S&YE237 - The FatCow Chronicles

[00:00:10] Hey everybody, this is Ken. You can find me on Instagram at TheFatCowChronicles. You're listening to episode 237 of the Subie & You podcast. Hello and welcome to another episode of the Subie & YOU!. Ken is another guest that I've actually met in person so that is really, really cool.

[00:00:29] I first met him at Overland Expo in Colorado last year because he and his girlfriend at the time were walking around in cow suits. And I was like, who are these people walking around in cow suits? Because it was pretty warm out there and they're walking around in these warm suits. But that was memorable, which is cool. And then I ended up talking to them later on and they are actually on the bonus episode from last year.

[00:00:58] So we did get a chance to talk on in a podcast format before, but now he's here for his full episode. Because I ended up seeing him again this year at Overland Expo in Arizona and getting to talk to him, him and Courtney Moore. And it was just really good time. So yeah, we'll go ahead and get into this episode here. But hope everybody is had a good weekend and maybe things are starting to cool off for people.

[00:01:26] Of course, depending on where you live here in Houston, it's still pretty warm. And as Ken mentions in his episode here, it's still pretty warm in Arizona, but he said it's starting to cool off there. So hopefully people are starting to get into some cooler weather because it can get pretty brutal out there. As I have mentioned on the Subie Scoob, Boxer Fest is coming up this month.

[00:01:49] It's not too far away. It's Sunday, September 27th from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in York, Pennsylvania at York Fairgrounds. So if you're planning to go, I would recommend getting your tickets ahead of time, purchasing them online so that you don't have to wait in line to get tickets. You'll still have to wait in line to get in, but at least you won't have to wait to get your tickets.

[00:02:11] And there may still be time. I can't guarantee, but there may still be time that if you want to show up and show your love of Subaru, you can go to subarugear.com and order a new hat or a T-shirt to wear at the event or maybe a crossbody bag or a backpack to carry around all the stuff that you're going to get at Boxer Fest. Because a lot of times you see people walking around with stuff in their arms. And if you have a new backpack that has Subaru on it, you can have a place to put those things in.

[00:02:39] So just a thought, but go to SubaruGear.com, browse the site, pick out what you want. When you go to checkout, you can use the code SUBIENU2026 to save 20% off a single item or your entire cart. Fill up your cart and save 20%. If your total is over $50 after the 20% discount, you'll automatically get free shipping. And that is a really great benefit. So go check it out. Use the code. Save some money.

[00:03:08] And thank you so much, Subaru Gear, for sponsoring the SUBIENU podcast and bringing this awesome offer. During the episode, Ken mentions this event that's coming up, but I wanted to give more information right here up front just so you can go ahead and hear it now. But it's called Meet Me in the Mountains, and it's like a trail run. They're going to meet at the Circle K at 10068 Arizona 69 in Mayer, Arizona.

[00:03:36] And it's basically going to be a meetup with the SUBIE crew. So the timeline is going to be 8 a.m. They're going to meet and greet at the Circle K. 9 a.m. They're going to wheels up. They're going to hit the trail. And then 3 p.m. That's the approximate wrap-up time. So his post was from Saturday, I believe, this past Saturday, September 12th. But you can go check his Instagram page. But they say don't forget to RSVP for their first state 48 SUBIE crew trail run.

[00:04:03] And then if you RSVP by October 1st at the SUBIE crew website, you'll get a little thank you gift the day of the trail run. So, yeah, go check it out. If you're in the Arizona area or not too far away and you want to be a part of it, you can probably just send him a message through Instagram. But you can also find more details at theSUBIE crew.com. As well as going and checking out and following State 48 SUBIE crew on Facebook.

[00:04:32] So I mentioned at SUBARUGEAR.com you can purchase things to help accessorize your body by getting a hat or a T-shirt or something else that you can wear. But your car can wear things as well, like a Mele Design Firm engine bay cap or front strut tower brace. They even have a pitch stop. They have the battery mounts. They have the battery hold downs.

[00:04:56] So there's a lot of different items available at MeleeDesignFirm.com and you can save 10% by using the code SUBIENU at checkout. And the code is available on pretty much everything site-wide. Of course, you'll find out if it is or isn't. But there's a lot of items available for Subarus. So go check out MeleeDesignFirm.com. Use the code SUBIENU and save 10%. And thank you so much, Melee Design Firm, for sponsoring the podcast.

[00:05:24] And now it's time to get started with this episode and this conversation with Ken to hear about his Crosstrek. He talks about his fiancee, Courtney, and Herb Forrester and just some of the adventures that they've gone on, other things that they've done. He talks a little, you know, about being at Overland Expo and just being part of this awesome, amazing Subaru community. So let's go ahead and get into this conversation with Ken.

[00:06:00] Hey, Ken. How's it going, man? Fantastic, man. How are you? Good. It's nice to see you again. And because I've seen you twice in person at Overland Expo in 2025 in Colorado and then this year in Arizona. So it's pretty cool. Yeah. Yeah. Fantastic. Could actually be able to meet up with you like this. Yeah. And can just add you to the list of people that I've actually met in person. Chee-hoo. Yeah.

[00:06:30] It's living in Houston and doing most of these remote. It's fun when I get a chance to meet people in person. Yeah. Met you so good. We had you dressed up as a coward. Yeah. That was fun. Yeah. Actually, right after work before this, I went and picked up my brother because there's a little trail that is not too far from us. It leads back to what used to be a YMCA camp because I'm like, I got to get out of the apartment.

[00:07:00] I want to get out and get off the pavement. So it's just a gravel road and some of it's dirt. And I was hoping that like it would have gotten a little more muddy with some of the rain that we had. But it's weird because like it could be raining here, pouring. And then like that spot that's like 10 minutes away could have not gotten anything, you know, the way the weather works. But while we were driving through there, my brother was like, oh, my gosh, is that a disc golf basket?

[00:07:30] And so it was just like in the woods, all grown up around it. So he went out there and it was just sitting there. So he snagged it and we threw it in the back of my cross track. And now he's got another disc golf basket in his backyard because he already had one. Now he's got another one. And this one apparently is a lot nicer than the one that he has. Yeah. Yeah. So yay for Subaru having a bunch of room in my cross track to throw it. It barely fit, but it fit.

[00:07:58] So it was, you know, didn't find any mud, but we found that. So that was pretty cool. Yeah. Yeah. Good. Good. Come up on the adventure there. Yeah. I got to get, I got to take it where I can because we were very limited out here. Yeah. Yeah. Luckily we got a spot just up the road, like three minutes away. That'll get me right onto the dirt road. And the sad part is they're all torn up by side by sides now. Oh man, that sucks. Yeah. Yeah. It's everything out here.

[00:08:28] Yeah. Well, I'll have to ask you the most important question. And that's whether you prefer waffles or pancakes. Hands down waffles and fun experience. Even I've never done like the continental breakfast at a hotel before. Yeah. So when we were on our way to the Colorado expo, we stopped at a hotel with the continental and I was actually able to make my own waffle. Oh yeah. They have the, did they have the big waffle maker? Yeah.

[00:08:58] You have to like flip it over and everything. I had no clue what I was doing. Thank goodness for Courtney, but waffles hands down for sure. It holds all the flavor in individual little pockets, you know? Yeah. Yeah. I agree with you there. Waffles are good, but I'm a pancake guy. But yeah, both good. Thicker or thinner consistencies. Yeah. For, for pancakes?

[00:09:23] Oh, for, I like, um, you like the thick pancake or when I make them at home, they're a little bit thicker. Uh, but like if I go somewhere and they make them thinner, I'm like, I don't really have a preference, but yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know. I might end up having some after this. I don't know. We'll see some pancakes. Good little dinner. Yeah. Breakfast for dinner. Yeah, man. What is the story behind the fat cow chronicles?

[00:09:52] Cause, uh, like where the name come from and what does it mean? You know, like what's the, I guess the purpose of it and all that. Yeah. So the fat cow aspect of it just comes from just through and through spirit animal for me. You know, I've always been a pretty skinny guy and I eat a lot. And if I could be any animal, it'd be the cow. I don't know. Just happy little buggers grazing. Yeah.

[00:10:18] And then yeah, for the social medias, it was like, well, what'll kind of like, instead of just the fat cow, it'll kind of help encapsulate like what I'm trying to do with the page and everything. So it ended up being the fat cow chronicles. Cause we're just kind of trying to capture that lifestyle and moseying around, you know? Yeah. How, uh, how long have you had that Instagram account? The account for a few years now.

[00:10:45] And then I just recently changed it over to the fat cow chronicles from just like my traditional name and everything. Okay. So two years. Okay. I want to say I've been doing it. Wasn't very heavy pushing social media when I first switched over. So it's kind of been getting a little stronger recently, which has been a lot of fun. Yeah. To be a little more creative with the stuff I get to share and everything.

[00:11:12] And obviously meeting up with more people is always the best. So. Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It can be a little scary putting yourself out there, especially like being on camera at first, but then the more you do it, the easier it gets and the less uncomfortable it feels. And like, cause I've gotten to where like, I actually like it now because. Oh, you're a professional man.

[00:11:37] I'm trying to be, but yeah, I'm also, you know, I'm venturing into UGC, which is user generated content. And so like, I have to be on camera, you know, that's like you, you really want to be. And I really like it. It's been, it's been a lot of fun. And, uh, so, you know, I've been more intentional and then like with Subaru gear, I wanted to be on camera more rather than just like snagging images from the website, which is what I had been doing.

[00:12:07] So, so that's fun too. But yeah, it's, uh, it's cool to, um, see people just kind of going after it and, you know, doing something new and different and, uh, exploring that side of social media and themselves. Yeah. It's been really awkward so far, but ultimately a lot of fun. And I think that's kind of what it really is all about is just having fun with it. You know, we're just a bunch of adult kids running around toy cars, you know? So.

[00:12:37] Yeah. But I think like the more awkward you are and the more just yourself you are, then that's like the authenticity of it. And I think what people, you know, end up resonating with more than trying to have like everything be perfect and polished and everything, you know, it's like, I just need more people to just be genuine. Yeah. The perfect and polished doesn't mean only at work. Yeah.

[00:13:04] So also in your Instagram bio, it says Lorax inspired and then smoky bear advocate. So tell us more about those couple of things. Yeah. So go backwards with it and start with the smoky bear. And he's just kind of from a childhood been instilled in me, but he's just like folklore hero or she, I believe it was a female bear that was chased up the tree, like originally where it all stemmed from.

[00:13:34] But, uh, yeah, just the whole stuff out your fires. Don't be a fool. Like if you're going to do something, you can do it in a responsible way. Yeah. Yeah. We lose too many acres of forest land every year to forest fires and it's just irresponsible to, to not be responsible about it when there's so much at stake. So yeah, just kind of smoky bear advocate, you know, gotta push that.

[00:14:02] And then the Lorax is just the keeper of the trees, you know, cause when the trees don't have a voice, who's going to speak for them, you know? So it's our, it's our forest land. It's ours to be able to access and use. And it's our responsibility to make sure that we get to keep using them. Yeah. Cause if we go in and thrash, then they put the gates up and end up kicking us out of certain lands. And yeah, it just kind of sucks.

[00:14:31] I've seen it time in and time out. So. Yeah. Cause you have the people that just seem to not care and then they end up, you know, ruining it for everybody else. Idiots. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. People going out dumping trash, not packing it in, packing it out. So I know it's a cliche thing to, to advocate for, but it is one of those things that eventually does get gates put up. So. Yeah. No, it's a good thing.

[00:14:59] I mean, for people that truly want to be outdoors and go explore, you want everything to be nice and not be all jacked up, you know? Yeah. Yeah. Who wants to see that beer can on the side of the road when you're 15 miles into the middle of nowhere or 30 miles into the middle of nowhere. Yeah. Like you couldn't just put that back in your car, buddy. Come on. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, uh, yeah.

[00:15:23] Just to kind of advocate for, for our forest and everything and our, our preserves and all of that in a more childish sense than don't be a dummy. Yeah. Nothing wrong with that, man. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, uh, whenever we met in Colorado, we were talking about our cross treks and I told you

[00:15:47] that mine is a manual and I know the one that you have now is not your first one. So tell me the story again behind that, because I know that like you had a manual and then something happened and now you have another one. Uh, so tell us a bit about that. And then also, so that means you've had two Subarus, but is that the only two you've had or have you had more?

[00:16:15] No, I've definitely had a couple of more. So I had one shoe when I was like 18 wasn't in the, it was the car. I drove it to parties and beat the heck out of it, you know? So it wasn't like I think of them today. And then another one before I got my last wagon, my Volkswagen, I had a 2015 Forester for a couple of years and then traded that one.

[00:16:43] And then, yeah, my most recent was a 2018 six speed manual white cross trek, just like yours. Yeah. So, um, but unfortunately we had it hit by a drunk driver while we were inside the house and the car was parked out front. Yeah. So they hit Courtney's car and then it slammed into mine and totaled all three of them out. Oh my gosh.

[00:17:13] Yeah. I had to go car shopping for a while and then we ended up finding Courtney's first, driving down to Phoenix to get it. And then ended up taking hers all the way to the expo in Colorado and met up with you before I even found the one I currently have. And then it was the day after we got back from Colorado, from the expo, we doubled down and drove all the way to the West coast and pick the car up in California.

[00:17:43] Very nice. And what year is this one now? It's a 2018. It's the same car, just the fancier model, if you will. So it's got all the bells and the whistles and a couple of upgrades from the previous owner. So nice, but no manual, right? Not a manual, no. It's got cool little paddle shifters, but... Yeah. It's not the same. It's not. No, you kind of lose all the feel for it. And then, yeah, yeah.

[00:18:13] It just isn't the same. So how long did you have the manual? Year and a half. Oh, okay. Yeah. Yeah. Got a lot of good memories out of it and everything. That's good. And that's what really pushed me into kind of wanting to build the Subaru and lift it and do the skid plates and the fun tires to be able to get out places and things to eventually make you feel safe in case something happens while you're out there. Yeah.

[00:18:42] Now, did you do any of that with the first one? Oh, yeah. I ended up putting a two-inch Ironman lift on it and then the front skid plates. I just never got to the point of the rears yet and the pod lights and obviously lights over lockers. So just a couple things to get me out there. And then, yeah, I ended up going on a lot of expeditions with that thing to a lot of different places and it really sparked my interest in getting out there.

[00:19:12] How was it driving off-road for you in a manual? Because for me, the first time it was... I mean, it was my first time driving off-road anyway. So I didn't really have anything to compare it to. In the manual, there was... You could smell the clutch sometimes in some of the features you were trying to get up and it was inevitable unless you were going at it with a little extra speed as to where the automatic, you can kind of just feather it as you go.

[00:19:41] I do notice they have a weird... It feels like it puts it into a limp mode almost to where you don't... Like you can push your foot all the way to the floor, but it won't actively give you the power. Yeah. So sometimes you have to give a little bit of approach speed and a little bit of a bump to get up some things. But it's... For those more technical sections, it's a lot smoother and easier than the manual was. Okay. So what have you done with...

[00:20:10] As far as modifications to this one that you have now? And what... This one's what the... Cool Gray Khaki? God. Cool Gray Khaki. Yeah, that's what it was. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. In the right light. Like a nice baby blue. You know? Yeah. Yeah. So just kind of some basic. We're skidded out on the whole thing with LP Adventures. And then I've got the LP Adventure front bash bar with the lights and 4K seats up there.

[00:20:39] And then I got the side skids from LP as well. And then I went with a 15 inch rim from... Gosh, who makes it? It's the Gold Rush from Nomad. Okay. But they make a couple of different options for the 5x100s. Yeah, I like the 15 inch wheel. Yeah. I'm a big fan. It allows you to have a little bit bigger of a sidewall. Yeah. And you just kind of feel more aggressive on the trail.

[00:21:05] And then when you air down, it just feels quite a bit smoother. Yep. Yeah. Yeah. But yeah, they're just wrapped in a basic tire from Walmart. Super cheap. They're a five fly all terrains. They're the second set I've been through now because I had the same rims on the last car wrapped in the same tires. They're doing pretty good, huh? Wow, they're great. I love them. That's good. I think they're a phenomenal tire and I wish we could get them to endorse me or something.

[00:21:33] They don't even have any social media or anything. Yeah, that's always nice. If they did. Yeah. Yeah. And then I ended up finding some like molly panels for a fourth gen forerunner at a Goodwill for like 30 bucks. Oh, nice. They're like brand new still in the box. And I was like, I know I can make these work. So I just kind of found a way to engineer them into the back of the car. So I've got some molly panels in the back hatch with some basic first aid kit stuff and

[00:22:03] little bags to hold the dog stuff. And just kind of keep everything tidy and organized, you know, hold the flashlight. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And then my most recent one was the Midland GSMR. I just recently got put into the car and then I got used it the other weekend going out with a couple of buddies and it is a phenomenal radio. And I don't know what took me so long to just pull the trigger on one.

[00:22:31] Walkie talkies are just not it while you're out there. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No, that's nice. Yeah. It's seems to be a little more convenient to do it that way. Yeah. Good hard belt, you know, and everything and the volume on it is what what's selling me so far. Yeah. It's you got some good mods going on there. Yeah. Just enough to make me feel a little safer out there and make sure I can't crack an oil pan.

[00:22:59] You know, it's the scariest thing about them. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, you definitely I mean, you don't you don't necessarily need skid plates like if you're just going on gravel roads, you know, but if you're going off, you know, if there's some terrain changes and you're dropping your tires down into ruts and stuff, you definitely want to get something to protect it because even if you don't hit any rocks, there may

[00:23:25] be some like really, really hard dirt mounds that could potentially, you know, maybe not puncture, but dented at least. Yeah. So it's better to be it's better to have that protection anyway, because then you're then you can go more places and you're not like limited as to where you can go. So that added peace of mind for end protection. I think they're just a solid base point beginner mod, you know, it's just the peace of mind. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:23:54] Definitely a good addition. So you have your your cross track and Courtney has her Forrester. So like and you have she has a trailer that she pulls behind it, right? Yeah. So it's the trailer is why I got the manual transmission originally is so I could tow with it.

[00:24:15] And then when I lost Felicia, the last one, it hers has a better transmission in it, ultimately in the Forrester. So I ended up doing an aftermarket trans cooler in it and everything too. So we use hers to tow the trailer. Just again, better transmission and everything. Yeah. Kind of afraid to tow it with the transmission in the Forrester.

[00:24:43] And then it's not a wilderness, so it doesn't have like the included trans cooler on it or anything like they do nowadays. So. Yeah. But yeah, no, she's got the 2017 Forrester. It's a pretty slick unit. Yeah. To be honest. And it did a good job pulling the trailer on the trails too. Yeah. Yeah. So we used it taking it all the way to the Colorado Expo even. Nice.

[00:25:10] We used hers to get over there with the trailer and everything. And yeah, not a problem. So. Even on the trails. I guess y'all are using that primarily to like when you're going camping and stuff, right? Yeah. The bigger trips and everything. If we're just kind of going out for the weekend excursion on one day, we'll typically just hop in mine and everything. I like to drive it. It feels more comfortable. And it's yours. You know what I mean? Yeah. Oh yeah.

[00:25:40] Do you have like any, are there any mods that are like a mod that's kind of like a wishlist mod that you would love to have for your Crosstrek that you don't have? Or maybe is like a little hard to, you know, obtain. Yeah. What is it? The built-in front bumper so I can do the hidden wench in it. Oh yeah. Those are nice. Yeah. I kind of want to get rid of the LP front bash bar.

[00:26:09] It hangs so low and it takes all my lift kit ground clearance away. Granted, it does a great job at protecting. Yeah. It just is a nuisance and likes to get in the way. Looks really pretty though. No, they do look nice. Yeah. Just ultimately getting a bumper or a bumper with a wench mount up front for, for those deeper excursions and everything. Weird peace of mind. And they look cool.

[00:26:38] So like, I want to know, like, where did your interest in Subaru come from in the first place? The last one, Felicia, I primarily got it to be able to start getting outdoors and off road. Cause the one before that was like a lowered front wheel drive wagon, Volkswagen, you know? So it limited me in a lot of ways. And I've always been adventurous. I had like a secondary vehicle when I lived in Washington.

[00:27:06] That was a four wheel drive I could get out with. And yeah, just life is kind of, you get one car now. So I decided to jump into something that it allowed me to have a lot of fun with my daily drivers still. Yeah. Yeah. And you knew, I mean, you had Subarus before where, did you know like a whole lot about Subaru or were those cars that you had before just like a car to you? Yeah. Yeah.

[00:27:35] Just cars. They got many places. Yeah. So now it's more intentional and yeah, it's crazy. You buy, you buy a Subaru and then you find out there's like this whole community and then SOA is doing stuff for people and just like all this crazy stuff that ends up happening because you bought a Subaru. So it's pretty awesome. It was like buying the Subaru and then going through like wanting to lift it, wanting to

[00:28:02] get out there, go adventure and then find other people with lifted Subarus to get out there and adventure with. And then that all led me to being able to get invited to the SOA to Subaru of America's base camp and everything. The first time in Flagstaff and like once I got there, it was just like the whole life everything of it expanded so much. And Courtney and I met so many like lifelong friends from that first event.

[00:28:32] And yeah, the community of everything has just expanded tenfold once you really start getting involved with it. And I think that's the most awesome part about like all of it, you know? Oh yeah. Yeah. Cause you went last year to Flagstaff in Colorado, right? Yeah. And then we got invited again this year to the Flagstaff too. I think it's cause I wear the cow outfits to be honest. Yeah.

[00:28:59] It's memorable because I remember, so like, I remember, uh, when y'all were at Colorado, I think before I started talking to y'all, whatever day it was that I talked to y'all, I remember seeing like, I was like, who are those people walking around in these cow outfits? It's like, you know, it's, it's like something that you don't forget. Yeah. Like you don't see that all the time. Uh, you know, but anybody, anybody that dresses up in something that's going to, they're going to get noticed.

[00:29:28] But, uh, but yeah, it was pretty cool. So it was cool that we got a chance to like actually talk to you in, in Colorado and then see you again this year. It was a lot of fun. Yeah, man. It's been fantastic. Like I said, like just the whole community of it and like the people you meet and, uh, just becoming like these lifelong friends, like you've known them forever even. Yeah. I know. It's crazy. You know, too. Yeah. It's crazy too.

[00:29:55] Cause like you can be chatting with somebody for like a week and then meet them in person and it's like, you've known them forever and it's all because you have a shared interest, you know, and you just start talking about it and it's exciting. And you know, where have you been? Where do you plan on going? What are your mods? What do you, what do you still want to do? You know, all kinds of stuff. What was really cool about Arizona this year is there was something really so, cause unless

[00:30:24] people have seen the YouTube video that I put out from, um, Subaru Basecamp in Arizona and some of my reels and maybe some of your stuff for people who may be listening to this episode for the first time and hearing you tell everybody like the big, big event that happened at the Subaru booth at Overland Expo in Arizona. Cause that was a big deal. And it was like, it wasn't just like, like there was people involved, which was really cool.

[00:30:55] Yeah. So it all just started with a weird idea and it blossomed into Subaru coming through with the coolest thing that they could ever do for me and Courtney. But, uh, yeah, I'd known for a little while now that I've wanted to spend the rest of my life with her and I thought what better way than trying to have Subaru help me do that. So I got ahold of Sean and a couple of other people and they had their band learn how to

[00:31:23] play the song for me and got me up on stage and she didn't run away. So yeah, it was the most memorable thing ever. Like, yeah, like I said, like just everything, it just continuously continues to stack about how great the entire community is. And yeah, they helped me fulfill one of the scariest things I've ever done in my life. And it worked out. It did. Yeah. Really great.

[00:31:52] She still likes me. I don't know why, but. Hey, that's good, man. That's what counts. Yeah. I didn't realize that they played a specific song. I just thought they were, I thought he just, cause I know Sean like told somebody else to come up there and then you to come up there and then he handed you the mic and then you went through your whole thing with, you know, proposing to her. But I didn't realize that they were playing that song specifically for you. I thought it would just happen to be during a song that they were playing. So that's really cool. That's even better.

[00:32:23] Yeah. Yeah. So we were talking about it and I found out that they were going to have a band up there through the time. And I was like, oh my goodness. Like, is it too unheard of to have them learn how to play surf by Mac Miller? And yeah, buddy came through. They were super awesome about it. And I only heard like two verses of it. And then I kind of blacked out. Like, oh crap. This is really happening. Recordings. Yeah. Yeah. I listened to the recordings. They did awesome. But yeah. Yeah.

[00:32:52] It was just super exciting, man. Yeah. That's super cool. Yeah. It was fun for like everybody that knew also and was like kind of knew that it was going to come up because like I wanted to record it too. And I was like, I heard somebody like say something and I was like, wait, what? And they were like, yeah. And then I was like, wait, who's doing it? Because they just said somebody at first. And then I was like, I started doing some more digging. I was like, come on, man. You got to tell me.

[00:33:19] So I started asking some more people and I found out and I was like, okay, I want to witness this. This is super cool. So yeah. Honestly, all the footage we got out of that, I think years from up in that rooftop tent was like one of the coolest angles of the whole experience too. Yeah. That was because I was like, I really want to like capture this. And so they had one of the factory vehicles there and it had a rooftop tent and I climbed up in there, unzipped the mesh.

[00:33:48] And I was like, I have like an overhead view of it. And that way I can like capture all of it. And the only thing I wasn't able to get was like the audio too well. But other than that, you know, the video is cool. Yeah. It was super great. I super appreciate it too. Yeah. Yeah. I appreciate everybody. We even got blessings from Rihanna in the Travis Pastranas co-pilot. Like I was so in trans after everything, she was over there talking to Courtney and I'm

[00:34:16] just like, Oh my God, this is amazing. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Super fun. She's super cool. It's all, it's so awesome that she sticks around and talks to people for like, you know, an hour or so. Yeah. Yeah. I'm glad she was able to stick around long enough to see all of that and everything too. I can't wait to hopefully be able to see her again one day. Cause I didn't get to talk to her. Oh, okay. Like floating on a cloud, you know, she was just talking to Courtney and then I'm over

[00:34:46] there like a little school girl, just like, Oh my God, this is so amazing. Yeah. Not only did I just propose and she said, yes, but Rihanna's here and there's like all these people. She told us congratulations. Yeah. That's so cool. Uh, so going back to your Subaru. So like when you bought the, the first one, the manual you bought, you said you bought it with the intention of like, Hey, I want to be able to go explore and go off road and do stuff like that.

[00:35:13] Um, did you like, why did you choose a Crosstrek? Cause you know, there's other Subaru models. There's the Outback, there is the Forester, there's the Ascent, which is sent is, you know, not a whole lot of people end up buying those to go off road as much, but you know, you get, it's mostly Crosstrek Outback and Forester, but why did you choose the Crosstrek?

[00:35:36] Um, gosh, I don't know how to say it without being too sappy to be honest, but, uh, It's okay, man. One of my, my best friend passed away a few years ago and she had gone through two Crosstrek's, loved them, spoke very highly of them, lifted them, did the tires and the fun accessories. And yeah, I don't know.

[00:36:03] It was getting the car was a weird way to still stay connected and kind of still have my best friend be like a part of my life, even though she's not able to be, you know? So yeah, that was kind of the final deciding factor on, on which model, you know, like I knew I wanted a Subaru and then it was like, well, if I get a Subaru, it's gotta be a Crosstrek. Yeah.

[00:36:28] But if I get one, it has to be a manual because I had intentions of getting my trailer and everything and kind of building the utility trailer for the rooftop tent and all of that. So yeah. That's a good story, man. Life kind of all went, went in the, in the right direction, I guess. Yeah. This time. Yeah. No, it's a great way to like honor her, you know? I totally get that too. You know, it's like, it totally makes sense. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:36:58] I keep a little, couple of little pins in my car, even like for her, like the little, I don't know, you little trinket pins. Oh. Yeah. That's nice. I got a couple of them that remind me of her in there. So. That's cool. Yeah. Yeah. So were any of the cars you had before manuals and, and that was like your draw to it or was it specifically just to like, did you enjoy driving a manual or was it mainly because of hauling the trailer?

[00:37:29] Yeah, it definitely wasn't my first manual. Okay. The first car I learned how to drive in was a manual. Yeah. My dad said, if your sisters ever get hurt, you better be able to drive them to the hospital with whatever's here. Yeah. So, um, but now it was for the car specifically, it was solely the trailer. I knew I had intentions of building a little utility trailer. I wanted to tow and the manual transmission just seemed better.

[00:37:59] So like whichever went out, it was simple enough to replace, if you will. Yeah. I, I would love to replace my clutch myself. I just don't have anywhere to do it. That's the problem. And so, cause like, I I've heard people say you can like, just pull the transmission out or you can pull the engine out, you know, whatever.

[00:38:23] And I, uh, I just like, I don't know anybody with a shop or, you know, with a lift where I can be like, Hey, let's go all do this together and get it out. So unfortunately when it comes to it, I'm going to have to pay somebody the labor to get it done. But yeah, there's nothing wrong with that. No, it's just pricey. Yeah. Yeah, it is. But it saves that weekend job turned into a three week job. Yeah. And having somebody do it that knows what they're doing.

[00:38:52] Cause there's a, there's a shop here in Houston that they are, they are Subaru technicians. Like they both worked at a Subaru dealership and they decided to open their own shop. So I, you know, I trust them and I know other people that go to them that really like them. So, uh, when you bought the, the, the first one with the manual, like, did you know that there was a community at the time or did you start to like discover that after a while? Yeah. Mildly. Like I said, yeah.

[00:39:20] Through the homie Stacy, I knew that like people like the mountain ruse existed in the Northwest. And I knew there was like small groups like that kind of popping up here and there, but I didn't know like any of the extent to it. No. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. She would just be like, Hey, look at how dope this car is. I'd be like, dang dude, that's sick. Yeah.

[00:39:46] I know you start seeing like a few of them, like, you know, whether you're just looking it up online, like Google or YouTube or something. And then, then when you get into Instagram and you start seeing all these accounts and you're like, Oh my gosh, wait, you can do that. And you start seeing some pretty awesome builds and it's just like, then you're like, Oh crap, I'm in trouble. Yeah.

[00:40:11] It's a tough trying to like delegate how often you're going to buy car parts. Yeah. And, uh, but you know, you get started and then you want to do more and do more and you know, it's like, does it ever stop? I mean, no, no, I don't think it does. So who's, who would you say has like the cooler Subaru? You or Courtney?

[00:40:40] Well, mine definitely looks cooler, but hers performs a bit better than mine off road. It sits a little taller and I don't know what it is, but hers doesn't do the weird cut out of throttle when you're trying to go up steeper Hills. Yeah. Yeah. It'll give you the response that you feel like you need. Yeah. That's good. I don't know. Mine, obviously mine. It's yours.

[00:41:09] So do you have any other mods that you are besides like the bumper with the built-in winch? Do you have any other mods that are on your wishlist or like, you know, going to get them someday list? Yeah. Yeah. Um, a bigger receiver, like a bigger antenna for the radio. I'd like to be able to get a little more reach out of it, a little more clarity right now. I'm just kind of rocking the little magnetic stock one that it came with.

[00:41:37] Um, nothing big right now. No, no. I think the next one that I'm going to have to spend money on is just to go through and transmission flush and, Oh yeah. And re-remain flush, you know, that's important maintenance, which is going to end up costing money. But plus side flushes I can do myself. I don't have to take anything apart for that. Yeah. That's good. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:42:05] No, I mean, obviously wishlist, but no, nothing too serious. That's good. So, uh, with your cross trick that you have now, how many miles did it have on it when you bought it? And then like, how many miles do you have now? Like how much have you put on it? Yeah. So I got a second owner. I think it had 66,000 miles on it. Okay. And then I'm at 96. Yeah. I just rolled into 96,000.

[00:42:34] Okay. Yeah. So you've put over a little over 30, I guess. Yeah. I could number for the, I think I'm, yeah, just a little over a year of ownership now. Okay. Yeah. I, I was trying to figure that out too. Like how long you've had it. So, uh, yeah, that's a decent amount of mileage in a, in just over a year. You sound like me. Yeah.

[00:43:01] So like with the second gen cross track, what would you say is your favorite aspect of it? Um, you know, whether it's like the exterior or the interior functionality, probably the functionality with the, the eyesight and everything and the adaptive cruise control. Yeah. That's so nice. When you're cracked open on the highway at 75, it's a pretty great feature. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:43:29] Cause I'm always having to adjust mine manually and it's so nice when it does it for you. Yeah. Yeah. It's pretty cool. It'll give you the little option to adjust how far close the car in front of you is too. Yeah. I remember seeing that in my daughter's car. Cause my daughter has a, the third gen, she has a 24. And I was just, when we went out to Florida for, to Disney world a couple of years ago, I was driving it. And I noticed that cause I was like, at first I was like, what is that?

[00:43:58] And then I was like, oh, it had just like how close you can get to the car in front of you. And that's a pretty nice feature too. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You won't be crazy or not. Yeah. Well, one of the things that I noticed, like, cause driving, maybe not necessarily driving her car so much, but, um, like I've, there was a time with my old job that I would go out of town and I would have to like rent a car. And I remember having a rental car that had the adaptive cruise control.

[00:44:27] And it seemed like when you have it set further away, it starts to slow down sooner. And then if there's somebody behind you, then they kind of get annoyed cause you're slowing down too soon. But it's like, it's not me. It's the adaptive cruise control. So if you shorten that distance a little bit, it at least looks like you're trying to drive normal to the people behind you. So that's good. Um, like what is it like that attract?

[00:44:52] Cause you know, we're in the third gen now, but like, are there exterior features that you like on the second gen like that, you know, because I mean, obviously it's your car too. I mean, it's your cross track, but like, what would you say that you like on the exterior of the second gen, like maybe over the first gen and the third gen maybe? I don't know.

[00:45:16] I like the way the front of the car looks on my second gen more than the first gen, like the, the changes they did to like the front grill, the bumper into the hood blinds and everything from the first to the second. Yeah. I really liked the second a little more. I haven't really paid too much attention to the third gens, you know, I guess I don't really have any homies that I hang out with that I can see it real firsthand. Yeah. But a little more plastic.

[00:45:46] It seems like, like on the newer models. Yeah. I see that too. The black, the black plastic that they kind of wrap everything in, but they've been doing it for a few years now. Yeah. I noticed on my daughters, cause she has, like I said, she has a third gen. The plastic is also a little more square around the wheel wells, whereas mine is a little more rounded. I did notice that. So it's kind of, the plastic is like bulkier. I don't, and I don't think it looks too bad.

[00:46:16] The main reason that I like it is because when I first saw a first gen Crosstrek, which is an orange one, I had never seen anything like that. I loved the black cladding against the orange color. And I was like, what is this car? Like, it just looks so cool to me. And, you know, that was when I like really noticed like, okay, something's going on here.

[00:46:42] And, uh, that was, I think that was when I fell in love with the Crosstrek, but it's just, I don't know. It's just such a different looking car. And I really liked that. They really are. Yeah. Yeah. And I like that the first, second and third gen, all three of them, they still look like a Crosstrek. I hope they don't mess that up with the fourth gen. I'm fingers crossed on that for sure. Yes. Yes.

[00:47:08] So obviously going to Overland Expo, uh, last year and then this year, and then especially how special Overland Expo Arizona was this year. What are some other like very memorable trips that you've gone on? Yeah. To Santa Monica for Courtney's 30th birthday. We did a nice little trip over there. It's probably five hour drive or so. That's not bad. Much off roading or anything.

[00:47:35] It was just a nice little getaway over at the pier and everything. How many days were you there? Uh, the whole weekend. Okay. So I think, I think we took Monday off and left like Friday right after work and then stayed the whole weekend. Yeah. It was nice. We had a spot that like an Airbnb that overlooked the pier and everything and the Ferris wheel and it was adorable. Yeah.

[00:48:04] That must've been like an insane view too. It was. It was really cool. Overlook the ocean. The sunsets were fire. So did you have like a patio that just overlooked all that, that you could just go sit out on? Yeah. It wasn't like a patio. It was like one of the older buildings. Oh, okay. Honestly, like it kind of sucked because of how loud it was like so late at night, but it was great because of the view and the experience, you know? Oh yeah. That makes it more.

[00:48:31] It's just kind of like an older building with like the kind of clipped corner with the windows that wrap around the whole thing. Like the open air view. That's nice. It's back and yeah. You'd be able to just drink the coffee and people watch in the morning. That's nice. Yeah. I'm sure she, I'm sure she appreciated it. Yeah. No, it was a good one. Definitely a good one.

[00:48:55] And then, and another memorable one would be the Utah trip before they totaled Felicia out on me. Yeah. My last cross track, I was able to go up and meet some of the off-road ruse guys and Rob and, and Klatasaurus is a lot of, you may know him as, and he's just a super awesome guy. And, but, uh, sadly he didn't have his car with him. Oh, it was in the shop.

[00:49:22] So he was riding passenger with the, with the gang switching in and out. So I did get the privilege of getting a few miles of seat time with them and actually getting to hang out with them. So that was really awesome. Nice. Yeah. It's always cool when you get a chance to meet up with somebody like that's in another part of the country that's come out, you know, either to where you are or a meetup spot. That's always so fun. Yeah. Yeah. Shoot. Shoot.

[00:49:47] I probably drove six hours to go meet up with them and like the whole group of them. And then we hung out for the whole weekend and then I took off on Sunday to make it home for work on Monday. But yeah, yeah, it's super awesome. I love it. Cause it's like, we've talked for a while on social media and then it's like, oh, I finally get to meet you. And it's like, when you meet them, they're like, yeah, I know you already. I know that's so cool.

[00:50:11] I think, I think about all of, with everything involving the community and just like the super community, getting to meet people in person is probably my favorite thing. I feel very blessed with like being able to do that. I mean, and like I said, you're another person that I've met in person that I'm having on the podcast. So like to know that I've, I mean, I've, it's over a hundred guests now. I mean, I'm at two 37.

[00:50:38] So like almost close to half my guests I've met in person. Yeah. And so here's another really cool trip we got to do in the car is I found out that the Prescott rally association in cooperation with the Arizona rally association was holding a rally cross event over in camp Verde. It's just here in Arizona. It was like a three hour drive. Okay.

[00:51:03] But I, I entered in for a rally cross and I got to go over and do the driver's meeting. And I think we got six hot laps out of everything. And oh my God, it was just the most incredible time to be able to actually get out there and an enclosed course and a safe environment and be able to just kind of let the car eat and feel what it's able to do and everything and kind of how they're designed for. So, and that was in this current car. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:51:32] That one was Clarivelle here. Okay. Yeah. Nice. So the first couple of laps were a little kind of moderate, you know, kind of take it easy feel and everything. And then I ended up having in line to staging. I had one kid run up to the car and was like, Hey, can I just jump in passenger with you? Oh, no. But he told me I couldn't have that happen. So yeah, dude, get in. And then I ran him a lap and then I radioed back to Courtney after that one to have her run down and hop in and borrow his helmet because he was cool with it. Oh, yeah.

[00:52:02] So the very last lap, I got to have Courtney hop in the car and just be as crazy as I could out there with her on it. And yeah, man, it was just an absolute riot. So if nobody's out there done any type of rally cross event, I highly recommend it. All you need is a helmet. It's fantastic. I don't know what it was. I just saw the random thing on the social media and I was like, you know what? That'd be fun. Yeah. So I just kind of kept going with the fun thing. And yeah. Yeah. Just do it. Just go after it. Yeah.

[00:52:32] Go do the fun things. Yeah. Going on trips in your car is like definitely one of the coolest thing you can do. When you went to Utah, you said that was in your previous Crosstrek, right? Yeah. Yeah. That was in Felicia, the totaled one. And what's the name of your one now? Claribel. Claribel. Where did that come from? It just seemed like a real fitting cow name. Yeah. I could see that.

[00:53:02] Yeah. Just good classic Claribel. Yeah. So what's the furthest distance you've driven in this Crosstrek? Yeah. Probably the Santa Monica trip. Okay. Nice. Yeah. Yeah. Definitely the Santa Monica trip. Yeah. And then a bunch of trips over to Flagstaff with it. I love Flagstaff. Stuff like that. But yeah, it is so beautiful there. How far is Flagstaff from where you're at? Three and a half.

[00:53:31] It's not too bad. No, it's a good weekend trip for sure. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's beautiful up there. So like whenever you're getting out, I know you said you have a spot that's like 10 minutes away, but it's getting kind of rutted out and stuff. Are there some like other spots near you that you like to try to get out to that aren't too far away? Yeah. So we've got a spot, the Hualapai Mountains and it's like an hour or so from here to get

[00:53:59] up there and it's pine tree wooded and a little bit of undergrowth foliage and just pretty nature. It's a nice little spot up there called the Wild Cow Springs. Oh, appropriate. That we really want to go into. Yeah. Yeah. As weird as it is, the topography I have on the side of my car, my Raplander kit is actually as close as I could based off of the topography of the Wild Cow Springs.

[00:54:28] Oh, it's one of my favorite spots. Nice. It's not just a bunch of goofy lines. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I thought about like if I were to, cause I think that would look really cool. I know people have it like on the sides or whatever, but I thought like maybe if I were to do it like on the hood or something that I would get it from a Pike's Peak cause I've actually driven up Pike's Peak and that's one of my favorite spots.

[00:54:55] So I was like, you know, if I were to get a wrap like that, I think that's what I would do. That'd be a really cool one and then just spread it out broad form. So the elevation drops are like every thousand feet. So you can get like the whole mountain on it even. Yeah. Yeah. That would be cool. Yeah. Yeah. I thought about it. Maybe someday just to, just to do something different and something new. Cause I haven't done anything new in a while. None of those, those wrap kits, those topography from Aplander is super easy to

[00:55:25] use too. Oh, nice. Yeah. That's what I've heard. They're kind of fun. Yeah. You're able to just kind of peel it right back off and re-stick it as long as you got a clean surface. Cause you, as somebody who's not a professional, a really good shot at doing something that looks really cool and intricate and personalized. Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome. So as far as like, are there any people out there that you're able to get out with often?

[00:55:53] Uh, sadly and have a soon, no Courtney and I'll take the cars out every once in a while, but yeah, I haven't made any subie friends here locally yet. So primarily I got to drive like three hours to go meet up with anybody. Oh yeah. I mean, both of y'all taking your cars out though. I mean, that's cool. Cause then you can both just have that experience together, but individually in your own cars, you know, nothing wrong with that. Yeah. Play our own music. Exactly.

[00:56:22] Like, I don't want to listen to that today. I want to listen to this. Yeah. Yeah. No, that's fun. I mean, me and my son, like we go out in both of our cars when we go up to Cheeseburger Loop and, um, it's about a little, about an hour and a half away to like get to the really fun spots. But yeah, I mean, uh, but sometimes we'll just go in my car just to make it easier and not have to spend so much on gas and everything. But yeah, gosh, is that getting expensive now? Yeah. Yeah, it's definitely.

[00:56:52] Do you have a, like a bucket list spot that you would love to get out to with your Crosstrek now to go explore? So probably going up to the Pacific Northwest, like taking the one-on-one up the coastline, stop at the Redwoods or something. That's such a beautiful drive too. Oh my God, dude. Have you done the one-on-one before? Yeah. In a 15 passenger van with some older dudes from work.

[00:57:20] Uh, but I wasn't driving. So at least I got to see a lot of it. You got to see more then. Yeah. So that, that wasn't too bad. It's hard to sightsee and drive at the same time. So. Yeah. We did stop in, in a Big Sur. That was really cool. Nice. Yeah. So, yeah. That was just something about the Oregon coastline, man. It is. Man, I've seen it. I've seen it in pictures. I haven't in videos, but I haven't seen, I've seen the California coast, but not, not Oregon.

[00:57:48] And it looks like, it looks, it looks magical. It almost looks like something that's just not real. Yeah. Yeah. Something out of a simulation. Yeah. Yeah. Just a West coast tour would be so nice. There's just so many beautiful spots up there, you know? Yeah. The luscious green undergrowth. Yeah. I miss it. Yeah. All right. So if there was anybody else's Subaru that you could drive for a day, whose would it be and why?

[00:58:19] I think I'll have to go with Milton's Forester. Yeah. The one that they wrapped. Yeah. That thing is freaking sweet. I don't know what it is about it, but I want to be behind the driver's seat of that thing and get some pictures in it. I mean, first of all, it just, the wrap that they did looks so good. And second of all, it's like really capable. And it's like, that's like, that's the kind of car that you like, you want to be seen in, you know, be like, yeah, I'm driving this thing. Uh huh. Yeah.

[00:58:49] Yeah. It is. Yeah. That thing is killer. They did a great job on the wrap of that thing. Yeah. That was definitely a good choice. So like, uh, let's say Subaru offered to give you a car, any of their newest lineup to drive for a month. Which one would it be and why? I'd probably have to say the new Outback Wilderness just because I really liked the new body style they went with.

[00:59:15] And it seems like they're super capable and I like the boxiness. Yeah. I know a lot of people don't like it, but there are a lot of people that do like it. And I actually like it, especially seeing it out there on the trail. And it was, uh, that one, I can't remember the guy's name, but he had one that was lifted and he put on a custom front bumper and, and, um, and, uh, rock sliders and some other stuff. And it looked really nice. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:59:43] The guy from AFV, he's been building his up pretty slick looking. That's probably the one you're thinking. Yeah. That's exactly it. Yeah. That one was nice. It was cool to see somebody like in person. It was cool to see somebody that had taken one and did some modifications to it because I, I wasn't sure. Cause you know, around here I've seen a few, but they're just the stock and, uh, to see one that somebody actually did some stuff to is really cool. Yeah. Some purpose built stuff.

[01:00:13] Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Uh, so how would you say that owning your Subarus has changed your life? The community. I'd say the, the community that it's really brought me into the people I've met, the friends I've been able to take out from it and the adventures. My last car was just a front wheel drive and lowered and limited a lot of places I could get to. So yeah.

[01:00:43] Yeah. Having something I'm able to have access to aftermarket parts to be able to be more into the adventures and, and everything. Yeah. Just open the doors to a whole new world. Yeah. Yeah. And for me, this is like the first car that I've really done any kind of significant modifications to. Cause I had a 1997 Ford Ranger and I like changed out the door speakers, put in a new head unit. And this was a long time ago too.

[01:01:12] So this was like, I think it was like even before 2000. So I had like, you know, an MP3 player with a detachable face, which was really cool. And then I had a, like a dual voice coil sub, uh, eight inch subwoofer and an amp pushing like 350 Watts to it. And in a small cab, you know, it sounded really good, but that was the only other car that I've done any kind of modifications to. But this one, like the exterior modifications and, and stuff like that.

[01:01:41] And feeling like, you know, I'm kind of part of something bigger than just me and my car has been really cool. Yeah. Yeah. It really has been saying for myself. Yeah. My last one, it was just like some OEM rims off of a different car put on it with some lowering springs. You know, and that was about it with some tinted windows, you know? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's fun to do something, but I don't know.

[01:02:06] I feel like when people end up buying a Subaru and find out that there's a community and that you can do stuff to it, then it's like, cause I know there are a lot of people that have, this is the first car that they've done something to similar to us, you know? Yeah. Yeah. It's fun. Big same. Yeah. It really is. It's kind of addicting in a weird way. Yeah. But it's a good addiction to have, you know? Yeah. Yeah. Lots of worse ones. That's for sure. Yeah. Yeah.

[01:02:33] So do you think that you will always own a Subaru? More unlikely. Whether it's like always the same forever car, but I'll probably cycle through them and yeah, probably forever car Subaru. Unless I get like a RV or something. Because the old lady wants some more luscious camping style. I'd have to get a truck, but yeah. Maybe my Subaru will make one. Yeah. Yeah.

[01:02:59] I mean, there's people that do like the van life and stuff and you have to go with a van for that. So it's not bad. But yeah. Is there anything else you want to share about your journey or about, you know, your build or just meeting people throughout the years? Maybe like a quick shout out and everything. I got an upcoming trail coming up, like a trail ride. Okay. It's going to be the meet me in the mountains. We're going to do the palace station run. Nice.

[01:03:28] So far we've got 11 people RSVP'd to our micro site for Subicru. Nice. Yeah. Hoping for a pretty decent turnout. We just went live with the event a couple of days ago. So slowly people are starting to funnel in and show some interest. So if you're in the Arizona area, feel free to hit me up. Nice. Yeah. So you are part of Subicru, right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

[01:03:52] They just recently unveiled their new ambassadorship program and I got accepted to become a member and everything. Very nice. Yeah. We're just trying to have fun with all of that. Thank you. I appreciate it. It's been a lot of fun. How long ago was that that you got accepted into it? Oh, shoot. It just rolled out a few months ago. Maybe six.

[01:04:14] It's kind of been live to the people that found out about it early and they're still doing introductions to other chapters across the country. So it's kind of like just revamping the whole thing and creating chapters across everywhere. So I think even Texas alone has three separate chapters in it. Yeah, I think so. Yeah. So like what sort of activities have you been doing as being part of Subicru?

[01:04:42] Uh, sadly, this will be the first one that I've physically been active with and everything. So, um, I got brought in and I'm like three hours away from kind of where the central location is. So it's kind of hard for me to get to places sometimes than with the heat and how hot it is out here right now. Met up with another group, the Subaru Expedition Co. Oh, nice. I was born a couple weeks ago and did a trail ride with them and there was shoot 23 Subarus on the trail for that one.

[01:05:11] Yeah, really big turnout. It was an amazing time and yeah, good takeaway. Yeah. It's kind of the things you love to do, you know? Yeah. Yeah. It's kind of hard when you're far away from other people who are, you know, getting events and stuff together. But, uh, you know, you can make it happen when you can. For sure. You know what I mean? Yeah. That's what the whole point is. Get out when you can. Yeah. Yeah.

[01:05:39] Well, here's a little segment to get to know you a little bit better. But, uh, who is, you know, Ken as in describe yourself? Who, who am I? I'd have to describe myself as just a simple cow trying to make it to my next adventure. I work blue collar hours, so long days, lots of time. And most of it, I just look forward to the weekend so I can be outside. I am an adventurer and I am the fat cow. Yeah.

[01:06:08] Well, you live in a good spot to be outdoors. That's for sure. Most of the time. Yeah. Unless it's 120 degrees. Yeah, buddy. Yeah. We love the heat or something. Glutton for punishment, I think. Yeah, but you do get some nice cooler temperatures there. So that's good. Oh, God. Yeah. The winters are phenomenal out here. It's the best time. Yeah. We, uh, we get winters to where we can, you know, it's like Christmas day and we can wear

[01:06:35] shorts and a t-shirt if it's warm enough because that's happened many times. It's kind of crazy. Yeah. And some people don't realize that they think, I think people that have like real winters think that that's the way it is everywhere. And it's definitely not the case here. Uh, I think I've maybe have seen a white Christmas twice my whole life living here. So we just don't, we don't get snow here.

[01:07:02] Uh, you know, like maybe every like five years we'll get a decent amount of snow or something like that, but that's about it. So I saw it in my foothills two years ago, living down in Arizona now. That's a, it's a rarity. Yeah. So it's, you know, it's, I would like to at some point see a white Christmas, but I'd probably have to travel somewhere else to do that. That's what you got the Subaru for. Yeah. Yeah.

[01:07:32] Uh, what is the favorite memory from your childhood? Gosh, probably loading up on a Saturday with my dad to go hang out into the woods, hit the walking roads, be up there. It was like every Saturday we were up there. Oh, that's awesome. But, uh, yeah, that's probably what started the drive for the adventures and wanting to be out in nature and everything was the prolonged exposures as a kid. Yeah.

[01:08:02] So, yeah, it just kind of becomes a part of who you are, especially if you experience things like that very young, you know, it just kind of sticks with you. Yeah. Yeah. It was the earliest memories I have realistically being camping out in the woods with the family and everything. So yeah, that's cool. Yeah. I feel kind of blessed that it was part of my childhood instead of being inside on the video games all the time, you know? Yeah, I get that.

[01:08:27] Uh, so you mentioned you do a blue collar job like all day long, but what is it that you do for a living? Uh, I'm the lead installer of a granite company here in town called ProStone Source. I manage a couple of guys underneath me and a couple of crews and yeah, we just install granite, shower surrounds, countertops, hood vents, fireplace wraps. Nice. If you want it wrapped in stone, we'll come do it for you. Yeah.

[01:08:57] You're a bit of a stoner, huh? Yeah. Yeah. That's what the most of the guys say when I show up. All the stoners are here, huh? That's funny. Uh, do you have a dream job? Gosh. I mean, it'd be phenomenal to just be able to sell my content and make money off of that. But yeah, it seems like that'd be the dream job, you know? Yeah. Yeah. Hey, you know, you never know.

[01:09:27] I mean, people are doing it. Yeah. Yeah. That'd be awesome. I could have my own like following called the herd. Yes. There you go. Follow the cow. Uh, yeah. All jokes, all jokes, but it'd be pretty great though. Oh yeah. Yep. Uh, what is something that makes you want to get out of bed every day? Just the old fashioned me having to say, getting the bills paid.

[01:09:52] I got to get out of work to be able to support myself and my lifestyle and the things I want to do. So that's probably number one, just the drive to have to support myself. Yeah. Weekends. It's for adventures, of course, but yeah, day to day, definitely just to be able to provide the lifestyle that I want. So. Yeah. That's important. Got to make the money for that. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, what is something that makes you want to stay in bed?

[01:10:23] Typically cause my body hurts. Oh yeah. All the work or, or I've got the cat and the dog next to me and it's a Saturday and I get able to sleep in a little bit for no plans. That's always nice. Yeah. Yeah. Sometimes the cat can be quite annoying with the purring, but like what you just get out of here with it. Yeah. No, but it's nice to, when you don't have to get up for anything and you can just just like, you know what? I'm just going to lay here a little bit longer cause I can. Yeah. Yeah.

[01:10:52] Embrace the moment for a couple of minutes. Yeah. Yep. Uh, what is something that really scares you? Hands down spiders. It doesn't matter if they're big ones, little ones. They're all the same to me and they're terrifying. It's so funny. My mom is terrified of spiders too. She, uh, she's so terrified of spiders that they have like this can. It's like a, you know, like a pest control can and it has a spider on it.

[01:11:21] And my mom made my stepdad put a piece of tape over the spider on the can. Yeah. Okay. So she wouldn't have to look at that. Yeah. That's, uh, yeah, that's funny. But I guess you, you probably come across them a lot outdoors though, huh? Yeah. They're inevitable, man. You can't get around it. That's kind of like part of the reason I switched to the rooftop tent. You just deal with them a little less now. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, oh, it was the next one. All right.

[01:11:50] So besides all things Subaru, like what is something that really, really excites you? It's definitely not spiders. They do not excite me. Um, but my dog and the cat and then my little cow, Courtney, my fiance, um, and adventures being out in nature. Yeah. Just the little things in life that you actually get a kind of appreciate. Yeah. Those are always nice. Yeah.

[01:12:20] Sometimes it's like, sometimes like the little moments are the biggest moments, you know? Yeah. Yeah. Let's just be, I don't know. Sometimes life is not so colorful and not so great. And it's kind of up to us to be able to find those times of the small little glimpses of beauty and, and the perfection to us. Yeah. And most of the time that's my, my dog and Courtney and the cat. Yeah. That's good, man. It's nice to have that too.

[01:12:48] You know, it's good to have those little things and companions in your life and, uh, something to look forward to every day. Spend time. Yeah, man. Yeah. Not having kids or anything. They're kind of the second best thing I'd say. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, what would be your best bit of advice to give to someone about anything? Um, doesn't matter what you're doing. Just do it with passion.

[01:13:18] Yeah. Be involved with what you're doing. Well, is there anything else you want to add before we wrap this up? Um, just a big shout out to you, brother. Yeah. Thank you. You're literally the Joe Rogan of the Subaru podcast and I think you're killing it out here and we all appreciate everything that you're doing for the community. So. Well, thank you. Yeah. It's, uh, I, uh, you know, it's fun just talking to people and sharing their stories and giving

[01:13:46] other people the opportunity to hear the stories. Yeah. You've made it really easy and comfortable for me to have a conversation with you. So. Good. I'm glad. All right. Cool. I appreciate all of that. Yeah. Well, hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend and, uh, just, you know, get some time to relax and get ready for the next week. Yeah. You too, brother. And everybody out there, be safe and make sure to check out that event if you're in Arizona. So they just, uh, message you through Instagram. Yeah.

[01:14:16] So I got a group chat going right now on Instagram. That's the meet me in the mountains. So anybody who's kind of showed any amount of interest to my posts, I've just kind of been going through adding them to the group chat. So you can leave if you don't want to be there, but I'm going to throw you into it anyways. So, yeah. All right. Cool. Sounds good. Yeah. It sounds like a fun event. It's always nice to get together with people and, uh, you know, especially the mountains. Uh, man, that'd be, that'd be so awesome. Yeah.

[01:14:45] Cooler weather coming here in October too. Yeah. Yeah. Finally drop below a hundred during the day. Yeah. That just sounds crazy because it's here. It's been, I guess it's been like getting up into the low nineties now. I mean, we were up near a hundred, but, and you know, with feels like it's like temperatures of like one Oh six to one Oh eight or something like that. So it's hot enough, but then, then some days you add some immense humidity on top of it and then it's just like brutal. Yeah.

[01:15:13] The humidity in Texas is something else I've been told. So. Yeah. It's bad. Yeah. I'm good on that. It's a dry heat out here. Yeah. When they say, Oh, but it's not the heat. It's the humidity. It's the truth. Man. I mean, the dry heat is bad enough. Uh, but at least you're not like dripping sweat as soon as you step outside. Cause you know what I mean? As long as there's a breeze, it's not so bad. Yeah. Yeah. I've been, I've been out there a few times. Yeah. Yeah.

[01:15:43] It's not bad at all. So, all right, man, we'll take it easy. Enjoy the rest of your weekend and, uh, we'll talk to you later. Yeah. You too, brother. All right, man. Thanks. You too. Bye. Thank you so much for tuning in to another episode of the Subie and you podcast. If you want to give Ken a follow and show him some Subie love, you can go follow him at the fat cow chronicles and it's the underscore fat cow underscore chronicles.

[01:16:06] You can also follow Courtney at the underscore little cow L I L C O W underscore chronicles. So, uh, they're basically a team, you know, they're engaged and they're out there having fun, enjoying their Subarus and, uh, enjoying the community. So, uh, yeah, go give them a follow. Thanks again for tuning in. I hope that you enjoyed this episode. And, uh, if this is your first time listening to the podcast, go check out the other 236 episodes. There's plenty out there to listen to.

[01:16:36] So I hope you all have a wonderful week. We'll see you next Monday for another edition of the Subie scoop. Until then, take care, have fun, enjoy your Subarus. Much Subie love. Raf. The Subie and you podcast is hosted by Raphael in a closet in Houston, produced by Raphael in a room next to the closet in Houston and edited by Raphael on a computer in the room next to the closet in Houston with music by Luke Ruiz in another room in Houston.

[01:17:04] You can find the Subie and you podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including Apple podcast, Spotify, and many more. To support the podcast, please head over to patreon.com slash Subie and you podcast. Once you join, you will have access to the discord channel and discord chats with other patrons. If you'd like to get in contact with the show, you can find them on Instagram at Subie and you podcast online at Subie and you podcast.com or by email Subie and you podcast at gmail.com.

[01:17:33] That's all for this week.