Subie Scoop April 21

[00:00:10] Hello everybody, welcome to another edition of the Subie Scoop. This edition is going to be a little bit different than the previous ones, because with this one, I have a guest, so I've had guests before on a Subie Scoop, but again, this one's going to be a little bit different, and I'll explain why. As I'm sure you may have seen in the Subie Fest Instagram pages, the first event is coming up in June, starting off or kicking it off with Wicked Big Meat, so that's what we're here for today.

[00:00:39] Khan from Subie Events reached out to me and asked if he could come on and talk about Subie Events, kind of share his story about how he got started with Subie Events, and then some of the things that they're doing this year. So I had him on the podcast to record with this Subie Scoop edition, but this is going to be part one of a series of Subie Scoops, so there'll be three parts.

[00:01:04] So this is part one, then there'll be two more, because Khan also ended up reaching back out to me and asked if I would like to have some additional guests on the podcast to share what their roles are. So on the next edition of the Subie Scoop, I will have Brick, who is the Sponsorship, Sales, and Community Engagement Manager. So I'll have him on, and then on the final and third segment, I will have Adam.

[00:01:29] Adam is basically the voice of Subie Events, so he is the guy that is making all of the announcements at the events. And when he and I started emailing each other about getting him on the podcast, he said, oh yeah, by the way, I interviewed you first. And I couldn't figure out what he was talking about, because I was like, I don't remember anybody interviewing me. Like, I was thinking podcast format or something.

[00:01:55] But then I remembered that at Subie Fest, California in 2022, I went up into the DJ booth and was interviewed by Adam there in front of a crowd. And of course, I'm like, I have terrible stage fright. So, but Adam was really great. He sat me down behind all of the equipment, and he asked me all these questions. And then he said, OK, now let's do that again, but on the mic.

[00:02:21] So he did a great job of prepping me, and then we got up there. He interviewed me. Thankfully, I had people down at the Subie New podcast booth that I could focus on. And then so I was looking back and forth between my friends down there and Adam and trying not to be terrified in front of all these people. So, but yeah, so I'll get to have him on the podcast and share his story and how he got involved with Subie Events. So that's what this series is about.

[00:02:50] So we will get started here in just a little bit with the conversation with Khan. But first, I want to remind you, please go check out Subaru Gear and check out all of the great Subaru branded merchandise that they have, as well as Subaru Motorsports USA branded merchandise, which is a perfect time to look into getting some fresh new gear right now during the ARA rally season. So go check it out. Browse the site.

[00:03:18] And also, if you saw on the Subaru USA Instagram page and in my stories a few days ago, they have this great looking coffee tumbler with the old school Subaru logo on it. It's a great looking coffee tumbler. So you can go check that out as well. Anything you find on the site, your entire purchase, you can get 20% off by using the code SUBIENU25.

[00:03:45] And if your total is over $50 after the 20% discount, you automatically get free shipping. So that's a great incentive to go fill up your cart and get a bunch of items. So thank you so much, Subaru Gear, for sponsoring the SUBIENU podcast. And we really, really appreciate you bringing this great offer to us. Before we get into this conversation with Khan, I do have a few more announcements real quick that Irina,

[00:04:12] who is the woman that you will see in the Subaru Motorsports USA trailer at many of the events, she reached out to me and wanted me to make some announcements of events coming up. So here is the lineup. May 3rd, Austin Subaru will host a community event. May 10th, North Park Subaru will host a community event. That is in San Antonio. May 24th, Sutherland Subaru will be hosting a Memorial Day community event. That's in Kingston, Tennessee.

[00:04:41] And then on May 31st, I believe I'm pronouncing this correctly, Duto Subaru will be hosting a car show and community event. And that is in Lincoln, Nebraska. So as I get more details on these events, I will announce them as the in the I guess in the upcoming SUBIE events. And as we get closer to these dates. But anyway, thank you so much, Irina, for reaching out and letting us know about these events. Thank you.

[00:05:07] So now we will go ahead and get into this conversation with Khan and hear him talk all of all things SUBIE events, especially since they're coming up for this year. It's going to be another great year for all the SUBIE Fest events. Wicked Big Meat, Boxer Fest. And of course, my favorite SUBIE Fest, Texas.

[00:05:43] Yeah, it's nice to connect. Thanks for reaching out and, you know, asking to do this. Yeah. And I'm glad to finally be on and really chat about what it is that we do and what we've got coming for everybody. Yeah. Awesome. Well, if you want to, if you're ready to get started, you can introduce yourself and then let us know what your role is with SUBIE events. Hey, everybody. I'm Khan.

[00:06:08] I'm the general manager at SUBIE events, but most of you will know me as the event director at Wicked Big Meat, SUBIE Fest and Boxer Fest. So how long have you been with SUBIE events? So I joined SUBIE events. Well, that's actually I was a volunteer at Wicked Big Meat in 2009. So that was actually before the events was even a thing.

[00:06:32] And then in 2010, Rob Champion acquired Wicked Big Meat and SUBIE Fest to form what is now known as SUBIE events. And I volunteered at that Wicked Big Meat. And then in 2011, I actually flew across the country to Seattle on my own dime to volunteer at the first ever Big Northwest, which was a new event that SUBIE events was launching. Nice.

[00:06:57] And I had just grown the community thing, like it's a huge thing for me personally. And I just really believed in what Robert and SUBIE events were doing. So I really wanted to be involved in that first ever Wicked First Ever Big Northwest. So that that was why, like, I felt it worth it for me to travel to volunteer at that event. But then what grew out of it was I was recognized as somebody that was trustworthy and could really help grow the business.

[00:07:25] And in 2013 was when I kind of got my general manager title. But since I was working in tech, I treated that as like a seasonal or a part time job. And then in 2023, the end of 2023, I left my tech job. And 2024 was my first year with SUBIE events as my primary focus. Nice. That's awesome. Yeah.

[00:07:49] So, yeah, because I was wondering that if it's something that you do full time or if it's just something that you do like during the SUBIE Fest season. Yeah. So I. So today that these past couple of years, SUBIE events is my primary job. I do also do consulting, tech consulting in the bar and restaurant space.

[00:08:10] But I would say these days, like 80% of my focus is SUBIE events where pre-2023, SUBIE events was like 20 or 30% of my focus. Gotcha. Okay. And you travel out to all of the events. Yep. So I travel out to all the events. And it's like, of course, right now it's like we're coming into what we call the event season. It's like we're just shy of two months out from Wicked Big Meat.

[00:08:37] What I do in the off season is I kind of, I'm shopping for venues. I'm booking dates. I'm working with on our partnership with Super of America. And then coming into event season, I'll start working through the event design. I'll start building out the team structure. I'll be doing like securing insurance and securing funding.

[00:09:00] And then at each event, I am really the lead that's leading the individual teams to put on the events for everybody. Okay. Yeah. I know. Because like whenever you say Wicked Big Meat and Boxer Fest and then SUBIE Fest, I just, I have to remind myself that SUBIE Fest isn't like one location. It's multiple locations. And then Boxer Fest and Wicked Big Meat just have those specific names for those locations. Yeah.

[00:09:27] And how that happened was it's just like kind of slightly convoluted, but like it does make sense. But basically at one point, and so I mentioned that Wicked Big Meat and Boxer Fest or Wicked Big Meat and SUBIE Fest were acquired to start the business. And then Boxer Fest was something that Robert and I started together. When we started Boxer Fest, we actually didn't own SUBIE Fest anymore.

[00:09:55] So we had to come up with something else. And then it was in 2017 was when we acquired the rights to SUBIE Fest back. So then at that, so at the time we had Wicked Big Meat, SUBIE Fest, Boxer Fest, Big Northwest and Rocky Mountain Subaru Festival, the latter of which, the latter two of which don't exist anymore for the time being. But when we started Boxer Fest, we had to, or sorry, in 2017 was when we reacquired a SUBIE Fest.

[00:10:24] And since of all of our brands, SUBIE Fest is like the strongest brand for a Subaru Festival. Yeah. Any new events that we started after that, we were utilizing the SUBIE Fest brand for. Gotcha. On our team, like I and Robert and our sponsorship marketing manager are the only full-timers. Everybody else on their team has full-time jobs.

[00:10:51] So being able to have everybody traveling so many weekends a year, right? It's like for most people's jobs, they only have so much PTO. And for our team to travel, right? It's like with, it's minimum two travel days, two PTO days. So it's hard to get the team to be able to give up what it's like. If we're doing six events is 12 PTO days minimum for our team. It's like some of them only get 12 PTO days.

[00:11:20] So in order for us to scale, number one, we need the funding to make the business side make sense. And then we also need to be able to scale our team to be able to put on what it is that we do. So you have the very few people that are full-time with SUBIE Events. And the other teams where people are like, let's say having to take PTO, are they people that are going, are those teams going or would potentially be going to all six events?

[00:11:50] Or depending on like the location and, you know, the geographics of it, would you have a certain team of people that would do like Wicked Big Meat and then a separate team that would do Boxer Fest and then a separate team that would do the other ones? Is that a possibility or is it the same people for each event on each of those teams? If that makes sense. It's a mix of both.

[00:12:15] So typically what we have and coming into, so realistically at any given event, there are somewhere between 12 and 18, what we call core team members. So those are members of the SUBIE Events team who, all of which started at SUBIE Events as a volunteer. So kind of, I set the example of a volunteer get noticed. I would not recommend somebody flying themselves around the country to volunteer for us

[00:12:40] in hopes of joining our event, but volunteer at your local event and get noticed. And maybe one day I'll come calling. But so 12 to 18 of us will travel into market. And I would say out of that, those 12 or 18 or 12 to 18, most of them do do all of the events. And ultimately that just comes down to number one, our team bonds really well together.

[00:13:09] There's like, at the end of the day, it's like, we actually call ourselves our family and not in like the cheesy corporate way of like, we're a family. But like, we're on tour with each other together all summer long. And we spend a lot of time together, but we learn how to work with each other. We learn how to support each other. And everybody has an individual job that they specialize in and excel in. But at the same time, everybody also knows how to do everybody else's jobs to be able to help each other along.

[00:13:38] So kind of to answer your question again, it's like we have individual people. It's like we have somebody that like really knows how vendor load-in works. And we have somebody that really knows how the ticket management system works. And we have somebody that really knows how the t-shirt and goodie bag booth works, right? And it's like, it's really helpful to have that same person running each of those stations.

[00:14:01] And then we'll fill in with local help to help us, number one, connect with the community, right? Because like, we don't ever want to be like the team that's coming in from out of town and like is putting on an event and then we disappear. It's like, we do want to engage and grow the community. And then the rest is filled in with volunteers. Okay, yeah. And that makes sense because if you have the same people that are doing the same jobs at the same,

[00:14:29] you know, at all the different events year after year, then it helps everything, helps set up, go more efficiently. It helps, you know, every process or every station, like you said, the t-shirt station, tickets, all that kind of stuff. If you have to train somebody new, it's going to be difficult to get them up to speed of like how things should be done. But if you have somebody that's been doing it for a while, then you know that it's going to run smoothly and efficiently. So that makes, that makes a lot of sense. Exactly.

[00:14:58] And it's like, our team is refined so well. Like we're, we're to the point where like we can show up on site and nobody could say a word to each other or nobody needs to say a word to each other. And everybody knows exactly what they're doing. And everybody just starts going on like one person's unloading the truck and one person is setting up the signs and one person starts measuring out the venue. And it's like, everybody is so dialed in that already that it's overall super helpful.

[00:15:25] And it does help us run lean so that we can make the finances make sense to be able to continue doing this. Yeah. So, and with all of the events that are going to be coming up this year and the venues, I know I've seen posts on Instagram about, you know, getting ready for all the events. Can you do a rundown of what events are coming up and then what the dates are? Yeah, sure.

[00:15:51] So first we have Wicked Big Meat that is on June 8th. They're just under two months away now. That's a poke to my team to start working on that. But so yeah, just under two months away now that is in Stafford Springs, Connecticut. After that, we have Subie Fest, California on August 2nd. That's in Arcadia, California at Santa Anita Park. So new for that event, because of how hot that climate is typically in August, we're doing that as an evening event.

[00:16:21] So the event starts at two, it's going to end at nine. And I'm like, I'm picturing since that event has mountains behind it, I'm picturing sunset behind the mountains to close out our event. It's nice. I'm like smitten on what that's going to look like. So hopefully that works out really well. And is that on our, can you also let us know what day of the weekend, if it's a Saturday or Sunday? Because I know historically a lot of them have been on Sundays. And then I know like with Subie Fest, Texas, it was on a Saturday.

[00:16:50] And I think some of the other events were on a Saturday. So, you know, I guess start at Wicked Big Meat and let us know what day that is. Yeah, sure. Wicked Big Meat is on Sunday, June 8th. Subie Fest, California is on Saturday, August 2nd. And again, we're doing that as an evening event. Boxer Fest is Sunday, September 14th. That's at the York Fair in York, Pennsylvania. Subie Fest Midwest is going to be Saturday, September 27th.

[00:17:20] That is new for this year, going to be at the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. Subie Fest, Texas is going to be Saturday, October 11th. That will be back at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas. And then finally, Subie Fest, Florida will be Sunday, December 14th. And again, also new for this year, that will be relocating to Orlando Speed World in Orlando. Okay. And as far as each of the events is, what can we expect to see?

[00:17:50] Are there going to be new activities at the events this year? Because I know, I think maybe it was two years ago or three years ago, they brought out the simulators for everybody to do. And that was like new for the event. And then, you know, of course, always there's, you know, adopt a pet. We work with a local shelter. But what can we expect to see this year with Subie events? So there's a lot of things that we're working in that is a work in progress.

[00:18:18] So it's things that we're hoping to finalize. And it's like we're in that time of year where we have ideas and like we started flushing through our ideas to see which of them will work. And like some of these ideas might make it to some events, like some of them might make it to other events. But like some of the ideas that we're working on is potentially doing a live install demo. So something like imagine a YouTube build video, but it's in real life.

[00:18:43] Or we might do something like an off-road type activity, whether that's like a miniature driving course with rollers and bumps to simulate X mode and what the new wilderness models are capable of. And we're also looking at like how we engage with the community and like celebrating influential people in the community and like how we can bring them to an event to get them excited to the event.

[00:19:09] An idea that I have that I don't know if I'll be able to execute it is like I had this idea of doing a 60-foot contest. So kind of like drag racing. But like I would say that like for me personally in drag racing, the most exciting part is the launch. And since a lot of our events aren't at drag trips, like drag racing is hard. But if we do like a 60-foot, that's slow enough that like we could probably do that on where we do the autocross course.

[00:19:36] We're showing the most exciting part of the drag racing. And like I've actually been talking to a couple of shops in Texas. It's like, would you want to go against each other and do 60-foots in front of each other? And I've got a couple of shops who are really excited to try it if we can pull it off. That's awesome. That'd be fun. And then lastly, it's like since California is a nighttime event, like we might try to embrace that somehow. It's like maybe with lighting or LEDs, like what some of our lighting sponsors are.

[00:20:04] We might see like what the community can do, like where their creativity is with LEDs and such. Okay. And then are there any activities or parts of the events that we won't see that we've seen in previous years? I don't think, as of right now, I don't think there's anything that's guaranteed to go away. It's like the fan favorite that you mentioned of driving simulators. Like I actually just had a meeting recently and it's like that kind of stuff will come back.

[00:20:35] Like at a couple of our events, we had a dyno, like a mobile all-wheel drive dyno. We're finding that this year that's harder to secure. So like the events that have had dynos in the past that might not happen this year, like Ben on our team is actually still working to try to secure them. But like that might be the only thing that I know of that might go away. Okay.

[00:21:00] And then, you know, I know last year at the events was the first time that Rihanna Gelsimino was able to make it out to the events. And she went to all of the locations. Bucky Lassick is almost always there. Travis Mastrana is at events when he can be. Same with Scott Speed. Can we expect to see the same lineup of drivers? And is there going to be anybody new to the lineup?

[00:21:25] Yeah, so I'll answer this question with the caveat that we're talking about people and life happens and things change. So please don't come after me if I say somebody's name here and then they can't make it to an event for whatever reason. But as of today, Bucky is confirmed to be at all six events. He'll be doing his appearances as well as his driving demo in Betty. And I hear through the grapevine that there are some changes to Betty. So I'm excited to see what that is.

[00:21:53] And for anybody that doesn't know, Betty is the rallycross car that Bucky drives. Scott Speed is going to be at all of our events. And he'll be working to work on improvements in our autocross. And he might be doing some other things as well. Rhi is going to be at all of our events except Florida just because that event is all the way in December. And she has international travel at the end of her years from my understanding.

[00:22:19] And then Travis and Brandon, we're currently working through schedule conflicts and budgets and that kind of stuff right now. So we don't have them confirmed for any events yet, but we're hoping to have them at some of our events. And then what I will also say is that when we were working through our overall event calendar this year, we did as best as we could to choose dates that would keep those athletes as open as possible.

[00:22:49] So to just really nudge the stars to align. Okay. Yeah, that's exciting. It's, you know, it's always nice to see Bucky there because he's such an enthusiast and he's got so many Subarus now that, you know, it's fun to run into him and chat with him and stuff. And then, of course, Scott Speed and it's nice that Rihanna will, you know, be there again. And like you said, you know, if for some reason somebody can't make it, then, you know, that's because I know that two years ago,

[00:23:20] Travis Pastrana was at some of the events, but he wasn't able to make it to Subifest, Texas. And I was like, man, I really want to go to an event where he's going to be. But then he showed up. So that was really cool. Yeah. And if Brandon can make it too, that would be awesome to see him out. But it's like if I got to choose, like I would choose all of them for every event. But ultimately, it's like there's only so much resources to go around. And like a lot of times, like we don't get to choose.

[00:23:46] And a lot of times, like we don't know for sure until like the week of the event. Yeah. Will we see any newer Subarus at the I'm sure we're going to probably see the new Forest or Wilderness. But I also saw an announcement in the U.S. Media Center that there's going to be a new Outback released. And that's was that this week or next week? Is that something that will be that we will see at the event?

[00:24:12] From my understanding of the media, the upcoming release of the Outback is going to happen at the New York Auto Show. I don't recall what that date is. As far as our events, like I can neither confirm nor deny if there is there's going to be a debut or anything like that. I will say that like the odds of these new models being shown at our events like that that that is pretty high.

[00:24:37] And then the other thing that I'll call out is that Super of America does see and respect our event and especially our community. And they see how important that is as a platform, especially as they're revealing these special editions and these models that are like really important for the enthusiasts. How important it is to utilize our events and show off those models in front of the crowd that cares the most about them rather than just off at another trade show.

[00:25:05] Yeah. And it's fun seeing all the new models there. Like we got to see the new BRZ, I guess it's kind of like a purple color last year at Subifest, Texas and the other events. That was fun. But I did just look up the announcement and it's going to be at the like you said, the New York International Auto Show. And it live streams at 1150 a.m. Eastern Time on April 16th. So that's this and that's going to be the 2026 Outback. So that's when we can expect to see that.

[00:25:32] Cool. And yeah, and to your point, it's like last year at Subifest, Texas, we unveiled BRZ Series Purple. And again, that was the first time anybody in the world had ever seen that car. So like our crowd got to see it first. But earlier in the year, we also unveiled WRX TS. And every single year going back all the way to 2015, at least, Super of America has used one of our events to unveil one of those special editions.

[00:25:59] So, again, I can't confirm or deny, but I will say it's like the history has shown that we might be showing something new this year. Yeah. Yeah. Like I said, that's exciting. It's fun. Because I remember at, I think it was maybe Subifest, California is when I first saw some of the wilderness editions. But yeah, it's fun. Fun stuff. And it's like, what have you learned from last year or maybe the last couple of years that you may be doing differently?

[00:26:28] Maybe not necessarily like with the activities, like I said, but just, I guess, organizationally and like with setup and how things are run. Is there y'all pretty much doing the same kinds of things or are there things that didn't maybe work so well operationally last year or things that worked really, really well that you're like, oh, let's continue to do that? You know, something like that.

[00:26:52] So, we've been doing this for a long time and I will never say that we're perfect and I will never say that we don't have ways to improve. But at this point, we have things, most things pretty well figured out, pretty dialed. And like we are always looking for incremental refinements along the way. It's like we actually have somebody on the team whose sole job is to nitpick everything that we do and understand how we do something better or faster. It's like, can we get somebody through the gates a couple of minutes faster?

[00:27:20] Can we get through the giveaways at the end of the day a couple of minutes faster? So, like we're always working on refining each of those individual things. On the backside, from a business perspective, there are, that's where the bulk of our changes is going to be, right? So, like the big thing that we recognize is the marketing and the media landscape is changing, right? It's like people have shorter attention spans. So, we need to adapt to that, adapt to how we advertise, how we do marketing, how we reach people.

[00:27:50] So, we're going to be working on doing more like short-form videos to be able to reach those people. And then at the same time, people, there's a lot more things fighting for people's attention now. It's like whether that is in-person events or things that are happening online.

[00:28:08] So, there's just a lot more competition for us as events so that we have to do a better job at attracting people to come to our events so that we can keep growing the events and keep doing this. And then lastly, we have some changes in our team to be able to adapt to that, putting the right people in the right roles to be able to grow sponsorships or be able to, again, reach people better so that we can have more attendees coming to the events.

[00:28:34] And then we just have some changes in our business strategy that will help us be more resilient in the future. Okay. Yeah, that's good. It's good to always be striving to do the best that you can and find ways to improve. And that's what's good about having a bunch of different people is you can look at things from a different angle and see where you can improve or do things differently or more efficiently. So, yeah, it's like I obsess over doing things 1% better.

[00:29:02] And it's like I don't recall if I mentioned, but outside of subie events, like I also consult in bars and restaurants. And like sometimes I'll spend a week with a bar client and my only goal is to shave one single second off of their transaction time. Because like if they're doing a thousand transactions and they're saving one second off, that is measurable minutes. Oh, yeah. Yeah.

[00:29:25] So is there anything at the events that you personally would like to see that maybe hasn't been included at the events that, you know, like you would like to see at some point in the coming years? I want to learn how and figure out how to get people to engage with each other better. And like, of course, people are coming and they're talking to Bucky and they're talking to Rhi and they're talking to their favorite vendors.

[00:29:52] But like I have this dream of people coming to our events and they're somehow finding the people that live near them so that the people that they meet at the events, they're able to have garage days with the other 51 weekends of the year. Because that's how I came into the community. That's how I was a part of the community. And that's how the community was able to give back so much back to me was meeting people and then hanging out in our garages and working on each other's cars.

[00:30:21] And just since we were a community building event, right? So just being able to help our community grow themselves organically, like that's something that I really want to figure out. It's like maybe we'll do like Subaru speed dating or something. Yeah, I was just thinking too, like maybe if there was an inexpensive way to have like some sort of a badge or sticker that you can put on your car because Texas, of course, is so big.

[00:30:48] But like, let's say the major cities, like if you're from Houston, you can put like a little Houston sticker on your car. If you're from Austin, you can put an Austin sticker on your car. Or, you know, if you're from the DFW area or San Antonio or something like that. Then that way, maybe as you're walking around, if you see somebody's car and you're from Houston and their car has Houston on it, you can be like, oh, hey, I live in Houston too. Where do you live? Because Houston is huge. You know, I mean, it can take an hour to get from one side of Houston to the other.

[00:31:17] But I don't know. It's just an idea. Yeah, actually built into our ticketing platform. So our ticketing platform is completely built in-house, designed and coded by us. And that just is a testament to our tech background. But built into our system, people can create what we call profiles of like they can add their cars, they can add photos, they can add mod lists.

[00:31:42] And out of their profile, they can generate a dash card, which includes a QR code that links them, that links the person who's scanning that QR code back to their profile. I don't know if we include like geographics or hometown in that. But I do think that that is a great idea. It's like we can add the hometown and like have it optional for the person. So like they're not giving up that information if they don't want to. Yeah, of course.

[00:32:08] Somebody that's walking through the parking lot and they see this cool car and they scan it. It's like, oh, that's from Houston. I'm also from Houston. That could be a great way. Yeah. And again, like you mentioned, people may not want somebody to know where they're from, but you can give it as an option. Like, hey, do you want your hometown to be displayed on your car? Or then that way, because I know like some people black out their license plate, you know, online. But it's like people see your license plate every day when you're driving around. I don't see how that's really any different.

[00:32:37] But I know some people are kind of funny about that. And I did it for a while, too. But then after a while, I was like, it's too much work. I'm not going to worry about it. I also did it for a while. And then I got vanity plates. And now I want everybody to see my vanity plates. There you go. Yeah. Let's see. Has there been feedback from the community after events where they say that they would like to see something new or something different at the events? Absolutely.

[00:33:06] Our community is great in that they're not hesitant to give us feedback and to give us ideas. And we comb through all of those. And we kind of that's where we learn what to do. Right. It's like ultimately, it's like the only way we can know what the community wants is if the community tells us. So just some of those examples are like other forms of racing. So like whether that's time attack or drag racing. It's like and there are challenges in that. Right.

[00:33:36] It's like with things like time attack and drag racing, it's like become it limits our venues. Right. It's like, would we rather have an autocross that is within an hour and a half of the majority of the people that are coming to the event? Or would we rather have a track day that is now three and a half or four hours away from the majority of the people that are coming to the event? So like that comes into that comes into play.

[00:34:01] But then also understanding things like the cost to the participant and like the expected participation. Right. It's like, are we going to have 200 people signing up to do time attack or to do drag racing? Maybe, maybe not. But we we have to take all of that into account as to what racing element we bring to our events. And for the time being, we've chosen autocross because autocross is easy to put on.

[00:34:29] And then that's not to say it's easy to put on, but it's like it's the barrier to entry is lower. And then also for individual attendees, it's less of a risk. And like I see all the time people showing up to our events, taking their baby seats out of their cars and they're autocrossing for the day. And I'll come talk to them and they're like, this is the first time I've ever done any performance driving with my car. This is the first time I've had a safe space to do that.

[00:34:54] And like that is that's why we do the autocross is because it's safer and it's a lower barrier to entry for the people like that. Right. It's less of an investment for them to do things like that. We've had requests to come into other markets. So things like the Pacific Northwest, Colorado, Tennessee, North Dakota. It's like every corner of the country we've had requests for us to come to. And we're not avoiding you because we don't love you. At the end of the day, I believe the community should gather like whether or not it can be supported by us or not.

[00:35:24] Like that again, that's how I became a part of the community. That's how I became a part of Subi events and Subi Fest. But continue just doing things like gathering with each other, doing parking lot meets, the garage days that I mentioned earlier, supporting your local shops and dealerships. People ask for more ride alongs all the time. Like I get asked all the time, like how do I get a ride along? Ultimately, there's just limited throughput in that. It's like especially with things like the race cars.

[00:35:53] The race cars cost a lot of money to run. So we can only run them for so much time. So there's only so much that we can do. And it's like we can try to grow that. But it's like growing 10% from 10 is only 11. So we're doing the best we can. Like last year, we added an element where in addition to like one of the drivers driving one of the Vermont sports car prepped race cars, we're also doing ride alongs.

[00:36:22] And like last year, we utilized both the WRXTR and WRXTS. And the nice thing about those cars is Scott can do 50 laps in that in a single autocross session. So we're able to put 50 people into those cars and do a ride along with Scott. And of course, Scott's an amazing driver. The WRXTR and WRXTS is an amazing car.

[00:36:46] It's not going to be quite the same as a ride along in like the Huxer, but it's still a ride along with a professional race driver nonetheless. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, he's going to be he's going to drive any car he gets into really, really well. And whoever the passenger is, is going to have a good time. Yeah. I'll get back to that. And then the last like that, I would say the number one bit of feedback that we get in our surveys and online is that more shade because we're outdoor events in the summer.

[00:37:15] And that is something that we are in process of trying to figure out what we're doing for more shade, whether that's bringing in additional lounge tents, working with sponsors to sponsor a loungy shady areas, that kind of thing. We're working on that. And then back to what you were saying about Scott was at Boxer Fest last year, Scott jumped into a stock Solterra.

[00:37:41] And I believe he got the third fastest time of the day in the Solterra up against prep race cars on the autocross course. That's nice. Yeah, that's I don't doubt that at all. I mean, he he can get into anything, it seems like, and drive the wheels off of it. Um, some, some, sometimes like, so we have live timing on our, on our autocross course. Uh, and sometimes it's like, if I'm trying to pick on Scott, like he'll come in and like, I'll pull out his time.

[00:38:11] And I'll just be like, I bet you got another 10th or a hundredth in there. And he'll go out and try it. And it's like, he'll be like, he'll clip a cone or it'll be like a hundredth slower. And I'll tell him he's a hundredth slower. And he's like, going to go again. And I'm like, all right, Scott, your session's up. And he's like, no, I gotta find that time. And of course he always inevitably finds the time. Yep. Yeah. He's definitely good. Uh, so we know that like, you know, the event actually, or let me do that again.

[00:38:37] So we know the event only takes place in one day, but like, how soon do you start setting up before the event? Are you, I know that, you know, you have stuff going on the day before because any vendors that have stuff that they need to set up, they can bring things in and get them set up like the day before. But as far as the people that are in, you know, the Subie events team, like how soon are you getting out to the venue to start setting up and prepping?

[00:39:04] So most of our events were only there the day before the event. Um, there are a couple of events where I arrive, uh, as early as Thursday or even Wednesday. Um, typically that comes into play, how much we're reliant on, um, like third party contractors to help us set up the event. Right.

[00:39:23] So like, as an example on event, like, uh, like Subie Fest, California, where like, I think we went through the math today that I think we ordered 9,500 linear feet of fencing. Um, so a third party company sets up that 9,500 feet of fencing, uh, that has to happen on Friday. So I have to be out on site on Thursday to lay that out and show them where that goes.

[00:39:49] But again, like really the only time where they're before the day before the event, um, is where reliant on a third party contractor. Otherwise, like the team shows up like for a Sunday event, the team shows up at 10 AM on Saturday and like they're doing layout and they're stuffing last minute goodie bags and like prepping the signage and stuff. And then our, most of our, like 95% of our vendors actually arrived the day of the event. Okay. Yeah.

[00:40:16] And then like, as far as once the event is over, how long does it take to like, take everything down? Are you getting it all put away and taken down that same evening? Um, in the entire history of our event, we've been completely moved out or the entire history of our company. I mean, uh, we've been moved out by the end of the event day.

[00:40:38] Um, that probably will change this year with only for Subie Fest, California, since that event doesn't end until nine o'clock. So we realistically probably will have to come back the next day to finish moving out. But otherwise it's like, if the event ends at five, 8 PM, I'm expecting my team to be sitting around a dinner table. Yeah, that's good. That's nice.

[00:41:00] Uh, as far, I know you mentioned there's like a core team of like 12 to 18 people, but how many, and I know there's different sizes of events, but how many volunteers do you typically have at each of the events? And then like, what types of volunteers do you have for all of your specific needs around the event? So at, at our events, depending on the size of the event, we have somewhere between 60 and 120 volunteers.

[00:41:31] Um, and those volunteers, they're reporting back into our core team members. And like, just some example jobs is like, you might be doing primary ticketing, which is where you're all, um, like the, you're basically the first people that people see coming to the event, whether you have a ticket and helping you park. Um, we have ticket activation. That's where, um, your giveaway raffle tickets, uh, get turned on. Um, and that's where you receive your vouchers to be able to receive, um, your goodie bags and your t-shirt.

[00:42:00] And that's where you're getting your wristband to come back into the event. If you want to go hang out in the parking lot for a while, uh, we have people working in the info booth, um, where you're receiving your goodie bags and your, and your shirts. Um, then we also like have more nuanced things like being able to support our audio engineer with like keeping the sound system and the electrical system up and running.

[00:42:21] Um, or, and like, there are more specialized things further than that, even where like somebody is, um, helping work the autocross course or being a car show judge. Um, and on some of those roles, we, uh, in, in most of our volunteer roles, we have our volunteers work in two hour shifts so that they're able to really enjoy the event when they're not working their shift as when they're not working their shift.

[00:42:48] But then in some of the roles where like we did, like, for example, autocross or car show judging, where we're expecting them to be, um, a little more, uh, attentive to the role that they're doing. And they might have less time to enjoy the event afterwards. Like some of those are paid positions as well. Okay. Yeah. And I know there's been a lot of people that have complained about the way that things are judged and they seem like they, uh, I don't know.

[00:43:16] I can't recall like specific feedback, but I know that people have kind of said that the way that things are judged that like there's certain cars should fall under specific categories and not under others, especially like for the off-road community. Um, yeah, I'm, I'm comfortable with talking about this on air.

[00:43:37] Um, I think the car show participants, um, do happen to be the most particular crowd of our events. Um, and again, we're always listening to your feedback and like provide us that feedback so we can understand what's going on. Um, at the end of the day, like the cars, the owners are choosing which classes they want to be a part of. And like at that, like for, for most cars, they're like, they, they don't get to choose to be in multiple cars.

[00:44:06] Like you can't enter your Crosstrek in the STI class, for example. Right. But like, uh, between the off-road class and like whether or not, whether you would be able to Crosstrek, um, I think the owner gets to choose which one of those classes they want to be a part of. Um, and then how judging works is like, we have a rubric of like individual categories and each of those categories are assigned points. Um, and again, that's, this is also built into our ticketing platform and our software system that, um, our judges are using.

[00:44:35] And it's like judges, like no car is being judged by just a single, uh, no car is being judged by a single judge. Um, like there are multiple judges judging, um, and those scores accumulated together and that's how a winner is chosen. And like, ultimately we try to do things in as fair as possible, in a, as fair of a possible, of a manner. Um, and we do have a head judge who is a part of all of our events.

[00:45:03] Again, just try to keep with that consistency to be able to, to get people, um, as happy and as fair as possible. Um, ultimately at the end of the day, some people aren't going to be happy. I can't make everybody happy, but most people will be with what we do. Okay. Yeah. I just, I, I kind of wanted to, I, you know, I don't know a whole lot about the judging. I don't really like participate in that. I don't put my car in the show because it's, I just, I don't, I just, I don't want to be a part of that.

[00:45:32] And I don't feel like it's as show worthy as some of the other cars that I've seen. So I just figured I would ask the question for the community. Yeah. Uh, and like for, for me personally, right. It's like car shows aren't personally my thing either, but I understand why and how people are so passionate about it. And because they're so passionate about it, I understand. I understand why they have this feedback or I understand why they think something should be a certain way.

[00:46:00] And it's like, of course, I'm not saying it's like, I understand them individually, but I understand how their passion drives this thought.

[00:46:36] Okay. Yeah. And I think that's a little bit of America that the off-road community has more of a presence there and is kind of seen a little bit more than they have been. I will say like, especially since the wilderness brand has come out, um, we are doing more in that. And like, we are constantly working on what else we can do more. So like earlier I mentioned, like we are trying to do like an off-roady course type thing.

[00:47:04] Um, on the flip side of that, I will say it's like, we don't give a specific parking section for the stance crowd. Like we don't give a specific section for like some other sub niche of Subaru, right? But like we do give us a specific area for the overland crowd because we are recognizing that that community is small, but it is growing.

[00:47:27] And, uh, we like, we, we had this anecdote on our team where like there was a point in time where nobody on our team had an off-roady Subaru. Like everybody had like either performance built WRX or BRZ. And then one day at Wicked Big Mean, it's like we were finished wrapping up and I turned around and the, everybody on the team had a lifted Subaru of some form, like parked all in a line. And I was like, where the heck did those come from? Because like a year ago, none of you had these and now all of you have these.

[00:47:57] Um, so it is a part of the community that we, we do see. It is a part of the community that we recognize is growing. Um, and it is a part of the community that I'm asking the community to recognize that they're also growing. So work with us as we, as we help recognize them. Okay. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:48:15] And I, I, I feel like, you know, the podcast has been a good place for people in the off-road and overlanding community because it's, while it's not designed specifically to focus on that, because I have a cross track and because most of the people that I've connected with, and then therefore I'm the one that started the podcast. It's just been kind of organically centered around the off-road community.

[00:48:43] And, and so I, I, I think I've heard people say that they like that the podcast is a little more focused that way. Not again, not on purpose, but just because I didn't even know when I bought my cross track that of course, Subaru as a whole is not as big as like Ford and Toyota and Jeep.

[00:49:01] And, you know, some of these other really big brands, but so Subaru itself is a little bit smaller, but then as far as within the Subaru community and within the enthusiast community of Subaru, that the off-road community is like pretty small compared to, you know, the tuner scene. And I didn't realize that until I started doing the podcast and people were saying like, oh, this is great because now we kind of have a little bit more of a voice and more recognition.

[00:49:27] So I think the podcast has helped with that some too, and to get more exposure for the off-road community. And, and I'm very, very grateful and thankful for you reaching out to me and asking me to help, you know, promote Subie events because we all love Subie events. Also, I'm very thankful to be part of SOA and to be sponsored by the gear store and that, you know, there's recognition from SOA with a podcast.

[00:49:53] And so I think, you know, doing Subie events, the podcasts, like you said, local meetups, car shows that we can do in our local area, anything that we can do helps give more recognition for the community as a whole. And so it's all good and working well together. Yeah. And similar to your point about how you, um, you got across Trek and then that kind of snowballed into a lot of your podcast guests being a part of the off-road community.

[00:50:20] Um, we, for a period of time, Vic, who was the founder of Mountain Roo, um, was also a part of our team. And he, he, he, he started a lot of things and like, he paved the way for us to continue recognizing and helping grow what we do for the off-road community. Yeah. And, you know, that's, it was nice seeing that and having that be a part of the community. And I hope that, you know, it continues to grow.

[00:50:48] And like you said, so for anybody listening, if you have feedback, you know, be sure to, to leave feedback because there won't be, there can't be any change. If nobody lets you know what they're either really happy with, or maybe that they're upset about or something they feel like you could change because that's where you need to know about it in order to make a difference.

[00:51:10] Absolutely. And like we, like myself, like I read, I read almost every single email that comes into info at soupy fest or info at wickedbigmeet.com. And I don't reply to most of them because we have a customer support person that replies to all of them, but I do read most of them. Um, when we send out post event surveys, I do read most of them and I, uh, summarize and I try to find the action items in them.

[00:51:36] And, you know, it's like some of the feedback is things that we can't do for one reason or another. A lot of the feedback are things that we can do, uh, to provide a better product at the end of the day. And we have implemented those over the years and we're going to continue finding those bits of feedback that we can action on, uh, to continue improving. Okay. That's good to hear.

[00:52:01] So lastly, before I get into a little bit something different, what, if somebody wants to volunteer, like what's the best way for somebody to volunteer? And, and are there like, do they get to choose what it is they're volunteering for? Or do you take all the volunteers that have like, I guess, put in their information or however it's done. And then you assign them to a certain area.

[00:52:25] Um, so what happens is so anybody can email volunteer at wickedbigmeet.com or volunteer at soupy fest.com. Um, we'll also do like, we'll put on social media and also email, um, out to people that we're looking for volunteers. So that's a great place to be on the lookout for like when we're searching for volunteers. Um, volunteers do have the opportunity of telling us what makes them tick, what, what they're passionate about, right?

[00:52:51] It's like, if somebody is really passionate about electronics, like we'll have them help us keeping the sound system up. If somebody is really passionate about customer service, like we might have them in one of the ticketing or, uh, info booth areas. But so through those applications and people telling us as much about themselves as they can and up a couple of paragraphs, um, we'll try to identify if there's any places that might be any roles that might be a good fit for this individual person.

[00:53:20] And then after that, we're looking at, once we're kind of at the event itself and like, I know the primary ticketing area needs six more volunteers. And I know the info booth needs eight more volunteers. That's when it's like, we have got a crowd of volunteers standing in front of either Lisa or myself or, um, Spark and Lisa's our volunteer manager. And it's like, all right, who wants to go sling goodie bags today? And it's like eight people will raise their hand. It's like, all right, you head to the info booth. And like, who wants to help park cars? And like, there's some people volunteer.

[00:53:49] Um, and then like at the end, it's like, there will be some people who, um, are at, are asked or told to like move a sign around or anything like that. But we try as much as we can to get people to do roles that they might like, because it's like similar to what I did. It's like, I want people to feel like they're doing something impactful in their own community. Yeah, no, that's good. Thank you for, for the feedback on that.

[00:54:13] And because I, I, I haven't volunteered, but you know, it's something that I thought about, but since I get asked to be a part of the event as the podcast and, you know, it's like, it's, it'd be hard to, to fill two roles at the same time. But for anybody that wants to volunteer to be a part of it, absolutely. You know, send the email, we'll look out for the Instagram posts or emails coming in. Yeah.

[00:54:36] And there, there's great perks of being at a volunteer to, or being a volunteer to, it's like, so first, like, of course you get your entry into the event for free. All of our volunteers, like whether they're volunteer, volunteering for a morning shift or volunteering for an afternoon shift, like they can be there as early as we can be. So a lot of times, like our volunteers get to see Project Midnight or get to see Bucky Elastic before there's a huge crowd in front of them.

[00:55:06] And being able to, to be a part of that with all of our volunteers get an event t-shirt and a goodie bag. All of our volunteers also get a coupon code from Cobb and that's an exclusive thing to us. Like Cobb doesn't hand out coupon codes, but Cobb believes in what we do. So they're able to work with us to get those coupon codes to our volunteers. And like, that's another way that we can give back to our volunteers.

[00:55:34] And then like, similarly to how our core team grew and bonded almost like a family, it's like each of the individual pods of volunteers, like grow to grow like that too. And it's like a lot, there's like, at the end of the event, a lot of times, like as we're, as we've packed up the last pallet and locked up the last truck and we're all getting into our cars to leave, it's like, there's still volunteers hanging around and chatting. And I was like, guys, the event's over, it's like, we, we have to leave now.

[00:56:03] It's like, you can come back, but like next year, but you, you have to leave now. So like all, all of our volunteers get to be just a part of great experiences. And like the, something that like I've been really excited about is over the past couple of years, we've also brought on what we call a volunteer raffle. Um, so we'll get donations from our sponsors or from SOA or a Vermont sports car.

[00:56:30] Um, and at the end of the day, like we'll do a raffle that's just for the volunteers and just for the people that helped us put these events on. And the items in that volunteer raffle, um, are often items that are exclusive to the, to this thing, right? It's like, we've had custom shirts be a part of the raffle or we've had, um, parts off a race car be a part of the volunteer raffle.

[00:56:55] And in no other place are you going to be able to potentially win a part off a race car, but that might be something that we're going to give away in one of our volunteer raffles. Okay. Yeah, that's good. That's a lot of good information as, as far as, you know, the benefits of being a volunteer other than just being a part of the event. So thanks for sharing all that. It's, it's a good information.

[00:57:18] Yeah, for sure. And again, like I mentioned earlier, um, every member of our core team was a volunteer at one point in one form or another. Um, and if this is something that you want to be a part of, like volunteer and be recognized. And again, maybe at some point I'll come call in and ask you to join us for a couple more events. Nice. Thank you. So, uh, being a part of all these Subi events and everything, do you own a Subaru?

[00:57:47] I drive a Kia. Uh, no, I, I really believe in what it is that we do. I really believe in the community that we're helping grow. And, um, I believe in the product that Subaru is selling. And, um, so right now I have a 2024 Outback Wilderness. Um, that's got a Cobb stage two set up on it, uh, stuff from LPI venture, uh, Max's tires, diode dynamics lights.

[00:58:14] Um, I'm actually currently planning a road trip all the way out to Moab in that car. So, um, we'll be doing photos and off-roading and that kind of stuff. So super excited about that. Um, and then last year, I actually, um, with the help of one of the members of our team imported a 1999 Subaru Sandbar. So anybody that was at one of our events last year would have seen it being used as a support vehicle, um, at all of the events.

[00:58:41] And a shout out to Subaru of America for helping making that happen and transporting that car around the country, um, or that truck around the country, uh, to, to be able to have that. And right now that truck is, uh, up at my parents' house just waiting for wicked big meat. Um, so those are the cars that I currently own. Um, I've owned over a dozen Subarus in the past. Nice.

[00:59:06] Some of them not, um, a couple of cars that like people might know me for are my 2015 STI, which was one of the first, like really heavily modified 2015 STIs on the East coast. Like we were actually so early on this project. And it's like, I don't know if you know this, but in 2014, when the 2015 STI was supposed to come out, uh, the U S was actually getting that model before Japan was.

[00:59:34] Um, and I was working in a performance shop at the time, um, who was, uh, had a close relationship with HKS in Japan. Uh, and HKS had asked my boss if he knew anybody with a 2015 STI so that HKS can come to the U S to get a headstart on development. Um, and I'm admitting this for the first time now, but at the time I had no plans on buying a 2015 STI.

[01:00:02] But when my boss told me that HKS was asking, looking for a 2015 STI to develop on, I told him I have one on the way. Uh, and that was a big risk on my part. Number one, just lying to my boss. But, um, I, I, I recognize the opportunity of being able to work with HKS in this parts development.

[01:00:22] And I also recognize the opportunity to be able to work with a lot more sponsors and just really like we did a lot of product development and proof of concept and testing and that kind of stuff in the, on that car. Um, and I really utilized that car to make myself known to like companies like Cobb, like that was where that relationship started and Grimspeed.

[01:00:45] Um, and just being able to work through and being somebody that those companies know that they can turn to, to help answer these questions, uh, to help answer these questions, um, was really huge. Um, and then actually one of my first Subarus was a 2022 WRX. I had that from, I want to say 2007 to 2011, 2012, maybe. And like, that was the car that I learned how to wrench on.

[01:01:12] I learned how to modify on, uh, I did a lot of things wrong, but then I learned how to improve on a lot of those things. Um, that car was really early into the stance scene. So like I was one of the first people to put 10 inch wide wheels onto a bug eye WRX. Um, so that was fun back in the day when not many people had done that before. Um, and then after the whole stance thing, like I turned it into like a track performance oriented build too. And what was, what year was that again?

[01:01:39] That was the, the WRX was a 20, uh, was a 2002. And I had that, I want to say it was like 2007 or 2008 to, uh, 2012 or to 2011 and 2012. Okay. Nice. Nice. Yeah. Yeah. Those, you go to the, the events too, and you see so many different, uh, I mean, it's just crazy what some people do with these. And there's so many different, like, you know, I, it's, it's funny cause I, I, I deal with imposter syndrome on the podcast because I, you know, it's a Subaru themed podcast.

[01:02:09] And I go out to these events and I see all these different types of Subarus. I'm like, I don't even know what kind of Subaru that is. You know, I know the modern Subarus and some of the older ones, like, you know, obviously like a brat is recognizable, you know, the XT certain models. But yeah, some, some of these other older performance cars, I'm like, I have no idea.

[01:02:30] And it's impressive when you see people that are walking around, especially like, you know, you go back and you watch Bucky's videos after the events and he's just going through and like talking about all these different cars and like, oh, they've got this, they've got that. This is a, whatever, you know, from this year and blah, blah, blah. It's like to, to know that much about so many of the different models. It's like, it's very impressive. Yeah.

[01:02:52] And that kind of reminds me like a thought that I have too, where I think a lot of what it is that we do and how we're successful at what we do is that ultimately at the end of the day, we're super enthusiasts ourselves. And we are able to understand and we're able to communicate with the people that are coming to our events because at the end of the day, we're also one of them.

[01:03:19] It's like, once I, I understand in part, like what it is people want to do to their outbacks because I have mine and I'm constantly looking at what it is that I want to do to my outback. And what it is that other people have done to their outbacks that they, that I, that I might be able to steal an idea of.

[01:03:40] And that's been kind of how I've taken my car ownership, as well as how we run our business going back all the way to 2009, 2010 of like the, where we're able to do this because we are this. And like, I get asked often on like, would we ever consider doing a SubiFest type event, but for a different auto manufacturer?

[01:04:06] Like, would we consider doing a Toyota meet? And all the time, like immediately I'll say no, because I'm not like, it's not because I don't believe in that community, but because I'm not one of them. And I don't necessarily understand what it is that makes their gears turn. And I'm not going to pretend what it is that makes their gears turn.

[01:04:27] And I'm not going to pretend I know what it is to, to give them, to be able to help them celebrate their, their community because I'm not a part of that community. Yeah. And that makes total sense. There's no Subi rumble over there. You know, you've heard me say the term community a lot throughout our time together, but like ultimately at the end of the day, it's all about the community. Oh yeah. A hundred percent.

[01:04:56] And, you know, there's, there's like, there's people that, and I mean, I've discovered this and, you know, I know other people do, but you may not have a whole lot of people in your local area to be a part of a community with. But there's, you end up connecting with people all over the world and you have this huge online community.

[01:05:17] And what's great about that, and I've mentioned this like so many times in the podcast, is if you end up traveling somewhere for vacation or for work or something, and you know somebody that is in that area where you're going to be going to, you can meet up with them and meet somebody in person. And that's always really, really fun to meet somebody. Yeah, absolutely. And like, dear, your point about how small sometimes it can be.

[01:05:42] It's like thinking back to 2008, I was helping organize what we call just weekly meets where some of us would gather on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and Thursdays. Like, we had different area communities, like when I was living outside of Boston. But like, sometimes it's some of the times there would be three of us, like going to dinner at whatever restaurant is in town.

[01:06:08] And then coming outside, like we would talk about what modification we just installed or what modification just came out that we're excited to buy. And that meet of three people grew into a meet of 10 people, grew into a meet of 100 people. And then it grows from there. But everybody starts somewhere. Yeah. Yeah.

[01:06:28] And I know specifically with the off-road and overland community that like if you go to a meetup and somebody has like a brand new Crosstrek and they've connected with a bunch of different people that have heavily modded Crosstreks. And somebody invites them out to an event. They're like, oh, but I don't have any mods. You know, nobody's going to want to check out my car. And they're like, no, bring it out. And then, you know, they go. They're nervous. They're excited too, maybe.

[01:06:57] And then they get there and they find that like everybody's very welcoming. They're talking about like, well, what kind of mods do you want to do, even though you don't have any? And then they realize that the community is very open to acceptance and helping, especially like when it comes to mods. You know, people are, I have an issue going on with my car right now. And I've been like reaching out to so many people trying to figure out what it is. And some people have ideas, but nobody's really sure because they'd have to look at it in person, hear it in person, feel it in person.

[01:07:27] So I'm taking it to a shop tomorrow morning. But, you know, I mean, even if it's like just something simple, you know, reaching out to somebody and like, hey, I want to put my skid plates on, but I have no idea what to do. You know, I got help from people about that. And people help each other with little things, big things. It doesn't matter, you know, FaceTime and hey, I'm trying to do this and install whatever on my car. And I know of people that have like FaceTimed somebody and they're like, oh, yeah, we talked about it. He walked me through it.

[01:07:56] I was showing him what I was doing and it was like super helpful. And so even though you may not have somebody that you can meet up with in person to do stuff, you have this huge online community of people that are there for you. Yeah, there's an adage that many of us on the team have that actually predates Subi events. It was back in the New England Subaru Club days, which that was the club that founded Wicked Big Meat like way back, I want to say in like 2005. But it's come for the cars, stay for the people.

[01:08:25] And that just really talks about how like it was like at this time, a very quirky car that brought us together. And it's like we came together because we owned these cars that very few other people owned and there was a shared interest. But then we became each other's best friends.

[01:08:43] We have like to your point, it's like we've walked each other through installing anything from a shift knob to like somebody I met at Wicked Big Meat way back in the day, like came over and helped me replace the clutch on my car. Nice. Yeah. Yeah. Granted, like that was again, that was way back in the day. But to your point, it's like it's just it's just all about the community. It's like what we can give to the community and what we can get back from the community. Yep, absolutely.

[01:09:13] Well, to close this out, there's a little segment to get to know you a little bit better. But who is Khan, as in like describe yourself? So I'm terrible at describing myself, but I like sushi. I like cars. I have a passion for learning and sharing knowledge. And I love a good challenge. All right. That's good. Where were you born? I was born in Hong Kong.

[01:09:40] My parents, my parents fled Vietnam while my mom was pregnant with me. So I was born in a refugee camp in Hong Kong. And then my family emigrated to the U.S. when I was two. OK. How long ago was that? I guess that's going to spell your age. But I turned 36 last year, I believe. So that was 1990 when we emigrated to the U.S. OK. Awesome. Awesome.

[01:10:10] What is a favorite memory from your childhood? So when I was a child, my parents were immigrants to the U.S. They were entrepreneurs. They worked a lot. Like, for example, for basically my entire childhood, my mom worked 70 hour weeks. And same with my dad. And we never missed a home-cooked meal.

[01:10:36] So just thinking back to, and like, of course, I appreciate a lot more now as an adult, like, thinking about what my parents sacrificed. But a part of them working was that they're entrepreneurs and they were really pioneers in the beauty industry, like back in the early to mid-90s. So we moved around a lot. Like, there were some places where we lived for a couple months as they were figuring out where and when to do business, you know?

[01:11:06] So with that, I didn't have a lot of friends. Like, we were moving into, like, a lot of times communities where, like, I was the only kid that was not white. So I didn't make a lot of friends. I didn't live near a lot of family. And, like, I didn't have siblings until, like, my sister wasn't born until I was six. So I spent a lot of my childhood just, like, mostly alone.

[01:11:32] So I cherish the times, like, I got to see my cousins and uncles and aunts, like, whether they lived a couple hours away or they lived across the country. But, like, there's no, like, no one thing that stands out as a favorite memory. Just, like, thinking back through our family being together and bonding through what they were going through being new people in America. I didn't live within less than an hour of a first cousin until a couple years ago.

[01:12:03] But between my mom and my dad, I have close to 100 first cousins. And I can confidently say that at any given point, I can call any one of them and ask if I can come over and the door would already be unlocked for me. That's awesome. Yeah, that's really good. Not everybody can say, but something that I'm super proud of. Yep. Yeah, that's good. What is, well, I was going to say, we already talked about what you do for a living in more than subie events.

[01:12:32] But what would you say, well, and then I guess, is this a dream job for you? Being able to gather and grow the community that I came from is absolutely a privilege. But if we're talking about dream jobs, if it's, like, we're not worried about money, we're not worried about time, we're not at any of that. It's, like, if we're dreaming and I won the lottery, I would probably go to pilot school and become an airline pilot just because, like, I like to travel.

[01:13:00] And, like, I'm a bit of a gearhead and I like obsessing over procedures and that kind of thing. So I feel like I would have a lot of fun flying a plane. And then, like, actually, I saw this morning as I was going to get my coffee. It's, like, you ever seen those, the fire trucks that, like, have a separate ladder and there's a dude at the back who's steering the back? I want to be that guy. Yeah. No, that's cool. I mean, because a dream job doesn't have to be something where you make a lot of money.

[01:13:29] A dream job can be something that you think would be really fun and that you would really enjoy. You know, that's, I mean, that's kind of the purpose of it. Yeah, absolutely. And it's, like, again, to go back to what I do at Subi events and, like, I mentioned that I was previously in tech and I left tech and I did love and enjoy my job in tech.

[01:13:50] But to be able to really focus on the community and what I love, like, I did sacrifice money in that decision. But for the time being, I do think that that is the right decision of focusing on the community rather than working through tech. Yep.

[01:14:13] I mean, sometimes you just have to follow your passion and find a way to make it work as long as, you know, what it is that you're doing brings fulfillment into your life. I mean, that's, I think that's what everybody is, you know, would ideally like to have is, you know, whether you're working a full-time job or a part-time job or whatever. I mean, you just want, you don't want to wake up every day and, like, oh, gosh, I have to go to work, you know.

[01:14:38] And unfortunately, a lot of people do that and don't have the fortune of finding something that they can really, really be good at and enjoy and turn into a career. But for the people that do, it's, you know, it's really a blessing. I've been fortunate where most of my adult life and most of my jobs have been things that I've really enjoyed or really been passionate about.

[01:15:02] A lot of that is because, like, growing up without money, it's like we couldn't, my family didn't have money to be able to afford to do hobbies, whether that was playing paintball or into photography or, like, when I got into cars. So as I wanted to be, as I wanted to do each of those things, I had to learn how to make that thing pay for itself.

[01:15:28] So when I was a lot younger and I, like, got into playing paintball, I worked at the paintball field. And, like, I don't think I even got paid when I worked at the field, but I got to play for free. And that got me into being able to do that as, like, being able to play paintball, right? Because, like, I couldn't afford it. So I was kind of working that hobby off.

[01:15:54] When I got into photography and being a gearhead, it's like I like buying new gear and such. So when I got into photography, I learned how to get good enough and get good enough at marketing myself that eventually I shot weddings and I shot motorsports. And there's a couple of my photos that were utilized in ads that were in magazines here in the U.S. and abroad. And then, like, into cars, right?

[01:16:22] It's like I couldn't afford to pay somebody to modify my car, so I learned how to do it myself. And then I learned how to take the being able to modify my car myself for being able to install this part, being able to make that in itself a product that I can offer to a sponsor, right? So, like, I can reach out to Cobb and I can say, hey, let me install so-and-so part.

[01:16:49] And I'll do an install write-up on it. And I'll take photos on it. And I'll review it if you can just help me out with that part. And through all of that, I'm just able to take it at what it is that I'm really passionate about and either help it sustain itself as a hobby or, like, in this case, was able to turn it into a career. Yeah.

[01:17:14] That's, I mean, when you can find the way to do that, that's, like, that's really good. And it's being innovative and smart with your time and smart with your resources. So, good job. I learned that from my parents. Like, I won't take credit for it. It's, like, my parents arrived to the U.S. with absolutely nothing and spoke no English. And they just had to learn trades and skills along the way to be able to survive and thrive.

[01:17:42] And I got that mentality from them of, like, we just got to figure it out. Yep. And you have. What is something that makes you want to get out of bed every day? Anytime I get to do something new, like, whether that's a big thing or a small thing, like, whether that's something fun or physical or just, like, learning something new. It's, like, anytime I get to do something new, it's, like, even today, it's, like, this is the first time I've ever been on a podcast. It's, like, I get to do something new today.

[01:18:11] Like, I'm going to make sure that I have ample time to do my work, but then also have ample time to prepare for this because I'm super excited about being on a podcast for the first time. Good. Well, welcome. I'm glad to have you. So, that's cool. I know. It's funny when people are, like, oh, I never thought I'd ever be on a podcast. I'm, like, I never thought I'd actually be hosting a podcast. I was listening to podcasts for, I think, maybe, like, six years or seven years before I even started this one.

[01:18:40] And I would have never thought that I'd be doing a podcast. But it's fun. And, you know, I'm kind of, like, the vessel for people to share their experiences and have a voice. So, it's been a lot of fun for me. Yeah. And absolutely. And I appreciate that you were able to do that, too. And, again, just to give us a platform to share who it is that we are and what it is that we do. Yep. What is something that makes you want to stay in bed? Ooh.

[01:19:06] If I have to let somebody down or if I have to, like, deliver bad news or, like, something went astray and I have to tell my boss, it's, like, I will stay in bed forever rather than get up and just make that 30-second phone call that, like, so-and-so missed their shipment and we're not going to have whatever at the event. Yeah. I don't want to deal with that. It's not even that I don't want to deal with that.

[01:19:34] It's, like, a lot of times, right, it's, like, in the bad news becomes the challenge of how do I resolve this or how do I make it better? But the fact that there's bad news to begin with just sucks. Yeah. Yeah, definitely. What would be your best bit of advice to give to someone about anything? I've got a couple. So, the first is that everyone's been dealt bad cards and everybody deals with adversity.

[01:19:59] But if you really want to accomplish something, if you're really passionate about something, if you really put your heart to it, you can achieve it. And, like, I've seen that myself in – I've seen that in myself in what it is that I do today. I see that in myself in what it is that we've done in the past. And then I've also seen it in, like, my friends and family of, like, something might not look like it's possible, but if you really want it, you're going to go get it.

[01:20:26] And then the other two quick things are that mentors are lifesavers, whether that's somebody that you can just go and talk to about your day or somebody that's a subject matter expert in what you're learning. So, like, as an example, Matt from Built Right Industries and Tom from Cartboy are, like, two of my mentors. And they're engineers and product developers in the aftermarket space.

[01:20:53] And, like, one of the things that I've picked up over the past couple years is just, like, designing product. And, like, I got a 3D printer. And, like, I actually – like, those listening to the podcast can't see, but, like, I designed and 3D printed. So, this is a switch holder that goes into the little coin pocket next to your dash. But, like, I learned how to model this, and then I learned how to set up the 3D printer to print this through working with Matt and Tom.

[01:21:23] And it's, like, sometimes I'll reach out to them. It's, like, hey, what am I doing wrong here? And they'll be able to answer me. Or, like, sometimes I'm having a really bad day in one thing or another, and I'll just reach out to, like, one of my life mentors. And, like, they'll just chat me through or, like, preparing for the podcast is, like, hey, like, is there anything I should or shouldn't do when I'm on this podcast? And, like, one of my mentors said, just be yourself. So, again, my mentors are my lifesavers.

[01:21:52] And then the last thing that I'll say is just be nice to yourself. And, like, we're working really hard, and we're trying our best. And some days it's going to go awesome, and some days it's going to go great. Just get knocked down. It's okay. Get back up. Try again. Yeah. No, that's really good advice, especially the mentors thing is really good. And I think that we can all benefit from that because sometimes you're trying to figure things out on your own.

[01:22:21] And, you know, mentors can be big, and they can be small. It's just, like, when you're trying to install a mod and you know that somebody else has done it and has helped other people, that can be a mentor. You know, whether it's, like, an official mentor or just somebody to help you out. I mean, we kind of find that in other people throughout our lives. But, like, having a specific mentor that's really good at something that you want to learn how to do and be better at, that's really good.

[01:22:47] And there's, at this point in life and the world, there's probably very little things that anybody is doing for the first time ever, right? It's like it might be the first time that you're doing it, but surely somebody has done it before, and you don't have to navigate what you're doing by yourself. Yep, absolutely.

[01:23:07] Well, to close this out, I want to say thank you so much again for reaching out to me and asking to be a part of this because it's, you know, for me it's fun to be able to share your story about Subi events and especially coming up, you know, this year and kind of prepping for this year and trying to build some hype for it.

[01:23:27] And, you know, of course, there's always a lot of attendees, a lot of people know about it, but it's always good to hear from the people behind the events and kind of hear that more of a personal story because we can go to the events, everybody's busy, and you might not know what really makes it tick.

[01:23:45] And so, again, that's what part of the reason, you know, or after I started the podcast and was having guests on, I really wanted to reach out and try to get some brands on because, like you mentioned Dial Dynamics earlier, you know, I had them on the podcast a long time ago.

[01:24:02] But it's like, how did they get started? You know, where did the ideas come from? What did they start with? And how did they go and start developing new products? And how did they test them on vehicles? And, you know, like how durable are their products? And then who are the people behind it? And so, you know, it's not just about guests, but it's about brands. And like you said, ultimately, it is about the people. And that's where this comes into play.

[01:24:30] Yeah. And thank you for having me on. And I look forward to seeing you at one of our events this year. And I look forward to seeing the listeners at some or all of our events this year. Yeah, so it's exciting. And yeah, it'll be nice because then now I have I know what you look like and we've chatted. So when we get to the event, be like, hey, see you in person. And, and like, you know, I mentioned before, it's always fun when you get a chance to meet somebody.

[01:24:55] And when you get to travel somewhere, and especially somebody you've been chatting with for a while, and then just have that in person interaction, you just can't beat that. Yeah, and for sure. And I'll say this to you and also to anybody that's listening in that I do wear my emotions on my sleeves. And especially during event days, I tend to be the choke point in funnels of how our team works.

[01:25:19] So a lot of times like, I might look really stressed out or I might look intimidating, just give me a minute. And then like, I'm more than happy to chat with you and either help you out or share you share what the story is with you or maybe show you what we've got going on. Okay. All right. Well, thank you so much. Thanks for your time. Really appreciate it. And have hope you have a good night. Thanks so much. Have a good one. I'll see you soon.

[01:25:42] All right. Hello, everybody. Thank you for tuning into this first part of a three part series of the Subi Scoop with people from Subi events. So thank you so much, Khan, for taking the time to sit down and record with me and talk about Subi events and what we can expect to see this year. And just sharing the story, a little behind the scenes story. That's always fun to hear. So I appreciate your time. I know I'm looking forward to SubiFest Texas, which is most likely the only one I'll be able to make it out to.

[01:26:11] And I know that everybody else that lives in their respective area of where a Subi event occurs, that, you know, each of us looks forward to being able to make it out. And I wanted to go ahead and wrap things up and remind you of all of the dates. Wicked Big Meat will be June 8th. SubiFest California will be August 2nd. Boxer Fest will be September 14th. SubiFest Midwest will be September 27th.

[01:26:38] SubiFest Texas, yay, will be October 11th. And it will wrap up the event with SubiFest Florida on December 14th. So be sure to look out on the sites for when the tickets will be available. And go ahead and purchase your tickets early so that you don't have to wait in line at the gate before you get in. So, again, thank you so much everybody for tuning in.

[01:27:04] Thank you for listening to this first part of a three-part series for Subi events. So we will see you next week for next Monday for a regular episode. And then the following Monday will be the second part of the SubiScoop. So have a great week. I hope you all had a great weekend. And we'll talk to you later. Much Subi love. Raph.