Subie Scoop - June 29

[00:00:06] Hey everybody, welcome to another edition of the Subie Scoop. I'm coming at you. I'm still at Overland Expo PNW 2026. I'm sitting in the Forrester and I don't usually have guests on the Subie Scoop, but today I've got my buddy Ben who hosts the Dirt Subies Podcast. What's up man? What's up? Am I coming through? Am I on? Oh, let's go! What up man?

[00:00:35] You tell me man. This is like a Subie Scoop recap of Overland Expo man. This was a good year. Some of the same vendors weren't here this year that have been in the past, but all of the attendees, especially the people at Basecamp, dude, it was like a converging of people from all over the country just getting to actually meet for the first time.

[00:01:02] Yeah. I mean, it's cool to come back to Overland Expo and see people that I haven't seen for a year, like Derek Unpaid PNW. And he's just the one. Oh, and then Brandon Starscream 1201 and then his wife and then some other people like Carrie and Milton. And because we did the Expos last year, I got to see them pretty much every few months and then that's going to happen again this year.

[00:01:32] So, you know, it's nice seeing them again. And then of course people from Subaru and then seeing Sean and Dan from Rune Management who helped with Basecamp and then Emily, the camp host. But it's just great either seeing people again or meeting people for the first time. Yeah, dude. I was super stoked. I got to meet BMC Adventures, Ben. I got to meet him.

[00:01:57] Who else did I get to? I got to meet Joe, 21 Ascent. I got to meet him for the first time in person. Dude, Fozzie in the Wild was out. Sam flew his butt all the way from Massachusetts, bro. That wandering Fozzie. Yeah, that was cool. We were chatting one night and he said, you know what? I'm just going to go. He's like, I'm just going to buy my tickets and I'm going to go out there. And I was like, that's so awesome.

[00:02:24] So he texted me like right after you guys had that conversation. He goes, hey, hit me up. I have some news. And I was like, I hope it's good news. Yeah. He's like, yeah, I'm going to come out to the Overland Expo. I was like, well, when did you decide to do that? He's like, about 10 minutes ago. Yeah. So, and then of course we had Rihanna not again, which was super, man.

[00:02:45] She's so awesome because she just comes out, hangs out at base camp to like kind of go around to like different groups of people and sit there and chat with people for a while and tell stories. And she's so funny and playing games, you know, with everybody last night. That was super cool. I was, who was I telling this to? I think Brandon. I was telling Brandon and Cassie, I was like, dude, Rihanna is like the mom we all wish we had.

[00:03:10] She bakes. She, she brought, I can't remember what she called her. She made these like frosted cookies that she handed out at the rally talk that she gave. Yeah. Dude, I need more. Yeah, no, she's super awesome. And just, you know, the expo itself is great walking around, seeing all the different rigs and vendors and stuff like that. Like, you know, we get to go over there and hang out with Diode Dynamics. I went and saw my buddies at Riker Wheels and then meeting some new people.

[00:03:40] Cause they had like, they're doing giveaways last night. They had a raffle for products. So they had a rumple and it's like these, these blankets that you wrap up with and they did a giveaway there. So I actually went up to this woman, Jaden, she was there and she was, I was talking to her a little bit and then she told me what booth they were in. She was like, come by tomorrow. I was going by today and talk to her.

[00:04:04] And she gave me a little bit of the story and I'm going to contact them about getting them on the podcast because some people in the Subaru community know who they are. And it's basically like, it's taking like a, the quality and the comfort and the warmth of a sleeping bag and putting it in a blanket form so that you can like wrap up around, you know, outside when it's cold. When they pack up too, right? Yeah. They pack up real small. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So that was pretty cool.

[00:04:31] But yeah, I mean, getting, getting to see vendors and either meet new vendors or seeing vendors again that you've met before. And again, just all the people. And, you know, this is a great venue because you've got Subaru Base Camp right at the venue. So you, people can just walk right over to the expo. Yeah. And just wake up and get out. Yeah. The breakfast. Well, you didn't, you wouldn't need any of the breakfasts and the dinners, but I was telling you it's probably okay. I wasn't invited. So yeah.

[00:05:00] You were invited by me. Oh, there we go. But yeah. So, I mean, it's just the whole, like, so you, you went over to Base Camp, you weren't camping there, but I want to get your, give me your feedback on Subaru Base Camp. Well, Base Camp is sick because, um, I mean, I'm sure people know what it is, but it's just something that's put on by Subaru where they send out invites to people in the Subaru community. And I'd say what, maybe 30 to 40 cars. Is that sound about right? I think there was like, I think there was a little over, yeah.

[00:05:29] At the main though, I think there was a little over 40 cars. Okay. Okay. Yeah. Cause they have a limit, you know, they can only invite so many people out. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I think, dude, it's one of the sickest things because usually what I'll do, even when I was here last year, um, it's just like a bunch of Subaru people that literally all pull up into the field on the fairground and literally just kick it from sunup to sundown, walk around the event, you know, check out the different vendors and then go back to camp, make s'mores,

[00:05:59] talk trash, you know, just hang out. And I think it's super cool cause there's a couple people I know this year and last year, there were people who you could tell they hadn't really been super connected in the community before this. Like there, uh, was Robert that we were talking to today or that I know you talked to him, but he's like a brand new Subaru owner, barely a year. And, you know, he got connected with a bunch of people and, uh, he's got a pretty nice setup too. He's got a nice, he's got it all set up for camping.

[00:06:29] He's got a bed in there, a drawer system. So a refrigerator and yeah, it's pretty nice. And it's got that forest or wilderness. Got that green one. Yeah. About that life. Yeah. Nice color. Yeah. I think don't think they do like live music every night. Um, yeah. Base camp. They had, uh, um, live music on Friday night and then they had a DJ Saturday night last night, which was super cool. You got a bunch of footage of that. Yeah. Yeah. I know.

[00:06:58] I was trying to like capture as much footage as I can. I got more footage from this event than I did at Arizona cause like in Arizona is my first time doing more video content than I've ever done before and getting video interviews rather than just all audio. But I wanted to get more than just audio content. And that's what I told you. I'm like, I want to get video content. I'm still editing from Arizona cause this is my first time like doing long form content

[00:07:24] like that, trying to figure out what to keep, what to cut, how to overlay images and other videos on top of the videos and text on screen. Yeah. Dude. All that kind of stuff. So it's just a learning process for me. And now that I've done some of it for Arizona, then I want to try to get, you know, P and W edited sooner, but I still got to finish up Arizona. Yeah. Well, and we got to hang out with Mitch this weekend. He was here today on Sunday. Yeah.

[00:07:54] Mitch and Ryan. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And you design firm and melee media. You did an interview with Mitch. Yeah. Episode 40. You got to tell us. So you've even told me in private, that's like your favorite interview you've done. Can you explain like why, why that was such a good interview for you? Yeah. So at the time I was doing the podcast, when I interviewed Mitch, you know, I was starting to get some sponsors. I think I, I don't remember if I had already had Riker or something, but I kind of could

[00:08:24] see like maybe there's a potential to somehow take this full time. And I know people are like, Oh, you should just do the podcast full time. And I'm like, Oh, I need to pay my bills. Right. But you know, Mitch, he, he started melee design firm because he was doing rally and he wanted to find a way to tie down his battery, build a better system for, you know, keeping the battery secure. And he went to one company and to try to get it manufactured. And they were like, no, we don't think that's a great idea.

[00:08:53] And he's like, that pissed me off enough that I went home that night and started my own business. And so, you know, to hear him like talk about that and say that, like, you know, he wanted to start his own business. And so he did. And then that way he could, um, you know, do what he wanted to do. So like he went from being a, like an ER trauma nurse to doing something that he's really passionate and that he really enjoys.

[00:09:22] And, you know, so I was doing the podcast and it was something that I was passionate about and I really enjoyed. And just the fact that he did it, you know, and that he, you know, took something that he was doing, building on the side. Cause it took him a while to get to doing it full time, but just his passion and dedication and drive to, to take something that he started and then take it full time. And then now he's been doing melee design from the design business for eight years, the

[00:09:52] media company for six years. And he's doing like really, really cool stuff with it. Things that he thought he would never be doing. And so it's just the reason it's my favorite episode is just because of what he built out of it and his passion behind it and kind of like following your dream, you know? So yeah, it's been great. When he gave up, you know, like a hefty six figure income that was very stable in high demand with even more room for growth in terms of income.

[00:10:21] And then he drained his retirement account just to do it. And, you know, you think about that, it's like he sacrificed a multimillion dollar retirement in order to do this. Yeah. And he's now, he's just like working when he wants, working on what he wants. And I'll, I'll be the first to say he's crushing it. Yeah. But working when he wants is pretty much all the time. Yeah. Basically. Yeah. But, you know, he's, he's works, he works really, really hard. He works a lot.

[00:10:50] He's going all over the place, but he's really enjoying it. And, you know, that's, what's great. Yeah. So, but yeah, it's, uh, yeah, this is a great event. It was great seeing you. Yeah. Of course. Dude. Cause last year you came out to PNW and I had my family with me. So I was trying to like balance spending time with them and then, you know, spending time with people here. And so when you came by, it was very brief. It was like me and Patrick came over. Yeah.

[00:11:18] It was like maybe five minutes or so. And there was like a lot of people there when you came by too. There's kind of like a lot going on all at the same time. Yeah. And then, but you and I have like grown a lot closer since then, you know, just talking about the podcast, talking about other things. And then now to like get to hang out again in person, like actually spend more time together than just five minutes. Yes, dude. It's been super cool. Yeah. We, we chat on a very regular basis about different ways to make money.

[00:11:46] And we talk about cameras and mics. Yeah. Pretty awesome. Dude's been super sick getting to hang out with me. Yeah. And, and just talking about the podcast and people we've interviewed and, you know, same, same guests and who's coming up that other people don't know yet. That's kind of like inside scoop. So yeah, that's been fun. But yeah, getting a chance to hang out is, it's, and that's like we were saying earlier, you know, seeing people that you haven't seen in a long time or meeting for the first time. It's just hanging out with your subie homies, you know, it's a lot of fun.

[00:12:16] I got a question for you. Yeah. I know this is hard. Is there a favorite build, even if it's not Subaru, a favorite build that you've seen while you've been here this weekend? Oh man, that's tough. Cause like, I know. I mean, one of my favorites was, um, Gustavo. He had that lifted WRX with the topo on it and like a ton of dialed lights on it.

[00:12:41] Um, I think that probably was my favorite build just because, you know, I mean, it is a Subaru. I saw other builds like around the expo, but I wasn't really paying attention to them. Yeah. You know, I would just pass by them and see them, but there wasn't anything that I was like, you know, it was just like focusing on. So I spent more time around all the Subarus that were at base camp. So I would say that his was probably my favorite.

[00:13:09] If I had to pick like a second favorite or runner up, it was John's 2026 Outback at the Subaru booth. That thing is like super nice. He's got it lifted, you know, he's showing what a 2026 Outback could look like. Cause he's got a custom front bumper that he designed. I wondered about that. Yeah. He did that. That's so. Yeah. And then he also did the, um, what is it? The, uh, what is the rails?

[00:13:39] Rock sliders. Yeah. Rock sliders. He did those too. So, you know, just seeing a lifted 2026 Outback with Riker wheels, which was super cool. Cause I'm, I'm not biased at all towards Riker. I mean, come on. Was he running Tetons? No, no, no. He was running the, uh, I can't remember what the, um, model name is, but it's one of the newer ones. I think it's a Rambler maybe. Okay. Um, but I did see a guy, it's guy Ollie.

[00:14:09] He has, uh, a second gen cross trick and he was running black satin Tetons just like mine. And I was like black cross trick. Yeah. I was like, oh man, that's super cool. So he and I talked about Riker, you know, and then, um, John and I talked about Riker and then I got to go over and see my buddies, like I mentioned earlier from Riker. So that was cool. Heck yeah. Uh, I saw the Subaru Rista car. Oh yeah.

[00:14:35] If I had to pick one car that got me super stoked, it's the Subaru Rista. And the funny part about it, I don't remember if it was last year or if it was at some point early this year, but I was talking to Patrick Anderson over at ADF. I think I was asking him if he was going to come out, uh, on a, on a trail run or something with us that we were doing. Yeah. He's like, no, I'm real busy. I'm like, he's like, keep it on the download, but I'm working on something for Subaru. I was like, what is it? He's like, it's old school. That's all I'll say.

[00:15:03] And, uh, then he eventually told me like, yeah, it's for an old boy out or whatever. And so I actually got to see that car and they turned it in to, they were serving coffee out of it. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that car is just, it's so awesome. I've got it in, in, uh, my YouTube videos so that I haven't put out yet, but it'll be there. So, cause I did like, um, the one that I've put out so far on my YouTube channel, if you

[00:15:26] want to check it out is our trail ride in, uh, for air, for Arizona, for, um, for Overland Expo West. And that was, um, our trail ride to edge of the world. I've, I just need to add an intro or an outro for the, um, for Subaru base camp at, uh, Overland Expo West. So once I get that done, you'll see the Loyal, the, the Subaru is in there. But yeah, man, it's been a, it's been a fun weekend.

[00:15:56] That's what I'm talking about. Yeah. Uh, you got to tell us a little bit about the weather. Dude, the weather was crazy. So last year it was really hot. And then this year it's been like, yeah. And this year, this weekend, it's been like in the high sixties, but it's been super windy. And like yesterday we got a little bit of rain or was it Friday? I think Friday we got some rain. Yeah. We got some rain Friday. Yesterday it was overcast for a lot of the day and then it was sunny some and then overcast

[00:16:25] and then sunny and overcast, but it was so windy. I mean, it was like crazy windy. And like when the sun starts going down, even though it wasn't out much during the day, this is really bad. Yeah. I had to cover up my legs, man. Usually, usually I can wear short shorts all day, but I was actually getting a little chilly, bro. Yeah. And then today it was, you know, still windy, but the sun has been out. So it hasn't been as bad. Yeah. We're sitting in the sun right now. Yeah. It's actually hot in the car. Yeah.

[00:16:55] So, but yeah, man, thanks for chatting with me and joining me for the Subie Scoop for this week. Thanks for hanging out with me this weekend, man. Yeah, of course. It was a good time. Oh yeah. Tell us when your next episode is coming out. So the next episode is going to be next Monday and I don't even have a guest for it yet. So I got to figure that out. So yeah, I haven't, I haven't talked to anybody yet. I mean, I have people on my list. I just, just haven't done it because I've been, I've been busy prepping for this trip

[00:17:23] and then working on UGC and then I'm not making the announcement yet, but I have another announcement stuff that I found out last week. Very good news. Yeah. So yeah, we'll keep you updated on that as it comes around. But heck yeah. Dude, this was a blast, man. Yeah. Yeah. I'm glad to have you on for the, for the Subie Scoop actually. We got to hang out in person and record in person. Let's go, dude. I mean, we talked about doing an episode with Mitch. Yeah.

[00:17:52] We need to make that happen. And we need to do an episode with David and Pat from, um, the, the wave podcast too. Yes. Heck yeah. That'd be fun. Got to do a rally theme podcast with those guys. Yep. Dude. Well, thank you, man. Yeah. You're welcome. Super sick, man. Yeah. So that's it for the Subie Scoop this week. Thanks for tuning in. And, uh, thanks for listening to me chat with my buddy, Ben, go check out the dirt Subies podcast.

[00:18:20] Also, uh, I was wearing my Subaru Motorsports USA backpack all weekend. I had somebody at the airport say, Oh man, that's a cool backpack. He didn't own a Subaru, but he, he complimented it. And then of course I was doing shameless plugs all weekend. Go check out, you know, Subaru gear.com. Use the code SueB and you 2026 at checkout to get 20% off your purchase. Also just go ahead and fill up your cart.

[00:18:46] Cause if your total is over $50 after the 20% discount, you'll also get free shipping, which is really, really great. So, uh, thanks for tuning in and we'll see you on another episode next week.