually went above and beyond and cut a hole in the roof. Whoa. Married a rooftop tent to it. And so when you go inside of it, you can stand up fully. That's really cool.

[01:38:15] And we have a full kitchen in there, storage. The only thing we don't have is a bathroom. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So did you know that Subaru was going to be at Overland Expo? Yes. Okay. Yes. I know this is the first year that they're at all of the Overland Expos. Yeah. And so I was very excited about that. Good. So what do you think of the whole setup here? I think it's great. They're definitely showing true to all of their values. Yeah. Like today, they have the pet adoption. I love it.

[01:38:44] And it's great seeing all of the different kitted out Subarus here and talking to real Subaru owners. Yeah. And seeing what I can potentially do to Becky. Yeah. Yeah. So do you kind of have some plans for Becky as far as what you want to do so far? Yeah. So I've kind of done like a superficial. She has new tires and wheels. Okay. We have the gold wheels because she's royal blue or navy blue. Okay.

[01:39:14] So we've got the Subaru colors going. Nice. And then I recently got some skid plates put underneath. Important. Yeah. And then the next thing would probably be a lift. Okay. And then other than that, I think she's good to go. We did a lot of maintenance because she had been sitting for about a year and a half before we picked her up. Okay. So we changed a lot of like bushings and did maintenance on her. Yeah. But yeah, I think the next thing is a lift and we're good. And what year? 2005.

[01:39:44] Okay. Yeah. Great. Yeah. Bajas are really cool. I really like those. We've definitely been using the bed a lot. Yeah. We've been doing a lot of truck stuff. Okay. Awesome. The most recent thing, we picked up a shed for our backyard. Nice. Wow. And it fit with a ratchet strap over it. And I'm sure the workers at Menards were staring at us like we were crazy. What are you all doing? But if you carried it, great. That's awesome. There's like very little squat in the back.

[01:40:14] How many miles? Currently, I think we're at about 223,000 miles. I got her at 218. Okay. Do you know if that's the original engine and transmission? Yeah. Yeah. Other than the head gaskets. Yeah. That's great. Yeah. That's really good. Yeah. I have a 2021 Crosstrek that I bought in September of 2020. And I already have 126,000 miles. Oh, wow.

[01:40:44] Nice. I mean, yeah, she hasn't let me down. So we drove from Ohio to Nebraska. And then at the end of that year, we drove from Nebraska to New York. In Betty? Yeah, in Betty. Okay. Sorry. And then my partner, he's been building a new vehicle in Farmington, New Mexico. And I've driven down there three times. Wow. That's great. So she's doing great. Just some good trust in, like, Subarus have been very reliable.

[01:41:14] Yes. You hear some people with some pretty high mileage on their Subarus, which I'm wanting to get there with my Crosstrek. Oh, I'm sure you will. Yeah. Yeah. And the cool... Is yours a manual by chance? No. No, I don't have the unicorn. Turbo? No. No, you don't. Okay. No, that's not. That's good. It's an automatic NA. Yeah. Mine's... I got mine as a manual. Nice. Which is, yeah. Yeah. I fell in love with the Crosstrek when I first saw it back in 2013. And it was orange.

[01:41:41] And I love the black cladding on the, you know, against the orange color. Yep. And then I knew that, like, this has got to be my next car. And then I found out that they came in a manual, and I missed driving a manual, because I had two Ford Rangers that were manuals. Okay. And I've always been, like, fascinated with manuals, just being able to shift gears and just, you know, the driving experience of it. And so I was like, I'm not getting one unless I can get a manual. But yeah, so I found one.

[01:42:11] Because I knew they were available, so I knew I was going to get one. It was just a matter of time. The Baja is my first Subaru. I previously, I didn't have a car for five years, because we were, my partner and I, we lived in our Nissan Xterra full time. Oh, wow. That's awesome. Our goal is to visit all of the national parks. There you go. So in the four and a half years, we've gone to 59 out of the 63. Oh, that's incredible. That's so cool.

[01:42:40] And then we decided to settle down. And so Lincoln, Nebraska is our home base. And I was like, well, I need a car to do, you know, to go around town and do things. And so I knew I wanted something with all-wheel drive because there's snow there. And so we were actually looking at cross-treks. Okay. And I was like, but I want to be different. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Did you know about the Baja previously?

[01:43:10] I had seen a Baja before, and I thought it was a really cool vehicle. And then once I set, you know, my eyes on finding a Baja, I basically took a deep dive into learning about Bajas and, you know, how there were only like 30,000 made, and they only made it in between three years. So I was like, yep, that's the car for me. And plus, I wanted to do truck stuff. Yeah.

[01:43:39] There you go. That's perfect. So it's been really fun. And honestly, it's done more than get the groceries, obviously. Yeah. It's just, it's fun owning a Subaru. They are, I mean, just Subarus are a different brand. You know, they've always kind of stood out as, like, when I first, one of my friends a long time ago went to go look for a Subaru. We went to a dealership. And that was before I didn't really know anything about Subaru. Yeah.

[01:44:07] But I remember walking around the dealership, walking around the lot, and I'm thinking, like, why would you want to buy one of these? They're so funky looking and weird, you know? And then, like, now, that's what I love about them, you know? Yep. Yep. They're different. Yeah. And I've also learned, like, Subaru owners love their Subarus. Oh, yeah. They do. We do. Yeah. Absolutely. And it's a great community. And I am now one of them. So do you have an Instagram page for your partner? Yes. Yes. It's Becky the Baja. Okay. Great. Awesome. Yeah.

[01:44:36] And so we drove her down here. Normally, we take the Overland vehicle because we're going to Overland Expo. But the better gas mileage. Yeah. Was it also partly because you knew Subaru was going to be here? Well, yes. Of course. Great. Well, thanks for stopping by. Of course. Thank you for having me here. You're welcome. Yeah. Awesome. Thank you. Thanks. It's already recording. It's already recording. Yeah. Oh, here we go. Yeah. I'm here at Overland Expo day two and I'm sitting down with somebody else.

[01:45:05] Why don't you go ahead and introduce yourself and give us your Instagram handle? Okay. My name is Troy and my Instagram handle right now is my first and last name. So it's just Troy Takarzyk. Okay. It was Troy T. Designs, but we recently just changed it because we're also adding in the van and stuff like that. Oh, nice. Yeah. So we'll see where the future comes. Okay. Okay. Great. Yeah. So what brings you to Overland Expo this year?

[01:45:32] This year is actually just to be with Subaru. Okay. So the previous years we were in booth spaces with all of our other sponsors and whatnot throughout with our first Outback, now the second Outback. And so this year we're actually with Subaru in their space. Okay. So that's what brings us here. Nice. Nice. Yeah. So what do you think of the whole setup here? The setup is amazing. So this has actually been a project for me and Subaru for the past two years. Oh, wow.

[01:46:02] Of trying to get Subaru to actually represent at Subaru USA. And so to actually see all this stuff come to life finally, it's amazing. I mean, you have a little teaching area. We have a little quarter-made cabin that you can sit in and stuff, you know? And we're doing like Subaru campgrounds on the backside of the Overland Expo, which is a big community of Subaru owners and whatnot. Yeah, I was there last night. That was pretty cool. Yeah. It's a beautiful thing to see that they're finally doing this. Yeah. Yeah.

[01:46:31] So how many Overland Expos had you come to before? Um, I've done all of the Expos besides Overland Expo East. Okay. That's just a really long haul. Yeah. Um, and so, but this year we're actually doing Expo East. Okay. So that's going to be exciting. And that's the one in Virginia, right? Correct. I'll see you there too. Yeah. Great. Yeah. That's awesome. So we'll be there. Okay. So that's going to be nice. And we're, we're driving all the way. Yeah. Oh. Yeah. So where, okay. So where are you coming from then?

[01:47:01] Well, uh, so we're based in Los Angeles. Okay. Yeah. So long drive. It's a long drive. I think I just did the calculations just the other night and it comes up being like, I think 7,000 total miles round trip. Okay. That we're going to do. Gotcha. Yeah. Yeah. So that's going to be exciting. Yeah. So you have your second Outback now. What year is it? Yep. So this second Outback is a 22 Outback Wilderness. Okay.

[01:47:29] Fully done up like our Onyx XT was. Nice. Love the car. It's, we're just about to roll 87,000 miles on. Yeah. We've got a lot of miles on it already. A lot of miles. Yeah. Yeah. My Crosstrek is a 21 and I've got 126,000 miles on it. Yeah. And mine's not from like a bunch of exploring. I mean, I, I did drive it out to Colorado. My first trip, you know, big, long trip in it. I've been to Madison, Wisconsin.

[01:47:56] I've been to Arkansas a few times back and forth to Dallas to visit my girlfriend. But other than that, a lot, I'd say like 50% of it's just local miles because I just love getting out and driving. Hey, well, that's the whole point of vehicles. Oh, yeah. It's like if you're going to buy them, you have to drive them. That's what they're meant to do. Yeah. Yeah. And so that be a 21 and have over 100,000 miles. That's amazing. Yeah. Yeah. It's a lot of fun.

[01:48:21] So, so as far as like you said, you're kind of helping to plan this for Subaru to be at Overland Expo. Like how involved were you with it? And like, what were you kind of doing with them? Was it like design or just kind of the setup or just the logistics of getting them here? Logistics of getting here. So I didn't have anything to do with the design. That was another company that they sourced out to do all the design of it.

[01:48:45] So, but I was involved in like everything else logistically, like why Subaru should do this. How many are there and stuff like that. And like really prove to them that this is, this is Subaru stomping ground. Like this is where they need to be. Yeah. This is like 80% of their customers. I know. It's like, it makes sense for Subaru to be at an Overland Expo because there are so many people, especially now. I mean, now that they have the Wilderness Editions, it really makes sense.

[01:49:15] You know, it's like, they just, they belong here. It's such a capable car. It's still super affordable for everybody. And you know, it's, if you're not, if you're not into Subarus and you don't know about it, you know, now you get to see it and be like, oh my God, that's a Subaru and they can do that. Yeah. Like it's, it's amazing. They're so capable. So like, how do you feel about, I mean, I know you kind of touched on it a little bit, but like, what do you feel is your favorite part about the whole setup here?

[01:49:45] Man, there's a couple, but I think the biggest thing, Subaru's always had their branding down, right? So you know it's going to look nice, but honestly, it's the community that Subaru brings from all the workers to the people that just come into the booth. It's, it's literally a community. Yeah. And I think that's my favorite thing. And everyone I've met is just amazing. Okay. Have you met any non-Subaru owners that have come in and talked to them or has it been primarily Subaru owners?

[01:50:14] For me, it's been primarily Subaru owners that come in. So what have you done to your Outback so far? So my Outback has pretty much, I feel in my opinion, like almost everything you can do to it. So there's no motor work done to it. It's all, it's all factory. Okay. But we, we have the Prince Subaru FRAC on it. We have the Zargus cargo boxes on top of that.

[01:50:40] All of our off-road lights from our front bumper to our ditch lights to our rear and light bars, all Vision X lights. We have a two and three quarter inch suspension lift from Japan from a brand called RSR. And that was a really big deal for me. It just made sense to run that because it's Japanese. And I met the people at RSR and they're just amazing people. Okay, great.

[01:51:07] And so I've been running their suspension ever since. Now I'm not, I don't have it set at the full max height. Okay. I only have it set as an inch higher. Okay. Because I still drive it and the wilderness comes with the factory 0.95 inch lift already. So we're just saving our CVTs and our axles and stuff like that. So I could go higher if I wanted to, but I think she's plenty high right now. I think I have, I think the last time I measured it, I have like 11 inches of clearance, which is more than enough for what we're doing.

[01:51:37] Yeah, that's really good. And then we did aftermarket wheels with 1552. And we are running the Falcon Wild Peak AT trails. Nice. So we could do the W4s, but I still drive a lot of highway miles and the trail tires, man, those things are just superbly quiet. Yeah. There's like no humming, there's no noise at all. And they get 60,000 mile runtime. Yeah. Which is pretty amazing. Yeah.

[01:52:07] And I even ran those tires on our first Outback too. And I love them so much. I just kept continually running them. Yeah. It's good when you find something that works well, you know, just keep doing it. And then let's see what else we, up front to hold our front bumper lights, we have a low profile LP Adventure front bumper. They're out of Canada. Yeah. And so they've been super, super good to us. And then what we have in the back on the inside is we have the Goose Gear Park Series set up.

[01:52:36] So we have what they call their chef set up. Oh, nice. It's got a fridge slide out that has a Dometic 45 liter on it. And then there's just like, there's a single drawer that folds out. Let's keep all of our stuff organized. Okay. And we have the whole platform underneath of it too. Nice. Nice. And really, that's really about what we have done to the Outback and our fresh new wrap that we just did right before the show here today. So you went to the SoCal Overland Expo then this year. So how is that set up?

[01:53:04] And I guess customer engagement compared to this one. Is it pretty similar or do you see some differences? I mean, the difference I think would be, it would just be the territory where we're at. Yeah. I mean, that was all super bright in concrete and stuff down in Costa Mesa. Here it's different. I think there's more people that came to this one in Flagstaff. All right. But like the setup is the same.

[01:53:33] Besides like the, they do put a couple owner vehicles in the booth. And so they'll switch that out at every single expo. But it's pretty similar. I just think more people have come to this one. And you had your car at the first one, right? Correct. As one of the owner vehicles? So my car was on display at the first one with the old wrap. And then this one, we are camp host in the Subaru campground area at the expo here. And then our outback will be on display at the other three. Okay. Nice.

[01:53:59] So what was your engagement like with the first location with you having your outback there? Like people coming up and asking you questions and stuff? A lot of people came up to me asking questions because I had the back hatch open. They saw the goose gear. Yeah. And they didn't know a company made products like that for these vehicles. And so I was literally speaking all day. Yeah. All day. Yeah. It's, I know when you get to an event and you're part of one of the booths. Yeah.

[01:54:28] It's, it's not easy to get out and go do other stuff. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So. But it's nice. But it's cool. I love the engagement. Yeah. You know, it's a, you know, get shed some light on some, some other Subaru owners that didn't know that this product existed. And so it's just, it's a, it's a, it's a great, like I said, it's a community thing. It's a great community. Yeah. Yeah. Cool. Well, thank you so much for hopping on the mic and talking. Absolutely. Thank you. You're welcome. Okay. I'm here at Overland Expo day two, and I'm sitting here with another Subaru owner. Why don't you go ahead and introduce yourself?

[01:54:58] My name's Ron Snyder. I live in Pittsburgh and I'm part of Off-Road Roos. And I came out here to help support Subaru and Off-Road Roos itself. Yeah. So you, you didn't drive all the way here from Pittsburgh straight through. You've been kind of out on the road for a while, right? And kind of planned it. I left Monday from Pittsburgh at a little after four o'clock. Okay. And then I drove to Terre Haute, Indiana.

[01:55:25] And then Tuesday I drove from Terre Haute to Amarillo. Okay. And then Wednesday I drove from Amarillo to Sedona. Oh, Sedona is so beautiful. So 2,000 miles. Yeah. Did you explore around Sedona for a while? Not really. I was tired, but. Oh, yeah. I mean, just when I came down 89 at a Flagstaff and started going down the mountain, it was like, oh my God, I couldn't believe how beautiful it is.

[01:55:55] Oh, yeah. Yeah. It's incredible out here. It is. I mean, I never would have realized. So you, knowing that Subaru was going to be at Overland Expo this year, you purposely came out here to see them and support them. Yes. That's amazing. Yeah. Like I said, I'm retired and like, you know, I babysit a couple of my grandkids two days a week. Okay. And that's my job.

[01:56:20] And after that, I mean, I do a lot of traveling and with Rob Morrow and a few other people, we're going to be going out to Colorado and Utah here the 4th of July. Okay. Great. For a couple of weeks. Nice. And I'm looking forward to that. Yeah. So what's that? So what's your Subaru that you drive? I have a 2019 Forester Sport. Okay. Her name is Stormy. Yeah. Yeah. You just showed me a picture. She looks great. Yeah.

[01:56:50] I love all the orange accents. Thank you. Yeah. She's a lot of fun. I really enjoy doing things with her. Yeah. That's great. So what do you think of the whole Subaru setup here at Overland Expo? For them just getting their feet wet, I think they've done a really good job. And for those of us, we have a campground at Subaru. There's 20 of us that they invited to come out for the campground, also for the ride or a hike.

[01:57:20] Yeah. Subaru's treating us incredibly well. Yeah. I mean, I've known that from other events that I've done with Subaru, that they take care of their people. And what we have here is really nice. And there's some hiccups. But I mean, you know, they're learning as they go. And it's been very well run. I mean, I was just talking to Sean a little bit ago and telling him how impressed I am with how well it's going. Yeah.

[01:57:50] And it's, I mean, it's Subaru is so community centric too and community focused. And so it's great to see like, first of all, that they've brought out current Subaru owners and their vehicles, how, you know, how they've been modified so that people can see what you can do to a Subaru. Because it'd be great if you just brought out factory vehicles, but then bringing out owners that have done some, you know, quite a few modifications, you can see the potential.

[01:58:18] And so it gives people inspiration and ideas of, you know, either maybe they've already done some mods and it gives them additional ideas or maybe they didn't even really know that you could mod. And he's like, whoa, wow, this is really cool. Yeah. Yeah, it is. I mean, and you can go from mild to wild. I mean, there's so much you can do to them. You see a lot of cross treks get modded. I think it's because the initial cost of them, but they're very capable and there's a lot of

[01:58:47] modifications out there for them. You'll see some outbacks. You don't see as many foresters get modded, but we're there. Yeah. But it is amazing. You go out on the trails and sometimes you get someplace and the Jeeps and the Tacos are going, how'd you get in here? Yes. I've heard that so many times. Yeah. And it's like, you'd be surprised. We're more capable than you think. Yeah. Because like, you know, my, when I talk to people, you know, I say, you know, Jeeps and

[01:59:16] Tacos and that, you know, they'll put the large tire, you know, 35, 37s on and they basically walk over any off-sing. Yeah. Whereas Subarus, you can't do that. You've got to get, figure out the track to get around them. You've got to get more creative. Yeah. Yeah. And I think that turns us into better drivers. Yeah. And you know, what's the best part about that too is when you get respect from the other drivers because sometimes they kind of crap on Subaru.

[01:59:44] But when you get somebody that shows respect for what you've done and how you've built it out, that really means a lot to us because we know that it's not as easy for us to, you know, traverse some terrain. And so I think the respect goes a big way. And like, I know, I know a lot of people that we admire and respect the people that have the Tacos and the Jeeps and stuff like, you know, oh, that looks great with, you know, what you did with it. So, you know, it's nice when we get that respect back. Yeah, it is.

[02:00:13] And, you know, I go to, you know, some overland groups and we have meetups and that. And I like to go to see what they've done. And okay, can I take that idea and do it with mine? Yeah. And yeah, I, you know, there are people say, you know, really nice looking car, you know, and, you know, they like it. And she's a conversation piece. Oh, definitely. So I'll stop for gas or something and people come up and ask me what it is.

[02:00:41] And then there's people saying, oh, you don't take that thing off road. And it's like, look underneath. Yeah. See your scars. I do. Yeah. Yeah. Yep. So, well, thank you so much for hopping on the mic. And are you, are you planning on going to any of the other overland expos? Because they've got one in Colorado and then Virginia in October. Yeah. I don't know about Colorado because that's maybe a little too far again, you know. So I'll see. I mean, if Rob would say, hey, would you be willing to go? I'll consider it.

[02:01:11] Now with the one in Virginia, it's the same weekend as the Wagner Subaru Outdoor Experience. Oh, okay. So the off-road roos will be splitting up. Some will go to Wagner and some will go to Overland. Okay. I don't know where I'm going yet. I'll have to ask Rob and say, hey, you know, where do you want to send me? Because he knows I'll go, you know, regardless. Okay, great. Well, thanks again for hopping on the mic. It was great talking to you. Yeah. All right.

[02:01:39] I'm here at Overland Expo Day 2. And why don't you go ahead and introduce yourself? My name's Aaron. All right. Nice to meet you, Aaron. Yeah. Are you a current Subaru owner? I'm not a current Subaru owner. I've had three in the past. Okay. And I'm looking at getting another. Nice. Nice. What did you have in the past? I had like an 80s wagon that was a select range four-wheel drive. Oh, nice. It was great. Yeah. Then I had a 01 Outback. And then I had an 06 Outback. Okay.

[02:02:08] And went into the Jeep world and have a Land Cruiser. But I also want something that gets great gas mileage and still kills it on the snowy roads because I live in Flagstaff. Okay. Yeah. Great. Nothing is better on snowy roads than a Subaru. Yeah. Yeah. So I live in Houston. Okay. So I don't get to experience snowy roads. But I've been other places and have driven Subarus in the snow. And it's pretty amazing. I love it. Yeah. Yeah. It's a lot of fun. Yeah.

[02:02:35] So what is it that you're looking at this time around for a Subaru? Another Outback. Okay. They're just killer. They can swallow mountain bikes in the back. Yeah. You know, they do everything you want to do when you're being outdoors in Flagstaff. I've camped so many nights in the back of a Subaru and stuff like that. But they also get so much better gas mileage than my Jeep that it's like ridiculous. I sometimes feel like stuck in town because I'm like, oh, I want to take a road trip. I'm going to have to get a rental car. Yeah.

[02:03:05] Yeah. Yeah. They are definitely good in gas mileage. Are you looking at the Wilderness or just one of the other Outback models? I'm looking at both. Yeah. Okay. I haven't really decided yet. You know. All right. Definitely the Wilderness is coolest looking. Yeah. And it fits my lifestyle the best. But, you know, the other one's probably a little more practical for what I want to do. And given that I have a Jeep and stuff. Yeah. Yeah. But I was talking to your compatriot over there.

[02:03:31] He wanted me to share a couple of car accident stories. Great. About safety. Yeah. Because I was asking about why the rear seat doesn't fold up anymore so it lays down more fully in the back. He's like, oh, it's safety. And, like, Subaru's early safety focused. I was like, oh, that's funny. My daughter last year was in a car accident down in Phoenix. They were cruising down the road, you know, going like 50 miles an hour. And an older lady pulled a left turn right in front of them. Oh, gosh.

[02:03:59] Just like right in traffic. Yeah. And they T-boned her. And so just complete T-boned. And airbags went off and everything like that. And the cops showed up. And they looked at them and they said, you guys are lucky you're in a Subaru. You'd be going to the hospital right now. Wow. And then the tow truck driver showed up. And the tow truck driver looked at them and said, you guys are lucky you're in a Subaru. You'd be going to the hospital right now. That's incredible.

[02:04:24] And, like, just like six months before that, the bass player in my band, she was in a car accident in her Subaru. And the same exact thing happened to her. The cops showed up and they said, hey, you're lucky you're in a Subaru. You'd be going to the hospital right now. And actually, they told her she'd be dead. Wow. That you're lucky you're in a Subaru. You'd be dead. And then the tow truck driver showed up and said the same thing. You're lucky you're in a Subaru. You'd be dead. Yeah. I've had some people on the guests that have been in some pretty gnarly accidents.

[02:04:52] And they were, like, saying, I'm pretty sure if I was in anything else, I wouldn't have survived or I would be very badly hurt. Yeah. And I actually, one of the guys I had on the podcast, he had a forester. And he was out. And he just, I think he had been working. Like, he worked at, like, a hospital or something. He'd been working really long hours. And he was driving home and just really, really tired. And he fell asleep. And he literally, like, launched off the edge of the, like, it was kind of like the road was elevated.

[02:05:22] And so he just went off the end. Yeah. And he flipped the car several times. But not, like, sideways, but, like, nose to tail. Yeah. And so he survived. And he wasn't, like, too banged up. And after that, his wife was like, you don't have any say in it. You're getting another Subaru. Right. So. Yeah. Good call. Yeah. That's great. So did you, is this your first, I mean, I guess living in Flagstaff, you've been to Overland Expo before? Oh, yeah, yeah. Okay. Yeah.

[02:05:52] Did you know that Subaru was going to have a booth here this year? No, I didn't. Yeah. So you were just going to come out here anyway and just happened to see it? Yeah. I was just looking around and I actually, I don't think you guys have ever had a booth before. No, no, we have not. And so it came around the corner and I was like, ah, said to my wife, I was like, Subaru. And I just, like, immediately went over. Yeah. Yeah. It's great because, like, I know that last year they did a pilot at one of the events and just to kind of see, like, okay, what is this Overland Expo thing all about? Yeah.

[02:06:20] They went around, checked out all the other vendors to see, like, what they were doing, took some notes and then decided, okay, let's do Overland Expo at 2025. Yeah. And they're going to be going to all of the events. So it's, I mean, for all the Subaru owners, you know, it's great for them to see them out here. Yeah. And it's nice to hear when people didn't know that they were going to be here and see that it's a surprise. Well, it's funny because you look around and you see, like, giant vehicles like Earth

[02:06:44] Roamers and, like, all these super capable rides and stuff that, I mean, they're, I mean, they're cool, but they're, like, super expensive and they're not very practical. Yeah. They eat gas like crazy and, like, the average person can't really, like, afford to, like, do that. But I have been, quote, unquote, overlanding in Subarus since the late 90s. You know, I just load up a bunch of crap in my Subaru and go disappear into the woods and camp for days and, like, they can do it.

[02:07:13] I mean, it's just a different way of doing it. It's a little more minimalistic and stuff, but it's what's accessible to more people, I think. Like, then. Absolutely, yeah. You know, the $300,000 rig and the trailers and everything else like that. It's like, oh, like, yeah, I have a second house to go overland in. Yeah. It's crazy. Well, and like you said, the average person, you know, a Subaru is very affordable and it can, they're way more capable than people realize. Way more capable.

[02:07:40] Even off the showroom floor, you know, you don't necessarily have to do a lot of modifications depending on what it is that you want to do. Yeah. But then you have so many options as far as doing modifications and, you know, that can get pricey, but there's also a lot of options that are pretty, you know, budget friendly. Yeah. And you're still way below the cost of something else that you may have purchased. And so it's just a great vehicle.

[02:08:04] Yeah, I've driven Subaru Outbacks over hundreds of miles of the Coquineo National Forest, like, Forest Service roads. Yeah. Like, they're way more capable than people think. Yeah. Yeah. So coming around the corner and seeing that Subaru is here, what do you think of the whole setup here at Overland Expo? Oh, it's cool. It's cool. It's, it's, uh, it's funny that there's a lounge that like you show your key fob and you get into the lounge. That's funny. I was like, yeah, I was like, oh, I don't have one right now. Yeah.

[02:08:34] Do we trust that you are? Yeah. No, but yeah, it's great. Cause like, you know, it's the owner lounge and then they have like some photos up there of current Subaru owners. And I think that's, what's really great too. It's like, you can see how community centric Subaru is and how they, you know, showcase current owners and what they're doing. And you've got a couple of vehicles out here that people have done some pretty amazing modifications to and factory vehicles. So yeah, they did a great job.

[02:09:01] It'd be cool to find somebody who like really does like overland out of their Subaru and have them bring their rig too. So yeah, people can see like, oh, this is how it's done. Like you do it a little more minimalistic, but it's still super capable. Yeah. Yeah. There are a few people that do that. So, but yeah, it's, it's a great brand. It's a great, you know, they're great cars. They're very reliable. And I've got a 2021 Crosstrek that I've got 126,000 miles on already. Yeah. It's been great.

[02:09:28] All three of my Subarus, I sold them when they had around 250,000 miles on them. And the last one I sold, I sold it for like $3,300. Wow. Yeah. And it had 250,000 miles on it. I know. I, I had a Kia Forte hatchback and it was like the top trim level and I had 120,000 miles on it. And like, I only got 2000 for it from CarMax, you know. Oh yeah. Yeah.

[02:09:53] But I mean, but yeah, they were giving me more money than the dealership was, but yeah, I mean, there are some people that have some pretty high mileage on their Subarus. It's pretty incredible. Yeah. The only thing I would say, and this is probably a minority opinion, but like bring back stick shift. Yes. I have a manual. I want a manual again, you know? Yeah. My Crosstrek is a manual. Like I was, it's like, I'm not going to get one unless I can get it in a manual. Yeah. So I love it. Yeah. Yeah. So what was your name again? Aaron. Yeah. Thank you so much for hopping on the mic and chatting.

[02:10:23] Yeah. All right. All right. Take care. You too. Okay. I'm sitting here at Overland Expo West with Joe. This is day two. And I had you on before we started or before you started Overland Expo before the first one. But how's it been so far for you? It's been windy. Yeah. Yeah. This one has been very windy. Yeah.

[02:10:48] It's been really, it's exceeded expectations really up until now. We've had more people than we expected, a lot of traffic and just a ton of engagement with our vehicles and with all the people, all the owners that are here. So it's, it's been great. Yeah. Yeah. And yeah. And the wind is picking up right now as we're speaking. It's a dust bowl. So how would you say that this one compared to SoCal is, is the setup primarily the same

[02:11:15] of obviously you have different owner vehicles here, but how has like been the setup, the event overall, and then like the engagement? Our footprint and our, our actual setup is pretty much the same as SoCal minus a few tweaks, but the backdrop of this beautiful Flagstaff area is really what completely transforms the space. Having the beautiful mountains and trees in the horizon versus SoCal, which is a little bit more urban.

[02:11:43] It definitely feels much more overlanding-esque. Yeah. It's much more immersive. Yes. But because we already did this once, it was quicker to set up, easier to get things rolling. And so that made things far less stressful. Okay. So now that you've, we're getting towards the end of a second event for, uh, for Overland Expo, are there things that you've learned even with this setup and this event that you can take and use towards the future events?

[02:12:12] Is there anything that you're going to change? You know, anything like that? I think we're going to try to fit a third owner vehicle into the layout so that we can really, uh, level up with those engagements. Because it's great to have production vehicles, normal showroom vehicles, but people love chatting with our owners. And I think the more that we have here for them to speak to, the better. Okay. So we're going to add that third vehicle and we'll most likely add more shade just to ensure that during these summer months, people actually can use our, our space to cool off.

[02:12:42] Yeah. Um, so it might actually become a gravitation point of the, of the event just to get away from the heat. Yeah. That'd be nice. Cause out here it's, uh, I mean, there is shade, but you know, like as the sun starts to move, it's, you know, you got to kind of figure out where you're going to fit under that shade. But, uh, yeah, other than the wind, it's, it's been a great event here. And I mean, it's such a perfect location, like you said, for just overland outdoors, you

[02:13:10] know, off-roading and I was talking to Troy earlier cause he was saying that he had a hand in trying to get together the logistics and stuff of getting Subaru into overland expo. And it's like, you know, Subaru belongs here. So it's great to see you here. Absolutely. He was such a big advocate and, uh, really gave us a ton of inspiration for some of the things that we should include in the space and, and really how we should show up to ensure

[02:13:38] that what we're bringing resonates with the crowds that are here. Yeah, that's good. And I, I've, so there's people that most of the people that I've talked to or all the people I've talked to either own a Subaru currently, or they are wanting to get back into another Subaru. And there's a few people that I asked them, like, have you been to, you know, overland expo before? And they said, yes. And then, you know, did you know that Subaru was going to be here? Some of them said yes. And that's why they came out, which is great. Okay. Some of them said no.

[02:14:07] And they said they were just like planning to come out here anyway. They're walking around and they're like, oh, cool. There's a Subaru booth here. So I think they were really excited to see that y'all were here. And, uh, you know, so that was exciting to hear that. That was our hope that we, you know, we obviously wanted to bring folks here, um, that maybe weren't aware of the event, but also surprise and delight owners that already came here and just give them a little special, uh, you know, giveaway or, or just some, a nice memento they could take away as for being a Subaru owner. Nice.

[02:14:37] So do you know, like, so you have the factory vehicles here, you have the, you have the Forrester hybrid and then you have the Outback wilderness and then you have the Ascent. Do you know if like the lineup is going to be same for the rest of the events? And, or do you have, and do you know if you have like specific vehicles secured that you can talk about for the other events? Yeah. Well, Forrester hybrid is going to be one of the priority vehicles for the event series since it's on sale.

[02:15:06] And we think it's going to really resonate with off-roaders that want something that's more fuel economic, but still has true all-wheel drive capability. And that's where Forrester hybrid really shines compared to the competition of hybrids. It has true symmetrical all-wheel drive. It can actually do off-road things that our competitors really can't do as well. So that car is important to us because it's a good daily driver. It's a great daily driver, but then it really is a true overlanding tool for the weekend.

[02:15:35] So that one plus our wilderness products, we, you know, we only, we have limited space, but having a wilderness Crosstrek, Outback, those are going to be some priority vehicles that we showcase throughout the series. And if we can, we're going to try to get the new 2026 Outback wilderness on display, which just got revealed at the auto show. So it's difficult to get those cars given that there's limited quantities, but we're hoping to secure one for at least two, if not three of the remaining overland expos. Okay.

[02:16:04] That's the plan. Nice. Nice. So with the Forester hybrid, what is like the typical gas mileage with it being a hybrid? Well, we say to put it into the most easy to digest context these days with EVs, that it gets almost 600 miles of range. Wow. That's really good. Yes. And that, you know, is really easily achieved. It's not even if you're a light driver.

[02:16:30] Or around the city, you know, where I drove it myself last week in very urban environments with a ton of stop and go. And I'm definitely not a light-footed driver. And I was averaging around 33 miles per gallon, where typically, even in my Crosstrek, I'll probably get low 20s in that same situation. Okay, great. So it was a huge monumental difference just for me being the type of driver I am. And I think some owners will probably even see closer to 40 in a lot of different environments. That's good.

[02:17:00] Anything else that you want to talk about or touch on as far as just the experience here in Flagstaff with Overland Expo and the Subaru setup and just engagement and things that you've seen? Yeah, I'll talk about two specific things. In the booth itself, we had another dog adoption with a local shelter. And that's just such a great opportunity. Even if a dog doesn't end up getting adopted, it gives the shelter a chance to gain exposure from the local community.

[02:17:27] And they also get a chance to collect donations to help support their resources and all their different programming that they need to keep running. So we were so happy to have that again this year, or this stop, and we'll continue for the rest of the series partnering with a local shelter. The other one that I wanted to highlight that's new for this stop in Flagstaff is the Camp Subaru experience in the campgrounds here where we had around almost 30 vehicles of Subaru owners

[02:17:55] in an exclusive Subaru-only campsite. We had a blast. Well, we've had a blast the past couple nights. We have one more night tonight. And we've been enjoying really delicious custom catering by this really amazing chef from the local area that's been making great meals, great breakfasts. We had a yoga instructor in giving private lessons every morning. And it's just been a great chance to get the Subaru community together. And for many of these individuals we've had, they know each other on Instagram, but they've never actually met each other.

[02:18:24] Yeah, that's always so cool. So how did you go about putting that together, the overland, the campgrounds and with all the owners and letting people know about it? Overland Expo, their staff was great at helping us source a really nice space in the campgrounds, which is really deep in the woods. So you really feel like you're far away from everybody. And then we ended up communicating an email message to a fairly large radius of owners in the Phoenix, Arizona area, inviting them to this experience.

[02:18:53] And it really was pitched as a four-day experience, the Thursday pre-meet where they went off-roading and hiking, and then three days of Overland Expo with camping. So we had them submit interests and we had them upload a photo of their vehicle, answer a bunch of other questions. And based on their responses and based off their enthusiasm, we selected the top 20 to 30 vehicles. Okay, great. So do you all have opportunities to do that at some of the other locations coming up? All the remaining stops. Okay, great, great.

[02:19:21] Yeah, P&W will have Camp Subaru on-premise. Overland Expo Mountain West in the Denver area does not have a campsite on-prem, but we are going to be finding a really great space off-property somewhere in the wilderness where we'll be doing a similar event. And then Overland Expo East, we will have another campsite on-property. Great, that's awesome. Okay, well, great. Thank you for hopping on the mic. And thank you so much for bringing me out here for this opportunity.

[02:19:49] It's been, you know, one of my goals was to try and talk to somebody that didn't own a Subaru, but it seems like... Yeah. But, you know, I've got two more stops. So hopefully in Oregon or Virginia, we can get somebody that doesn't own a Subaru and get them on the mic and ask them, you know, why they came into the booth. That would be great. We're tonight at our after party. Yeah, that's true. That's true. Yeah, we do. We're going to have that. So I'll have my stuff here with me. That's great. Well, we appreciate you coming out, spending the weekend with us.

[02:20:17] It's a huge time commitment, but it means the world for us to bridge the gap between us back at SOA and our owners here. Yeah. Ensure their stories are told. Yep. Oh, wow. And with that, with that, yeah, we'll close it out. All right. Thanks, Ben. Thank you. Yeah, you're welcome. Oh, my gosh. Hello again, everybody. Thank you all so much for tuning in and listening to this episode of the Subi and You podcast

[02:20:46] at Overland Expo West in Flagstaff. And thank you so much, Subaru, for bringing me out to this great event and asking me to participate in this. I don't know. It was just such a cool event and I really enjoyed it. It was my first time going to Overland Expo, so it was extra special for me to get to experience this. But again, if you were thinking about going to Overland Expo and you're not sure, I hope

[02:21:13] this will encourage you to go check it out, especially to see Subaru at Overland Expo for the first time. So this is really, really great for Subaru and really great for us. So thank you all for everybody who took the time to record with me and get into this bonus episode of the podcast. I know this was a pretty long one. So thank you so much for sticking around and trusting me with this episode.

[02:21:40] And again, just thank you all so much for your support over the years and for continuing to tune in and to share these episodes and to like and comment. So really, really appreciate it. So that's it for this bonus episode. We'll see you on Monday for another regular episode. Much Subi love. Raph. The Subi and You podcast is hosted by Raphael in a closet in Houston, produced by Raphael

[02:22:07] in a room next to the closet in Houston, and edited by Raphael on a computer in the room next to the closet in Houston, with music by Luke Ruiz in another room in Houston. You can find the Subi and You podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and many more. To support the podcast, please head over to patreon.com slash subi and you podcast. Once you join, you will have access to the discord channel and discord chats with other patrons.

[02:22:35] If you'd like to get in contact with the show, you can find them on Instagram at subi and you podcast online at subi and you podcast.com or by email subi and you podcast at gmail.com.