S&YE175 - Flat Pack Potato

[00:00:00] Hello, this is Erin and you can find me on Instagram at FlatpakPotato.

[00:00:17] You are listening to episode 175 of the Subie and YOU podcast.

[00:00:23] Hello everybody.

[00:00:24] You are listening to the Subie and YOU podcast.

[00:00:28] But you already know that.

[00:00:29] That's why you're here.

[00:00:30] If this is your first time listening, welcome to the podcast.

[00:00:34] I hope you enjoy this episode.

[00:00:36] And if you do enjoy this episode with Erin, go check out the other 174 episodes.

[00:00:44] There's also some bonus episodes mixed in there as well.

[00:00:48] So please go check out the other episodes and give them a listen.

[00:00:52] So we have another Apple podcast review which I am very thankful for.

[00:00:58] This one comes from McKnight6306.

[00:01:02] I'm not sure who this is exactly because they didn't leave a name or an Instagram

[00:01:08] handle.

[00:01:09] So if you wrote this review, or whoever wrote this review and you're listening to this,

[00:01:14] please send me a DM and let me know who you are so that I can thank you through Instagram.

[00:01:20] Or send me an email.

[00:01:21] I can do it that way too.

[00:01:23] But this is the review that McKnight6306 left and the title was, or is, fantastic

[00:01:32] and well-produced Subaru specific podcast.

[00:01:35] And this is what they had to say.

[00:01:36] It is really awesome that we as the Subaru community have access to a podcast that

[00:01:41] really embodies the passion many of us have for Subarus.

[00:01:45] Subi and you is the first podcast I spool up when I'm out on my many adventures

[00:01:50] in my Forester.

[00:01:51] The podcast is well produced with great audio quality, which I believe is crucial

[00:01:56] in a podcast.

[00:01:58] If you are as passionate about Subarus as I am, then you need to be listening to this

[00:02:03] podcast now.

[00:02:05] I agree.

[00:02:06] Thank you so much for that awesome review.

[00:02:08] I really, really appreciate that.

[00:02:10] That was very kind of you.

[00:02:12] And I too believe that great audio quality is crucial in a podcast and that's why

[00:02:19] I have always really worked to make sure that the audio quality is good.

[00:02:25] I can't always promise great audio quality on the other end for the guest,

[00:02:32] but I do what I can to let people know what will sound best for their audio

[00:02:37] quality.

[00:02:38] And so, you know, I try to do the best as I can with that.

[00:02:42] Of course, the ones that I've recorded in person are the absolute best audio

[00:02:46] quality.

[00:02:47] And those are a lot of fun because we get to the whole experience of putting

[00:02:52] on the headphones and being across from each other on the microphones.

[00:02:56] And that's a lot of fun.

[00:02:57] So I hope I get to do more of that in the future.

[00:03:00] But thanks again, McKnight 6306.

[00:03:03] And please send me a DM so I can know exactly who it was that left this

[00:03:07] awesome review.

[00:03:09] If you are listening through Apple Podcasts, please rate and review as well.

[00:03:14] And this particular rating marks 100 ratings for the podcast.

[00:03:18] So thank you so much.

[00:03:20] I really, really appreciate that.

[00:03:21] We finally got there to 100 ratings.

[00:03:23] And let's throw some more in there and some more reviews as well.

[00:03:28] The Subi and You podcast is brought to you by Eccentric Designs.

[00:03:32] For those of you who don't know, Eccentric Designs is a small community

[00:03:36] driven business that offers custom fit vinyl overlays for most Subaru

[00:03:40] models.

[00:03:40] This includes various designs for the rear reflectors, taillights and

[00:03:44] side taillights.

[00:03:45] I also offer fun decal designs like the popular fender stripes and

[00:03:49] stickers.

[00:03:50] To find designs for your Subi, head on over to EccentricDesigns.com.

[00:03:54] There's always more projects in the works, so be sure to follow

[00:03:57] at Eccentric.Designs on Instagram.

[00:04:00] Thank you so much, Eccentric Designs, for sponsoring the Subi and You

[00:04:04] podcast.

[00:04:05] OK, we have another patron question of the week, and this one comes from

[00:04:09] Adrian who goes by Adventure Dog Wagon.

[00:04:12] He asks, if not out driving the Subi, which do you prefer, hiking or

[00:04:17] biking?

[00:04:19] That's a pretty easy answer for me because this may come as a surprise

[00:04:23] and a shock, but I don't own a bike.

[00:04:25] I haven't owned a bike since I was a kid maybe.

[00:04:31] I don't know.

[00:04:33] It's not something that I'm really into.

[00:04:36] I've kind of wanted to get a bike because my kids have had

[00:04:39] bikes, but I never ended up getting a bike for myself.

[00:04:43] So I would have to go with hiking.

[00:04:46] And I have done hiking before when I'm not out driving my Subaru.

[00:04:52] Like if I'm out somewhere and I don't go hiking that much either, but

[00:04:58] it's going to be hiking over biking since I don't own a bike.

[00:05:01] But yeah, so I do enjoy hiking, especially when I'm in the

[00:05:06] mountains or just in a very, very scenic area.

[00:05:10] It's nice to go hiking and just see what's around and explore.

[00:05:13] So thank you so much, Adrian, for your question.

[00:05:17] This episode is brought to you by Subaru gear dot com.

[00:05:22] Subaru gear is committed to working with companies that are better for the

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[00:06:04] Remember that if your total purchase is over $50 after the discount,

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[00:06:11] Thank you so much Subaru gear dot com for sponsoring the subi and U

[00:06:15] podcast and extending this great offer to the listeners.

[00:06:19] All right, everybody, it is time this weekend.

[00:06:22] This Sunday kicks off the subi fest season with wicked big meat.

[00:06:27] June 2nd at Stafford Motor Speedway in Stafford Springs, Connecticut.

[00:06:33] Get your tickets now if you don't already have them, order them online

[00:06:36] through the website so you don't have to wait in line at the gate

[00:06:40] the day of the event.

[00:06:42] I hope you all have a really great time at wicked big meat this year,

[00:06:45] and I hope there's lots of great memories made and that you all get to

[00:06:50] meet some new friends and see some old ones.

[00:06:53] So I look forward to seeing what everybody is going to be posting

[00:06:57] from the event this weekend.

[00:06:59] So have a good one for the rest of the lineup.

[00:07:02] Head over to subi fest dot com to see which ones or what the dates

[00:07:07] are for the following events.

[00:07:08] But it's going to be subi fest, California, then Boxer Fest,

[00:07:12] Subi Fest Midwest, Subi Fest Florida.

[00:07:14] And then to wrap up the subi fest season, it will be subi fest Texas.

[00:07:19] Yee haw!

[00:07:20] Whichever subi fest event you end up going to,

[00:07:23] whether you are putting your car in the show or just parking in the parking lot,

[00:07:27] you want your car to look good.

[00:07:30] And having a nice set of wheels really helps that out.

[00:07:34] So go check out rikawheels.com to see what they have to offer for your Subaru.

[00:07:39] Be sure to use the code subi U10 at checkout to get 10 percent

[00:07:43] off a purchase of wheels or a lift kit.

[00:07:47] Rika is a great brand with great people, and they are committed

[00:07:51] to providing you with the highest quality specialized wheels and lift

[00:07:55] kits that will allow you to travel further, experience new adventures

[00:07:58] and show off at Subi Fest this year.

[00:08:02] The quest for adventure begins with you and Rika is what gets you there.

[00:08:07] Thank you so much, Rika wheels, for sponsoring the Subi and You podcast.

[00:08:12] This episode is also brought to you by Melee Design Firm.

[00:08:16] When you go explore the rally spec and Subaru sections of the website,

[00:08:21] you can save five percent off select rally spec products

[00:08:24] and Subaru products by using the code subi plus U.

[00:08:28] So subi and then little plus symbol.

[00:08:31] And then you at checkout to get five percent off.

[00:08:34] Thank you so much, Melee Design Firm dot com for sponsoring the Subi and You podcast.

[00:08:40] And now we will get into this episode with Erin to hear all about this

[00:08:46] flat pack potato thing that she's got going on.

[00:08:50] It's a very interesting name and it's very catchy.

[00:08:54] So let's get into this and hear what she has to say

[00:08:57] about her Subaru and about her Subaru journey.

[00:09:13] Hello, Erin. Welcome to the podcast.

[00:09:16] Thanks for having me. I'm super excited to be here.

[00:09:18] You're welcome. Yeah. It's been nice to chat for a little bit, too,

[00:09:21] before we got this thing started and, you know, just to kind of

[00:09:25] get to know each other a little bit.

[00:09:27] And we've been talking for a while back and forth and it's

[00:09:31] definitely always fun to have conversations for, you know,

[00:09:34] before we record and kind of get a rapport going.

[00:09:37] Yeah, we've been talking for a little while,

[00:09:39] probably a couple of months at least back and forth about different things.

[00:09:42] Yeah, it may have even been longer than that.

[00:09:44] But I think you're probably right.

[00:09:46] Yeah. So of course, with everybody, before we get anything else started,

[00:09:50] we got to ask you the most important question of all.

[00:09:52] And that is whether you prefer waffles or pancakes.

[00:09:55] So I've been thinking about this pretty much since you started asking people

[00:10:00] on the show because I can really go either way.

[00:10:03] I like both. That's the problem.

[00:10:06] But I'm going to say pancakes. My mom makes excellent pancakes.

[00:10:09] I actually sent you the recipe a few days ago.

[00:10:11] I don't know if you got that or not.

[00:10:13] I want to try to make it. Yeah, for sure.

[00:10:15] I want to take a vegan spin on it.

[00:10:18] But I think that would be very good.

[00:10:21] But I can tell you as is they're fantastic.

[00:10:24] Good. Yeah. There's again, I'm the same way.

[00:10:26] I like both waffles and pancakes, but I like pancakes just a little bit better.

[00:10:30] And I don't know. I think it's probably,

[00:10:33] I know there's like a restaurant that is sadly closed now,

[00:10:37] but they made really, really good pancakes.

[00:10:39] And, but I just, you know, I grew up with both,

[00:10:42] but there was just pancakes just stood out a little bit more to me.

[00:10:45] And I like those better. But again, both good. Yeah.

[00:10:50] So how long have you been a fan of Subaru?

[00:10:52] Cause I was scrolling through your page and first of all,

[00:10:55] I went all the way back to like 2016,

[00:10:58] I think is when you got your cross track and,

[00:11:01] but it seems like in between then and now you've got a lot of Subaru

[00:11:04] content and it is apparent that you have a love for Subaru in the community

[00:11:09] and the brand. So how long have, I mean,

[00:11:12] like were you a fan of Subaru before you bought your cross track or did

[00:11:15] that come afterwards?

[00:11:17] Definitely no. I've, I've been into Subarus. I mean,

[00:11:19] it sounds kind of silly, but my whole life as a kid,

[00:11:22] my mom had a loyal wagon, which is like pre outback.

[00:11:27] And as a kid, you know, I didn't, it's five or six, you know,

[00:11:31] I didn't know that much about cars.

[00:11:32] I called it the elephant car because it was gray and had a gray vinyl interior.

[00:11:37] Base model, you know, no air conditioning, no tape player, just like AM, FM.

[00:11:43] Yeah. No, no extra frills there. Nothing, nothing.

[00:11:46] It was like the brat where it had the spare tire on top of the engine,

[00:11:49] which I just thought was wild. Yeah. That's,

[00:11:52] I know I remember the first time I saw that in the brat. I was like,

[00:11:55] wait, that's where the spare tire is. That's crazy.

[00:11:58] It's going to be kind of toasty. No.

[00:12:00] So I remember just growing up with that car and liking it.

[00:12:05] And then I always, I'm kind of weird and Subarus are kind of weird.

[00:12:09] And I've always been sort of drawn to them. And as a kid,

[00:12:13] I would take magazines and cut out like ads and stuff and put them on the

[00:12:17] wall for like little posters.

[00:12:19] And I remember I had one of a Forester and it was like,

[00:12:24] you just got beat by a family of five and a dog.

[00:12:27] And it was for the Forester XT.

[00:12:29] Oh, nice. Nice. But so, you know, I've always had,

[00:12:32] always had Subaru stuff around and then I had it in my head.

[00:12:36] I was going to buy a pre-owned Forester XT.

[00:12:41] That was what I'd kind of had my mindset on. Yeah.

[00:12:44] And then after graduating college, I actually,

[00:12:47] my first job out of college, I sold Subarus. What? Yeah.

[00:12:51] I walked in and I was like,

[00:12:53] I have no experience and I'm very excited when you hire me.

[00:12:57] And they took a chance on me and I was there for about a year and a half.

[00:13:02] I'm not a salesy person, but I really like the product.

[00:13:07] And so before I, well, they're around the same time,

[00:13:11] but before I bought my car,

[00:13:13] I bought my spouse an 05 Forester LL Bean.

[00:13:18] And it's got, you know, hail damage and it's a little bumped up,

[00:13:22] but mechanically it's fantastic. And then,

[00:13:25] um,

[00:13:27] when the 2016 special edition was announced,

[00:13:31] I saw it and I had planned on wanting to order a hyper blue premium with a

[00:13:36] five-speed. That was my original plan.

[00:13:39] And then when the special edition was announced, I just,

[00:13:42] I fell in love with the color. It had extra features.

[00:13:45] It's kind of this weird like middle ground between a premium and a

[00:13:48] limited. So it's, it's a premium,

[00:13:50] but it has like blind spot detection and a sun roof and some other weird

[00:13:53] stuff. And so I just,

[00:13:56] I went to my boss and I said how much do I have to put down to make sure the,

[00:13:59] the first one we get isn't for sale?

[00:14:02] Yeah. I got to snatch that one up.

[00:14:05] Yeah. Yeah. So, um, yeah, those are,

[00:14:09] those are just the two that we have right now,

[00:14:10] but I'm always coming up with ideas for, for others.

[00:14:14] A friend of mine is in the process of buying a sandbar.

[00:14:17] So I'm super excited to see that when it lands and get lots of pictures

[00:14:22] of that.

[00:14:22] Yeah. I've been seeing those go around quite a bit lately. It's, it's, uh,

[00:14:26] it's pretty exciting. Those are,

[00:14:27] those look like they would be a lot of fun just to have a little fun,

[00:14:30] you know, truck to drive around.

[00:14:33] Definitely. Definitely. I've, I've written in one once, um,

[00:14:37] the truck version and it was pretty Spartan, but it was very cool,

[00:14:41] but I'm excited to see it. The, the one she bought is a van. So,

[00:14:45] kind of get to see the comparison between the truck and the van versions.

[00:14:48] Nice. Yeah. So you said that you really wanted an XT,

[00:14:52] you know, Forrester.

[00:14:54] Is that still on the horizon of one that you want to get at some point?

[00:14:58] Um, it would, it would be cool.

[00:15:00] I don't think it's super realistic at the moment just with how

[00:15:05] focused I am on the projects that I already have.

[00:15:08] I think it's much more likely to just keep up the current build when I,

[00:15:13] I got on a ADHD train of thought before,

[00:15:17] but the rest of that story was I'd planned on buying the Forrester XT and I

[00:15:21] just couldn't budget it.

[00:15:22] And so that's when I switched to the, to the, wanting the Crosstrek.

[00:15:24] And, um, you know, as you know, they're not the fastest cars in the world,

[00:15:29] but they're fun. They're fun to drive. And I,

[00:15:33] I love my car.

[00:15:34] So what attracted you then to the Crosstrek?

[00:15:37] Is it just like when you first saw it, I mean, was it because they,

[00:15:40] it's a 2016, but they had been out since 2013.

[00:15:45] Was it like back then that you saw the Crosstrek and thought maybe this is

[00:15:49] something that I could get instead of the XT or was it?

[00:15:53] Oh, for sure. I, um, I, uh,

[00:15:55] I remember I so graduated college in 15 and I have,

[00:16:01] if I dug up my old computer from college,

[00:16:03] I have like photo edits and lists on there of like,

[00:16:06] if I had a Crosstrek one day, what would I do with it? So, you know,

[00:16:09] I was even thinking about it before, before it was realistic.

[00:16:13] Yeah, I know. I mean, there's,

[00:16:14] there's been places that I would be driving around in my previous car and you

[00:16:18] know, it might be,

[00:16:19] I might see like a little dirt road going off somewhere that was kind of,

[00:16:23] you know, uh,

[00:16:23] rutted or something or even just off the side of the road,

[00:16:27] like some little, you know, ditch or something. I would think, oh,

[00:16:31] if I had a Crosstrek, I could drive through that. You know, this is all,

[00:16:33] this, all this was stuff in my head. And I've mentioned this before,

[00:16:37] but I really love having a manual and I wanted a manual,

[00:16:40] before whenever I had my previous car,

[00:16:43] but they just didn't offer it except for the very base model,

[00:16:45] which like I'm not going to buy the base model just to get a manual.

[00:16:48] And like I would put a water bottle in my cup holder and pretend I was

[00:16:52] shifting because I missed driving a manual that much. And so like,

[00:16:56] it's, it's really cool to have a manual again now and be able to do

[00:17:00] that.

[00:17:01] That's really, that's valid. Um, that is the one thing I,

[00:17:04] I would change, I guess if I could, but um, no,

[00:17:08] it sounds super fun and I get the water bottle thing.

[00:17:10] Yeah. Yeah.

[00:17:12] So like on one of your posts that looked like some artwork,

[00:17:16] but in your post you said you can't afford a third Subaru.

[00:17:20] So like what would that be like right now if you could?

[00:17:24] If I could. So, oh, that's a hard question.

[00:17:28] It sounds silly, but another Crosstrek. I just,

[00:17:31] I have so many ideas for this car that I'm going to have to try

[00:17:36] I just, I have so many ideas for this car that I don't, you know,

[00:17:40] in a hypothetical where money wasn't an issue,

[00:17:43] I would run out of car before I would run out of ideas. Um,

[00:17:48] there's someone I follow on, on Instagram,

[00:17:52] and I don't think I managed to write their name down, but, um,

[00:17:56] they have a lowered Impreza I believe, and a lifted Crosstrek.

[00:18:01] Oh, nice.

[00:18:02] And I just, I really like that combination of, you know,

[00:18:06] being able to do the off-road mods and the street mods, um,

[00:18:11] where I'm, you know,

[00:18:12] I'm kind of trying to do a little bit of everything because I want all of

[00:18:15] these unique automotive experiences.

[00:18:17] But then you end up with a really complicated Swiss army knife rather than

[00:18:22] you know, something that does one thing really well.

[00:18:25] Yeah. Cause I want to get into that a little bit later because you scrolling

[00:18:29] through your page, it looks like you've done a lot to your Crosstrek.

[00:18:32] There's a lot of interior things. There's exterior things,

[00:18:35] but it also looks like you've changed things over time too. But before,

[00:18:41] but before we get into that, what's the story behind Flat Pack Potato?

[00:18:45] And is that,

[00:18:46] is that the name of your account or is that the name of your Crosstrek

[00:18:49] also? Sure. So it's the name of the account. Um,

[00:18:53] there's not a great story behind it.

[00:18:55] I was at Ikea with a friend and we were about to

[00:18:59] leave and the Ikea in St. Louis has a parking garage underneath

[00:19:05] the store. So it's, it's kind of industrial.

[00:19:08] You can get some cool pictures in there. Um, and I guess,

[00:19:13] I don't know what we were eating fries or something.

[00:19:15] I don't know their potatoes were there somehow. Um,

[00:19:17] and it was just funny to me that, you know, Flat Pack Potato,

[00:19:21] my friend Quill did an illustration of that.

[00:19:24] So that's what my little icon on, on Instagram is.

[00:19:28] It's a potato being cut up in Ikea directions.

[00:19:32] Okay, cool. Yeah.

[00:19:34] And then like, so do you have a name for your car?

[00:19:37] Yes. So I, I call him Clifford, you know, big red dog.

[00:19:41] It's it's not the most creative, but it's stuck. Um,

[00:19:46] I usually just call him Cliff for short.

[00:19:49] So half of my computer is just Cliff, you know,

[00:19:53] a document might be like Cliff hyphen, blah, blah, blah, whatever.

[00:19:57] Yeah. So I guess go ahead and we can go ahead and start getting into

[00:20:03] like, what, what were your thoughts when you first bought it?

[00:20:07] Like, were you thinking like, Hey, with this car,

[00:20:09] I'm going to do some mods and I'm going to like, I want to do this.

[00:20:12] And that like, did you have stuff in your mind already? Or were you just

[00:20:14] like, Hey, this is a cross track.

[00:20:16] I really like it and I'm not going to do anything to it.

[00:20:19] Cause I know there's,

[00:20:20] there's so many people that I've had on that were like, Oh yeah,

[00:20:23] my intention was just keep this thing stock.

[00:20:25] I have no intentions of doing anything.

[00:20:26] It and then it looks like one of the most epic builds out there.

[00:20:31] I knew I was going to modify it.

[00:20:32] I didn't know exactly how,

[00:20:34] just because I think that's a process that's always evolving.

[00:20:37] But I, I've always had modified cars.

[00:20:40] I've, I've worked in aftermarket places.

[00:20:44] Before my cross track, I had a pretty slammed F 150.

[00:20:47] So it's pretty different.

[00:20:50] But no, I, you know, I knew I was going to modify it.

[00:20:53] I didn't know exactly in what flavor.

[00:20:58] And so a lot of the things I started with were pretty basic.

[00:21:02] One just for finance reasons,

[00:21:05] but also stuff that would kind of work regardless of what

[00:21:09] direction I went in.

[00:21:11] So I think the very first thing I did was get the front

[00:21:14] windows tinted to match the back.

[00:21:16] Yeah, that's important.

[00:21:17] You know, important.

[00:21:19] Yeah.

[00:21:19] And, and you know,

[00:21:19] it works with literally anything else you're going to do and

[00:21:22] rain guards and that sort of thing.

[00:21:24] And it just looks good too, to have all the windows tinted.

[00:21:26] If you're in a state where you can do that.

[00:21:27] Cause I know some states are not able to do that.

[00:21:29] And thankfully we can do that here and you can do that there.

[00:21:33] So that's nice.

[00:21:33] Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[00:21:35] It's not terribly dark, but it's enough to help.

[00:21:37] And plus I'm kind of sensitive to light.

[00:21:39] So it's practical as well as aesthetic.

[00:21:42] Yeah.

[00:21:42] My previous car didn't have tinted windows and, and I had

[00:21:46] always intended to get them tinted, but it was like for me,

[00:21:48] it was not so much a money issue, but it was just like a,

[00:21:52] do I want to spend the money on that?

[00:21:54] And, you know, I just, it was one of those things I never got around

[00:21:57] to doing, but one day it was really sunny and I rolled my window down,

[00:22:02] you know, my cross track and I was like, wow, the tent makes a really big

[00:22:05] difference.

[00:22:06] Like that is, that is nice.

[00:22:08] So I'm thankful to have it online.

[00:22:11] I'm glad, I'm glad we both have it.

[00:22:12] It's good stuff too.

[00:22:14] Yeah.

[00:22:14] Oh yeah.

[00:22:14] Just for day-to-day usage.

[00:22:16] So with, I mean, with your mods kind of changing a lot, what would

[00:22:20] you say over time or now has been your favorite mod?

[00:22:26] That is a very difficult question.

[00:22:29] Um, it's supposed to be, uh, I'd say it's tied either between the upgrades

[00:22:35] to the audio system just because I, I use it every time I'm in the car and

[00:22:40] the, we added sound deadening to the door panels and upgraded the speakers.

[00:22:46] Um, or the STI seats, the, I don't know how familiar you are with

[00:22:51] the first gen cross track interior, but after a few long hauls across

[00:22:57] the country, the seats in my back were not friends and WX and STI seats

[00:23:04] are direct bolt and swap for the first gen.

[00:23:07] Oh, that's nice.

[00:23:08] Yeah.

[00:23:09] It was, you know, I found some, I found a wrecked STI somebody bought

[00:23:12] for the motor and was just parting out the rest of it.

[00:23:15] And so I grabbed the seats and the door panels, uh, and you know,

[00:23:19] it's aesthetic, but also comfort because that actually has side

[00:23:22] bolsters and more.

[00:23:24] Yeah.

[00:23:25] Yeah.

[00:23:25] That's nice.

[00:23:26] Yeah.

[00:23:27] So like, and I'm guessing on the cross track, all the work that

[00:23:32] you've done, you've done yourself.

[00:23:35] No, um, it's, it's, it's a mix.

[00:23:38] So there's stuff that I've done myself.

[00:23:41] There's stuff that I've done with friends and then the things that

[00:23:44] I don't have the skillset or tools for, or whatever there is a really

[00:23:49] awesome shop in St.

[00:23:51] Louis that, I mean, they'll work on anything, but they've specialized

[00:23:55] in Subarus.

[00:23:56] Um, and.

[00:23:56] Oh, that's good.

[00:23:57] And yeah, they, you know, they'll do everything from oil changes, the

[00:24:02] tire rotations to building stage rally cars.

[00:24:04] So I, yeah.

[00:24:08] Can I, uh, can I name drop?

[00:24:10] Is that a lot?

[00:24:10] Oh, of course.

[00:24:11] Yeah.

[00:24:11] Um, yeah.

[00:24:12] So they're called Ecotech, uh, import auto.

[00:24:15] Um, you can get on their Facebook or Instagram page and just drool

[00:24:19] over the pictures like I do.

[00:24:20] But, um, I think I sent you the last time I was there, they actually

[00:24:24] had a set of stickers for you at their front counter.

[00:24:27] Oh, nice.

[00:24:28] That's awesome.

[00:24:29] Yeah.

[00:24:30] You're, you're known in the community.

[00:24:32] Oh good.

[00:24:32] Yeah, I know it's, uh, it's, it's cool to see when people like

[00:24:36] will have business cards or stickers or something and they, you know, get

[00:24:40] passed around and like where they show up in different places.

[00:24:42] So I'm like very appreciative of people spreading the

[00:24:45] subi new podcast love.

[00:24:47] I got very excited when I looked down, I was like, oh, wait, I know that.

[00:24:52] Yeah.

[00:24:52] Oh, so somebody else put them there.

[00:24:54] Yeah.

[00:24:54] Yeah, I didn't do it.

[00:24:55] I don't know who put it there.

[00:24:56] That's why I was thought it was like really neat.

[00:24:58] That is really cool.

[00:24:59] I'm glad to hear that.

[00:25:01] So what, yeah, I was still looking at your interior.

[00:25:04] It looks like it's had several iterations.

[00:25:07] So like, I mean, is, is it, are there too many iterations to talk about?

[00:25:12] Or can you kind of go over like what the process has been and like

[00:25:15] some of the things that you've done with it?

[00:25:17] So in a nutshell, the interiors had probably more work than

[00:25:21] any other space on the car.

[00:25:24] That's for a couple of reasons.

[00:25:26] One, just where I used to live, it wasn't necessarily the safest area.

[00:25:31] So I didn't want to do stuff on the exterior of the car that would

[00:25:34] be more likely to have it walk away.

[00:25:37] Yeah.

[00:25:37] Like people walking around and be like, Hmm, look at that.

[00:25:41] Exactly.

[00:25:42] Exactly.

[00:25:43] And then the other vehicles that I've had previously were.

[00:25:48] Basic basic interiors.

[00:25:49] So the truck I told you about was a base model.

[00:25:52] Didn't have carpet, you know, crank windows.

[00:25:56] First thing I did was put in a CD player because it didn't have that,

[00:25:58] you know, it was a base model.

[00:25:59] So, and I drove that for about a decade.

[00:26:02] So, you know, I wanted to focus on the interior because not only did

[00:26:07] I think it would be safer, but it's, I've never had a car with a really

[00:26:10] nice interior and so I wanted to mix that up.

[00:26:14] So it started off with the factory interior for the special edition,

[00:26:20] which is very similar to your regular interior other than there's red

[00:26:25] stitching instead of orange stitching.

[00:26:26] Okay.

[00:26:28] Um, I had that for quite a while.

[00:26:30] Um, I, you know, one of the things that I've probably changed the most

[00:26:35] is the dash trim and the stereo surround.

[00:26:38] I have one of the old ones here.

[00:26:39] You might've seen this on Instagram, but, um, I don't know why I'm

[00:26:46] showing you things it's podcasts, but you know, this is for you.

[00:26:48] Enjoy.

[00:26:50] Hey, uh, can you hold on a second?

[00:26:52] My son is calling me and he rarely calls me.

[00:26:55] So let me see what's going on with him real quick.

[00:26:58] So this is the part of the episode where we had to pause and I had to leave

[00:27:04] to go help my son and his friend who had gotten his rear wheel drive

[00:27:08] truck stuck in a field in some mud.

[00:27:11] So when I left, I was, I told her, I said, cause she was going

[00:27:16] to have to reschedule if I couldn't get back in time.

[00:27:18] And I said, well, it shouldn't take that long.

[00:27:20] And I ended up being gone for like four hours to take care of all of that.

[00:27:25] So, and we had started recording this at 10 at 10 AM on Saturday morning.

[00:27:31] And we ended up picking back up at 8 AM on Sunday morning because of

[00:27:35] her schedule on Sunday and my schedule on Sunday.

[00:27:38] So I ended up, you know, not being able to edit her episode in time

[00:27:43] before Monday and ended up putting out the mud troubles episode on Monday.

[00:27:48] And then for her episode, we actually had to go back and

[00:27:51] re record the intro to say episode one 75.

[00:27:55] And I can safely say that out of 175 episodes, that's the first time I've

[00:28:01] ever had to stop recording to go do anything like that.

[00:28:06] So, but, uh, you know, it all worked out and now back to

[00:28:10] your regularly scheduled program.

[00:28:12] So yeah, what we were talking about as you were talking about, like

[00:28:15] the interior and then the red stitching.

[00:28:18] So I guess we can just kind of go back to like some of the things that

[00:28:23] you've been doing inside the, you know, in the interior, because like I was

[00:28:28] saying, I've noticed looking through your feed that you've done a lot

[00:28:32] of stuff on the interior and have redone it, it seems like.

[00:28:36] So, but I mean, it's cool because it's like, you can play around with

[00:28:40] it and have fun with it and make it your own, because I think that's

[00:28:44] one of the great things about doing mods is you can do something and then

[00:28:49] if you don't like it, you can change it up and, you know, always, always

[00:28:52] make it something new and fresh for you.

[00:28:54] And, uh, and like you were saying to the interior being in not such a

[00:28:59] great neighborhood, it's easier to change the interior and do some stuff

[00:29:02] in there and not make it look as appealing on the outside.

[00:29:05] Yeah, exactly.

[00:29:07] Um, and I think, and I, I don't know how universal this is, but I'm

[00:29:11] guessing people that modify their cars can relate, but it's like when

[00:29:16] I'm doing a mod, I'm very self-critical as I'm doing it.

[00:29:22] Not, not intending to be, but it's like, you know, I get the, the

[00:29:26] boost of dopamine of, oh, this is cool.

[00:29:28] I did a thing to my car, but at the same time, my brain's like,

[00:29:31] and if I did it again, this is what I would fix differently,

[00:29:34] or this is what I would change.

[00:29:35] Yeah.

[00:29:36] You know, and so, um, for whatever reason with the interior, that urge has

[00:29:43] been strong enough to make me redo it.

[00:29:45] So I've done the shift surround several times.

[00:29:48] Um, if you count, if you count the factory radio, I think

[00:29:52] it's had four head units in it.

[00:29:54] Oh my God.

[00:29:56] So, um, yeah, you know, it's, it's, I'm always piddling with stuff.

[00:30:00] And lately I've been in a more of, uh, you know, OEM plus kind of aesthetic.

[00:30:08] So I'm kind of chasing that.

[00:30:12] I know it's different people who listen to the podcast would

[00:30:15] probably know it's different somebody who's not into cars.

[00:30:17] If they were to get in, they might not realize it's

[00:30:21] been so extensively modified.

[00:30:23] Okay.

[00:30:24] Um, that's good.

[00:30:25] Yeah.

[00:30:26] Uh, so I've toned it down a little bit.

[00:30:28] I had, um, manga deco page trim around the dash and the stereo for a while.

[00:30:34] And now that's just like black Alcantara.

[00:30:36] So it's, it, that was fun, but I needed something a little more calm.

[00:30:40] Yeah.

[00:30:40] Yeah.

[00:30:42] So you had like, uh, you did like a little gauge cluster too.

[00:30:45] And then I saw some posts where you were, you were like created,

[00:30:50] looked like you were designing some things.

[00:30:52] So do you like, do you like do these designs and then do you have

[00:30:56] a 3d printer too, that you're doing stuff?

[00:30:58] So yes and no.

[00:31:00] Um, I like to do the designs.

[00:31:02] Um, I'm it's a creative outlet for me.

[00:31:06] Um, I've made a few different things.

[00:31:09] Um, I have one on my desk, but it's like what you were talking

[00:31:12] about, the little gauge pod.

[00:31:14] So, uh, if you're in your car, the little area in front of the shifter

[00:31:17] where you're meant to put your phone or whatever wallet, um, I've made

[00:31:21] these little 3d printed things to hold buttons or gauges, or I have a few

[00:31:27] different layouts.

[00:31:28] I don't actually own a 3d printer myself and I really, really want one.

[00:31:32] Um, but it's one of those things that I know enough to know

[00:31:35] that I don't know enough.

[00:31:37] So it's like every time I researched it to try to pick one out, I

[00:31:40] realize, well, I don't know if this could do everything or I don't know

[00:31:43] if this could work with the right materials.

[00:31:45] And I just ended up with a whole bunch of questions, which makes me

[00:31:47] not having bought anything yet.

[00:31:49] So I saw you did one that looked like it's a cell phone holder too, or something.

[00:31:54] Yeah.

[00:31:55] So, um, I've made a few different things.

[00:31:57] They're all on Thingverse.

[00:31:59] I make stuff because it's fun.

[00:32:01] I don't think I know enough to produce things to sell.

[00:32:05] So everything that I make is free and I welcome people to try stuff out

[00:32:10] and let me know what they think.

[00:32:12] But, um, the phone holder I think is this piece, uh, where it's just

[00:32:17] a little tray that sits in the center console, but it's big enough for a phone.

[00:32:21] And then I have a wireless charger sitting behind it.

[00:32:25] It's part of a whole series of a, of a project that I wanted to put

[00:32:31] a raspberry pie in the car.

[00:32:33] That's where it started with.

[00:32:34] And now I have phone holder.

[00:32:35] I know that doesn't make sense.

[00:32:37] Um, but I was making a base to go in the center console, the store,

[00:32:43] everything for the raspberry pie.

[00:32:45] And I wanted something nice to sit on top of it.

[00:32:47] So that's how I ended up with the tray with the phone holder.

[00:32:50] So for those that don't know, explain what a raspberry pie is.

[00:32:54] So it is a small, um, kind of do-it-yourself computer so you can have

[00:33:00] it do really anything you want.

[00:33:02] Um, I have when I added my multifunction display in the

[00:33:08] dashboard, it had a screen for the HVAC controls.

[00:33:12] And since I don't, I know I'm into the weeds here.

[00:33:14] Give me

[00:33:15] connected.

[00:33:16] Um, since I don't have a limited trim, I have the regular HVAC controls.

[00:33:22] So it wouldn't work with the screen.

[00:33:24] Nothing would show up.

[00:33:25] So I basically had this little screen area that did absolutely nothing.

[00:33:29] So I don't like to leave things alone.

[00:33:32] Like you've said, I've redone things a bazillion times.

[00:33:34] Um, and so it's like, what could I put in there?

[00:33:37] So I found a 2.8 inch screen with a HDMI input.

[00:33:44] So right now there is that screen and it's just playing a bit of

[00:33:48] initial D on a loop because I'm a big nerd.

[00:33:50] But, um, once the pie is finished, it will, uh, show up on that screen.

[00:33:57] And I'm still trying to figure all of this out.

[00:34:01] So if you're experienced with raspberry pies and you have suggestions,

[00:34:04] please feel free to reach out to me.

[00:34:06] But, um, I thought it would be neat to display different things for

[00:34:10] while you're on adventure.

[00:34:11] So whether it would be like, uh, altitude or, um, you know, angle of

[00:34:18] departure or whatever sensors it could pick up, then you would have some

[00:34:21] accurate information in this screen of actual useful information rather

[00:34:27] than just anime on a loop.

[00:34:30] No, that's cool.

[00:34:31] That's like, uh, it's nice to have those little ideas and just trying

[00:34:34] to think of different ways to make something useful for different applications.

[00:34:39] Totally.

[00:34:40] Yeah.

[00:34:40] I'm always thinking of something.

[00:34:42] Yeah, no, I mean, that's, that's good.

[00:34:44] It's, you know, I mean, again, it's, it's your card.

[00:34:47] It's you have all these ideas that you want to implement and it's nice

[00:34:51] that you, again, it's you have the ability to play around with it and,

[00:34:56] you know, do some different things.

[00:34:58] Totally.

[00:34:58] It's, it's just a creative outlet.

[00:35:00] Um, like I was saying earlier, it's good for my mental health to have

[00:35:05] something to, to focus on and, and yeah, just have a creative outlet.

[00:35:09] I think that's good for anybody.

[00:35:12] So what is the overall intent with your cross track?

[00:35:15] Cause your license plate says DIY WRX and you know, so I know that you had

[00:35:22] mentioned something about a WRX earlier, but is this kind of like why I

[00:35:28] don't have a WRX, I'm not sure if I can get a WRX, so I'm going to try

[00:35:32] to make this one be more WRX-ish as I can.

[00:35:36] Yeah.

[00:35:37] So it started out just as a reference to the color.

[00:35:41] It's a 2016, uh, special edition.

[00:35:44] And so there's only 1500.

[00:35:46] Um, and at the time you could only get that color on a WRX or a BRZ.

[00:35:50] So I thought it was kind of, you know, a fun little nod to that.

[00:35:55] And you know, a WRX would be neat, a Forester XT would be neat, but

[00:35:59] I really, when I bought the car, I liked the cross track.

[00:36:02] I liked the fact it was a hatch at the time.

[00:36:04] You could only get the WRX in a sedan.

[00:36:08] Um, and so as much as the faster cars sounded appealing, not only were

[00:36:13] they more expensive, but I thought the cross track just fit my

[00:36:16] lifestyle a little bit better.

[00:36:18] Yeah.

[00:36:18] Um, at this point it's more of a, how do I say it?

[00:36:27] It's kind of like foreshadowing in a sense with the ideas that I have.

[00:36:31] So, um, I've done a lot of, not a lot, I've done some, you know,

[00:36:35] off-road things and some rally cross things at this point.

[00:36:38] I'm, I'm trying to have a street experience.

[00:36:42] So I've thought about doing the WRX front end swap to match the STI

[00:36:47] interior and you know, so adding on all of these parts, it's, you

[00:36:52] know, kind of a literal do it yourself WRX.

[00:36:55] Yeah.

[00:36:55] And speaking of rally cross, I was looking through your feed and

[00:36:59] you've got a few posts about that.

[00:37:01] So have you, have you done that?

[00:37:03] Like taking it out to several different tracks or the same tracks?

[00:37:06] And how many times have you done that?

[00:37:08] Sure.

[00:37:09] So I think I've only driven two or three times.

[00:37:12] It's now it's in a different place before it was in the same field.

[00:37:17] So it's kind of interesting to say different tracks because every time

[00:37:20] you do it, they set up the track differently.

[00:37:22] It's just for, if you, if you don't know, it's just, um, with

[00:37:26] traffic cones in a field.

[00:37:28] So, uh, you know, one weekend might be different than the other

[00:37:31] cause there's the massive mud puddle or, you know, the grass is too hot.

[00:37:34] You know, they move it around a lot.

[00:37:36] Um, but yeah, I've done it a handful of times.

[00:37:40] It's amazing fun.

[00:37:42] If you haven't tried it and you want to try motor sports, I think

[00:37:47] it's a really friendly way to start.

[00:37:50] There aren't concrete walls around.

[00:37:53] There aren't other vehicles around, you know, literally the worst

[00:37:56] thing that would happen is you could hit a cone.

[00:37:59] Um, so it's, I think, you know, not saying that people don't get

[00:38:02] competitive because of course they do.

[00:38:03] But for someone like me that hadn't had that, um, first hand motor

[00:38:08] sports experience, it was a nice intro way to say that, you know,

[00:38:13] I drove my car in a race, you know, it's kind of cool.

[00:38:16] Yeah.

[00:38:17] And I know that usually it's like, there's a little bit of a fee

[00:38:21] and then you need a helmet, right?

[00:38:22] That's pretty much it.

[00:38:23] Exactly.

[00:38:24] Exactly.

[00:38:25] At the time, I want to say I even borrowed a helmet.

[00:38:28] I don't know if they're still doing that, but some rally cross

[00:38:32] programs may have helmet loaners.

[00:38:34] If that's a barrier for entry for someone just, you know, reach out

[00:38:39] with whoever your closest rally cross organization is and feel free to ask.

[00:38:45] So I was looking through your feed also, and I know that you and your

[00:38:48] spouse have traveled a lot in your super-oos it looks like, and

[00:38:51] you've gone like, he said that you've been like all over the country.

[00:38:54] So like where all have you been?

[00:38:56] Cause I know that you had taken photos in different places that you've been,

[00:39:00] but like where all have you been?

[00:39:02] And then are you usually just going in your cross track or going in both

[00:39:06] cars and then like how many miles do you have on your cross track now?

[00:39:10] So, uh, the mileage first, I actually just hit 90,000 miles day before yesterday.

[00:39:17] So wait, yours is a 2016 and you only have 90,000 miles and you've

[00:39:23] traveled all over the country.

[00:39:25] So it's one of those things.

[00:39:26] It's like when I drive, I feel like I drive in spurts.

[00:39:29] So it'll be, you know, a big adventure or I had a job where it was

[00:39:35] a 45 minute commute for awhile.

[00:39:37] And then there've been times where I worked on the street or I work from

[00:39:41] home and I just don't drive the car for a week, so it's very up and down

[00:39:47] with that.

[00:39:48] Um, I just laugh at that because mine's a 2021 and I just hit

[00:39:52] 104,000 miles.

[00:39:55] I think you're, you're getting around a little bit more than I am, but as

[00:39:58] long as you're enjoying it and having fun, that's good.

[00:40:00] Oh, a hundred percent.

[00:40:01] Yeah.

[00:40:02] Um, as far as where I've traveled, I think the farthest East is,

[00:40:07] uh, Syracuse, New York.

[00:40:09] That was for work farthest North would be Madison, Wisconsin, again,

[00:40:16] for work.

[00:40:18] I went, I've been to Louisiana to see family and California, Northern

[00:40:25] California to see family.

[00:40:28] So it's a, and yeah, we usually take my car, the other car, it's an

[00:40:32] older Forester, so it's usually just as a around town duties.

[00:40:37] Yeah.

[00:40:37] Yeah.

[00:40:38] See you've been up to Madison, Wisconsin for work.

[00:40:40] You can go to Madison, Wisconsin for Subaru flat fest.

[00:40:44] I, it sounds much more fun.

[00:40:46] Yeah.

[00:40:46] I know I've there's, there's been places that I've been to for work because

[00:40:50] of the job that I worked before.

[00:40:51] I traveled a lot and, and it's like, I've been here, here and here

[00:40:56] and here for fun, but then I've been here, here, here, here, here, here

[00:40:59] for work.

[00:41:01] So there's some places that I've been to for work that I like to go

[00:41:04] to for fun that I just haven't had a chance to make it out to.

[00:41:07] Like I went out to Utah for work, I think a couple of times, but I've

[00:41:12] never been to Utah for fun.

[00:41:13] So that's one that I would definitely want to go out there.

[00:41:15] Same with New York.

[00:41:17] I've been in New York twice for work, but I haven't been up there for fun.

[00:41:20] And like Pennsylvania for work, but I'd like to be out there for fun.

[00:41:24] And so there's too many places that I want to be able to go to that

[00:41:28] I just don't have enough time to go to.

[00:41:31] I think we both have traveled enough to know we haven't traveled enough.

[00:41:35] Yeah, exactly.

[00:41:36] But I mean, it was, it's nice because I, you know, I am thankful

[00:41:39] for the travel because I went to Colorado and I'm like, I have

[00:41:44] to bring my kids back here and I took my kids back to Colorado twice.

[00:41:47] So that was fun.

[00:41:49] Yeah.

[00:41:49] But California is a place that I would, I still want to take the kids

[00:41:52] because they've never been out there.

[00:41:54] There's just certain parts of California.

[00:41:57] It was just beautiful.

[00:41:58] And like, I've been to San Diego so many times.

[00:42:01] I want to take them out there at some point.

[00:42:04] I mean, cool.

[00:42:04] I've never been to San Diego.

[00:42:06] Oh, it's yeah, there's so much to do there.

[00:42:08] And it's so pretty.

[00:42:09] Nice.

[00:42:09] Yeah.

[00:42:10] I'll have to check it out next time I'm out West.

[00:42:12] Yeah.

[00:42:13] Yeah.

[00:42:14] Yeah.

[00:42:15] So like where that's, so my next question is like, where have you like, or let

[00:42:21] me read my question again, maybe it's a little too early.

[00:42:24] Where have you not been that you plan to go and where have you not

[00:42:28] been that you would like to go?

[00:42:29] Like, do you have, in other words, do you have plans to go somewhere?

[00:42:33] I mean, since you like to travel, do you have plans already to go

[00:42:36] somewhere and then are there places that you would like to go that

[00:42:40] you haven't been yet that you'd really like to get out to?

[00:42:44] I don't have any current plans.

[00:42:47] Loosely.

[00:42:48] I have plan.

[00:42:49] I have family in Northern California and it's been a few years, so I'd

[00:42:52] really like to go back out there.

[00:42:54] Um, I haven't been to the farther North Pacific Northwest since I was a kid.

[00:43:01] I think the last time I was in Portland, I was 10, so it'd be

[00:43:03] nice to see it with adult eyes.

[00:43:05] Yeah.

[00:43:05] That's pretty up there too.

[00:43:07] Totally.

[00:43:08] As far as where I haven't been that I would like to go, I would

[00:43:12] really like to go to Alaska.

[00:43:14] Um, I think it would be.

[00:43:17] Drive.

[00:43:19] Yeah.

[00:43:19] Yeah.

[00:43:20] Um, just to see all the differences, you know, as you go farther North and,

[00:43:24] um, uh, an Instagram friend of mine has a picture of his

[00:43:28] cross track next to a sign.

[00:43:31] It's, you know, it's all snow and wintery and, uh, it just has the

[00:43:34] sign that says Arctic circle and it's the same color cross track is mine.

[00:43:38] So I just look at that and it's just like, Oh, that's goals right there.

[00:43:41] Yeah, that's cool.

[00:43:42] Yeah.

[00:43:43] That would definitely be a fun trip.

[00:43:46] Be nice to go out there and do that.

[00:43:48] Cause I, it's funny cause like I was, there's this park that I go

[00:43:52] to, to go walking or go running and I was parked there and this guy

[00:43:57] and he had a, uh, oh, he had a, um, man, why can't I think this morning?

[00:44:04] He had an outback and he drove by going one way and then he U-turned and came

[00:44:09] back and parked behind me because I think I was done running, I was stretching

[00:44:12] or something else getting ready to leave.

[00:44:14] And he pulled up behind me and he got out and he started asking me about

[00:44:20] my cross track cause he noticed it was modded and this was a long time ago

[00:44:23] before I think even before I had the roof rack I have now, but he was

[00:44:27] just asking me about it and I was talking to him about it and I told

[00:44:30] do the podcast and he does like some kind of geology work or something

[00:44:35] and said that he was getting ready to drive up to Alaska and be there for

[00:44:40] like three months or four months or something for work.

[00:44:43] And I was like, Whoa, you're going to drive to Alaska?

[00:44:45] That's crazy.

[00:44:46] And, uh, cause I think that was the first time I'd ever heard

[00:44:49] of anybody driving to Alaska.

[00:44:52] And yeah, so I, I don't remember what his Instagram handle was

[00:44:56] cause it wasn't like, you know, a creative name or something.

[00:45:01] It was like his name and I don't remember what it was.

[00:45:04] And I think I tagged him once in a story or something and that was it.

[00:45:07] So I've lost touch with him, but it, cause I was thinking, man,

[00:45:10] it'd be cool to get him on the podcast and hear about his drive

[00:45:14] to Alaska, but I don't remember who it was.

[00:45:17] If he pops back up in the future.

[00:45:19] Yeah, I know that'd be cool.

[00:45:22] So yeah, Alaska looks fun.

[00:45:24] Every time I think of Alaska, all I think about is I just see

[00:45:27] white in my mind, you know, just snow.

[00:45:30] And I know that's not always the case.

[00:45:31] So it'd be interesting to see it and, you know, whatever time of year you go.

[00:45:36] Uh, if I ever managed to pull it off, you know, I'll post pictures.

[00:45:40] Yeah.

[00:45:40] Yeah, do it.

[00:45:42] So what would you say about your cross-track brings you the most joy?

[00:45:47] Oh, uh, so I, I kind of had a hard time thinking about this because I

[00:45:52] feel like, oh, I'm gonna say this.

[00:45:54] And then I think of something else.

[00:45:55] Oh, I'm going to say this.

[00:45:55] So I think it's what I have to say is it's potential.

[00:46:00] Um, I I've never run out of ideas for it.

[00:46:04] When I hear people say they're done modifying their cars, my

[00:46:06] brain breaks a little bit because, you know, I, it's just, it's

[00:46:11] a perpetual blank canvas and I'm, you know, one hand, I'll probably

[00:46:17] never get to do everything that I think about, but the fact that I'm

[00:46:22] getting up to close to 10 years of having it and I, it's still

[00:46:28] bringing out creative ideas.

[00:46:30] I'm just very grateful for that.

[00:46:32] Yeah.

[00:46:33] I mean, that's a long time to have it too.

[00:46:35] And, uh, you know, I'm looking to keep mine for as long as I can,

[00:46:40] as long as it holds out.

[00:46:41] But I mean, you know, it's, I've heard these engines, uh, I guess the

[00:46:45] FB 20 that they're pretty as this guy was like, oh yeah, they're bulletproof.

[00:46:50] And I mean, that's, I remember hearing that they were really good

[00:46:53] engines whenever I bought mine.

[00:46:54] So I was thinking, I'm sure that I can keep it for a long time.

[00:46:58] I mean, I still have it 104,000 miles.

[00:47:02] I still have the original brakes and the original clutch.

[00:47:06] So, and I think I, I think I still have the original brakes because it's a manual.

[00:47:12] So I downshift a lot.

[00:47:14] So I'm not breaking as hard as I would with an automatic.

[00:47:17] I made kind of a face, but that makes total sense.

[00:47:20] Yeah.

[00:47:21] You know, yeah, no, I mean, it sounds scary that I still have this,

[00:47:24] the original brakes at 104,000 miles.

[00:47:27] And when I went to go check it out, cause well, I had like the spark

[00:47:30] plugs change and you know, like a, it was like the 90,000 service.

[00:47:34] The guys said that my rear brakes and that was at 88,000 miles.

[00:47:39] So, but they said the rear brakes were like 25% and the front brakes

[00:47:43] were like 50% or something like that.

[00:47:45] So, you know, I think it's, that's still in pretty good shape.

[00:47:49] Yeah.

[00:47:50] I mean, I'll need to get them changed eventually of course, and the clutch,

[00:47:53] but it's just like, I'm going to hold out for as long as I can.

[00:47:57] I just don't want my clutch to go out like in the

[00:47:59] middle of the highway or something.

[00:48:01] You're going to be one of those people that has, you know, like

[00:48:03] a million mile cross track or something.

[00:48:05] That would be so cool to, to like, I just, I kind of want to see like how

[00:48:08] many miles I can get on it with, you know, the original engine and

[00:48:13] transmission and, and, uh, I mean, of course the clutch will have to be

[00:48:17] changed, like I said, but other than that, I want to see like how far I

[00:48:21] can take it with as many original parts as I can.

[00:48:25] I can't wait to see it.

[00:48:26] I think that's really cool.

[00:48:28] And honestly, I mean, I think the one Achilles heel of these cars, you

[00:48:33] don't have to worry about since you have a manual, so that'll help.

[00:48:36] Yeah.

[00:48:37] So, so what would you say about your cross track best matches your personality?

[00:48:42] It's weird.

[00:48:43] Weird.

[00:48:44] I'm weird.

[00:48:44] I mean, you know, I'm, I'm ADHD and just, you know, always doing

[00:48:52] different things and, um, it's, it's always okay with whatever I throw at it.

[00:48:59] Um, yeah, it's weird and I like it.

[00:49:02] Weird is good though.

[00:49:03] I like weird too.

[00:49:04] I've always liked, I've always liked things that are different, you know?

[00:49:08] And maybe that's why I'm a Subaru person, but because they're different.

[00:49:12] Absolutely.

[00:49:13] Yes.

[00:49:13] So, um, have there been any accounts that you follow

[00:49:17] that have influenced your build?

[00:49:20] Yeah.

[00:49:21] Um, so I have a list.

[00:49:25] Okay.

[00:49:26] So, uh, there was one person that I was mentioning earlier, uh, and I

[00:49:31] couldn't think of their name, but it's, uh, ECA Hill 200.

[00:49:36] Uh, and they have the, um, Impreza as well as the cross track.

[00:49:41] Um, and so, you know, talking about potential of the platform, they've,

[00:49:46] they've kind of done everything or, you know, put their toes in the

[00:49:49] water of both fields, which is pretty cool.

[00:49:52] Um, lately I've been getting more into the street aspect of it.

[00:49:58] Um, and there's an account with a person who has a, um, as a sport,

[00:50:03] but has done a lot of suspension mods to it and he's kind of the,

[00:50:07] the guru for street handling.

[00:50:09] Um, can I get that extra crispy is his username.

[00:50:13] Definitely recommend checking out his page.

[00:50:15] That's interesting.

[00:50:16] It's a good name.

[00:50:18] Yeah.

[00:50:18] Um, but no, there's, there's, I feel like I follow thousands of people on Instagram

[00:50:24] and, um, you know, there'll be folks they see a lot.

[00:50:27] There'll be folks that I don't see for a while and then I'll see their

[00:50:30] posts and like, Oh, you know, cause I kind of forget and then I get

[00:50:32] excited to see them again.

[00:50:35] Yeah.

[00:50:35] That happens to me all the time.

[00:50:36] I'm like, Oh man, I haven't seen anything on or I haven't seen

[00:50:39] it come up on my feet in a while.

[00:50:42] It's just, it's weird how that works too, where it's like, yeah, like

[00:50:46] you said, you forget about somebody and because it's, it's hard to keep up

[00:50:49] with everybody and with everything that you have going on in your own life,

[00:50:53] things that you're trying to do with your own car and then whatever Instagram

[00:50:58] decides to put on your feed unless you're like just scrolling and scrolling

[00:51:02] and scrolling, which you know, that's, that's hard to do too.

[00:51:06] It's nice though.

[00:51:06] I mean, it's, it's a, in a way, it's a good problem to have like the

[00:51:10] fact that we have such a diverse community to the degree that we can't

[00:51:14] remember everybody because there are so many people out there doing cool things.

[00:51:18] Like that's one of my cars I had before the Crosstrek was a

[00:51:23] Toyota Camry station wagon.

[00:51:25] And while I loved it, let's just say there wasn't the same amount

[00:51:28] of community that there is for a Crosstrek.

[00:51:31] So, um, you know, it's been really cool to see just the depth of the community.

[00:51:39] Yeah.

[00:51:39] There any other accounts that have influenced you?

[00:51:43] Oh goodness.

[00:51:44] Um, I'll make you a list and I'll, I'll send it to you.

[00:51:46] Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[00:51:47] That'd be good.

[00:51:47] Okay.

[00:51:48] Yeah.

[00:51:49] So, yeah.

[00:51:50] And then like, so if you could drive somebody else's Subaru for a day,

[00:51:56] whose would it be and why?

[00:51:59] Um, so that, that was another question that was, uh,

[00:52:04] I know that's a tough one.

[00:52:06] It is.

[00:52:06] It is.

[00:52:07] And I wrote it down on my computer in a little slow.

[00:52:10] So there's an account I follow on Instagram and Facebook as well.

[00:52:14] Um, and they have a, if their blingstrom is what it's the accounts called.

[00:52:20] Um, they have a lifted Forester XT as well as a STI, I believe.

[00:52:26] So one's lifted and one's lowered.

[00:52:27] Um, but they're both OEM plus super clean, you know, same age as our

[00:52:33] Forester, maybe a year or two newer, but I mean, it looks brand new.

[00:52:38] Like it's, it's, uh, it just makes me happy when I see cars modified like that.

[00:52:44] I'd love to drive their Forester.

[00:52:46] Yeah, there's, there's a few out there that I'd like to drive.

[00:52:49] There's one that I hear locally that I have driven.

[00:52:52] He goes by anonymous T W R X and he's done so much to his W R X and he's

[00:52:58] just, he's made it faster since the last time I drove it and he was like,

[00:53:01] Hey, I'm about to do this, you know, whatever it is that he was saying.

[00:53:05] He said, so it's going to make it faster.

[00:53:07] You have to come out and drive it again.

[00:53:08] I haven't had a chance to do it yet, but I may have to do that soon.

[00:53:11] Yeah.

[00:53:12] I want to see if you'll let my son drive it too, cause it's, it's a manual

[00:53:15] and mine's a manual, so I've taught my son how to drive mine.

[00:53:18] So I'd like to see, I'd like to see if he could have the opportunity

[00:53:22] to drive something that's manual and a lot faster.

[00:53:26] That would be really cool.

[00:53:27] I hope so.

[00:53:28] Yeah.

[00:53:28] Yeah, me too.

[00:53:30] So how has owning your Subaru and being part of the

[00:53:34] community changed your life?

[00:53:37] And you've been in it for a while.

[00:53:39] Yeah.

[00:53:39] Yeah.

[00:53:39] Um, greatly.

[00:53:41] I mean, it's a greatly changed my life.

[00:53:43] Um, I, I've always worried that I won't fit into places.

[00:53:48] I'm queer.

[00:53:49] I'm neurodivergent.

[00:53:50] Like I'm, you know, I don't always fit into places and car scenes have,

[00:53:57] can sometimes be kind of toxic.

[00:53:59] Um, you know, I had the Toyota before, which had a pretty small community.

[00:54:04] I had the, the F 150 before, which had bubbles of good things, but there

[00:54:11] was a lot of toxicity in it.

[00:54:12] So I, when I got this car, I was nervous because all of the, the

[00:54:18] stuff that I knew was about the car, not the community as I've gotten myself

[00:54:24] involved, not just online, but in person, I mentioned EcoTech earlier

[00:54:28] and, uh, the, the Subaru shop and they have what they call these rally

[00:54:32] socials.

[00:54:33] So, um, for stage rally, they throw these, because they do so much for

[00:54:36] stage rally, they throw these big parties and they have food and.

[00:54:40] That sounds fun.

[00:54:41] Cars and yeah, it's great.

[00:54:43] And, um, you know, even though I'm can be kind of quiet and awkward

[00:54:48] sometimes, like getting to go to events like that and people just,

[00:54:54] it doesn't matter who you are.

[00:54:55] Like it's just, you know, let's talk about cars.

[00:54:59] Like, Oh, what have you done to this?

[00:55:00] Oh, that's so cool.

[00:55:01] You know, what have you, and like the people that I've met in

[00:55:05] person and online because of this car, like some of these people

[00:55:10] people that I consider my best friends that I talk to every day.

[00:55:13] And, um, you know, if I didn't have this car, it wouldn't just be

[00:55:17] that I didn't have the car, but it would be like, I wouldn't have

[00:55:20] all the people that come with it and it's kind of hard to think about.

[00:55:23] So yeah, greatly changed my life having this car.

[00:55:27] Yeah.

[00:55:27] All the people that we've connected with because of buying a Subaru,

[00:55:31] you know, through Instagram and just in person meetups and stuff like that.

[00:55:35] There's there's so many people that you wouldn't have in your life if

[00:55:39] you hadn't bought this car.

[00:55:40] And it's, you know, if you think about that sometimes it's kind of crazy

[00:55:43] because there's again, we have hundreds and hundreds of followers and, you

[00:55:48] know, if not thousands of followers and not that we keep up with all

[00:55:51] of those people, but there's usually a pretty good amount of people

[00:55:55] that you keep up with and that you talk to and that you get to meet in person.

[00:55:59] And so like you said that you were quiet and awkward.

[00:56:03] And, but I think, I mean, I've had so many people on the podcast

[00:56:06] that, you know, include myself included.

[00:56:08] There's a lot of us that are quiet and awkward.

[00:56:11] And, you know, it's being in this community and getting to meet people

[00:56:16] that are quiet and awkward also, it really helps you to fit in

[00:56:20] and not feel so alone.

[00:56:21] And then, you know, and then being like, especially in person,

[00:56:26] go into one of these events and maybe feeling kind of out of place at first,

[00:56:32] you know, especially if it's your first event.

[00:56:34] And then, you know, you may not really talk to anybody the first time

[00:56:38] because you're just too afraid.

[00:56:40] And then you go out again and then you start to open up a little bit

[00:56:42] and you figure, you find out that like, okay, I really feel comfortable

[00:56:46] and at home here because these people are not being judgmental.

[00:56:51] My car doesn't really have a lot of stuff and they're asking me

[00:56:53] questions about it.

[00:56:55] So, you know, you can have a completely stock car or one that's

[00:56:59] heavily modded and you still have people that are interested.

[00:57:02] And that's I think that surprises a lot of people, especially when their car

[00:57:05] is stock and they have somebody asking them questions about it.

[00:57:09] So it's the community is really, really cool and it's fun to be a part of.

[00:57:14] Definitely.

[00:57:15] We're lucky to have it.

[00:57:16] I mean, it's you know, we all work at it and make it a fun, safe place to be.

[00:57:22] But now I'm grateful for it and I'm glad we have it.

[00:57:26] Yeah.

[00:57:27] So we're going to get into another segment here, but is there anything

[00:57:30] that like we didn't talk about that you want to mention about your car

[00:57:34] or about your journey?

[00:57:36] Oh goodness.

[00:57:37] Um, I don't think anything specifically.

[00:57:40] I'm, I'm always working on something strange.

[00:57:43] So, uh, I post a lot of a lot of, I post everything that I do.

[00:57:48] So, um, you know, if you want to see something weird, look at the

[00:57:53] yeah, no, I mean, there's, there's, you've done a lot of the, well, I

[00:57:55] guess we didn't, one of the things we didn't talk about too much is like

[00:57:58] more of the things that you've done on the exterior.

[00:58:01] Cause you, yeah, I know you've done some stuff with the exhaust.

[00:58:04] It looks like you've done some things with like their rear end.

[00:58:07] And so I talk about some of the things that you've done on the exterior.

[00:58:12] Yeah.

[00:58:12] So, um, baskets probably the most obvious thing.

[00:58:16] Uh, there's a Yakima off-grid on the roof.

[00:58:18] I like to put stickers on it when I travel as, as one does.

[00:58:21] Um, the taillights are the Colin led taillights.

[00:58:26] I picked them up secondhand.

[00:58:28] I think they're getting a little hard to find at this point, but I really like them.

[00:58:32] Um, a lot of the lighting has been modified.

[00:58:35] There's a custom, uh, we made a custom trailer hitch light.

[00:58:39] So at this point, this product exists where you can just put like a

[00:58:42] little pod light in your trailer.

[00:58:43] Hicks receiver.

[00:58:44] Okay.

[00:58:45] Before that was a thing.

[00:58:47] Um, we made one, I had this idea and eco tech helped me with it, but

[00:58:51] we mounted a little pod light at the very end of the trailer hitch.

[00:58:56] So it shines through it.

[00:58:57] So when you break, you have just like a, it's red and you have

[00:59:01] just the little fourth brake light.

[00:59:03] Or you can press a button and it turns into a reverse fog light.

[00:59:06] So if you're backing up at, um, at night or bad weather or something,

[00:59:11] it gives you more light there, but because it shines.

[00:59:14] Yeah.

[00:59:14] And it's white, right?

[00:59:15] When the reverse, cause I'm looking at one of your posts right now.

[00:59:18] It's like, Whoa, that's really cool.

[00:59:20] Yeah.

[00:59:20] It, it, it's, um, if you turn it on, it's white.

[00:59:23] If you, if it's off, it's just red and synced in with the brake lights.

[00:59:27] Um, but because it shines through the trailer, Hicks, you don't have

[00:59:30] to remove anything if you want a tow.

[00:59:32] So, uh, it's yeah, it's kind of nice there in the front.

[00:59:37] Um, the fog lights have been upgraded a second set of auxiliary

[00:59:42] fog lights have been added.

[00:59:44] I've thought about adding more lights.

[00:59:46] Um, I don't know how the, the second gen cross tracks are, but

[00:59:50] the first gen, the headlights are not the best.

[00:59:55] So,

[00:59:56] yeah, I actually, well, mine's a base model.

[00:59:59] So I ended up switching out my, uh, my headlights with some

[01:00:04] LEDs from Morimoto lighting.

[01:00:06] Yeah.

[01:00:07] Because it was, I didn't have, I mean, you see the ones with like

[01:00:12] the C running lights and those are really nice, but you know, I'd

[01:00:15] like to switch them out completely at some point, but it's kind of expensive.

[01:00:19] So, uh, I don't see an absolute need to right now.

[01:00:23] So I'm okay.

[01:00:25] And you did the part that is actually helpful for safety.

[01:00:28] So that's the important part.

[01:00:30] Yeah.

[01:00:30] Oh, and the LED headlights, oh, there's, I see so much better.

[01:00:34] Like, I know sometimes they're annoying when people are driving,

[01:00:37] but I really, really like it.

[01:00:39] It looks, it looks really good.

[01:00:40] Like I can, I remember the first time driving at night, I was able

[01:00:45] to like see so much better and I'm very thankful for that.

[01:00:50] That's good.

[01:00:51] That's yeah, that's really important.

[01:00:53] Yeah.

[01:00:55] Um, your grill is different too.

[01:00:57] Oh yeah.

[01:00:58] So the grill is a kind of custom.

[01:01:01] Uh, it's another thing that I've redone a few times.

[01:01:03] So originally I just plasti dipped the factory one black.

[01:01:06] Um, the one that's on there now is a sport mesh grill.

[01:01:10] It's actually for the, so with the gen one cross track, there's

[01:01:15] the very original, the 13 to 15.

[01:01:18] And then after that they did a slight facelift.

[01:01:21] So the front bumper is a little bit different.

[01:01:25] So the grill is actually for the earlier, the 15, the 13 to 15

[01:01:29] because mine is a 16, it doesn't fit perfectly.

[01:01:32] Um, but I didn't want the newer one.

[01:01:36] I just liked the aesthetic of this one better, but then I took it apart.

[01:01:39] It normally, it kind of, if you think of it like a sandwich, there's

[01:01:41] a back piece, a piece of mesh that goes through the middle and then

[01:01:45] the black trim that goes around the front that you see, I took the

[01:01:49] mesh out and put it in the back.

[01:01:52] So it's the factory grill.

[01:01:55] It's just kind of in a different order.

[01:01:57] Um, yes, there are zip ties.

[01:01:59] No, I don't want to talk about how many, but it works.

[01:02:03] It's a little bit different.

[01:02:05] Um, I don't know exactly how they did it as far as attaching everything, but I'm a,

[01:02:11] I'm a big mighty car mods fan.

[01:02:12] And a few years ago I had saw they had done it on the super grams project,

[01:02:17] which is a Subaru station wagon and I really liked the look of it.

[01:02:21] And so I try to figure out, oh, they moved the mesh.

[01:02:25] So I borrowed that idea from them in their, um, super grams project.

[01:02:31] Yeah, it looks good.

[01:02:32] You're welcome.

[01:02:33] And then I noticed you've done kind of like a lot of just, uh, editing of what

[01:02:40] you, you kind of like ideas, like some, some Photoshop things with like different

[01:02:46] colors and wheels and stuff like that.

[01:02:49] So I guess you're just trying to like see what it could potentially look

[01:02:52] like with some of the ideas you have in your head.

[01:02:54] Cause like there's one where you have the dual tipped exhaust in the back

[01:02:57] that looks really cool.

[01:02:59] Thanks.

[01:03:00] Yeah.

[01:03:01] So, um, maybe this is oversharing.

[01:03:04] I don't know.

[01:03:04] I can't actually, I don't have a visual imagination.

[01:03:08] Um, I wish I did, but I don't.

[01:03:10] Um, so because I can't picture things in my head, I end up doing a lot of

[01:03:14] like drawings and photo editing just like when I have an idea, just so I

[01:03:18] can actually see it and when I think things are especially cool or I am

[01:03:24] just really excited about it.

[01:03:26] Sometimes I'll post those, but generally when you see those, like photo edit,

[01:03:32] that's what's going on.

[01:03:33] It's just, I have an idea.

[01:03:34] I wanted to see it now that I do.

[01:03:36] I am excited and I wanted to share it.

[01:03:39] It's, um, I don't know when slash if a lot of those things will happen,

[01:03:44] but I figure if I like the idea, somebody else might like to see it as well.

[01:03:48] Yeah.

[01:03:48] It's cool to see those.

[01:03:50] I mean, it's see though, like the flow process coming out of your,

[01:03:54] out of your brain.

[01:03:56] You know what you're kind of thinking of.

[01:03:58] So, but I mean, it's, it's kind of nice to, I think, to document that too and

[01:04:02] be like, Hey, this is what it could potentially look like someday.

[01:04:05] And maybe we'll get there.

[01:04:06] Yeah.

[01:04:07] I figure, you know, maybe it'll give somebody else an idea and they'll

[01:04:10] share that and we'll bounce off of each other and, you know, so many

[01:04:14] ideas I get from seeing other accounts of just, Oh, I really like how they

[01:04:18] did that or I really like this part of it, you know, or whatever.

[01:04:21] So I think we all, you know, get ideas from each other.

[01:04:25] Yeah.

[01:04:25] Cause even if it's not something that you actually did, it's just like

[01:04:28] graphically showing something.

[01:04:30] Like you said, somebody might see that and be like, Oh, that looks really cool.

[01:04:33] And maybe I'll try that and reach out or something.

[01:04:36] So, and I'm, I'm all for it.

[01:04:39] I, uh, I like to see people get excited about modifying their cars.

[01:04:42] I, one thing that I don't see a whole lot in our community, which

[01:04:47] I'm grateful for, but I feel like with some places there is this, I

[01:04:52] don't want to share my mod list because I don't be able to copy me.

[01:04:55] And, you know, where I feel like in, in our community, it's more of like,

[01:05:00] well, it's kind of the opposite.

[01:05:01] It's, you know, here's everything I've done, you know, what have you done?

[01:05:04] You know, what do we have in common?

[01:05:05] What can we, you know, and it's a lot more collaborative, which I like.

[01:05:08] Yeah.

[01:05:08] And I think when somebody says like, Oh, I saw that you did this

[01:05:12] and I decided to do that too.

[01:05:14] Then people for the most part are feel like grateful and thankful

[01:05:19] that, you know, somebody took their idea and used it on their own car.

[01:05:23] Because, you know, unless you're doing like an exact copy of somebody else's

[01:05:27] build for the most part, we get ideas from other people, but we still have

[01:05:31] our own touches here and there of what we're doing with our build.

[01:05:35] And, you know, it's just, you draw inspiration from somebody because I

[01:05:39] mean, ultimately somebody is going to have the same wheels and tires.

[01:05:42] It's just unavoidable, you know, or the same basket.

[01:05:46] And it's not like you're copying somebody.

[01:05:47] It's like you're getting what's available and what you like.

[01:05:50] And then there's always going to be subtle touches here and there

[01:05:53] that make your car different because cars are going to be different colors.

[01:05:55] You're going to use different accents or different color accents.

[01:05:59] So there's always going to be subtle differences.

[01:06:01] And, but again, it's kind of like flattering when somebody is like, Hey,

[01:06:05] I saw your idea and I took that and I ran with it.

[01:06:07] And I was like, Oh, awesome.

[01:06:08] It looks good on your car too.

[01:06:10] Yeah.

[01:06:11] Big agree.

[01:06:11] Big agree.

[01:06:13] So this is the get to know the person behind the account segment,

[01:06:17] but who is Erin?

[01:06:19] I'm queer.

[01:06:20] I'm neurodivergent.

[01:06:21] Uh, I'm a leftist.

[01:06:23] I like to help people.

[01:06:25] Um, and I like cars, cats, and coffee.

[01:06:28] Uh, you know, I like to talk about stuff that makes me happy.

[01:06:32] I like to try to make the world a better place to whatever

[01:06:36] degree that I can and, um, yeah, that's, that's me.

[01:06:40] All right.

[01:06:40] Where were you born?

[01:06:42] Uh, I was born in Georgia.

[01:06:44] Okay.

[01:06:44] Where at in Georgia?

[01:06:45] Uh, I was born in Fort Benning.

[01:06:47] I think there's a different name at this point, but I don't know what it is.

[01:06:51] I've been to Atlanta and I've been to, uh, the Cobb County area.

[01:06:57] Okay.

[01:06:57] Yeah.

[01:06:58] That's cool.

[01:06:59] Yep.

[01:06:59] So I can't say I know it super well.

[01:07:01] I've been, well, I've been back as an adult.

[01:07:03] We moved out when I was like three.

[01:07:05] So, yeah.

[01:07:06] Yeah.

[01:07:08] So what is a favorite memory from your childhood?

[01:07:11] So I was thinking I'd give you a car one.

[01:07:15] Um, I remember being.

[01:07:17] Probably five or six or so.

[01:07:19] And I was sitting at that point as a friend and his dad had a Porsche

[01:07:25] nine 30 turbo, uh, bright red flat engine.

[01:07:30] Uh, you might say it was a little influential, but I just remember

[01:07:35] being in that car and, um, you know, I don't know how fast we were going.

[01:07:40] I have to, I, I know he was speeding, but I just remember thinking,

[01:07:44] you know, this is so cool.

[01:07:45] This is, uh, I just remember the excitement that I had from seeing

[01:07:50] that car and getting to be around that car and, um, that feeling

[01:07:55] hasn't really left, you know, and I see stuff that I like.

[01:07:59] I, that, that excitement, I'm actually feeling it a little bit now.

[01:08:02] Just kind of talking about it, but, um, yeah, no, it was really influential.

[01:08:09] I love Porsche's.

[01:08:10] It's actually one of my dream cars.

[01:08:12] It's like a 90 mid nineties, like probably like 96, nine 11 turbo.

[01:08:18] Those are just, yeah.

[01:08:21] And I don't it's funny because like, I don't really know much about

[01:08:24] Porsche's at all, as far as like the mechanics and, you know, I

[01:08:27] just, I love the body style and it's just, it looks like it would be

[01:08:31] a really fun car to drive.

[01:08:33] And I love how that, that year, uh, or that like area of when they

[01:08:40] making Porsche's how the back wheel well flared out a lot more than they do now.

[01:08:46] Like that's, I love that look.

[01:08:48] That's so cool.

[01:08:49] It's a, it's a gorgeous car.

[01:08:50] I'm with you there.

[01:08:52] Yeah.

[01:08:53] So what is it that you do for a living?

[01:08:55] So at the moment I am actually between jobs.

[01:08:59] Um, so I'm, I'm actively job hunting.

[01:09:02] So if you want to hire somebody that's detail oriented, that's

[01:09:06] very creative, let me know.

[01:09:08] Um, but no, I'm, I'm actively job hunting at the moment.

[01:09:12] Okay.

[01:09:13] So what have you been doing for a living?

[01:09:16] Yeah.

[01:09:16] So previously I was selling Nissan's, uh, I'd told Subarus in the past.

[01:09:21] Um, I've, I was an admin at a university for awhile.

[01:09:25] I've done a lot of different things.

[01:09:27] I think that's the ADHD part for me, at least it's I learned something.

[01:09:32] I want to learn something else.

[01:09:33] I want to learn something else.

[01:09:34] You know, I'm constantly trying to learn and do new things, but, um, it would be

[01:09:40] nice to find something that, that I could grow within the company and,

[01:09:44] and stay at a place for a little bit.

[01:09:47] Well, it's good to have different skills too.

[01:09:50] You know, learn different things and implement those in different places.

[01:09:54] So what would your dream job be then?

[01:09:57] If you could do whatever you wanted.

[01:09:58] Yeah.

[01:09:59] Um, so the things that I've done that I liked the most were volunteer positions.

[01:10:05] Um, I was a support group facilitator for a queer group for a few years.

[01:10:14] Um, and that was really impactful.

[01:10:17] It definitely felt like you're making people's lives better.

[01:10:21] Um, I've worked just at the front desk of a, a youth homeless shelter.

[01:10:27] Um, and, you know, while my job was really just opening the doors, you

[01:10:30] know, and saying hi, you know, getting to talk to people and, um, getting

[01:10:35] to know people was really powerful.

[01:10:37] You know, I would like to work with, uh, you know, an or person or

[01:10:42] organization that was making the world better, um, you know, whether

[01:10:46] that be with social justice or environmental causes or, um, with

[01:10:52] animals, you know, I get more joy from leaving the world better than I

[01:10:59] found it then from just making a stack of money.

[01:11:03] Yeah.

[01:11:04] No, that makes sense.

[01:11:05] I mean, it's, it's always good to be helpful and try to

[01:11:08] make the world a better place.

[01:11:09] Even if it's just in a small little niche community or something,

[01:11:13] you know, I mean, if you can, if you can bring joy to people's lives

[01:11:18] and what you do, then I think that's like a huge thing.

[01:11:23] So besides getting out and driving your cross trick, what other hobbies do you have?

[01:11:28] Sure.

[01:11:29] Um, well, we talked about traveling before that's like the big one.

[01:11:32] Not that I really have the money for it.

[01:11:34] So a lot of it, you know, ends up being to see family or for work, but

[01:11:38] that's like, if I could do more of anything that would, that would be it.

[01:11:42] Oh yeah.

[01:11:42] Um, but in the opposite of that, when we were in COVID and we

[01:11:47] couldn't, you know, go next door, I started learning some more languages.

[01:11:52] So that's been a, I guess a hobby that continued, uh, you know, add me on

[01:11:57] Duolingo if you want, um, but, uh, I've been doing that.

[01:12:01] Um, otherwise it's just kind of hanging out with my spouse and my

[01:12:07] friends and my cats and, um, you know, thinking of stuff I want to do to

[01:12:13] the car or places I want to go to.

[01:12:15] Yeah.

[01:12:16] Yeah.

[01:12:16] It's definitely fun to travel when you can.

[01:12:19] It's not always easy, but yeah, like you said, it's expensive.

[01:12:21] I mean, it's, and like for me, there's like, I always have people asking

[01:12:25] me if I'm going to come out here and come out there or if you're ever

[01:12:28] out this way and it's like everywhere is so far for me, so either it

[01:12:31] do it either be a really long drive or I'd have to fly and so flying

[01:12:36] can be expensive that if I drive then I, you know, I have to take

[01:12:40] a lot more time off work.

[01:12:41] So it's just, it becomes difficult.

[01:12:43] So it gets

[01:12:46] I imagine a lot of the places you'd want to go, you'd want to have your car

[01:12:49] with you so that makes flying a little more tricky.

[01:12:52] Yeah.

[01:12:53] But also want to be able to take my son with me and now that my

[01:12:56] daughter has moved back, it's like, I want to make it a family thing

[01:12:58] where it would be me and my son and my daughter and her husband.

[01:13:03] And so that gets even tougher.

[01:13:05] So it's like, I don't want to take like any, uh, selfish travel.

[01:13:10] If that makes sense.

[01:13:11] So totally what is something that makes you want to get out of

[01:13:15] bed every day?

[01:13:18] I, I like it when I have something that I can hyper-focus on.

[01:13:22] Um, when I have a project that I'm really excited about, it's very easy.

[01:13:27] You know, alarm clock goes off.

[01:13:29] I'm up, you know, like today I was excited to get to talk with you.

[01:13:33] So it was pretty easy to jump out of bed as I am, you know, kind

[01:13:37] of looking for work right now.

[01:13:39] It's something that I've been struggling with a little bit lately,

[01:13:43] but, um, no, when I, when I have something that I'm excited about,

[01:13:48] that I can focus on, that's what makes it the easiest to jump up.

[01:13:52] Yeah, definitely.

[01:13:54] What is something that makes you want to stay in bed?

[01:13:58] So this isn't the most fun answer, but, um, stress, anxiety, pain, uh,

[01:14:04] you know, I have some health stuff and so some days it's just, it's

[01:14:10] hard to get up and get going, but that's why, uh, hobbies you love

[01:14:14] are so important because sometimes they can kind of jumpstart you past that.

[01:14:18] Yeah, no, that is, that is important.

[01:14:20] That's good to have too.

[01:14:21] What would be your best bit of advice to give to someone about anything?

[01:14:28] You're never too old to be yourself.

[01:14:30] So if there's a part about you that you're not ready to

[01:14:38] share with the world, that's okay.

[01:14:41] But if you decide that you are then, and it gives you more

[01:14:45] joy and more freedom, then you know, I think that you should do it.

[01:14:49] Um, as a person who's come out about different things in the past, like

[01:14:54] it's scary and it's hard, but it's also liberating and there's a weight

[01:15:02] lifted off your shoulder and so if that's something that you're, you're

[01:15:05] feeling or you're struggling with, um, you know, of course I'm happy to

[01:15:08] talk, but also, you know, be you, whether you're my age, younger

[01:15:13] than me, older than me, like there's not a time limit on authenticity.

[01:15:18] Yeah, no, that's good.

[01:15:19] That's a, I would agree.

[01:15:21] It's a, yeah, cause sometimes no matter what it is, and it might be something

[01:15:24] that you think and feel personally that you don't want to share that

[01:15:30] people might judge you on, you know, whatever it may be.

[01:15:33] And then when you decide, okay, I'm going to go ahead and just put this

[01:15:38] out there, then you find that people are a lot more accepting or you find

[01:15:43] that there are other people just like you and then you're like, and like

[01:15:46] you said, get a weight lifted off your shoulders and it can make you feel

[01:15:49] a lot better and then you're like, okay, well I guess it wasn't as

[01:15:53] big of a deal as I was making it for, cause you know, however long,

[01:15:56] cause it could be years and it's just like, you struggle with it

[01:15:59] internally and then you can put it out there and then feel a lot

[01:16:03] better and like I said, people accept you and you find other people

[01:16:06] that are like you and they're like, well, I feel a lot better now.

[01:16:10] And cause that could be debilitating at times.

[01:16:13] Yes, that's a very good word for it.

[01:16:15] Um, no, I think you're absolutely right.

[01:16:18] Yep.

[01:16:18] So is there anything else you want to share or talk about?

[01:16:22] What are we, what are you going to go do today?

[01:16:25] Uh, so I'm thinking about going to check out Rally Cross.

[01:16:29] That is actually probably starting right now.

[01:16:32] So it'll be a little bit late, but that's okay.

[01:16:33] Um, there's also, uh, and an art show downtown in the little city

[01:16:39] I live in, so I'm not entirely sure.

[01:16:42] Um,

[01:16:43] well, at least you've got options.

[01:16:45] Yeah, yeah.

[01:16:45] And, and since we talked kind of early this morning, it, it got me up.

[01:16:50] So I'm ready to go.

[01:16:51] Whatever, whatever happens.

[01:16:53] I did want to mention one other thing.

[01:16:55] Is it okay to, to throw that out here?

[01:16:57] So, um, there's a big flag behind me.

[01:16:59] I don't know if you can see it, but yeah, part of it.

[01:17:02] Yeah.

[01:17:03] So, um, it's a car club.

[01:17:05] It's meant it's a safe place.

[01:17:07] It's for, um, queer folks, other minorities, you know, people who may feel

[01:17:13] uncomfortable in typical car scenes.

[01:17:16] Um, it's called drive deviant.

[01:17:18] Um, right now it's mostly online, but we have chapters all over the

[01:17:22] world that are getting to go up.

[01:17:25] So if you are wanting to do things with your car and you're, you

[01:17:29] know, feeling intimidated and you want a safe place to talk with other

[01:17:34] people, to just, you know, get your toes in the water for that kind of

[01:17:36] stuff, I definitely invite people to find us, um, to find us online.

[01:17:42] Just it's a very welcoming, accepting, um, kind of place.

[01:17:47] Okay.

[01:17:48] That was a nice little plug.

[01:17:50] Thanks.

[01:17:50] Welcome.

[01:17:51] Well, whatever you decide to do, I hope you have a good day and, uh,

[01:17:55] thanks again for taking the time to record on the podcast.

[01:17:59] Take two, take three.

[01:18:01] So we had an adventure.

[01:18:02] Yeah.

[01:18:03] Yeah.

[01:18:04] So, well, thanks again.

[01:18:05] And, uh, I hope you have a good weekend or the rest of your weekend

[01:18:09] and we'll keep in touch and, uh, yeah, just thanks.

[01:18:13] That was fun.

[01:18:14] Sounds good.

[01:18:14] Thank you so much.

[01:18:15] I really appreciate you having me on.

[01:18:16] You're welcome.

[01:18:17] Thank you so much everybody for tuning into another episode

[01:18:20] of the subi new podcast.

[01:18:22] If you're not doing so go give Erin a follow her Instagram

[01:18:26] handle is flat pack potato all together.

[01:18:30] So go give her a follow and send her a DM and let her know what

[01:18:33] she thought about her episode.

[01:18:34] And thank you again, Erin, for taking the time to record with me and be

[01:18:39] the next guest on the subi and you podcast.

[01:18:43] As I mentioned early in the episode, wicked big meat is coming up this Sunday.

[01:18:47] So I hope you all have a great time and be sure to get your tickets now.

[01:18:51] So you don't have to wait in line at the gate at the event.

[01:18:54] And if you didn't already see them, check out the boards that Bucky is

[01:18:59] going to have for sale at the subi fest events this year.

[01:19:02] They are pretty epic and it's got the face of Betty on the bottom of the deck.

[01:19:08] And those are really, really cool.

[01:19:10] I will be sure to pick one up again this year and yeah, bring one home

[01:19:15] with me because those are pretty awesome.

[01:19:17] I'm putting together or actually my son is putting together a pretty

[01:19:21] good collection of Bucky boards.

[01:19:23] That board will be his sixth Bucky deck.

[01:19:26] So it's he's got a good collection going.

[01:19:28] So thank you so much Bucky for creating all these awesome

[01:19:33] decks for us to collect.

[01:19:35] I hope you all have a great week and we will see you

[01:19:38] next Monday for another episode.

[01:19:41] I hope you all have some great summer plans for this summer.

[01:19:45] I guess that's what it would be if it's summer plans.

[01:19:48] So yeah, we are still trying to figure out what we're going to do,

[01:19:52] but I hope you all have a good one and can enjoy some downtime.

[01:19:56] So see you on another episode.

[01:19:58] Hopefully we'll see you out in the world somewhere.

[01:20:01] Much subi love, Raph.

[01:20:04] The Subi and You podcast is hosted by Raphael in a closet in Houston,

[01:20:08] produced by Raphael in a room next to the closet in Houston and edited

[01:20:12] by Raphael on a computer in the room next to the closet in Houston with

[01:20:16] music by Luke Ruiz in another room in Houston.

[01:20:20] You can find the Subi and You podcast wherever you listen to podcasts,

[01:20:23] including Apple podcast, Spotify and many more.

[01:20:27] To support the podcast, please head over to patreon.com slash subi and you

[01:20:31] podcast. Once you join,

[01:20:33] you will have access to the discord channel and discord chats with other

[01:20:36] patrons. If you'd like to get in contact with the show,

[01:20:39] you can find them on Instagram at subi and you podcast online at

[01:20:43] subi and you podcast.com or by email, subi and you podcast at gmail.com.

[01:20:49] That's all for this week. Tune in Mondays for new episodes.