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BONUS EPISODE - Overland EXPO EAST, Arrington, VA
BONUS EPISODE - Overland EXPO EAST, Arrington, VA
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About this episode
The podcast dives deep into the Overland Expo East event in Virginia, highlighting Subaru's significant presence and community engagement. The host shares personal experiences, including a scenic Skyline Drive with a convoy of Subarus, and interviews various attendees and Subaru owners about their vehicles, modifications, and the welcoming atmosphere. Discussions cover Subaru's growing role in overlanding, the diversity of setups from stock to heavily modified, and the strong community bonds formed at these events. The episode also touches on the host's personal challenges and the support from the Subaru community, emphasizing the event's blend of adventure, camaraderie, and brand enthusiasm.
Topics:
overland expo east
subaru community
camp subaru
skyline drive
subaru vehicle modifications
owner lounge experience
subaru wilderness edition
overlanding lifestyle
subaru booth setup
podcast community support
Cars:
BMW M3
Chrysler Pacifica
Ford F-150
GMC Sierra EV
Jeep Wrangler
Scion tC
Subaru Ascent
Subaru Outback
Subaru WRX
In this bonus episode I talk to several Subaru owners about their experience at Overland EXPO EAST! We talk about their thoughts on the Subaru Oasis and Camp Subaru! It was great to see my friends again and meet some new people at this amazing event!!
Links from the show, links to sponsors and discount partners, and ways to support the podcast:
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Website
https://www.subaru.com/index.html
Overland EXPO
https://www.instagram.com/overlandexpo/
Website - Overland EXPO MTN WEST
https://www.overlandexpo.com/mtn-west/
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REIKA Wheels
Use code SubieYou10 for 10% off purchases!
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10% discount off Orbis Overlanding and partnering car products
(excludes apparel)
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Technical
Too Afraid to Ask
Car
Subaru Outback
"...account. We've got Nick here in the lead with his Outback that he built out for Overland Expo."
Car
Outback Wilderness
"Then we've got a Cross Trek Sport. We've got an Outback Wilderness. Another Outback Wilderness."
Select text to request an explanation
Hey everybody, welcome to another bonus episode, a bonus episode for Overland Expo, and the last
Overland Expo of the year, Overland Expo East.
Going to this event was really, really great, but it was also bittersweet because it was
the last one, and I was a little sad.
I was talking to Milton about that too when we were both a little sad, but still it was
a great event.
We had a lot of really good people there that came down from Adventure 1 to be part of
Camp Subaru, so that was really nice.
And then we had, of course, some other campers that were emailed and asked to come out,
or asked if they would like to join, and they did.
So we got to meet some new people that way as well.
But before I go any further, I just want to give a huge, huge shout out to Joe at Subaru
of America, and then Subaru of America, and then Sean and G7, and everybody that participated
in this event, and had me out there, and all of us out there at all of the Expo's.
Subaru definitely deserves a place at Overland Expo, and they came in, and they came
in big because their booth space, still, I don't like calling it a booth, but
their space was huge.
It was much bigger, I think, than most of the other ones.
And I think that made a really good impression on people, and it made a really good impression
on all of us that were a part of the event, that were able to participate, people that
had their cars in the booth, in the space, and like me and Milton and Kerry, everybody
that got to travel around to most of the events, it was great.
It was like, I am so honored and blessed and feel just truly grateful to have been a part
of this experience, and I look forward to next year.
We have some ideas for next year, and we're going to all kind of brainstorm on that a
little bit later this year, but I'm just, I'm so glad Subaru was there.
There were people that came into the Subaru space and said that they came there
because they saw that Subaru was going to be at Overland Expo, and then there were people
that came in that did not know Subaru was going to be there, and were really excited
to see Subaru there, and so we're definitely excited to see them there.
But yeah, I just had an amazing time.
I got to meet so many people.
I got to meet people that I've been connected with and that I've chatted with, that
I've had on the podcast, and that was really, really great, and I got to meet a lot
of new people as well.
So overall, it was just such an incredible experience, and again, I just feel truly honored
and blessed and so grateful to have been part of it.
I also want to give a huge shout out to everybody that has shown support for the podcast lately,
especially this week, because as you may know, I lost my job on Monday, and the outpouring
of support and messages from the community has been just absolutely amazing, and so I
really, really appreciate it from the bottom of my heart for everybody's support.
Of course, I didn't know that I was going to go into work Monday morning and lose
my job, but I also didn't know I wasn't sure about posting the reel that I did asking
for support, but I just, I felt like I needed to, and I'm so glad I did because the community
has come together and it's been absolutely incredible.
So if you want to know how you can support the podcast and support, I mean it's not
just me, it's supporting the podcast, and that's supporting everybody because this podcast
is about the whole community, it's not just about me, it's about everybody that
is a guest, everybody that's listening, everybody that participates in all the events that
I'm able to go to.
This podcast is for everybody, so if you want to be able to help support and you're not
already doing so, you can go to the link tree in my Instagram page and click on the second
link, it says like support the podcast, join Patreon, something like that, I can't
remember exactly what it says there, but that's how you can help support the podcast
and keep this thing going because I definitely don't want to have me not having a job
stop the podcast, I want to keep being able to do this and I want to be able to continue
to go to events, and I would love to be able to do this full time, I would love to be
able to go out to more events, I've had so many people say, are you coming out to
Wicked Big Meat, are you coming out to Subifest California, oh you gotta come up here,
you gotta come up there, and one of the reasons I haven't been able to do a lot
more things is one, lack of funds of course, but two, PTO, I only have so much PTO, but
if I'm doing this full time, this is, I can do whatever I want, I can go wherever I
want, so that would be an absolute dream to be able to do this full time, so if
you want to help try and get me there, you can help support the podcast by joining
Patreon, it definitely helps, it's $7 a month, so it's not a huge, huge amount, and I feel
like one of those commercials where they're like, for only the cost of two cups of coffee,
you can help support blah blah blah, I know it's kind of being silly, but anyway, that's
me, I'm silly, but anyway, for all the people that have joined Patreon and helped support
the podcast, I really, really appreciate it, it really means a lot, because every little
bit counts, and it can help pull me through this time right now, but also help carry me
forward, which is what I would really love to be able to do, and so I appreciate all of
you very, very much, it really means a lot. As I was putting this episode together and
pulling in all the audio files, I started to see that it was getting really, really
long, I thought about breaking it up into two segments, but it's already been two
weeks since I've been at Overland Expo, and I haven't had the chance to put the
episode out yet, so I'm gonna leave it as one episode, however, what I would
suggest is, well first of all, I don't ever listen to a podcast this long, all in
one stretch, I usually will break it up, because I haven't listened to a Joe
Rogan podcast in a long time, one of his episodes, but anytime that I did, I
almost never listened to it all at once, I would listen to it over the course of a
few days, because his are like, anywhere from two and a half to three and a half
hours, or if you're on a long drive, that's a really great time to listen to
a long podcast, and this is coming out on Friday, so if you've got a weekend
drive, perfect time to listen to the whole thing, if you're gonna be
driving that long. So what I will do for you on this episode is give you a
timestamp of when I complete the first day, or actually, whenever I get to day
two, because day two is where it really starts getting long, and day two I mean
Saturday, because I started off on Thursday, October 2nd then, and that was
the trail ride on, or the drive through Shenandoah National Forest, the 105
mile drive that we did, so I recorded on my own there, but I've got some
content from there, and then also from Friday, which is the first day of
Overland Expo, and then I have content starting on day two of Overland Expo,
which is Saturday, so at that point, if you want to listen all the way up to
day two, that ends at one hour and 18 minutes, so if you want to stop there
and then pick up day two and three, feel free to do so, but wanted to
give you that option, and I've never done that before, like, you know,
suggested breaking it up, because I don't think I've ever had an episode be this
long before, but hey, it's kind of cool to have a really long episode for once.
Again, I just, I appreciate everybody, I appreciate the community, Subaru of
America, this podcast would not continue to keep going if it wasn't for all of
you, so just by listening alone, that, you know, helps to keep this going,
because I wouldn't put something out if nobody was listening, but I appreciate
everybody, I really, really, really am so grateful and thankful for this
opportunity, and I'm glad I started this thing, because it's growing into be
something pretty amazing, and I'm glad that I get to share it with all of you,
but you know what, we're gonna go ahead and get into this bonus episode now.
I've been talking long enough, so it's time to just get it going right here,
so here we go.
All right, I am heading out with the group.
I just want to know when everybody is in line, I just want to get an idea of how much space I need here.
That is our group, we're doing the skyline trail, it's actually not a trail, it's a drive.
Apparently it's got some very beautiful scenery, so I'm looking forward to that,
but this is...
Is everybody that is doing the skyline drive currently in line?
All right, just about.
Yes.
So anyway, yeah, so we're doing the skyline drive.
This is Thursday, October 2nd.
All right, I'm on low now.
And Thursday, October 2nd.
Are they cool? Everybody's in line?
Yeah, sure.
So Thursday, October 2nd, we're trying to, we're doing the skyline drive.
Apparently it's going to be like a six-hour drive, so that'll be interesting,
but there's some beautiful scenery.
There is a group that's doing, I forgot what the name of the trail is,
but it's more of an off-road trail.
And since I have a rental...
So thank you for escorting the elderly.
Since I have a rental, I'm not going in the fun off-road trail.
So I'm missing out on that, but this will be...
This will be a nice drive to see some stuff.
And I'm here, Nick, South Coast Cross Trek.
He is leading this drive, so that's pretty cool.
But I wanted to get some in-car content by myself.
Milton was riding with me, but he bailed on me
and hopped in the car with Patrick from Orbis Overlanding.
So I'm in the car by myself now.
No more Milton, but that's okay.
Milton deserves an experience with Patrick.
That'll be some good time for them to spend together
because Milton had met Patrick for the first time on this trip.
So I know he wanted to talk to him about some stuff anyway.
Apparently he is going to be...
I just wanted to chat about Subaru, because she owned a Subaru.
Milton is in all the...
Well, the last couple of Overland Expo events,
he has done an axle swap or an axle replacement demonstration.
And he's going to do one on Patrick's car.
Because apparently Patrick needs new axles anyway,
so it's a perfect chance to do that.
Somebody that needs axles.
By the way, I'm just going to interject here.
The axles never showed up.
So we did not get...
Or Milton did not get a chance to do a live axle swap on Patrick's car.
So I think he's going to have him delivered to his house
because he still needs them.
They were supposed to come to the bed and breakfast that we were staying in,
but they never showed up.
So we didn't end up doing that.
But I just wanted to clarify that that never happened.
Anyway, we're leaving the park now that we were at breakfast.
It was all the people that were invited out to camp Subaru
plus those of us that are going to be at the Subaru booth.
So Patrick, his car is going to be a booth car.
And then there's Corey with SoFly.
I don't think she's going to be a booth car, but she's here.
She followed Patrick.
And so yeah, so we're heading out and going to take a beautiful drive,
the Skyline Drive.
And I will keep you updated as we go along.
But I flew out just for context.
I flew out Wednesday, October 1st.
And flew into DCA.
Wash Ronald.
What is it?
Anyway, I flew into DCA and I got in at noon and then Milton asked
if I could pick him up when he gets in because he got in at five.
So I did some exploring and just walked around,
checked some things out and drove around.
So I had a good time.
I had been to DC before for work and had a chance to go walk around
and see stuff and I'd been wanting to go back.
So this was a great opportunity to take that extra time to go see some stuff.
So I did.
And then we met up with Sean from Subaru last night.
Also met up with Patrick and Corey and then just hung out with them.
They were at the restaurant that's at the hotel.
So we hung out with them for a while.
And then we ended up going to bed and not getting great sleep.
And got up at 6.30 or met up at 6.30 to go to Cracker Barrel
to pick up some food for breakfast this morning for all of the campers.
Met at this campsite or not a campsite.
It was a park.
Met at the park.
And we ended up all having breakfast and getting to meet new people.
So that was really cool.
So this is a good trip for me because I've had an opportunity
at all of these Overland Expos to meet new people.
We're going to take a ride out of here everybody.
Yeah, I've had a chance to meet new people.
So that's been really cool.
People that I didn't already know.
People that I've been following on Instagram for a really long time.
So that was really cool.
And this will be interesting.
Definitely a good chance we're going to get a little separated here
from cars in between.
It shouldn't be an issue.
We might have a spot we can kind of just pull over and let them pass.
Yeah, so if you heard that I'm sure you did.
They said there's because we're pulling out onto a major road.
So there's going to be other parts.
Don't just let me know when you come out.
You got it.
Anyway, yeah, so we're starting this drive.
I've got all the windows up now or it's going to get too windy for the episode.
But yeah, we're heading out.
It's some beautiful scenery.
It's going to be perfect weather for Overland Expo this weekend.
I heard that or I saw the weather channels.
I think it's going to be the high is going to be like 75
and at the highest point on one of these days.
So it's going to be such a great weekend.
But yeah, I'm looking forward to this weekend.
Another Overland Expo.
The last one for this year.
So very bittersweet.
But it's just been again, such a great opportunity to be a part of these.
And I'm excited about it.
But anyway, that's it for now.
And I'll hop back on and a little bit to add to this.
Welcome to Overland Expo, Virginia.
2025.
All right, we are actually on Skyline Drive right now.
So yeah, so we're on Skyline Drive right now in the National Forest.
And it was because of the shutdown.
It was free to get into the park.
And so far, this view is pretty amazing.
We're going through a wooded area, but we just drove past an overlook
and the view is pretty nice.
So we're just continuing on the speed limit here is like 35 miles an hour.
But we're going about an average of 30, which is nice.
It's nice to just slow down and enjoy the view.
We're definitely enjoying this view.
It's really, really, really pretty and we just started.
So I'm looking forward to what we will come into past where we're at now.
That's going to be a nice, nice day.
The other thing that's really cool that I don't get to do too often is
roll with a bunch of Subaru's.
We're like, I don't know how many there's to me.
One, two, three, four, five, six in front of me.
Do you know the peak elevation we're going to see?
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, like seven or eight Subaru's behind me.
I do know the total elevation gain is 12,000.
Do the whole thing.
Oh, that's nice.
I'm looking forward to this.
Like I said, we're just into this.
And it's really, really pretty because we're driving through this wooded area,
which driving through wooded areas is always nice.
It's fun.
It's going to be fun to hear the conversations here over the radio too,
as I'm sure you're able to hear some of that.
But yeah, now, oh my gosh, we just pulled over to a clearing.
I've got wooded area on the left and rock to the right.
It is a drop off, but there's a short little rock wall,
but the view is beautiful.
Wow, it's really nice.
Yeah, did you hear that?
And if you look to your right, you'll see something beautiful.
Yeah, we're going up quite a bit right now.
There is talk about CVTs.
Oh, my CVT is going to be so happy with me.
Yeah, this is a beautiful view.
I forgot your name already.
Who is the local that I was talking to that drives this all the time?
Anyone? Anyone? Viewler?
They were having radio technical difficulties at this point.
That's why we never heard back.
Okay, well, we're waiting to hear back from that person, but...
Oh, this is beautiful.
I guess I'm out here.
I'm going to...
Hi, we're going to pull into this visitor center right here
just to reestablish comms,
because I think we might have some issues there.
You heard that.
Everybody, we're pulling into the visitor center.
All right, so I'm going to do the Subaru account.
We've got Nick here in the lead with his Outback
that he built out for Overland Expo.
Then we've got a Cross Trek Sport.
We've got an Outback Wilderness.
Another Outback Wilderness.
And then we've got a new Forester,
which is really nice.
I don't think it's a hybrid.
No, it's not a hybrid, but it looks nice.
Then we've got a Forester Sport.
Then my Turro Cross Trek.
Then an Outback.
I don't know what year it is.
So far we've got what?
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine,
10, 11, 12, 13, 14 Subarus.
So that's a...
No, 13 Subarus.
I counted one of the cars that's here mistakenly.
So we're continuing on.
We stopped at an Overlook, which was really, really nice.
And now we're driving again.
And we are going to find a spot to stop for lunch,
because it is almost one o'clock here.
We had breakfast at a little pavilion in a park.
And Sean got Cracker Barrel for everybody.
And we have a bunch of leftovers.
So our group is the lucky ones that get to eat some leftovers.
So everybody seems excited about that.
Somebody, I don't know who was on the radio,
said that they have a griddle and somebody else has propane.
So we are going to stop somewhere and heat up
some of this leftover food and eat.
So that'll be good.
By the way, we never ended up eating that food,
because we just didn't have time to stop,
get out all the food, get out the griddles,
and set it all up because we were running short on time
because we had to be at Overland Expo.
The campers had to be at Overland Expo inside the gate before 6 p.m.
And that posed to be a little bit of an issue later on for some people,
but we got it cleared up, or cleared up rather.
But yeah, so we had to continue on.
And we had some leftover food.
And unfortunately, we were able to put some of it aside,
but unfortunately, some of it went to waste.
So not always, you know, can't always do something about that.
But yeah, we had some snacks, so that was good.
But then we continued on. Here we go.
And the views here again are just incredible.
And so if you are ever able to make it to Virginia
and you can get out to Skyline Drive,
I believe this is Shenandoah National Forest or National Park,
I highly recommend it.
I think it's like a 105-mile drive for this.
It might be the equivalent distance to Cheeseburger Loop.
I don't know what the actual distance of Cheeseburger Loop is.
I'm sure it's on the map where I have it on there.
I don't think I've ever looked at it though.
But since I have some time while I'm sitting here
because I don't have a job,
I looked up the Cheeseburger Loop on Gaia
and it says that it's 163.26 miles.
Wow. I have not driven the whole thing,
not even a, well, maybe like a quarter of it, but that's about it.
But they said that this is going to be like a five to six hour drive.
What are your guys, your preference?
What's your favorite Subaru model and why is it the Outback?
So, yeah, so anyway, we, oh, I don't know.
What do we have? I think we have more Outbacks in this line than Foresters.
I'm driving a StarCross Trek because I wasn't able to print.
But then the rest are Outbacks and Foresters.
Yeah, two Cross Tricks.
There are some very cool Subarus in our group.
Yeah, there you go. We're all cool here.
I don't know what I was saying before that,
but other than the food, I don't remember.
But anyway, this drive is beautiful.
And, oh yeah, I was saying, like, if you have an opportunity to come out here
and drive this drive, it is incredibly beautiful.
I highly recommend it.
Oh yeah, I was saying, I was talking about Cheeseburger Loop
and the distance of this.
So, Cheeseburger Loop is potentially about maybe the same distance.
As far as I've driven in Cheeseburger Loop,
it's taken me at least a couple of hours to get the distance that I have.
And I only drove maybe a quarter of Cheeseburger Loop.
So, one of these days, we're going to plan a group drive
and do all of Cheeseburger Loop.
So, we'll have to set that up at some point.
But yeah, this drive here is incredibly beautiful.
Cheeseburger Loop does not look like this.
This is insane.
Like, good insane.
For those of you out west and have taken the drive,
which I know a lot of people I've talked to have,
this drive on Skyline Road reminds me a lot of the drive up to Big Bear Lake.
Because I went up there for work and I remember taking the windy road
and the views and it was really, really beautiful.
And so, now taking this drive on Skyline Road,
it looks very similar just as far as like the windiness
and the views remind me a lot of the drive up to Big Bear.
So, it's really, really cool.
And full disclosure, I did not know there were spots like this in Virginia
because I've never been outside of the DC area.
I've never been into the wilderness area of Virginia.
So, I kind of feel like a little bit of a dummy,
not knowing that beautiful spots in Virginia like this existed.
I just never, I never knew because I've never been.
So, coming on this trip and being able to come out early to do this drive,
I'm very, very thankful and I feel very blessed to have come out here and done this.
So, thank you so much, Joe from Subaru and Sean
and anybody else at Subaru who is involved in putting together Overland Expo
and inviting me out among all these other amazing people
that we've all had a chance to meet.
Because so many people are meeting new people out there with Subarus for the first time.
So, all of this has been really, really cool
because talking to the campers at Out in Loveland
and Overland Expo Mountain West in Colorado,
a lot of the people just, they got, they were just like normal.
A lot of the people were like everyday drivers.
You know, I don't think they were really connected with the Subaru community
the way a lot of other people are.
So, they got an email inviting them out to camp Subaru
and it gave them an opportunity to meet up with other Subaru owners
and make some new friendships and see the hospitality of Subaru of America
and I think it's pretty amazing.
So, thank you Subaru of America, everybody that was involved,
especially Joe, thank you so much for putting this together.
And right now it's just, it's very bittersweet
because this is the last stop this year of Overland Expo out here in Virginia.
So, I'm gonna of course enjoy it a lot,
but it's also gonna be sad when it's over.
And again, just very, very thankful to have met so many people
for the first time meeting new people that I didn't know,
meeting people that I've been connected with through Instagram for so long
and have talked to or have had on the podcast
and then also getting to see people again that I have been connected with
that I have seen before in person.
So, it's, and getting to see the people that have been at all the expos that I've been at too
like Milton and Troy and some of the other people that have been involved with it.
So, it's just been a lot of fun and I'm extremely grateful right now.
We just passed mile marker 100.
So, we've only got five miles to go
and I made an announcement at mile marker 95
because this is 105 miles.
So, I was like, oh, only 10 more miles to go.
Somebody said, I'm ready for a nap.
And somebody else said, they were ready for a nap too.
I'm definitely ready for a nap.
This has been a long drive and I'm really tired.
I also didn't get much sleep last night.
I went to sleep at probably around 1130 and I was going to get up at 630.
No, I was going to get up at 530.
So, I went to actually, I think I went to bed a little after 11.
So, I was thinking I'll probably get about six hours of sleep,
six and a half hours of sleep.
And I ended up waking up at 230 and then 330
and then my alarm went off at 530
and I got up slowly and met Sean and Milton
so that we could go pick up food from Cracker Barrel.
But that lack of sleep is really, really catching up to me
and I'm trying to just make it through the rest of this drive.
It's a beautiful drive but there's a lot of windy roads
and it's slow and yeah, I'm just getting really, really tired.
But I will make it to the end and I'll be okay.
But it'll be nice to stop, pull over, stretch and yeah.
Won't be taking a nap for a while.
Probably won't go to sleep until tonight but that's okay.
But yeah, oh we just passed mile marker 101.
So, four more miles, we'll be done with this thing.
We did make it to mile 105 by the way.
So, only four more miles but we all ended up pulling over
and stretching and resting for a little bit
and just trying to collaborate and figure out
what we were going to do next
which basically was just making it to Overland Expo
so that all the campers could set up.
So, we did do that, made it there
and people started setting up.
So, we got into the event, got to see the whole setup
and everything and then we hung out for a while
and then Milton and the other people
that were doing the more off-road trail,
they showed up a little bit later.
They had some trouble getting in
because they were supposed to be there by six o'clock
or before six o'clock.
And Overland Expo was, the people were kind of giving them
a little bit of a hard time but they made it in
so that was good.
But yeah, that closed out the first day out there
and then this, these conversations are the start
of the first day of Overland Expo.
I'm here at Overland Expo East, day one
and I'm sitting here with Sam at Wandering Fawzi.
How's it going, man?
It's going quite good, yourself?
I'm doing good.
What do you think of Expo so far?
It's been great.
It's my first time.
I came in yesterday morning,
kind of got out of the way to land,
checked everything out,
set my vehicle up and did a little bit
of walking around this morning so far
but probably this afternoon
I want to do some more walking around,
check out some more to boost
and have some more conversations.
Yeah, so what's really cool
is I'm getting to meet you for the first time.
After all these years,
we've been chatting for a really long time
to finally get to meet you
and it's been really cool to meet a lot of people here
at all the Expo events.
Getting to see people I've met before
but then getting to meet new people
has been super awesome.
Yeah, definitely.
Coming here is a definite pleasure.
Getting to meet a lot of people
that have been wanting to meet on Instagram,
social media.
Getting to meet Rafael,
getting to meet Milton.
Handful of other people
from the Subaru camp
and definitely was not expecting it
and it was definitely really nice
treating it as a surprise.
Yeah.
So tell us about your setup here
because and your location
at the event
because it's a pretty nice location.
Yeah.
All right.
I have my 2015 Subaru Forester
that is heavily modified
through full force metal works.
Cascadevico tents with up tent.
Cascadevico tents awning.
My custom cooking setup
with the drawers
and the cutting board
on my spot out fridge.
I am parked
right in between the penders
in the food-drink area.
So it's called a showcase to yourself area
and this is where people who can
who have modified vehicles
in a way that makes it better
for overlanding
and for their ventures
and also as a bit of their personalized
of touch.
So I'm the front one area
I'm in the first side,
the first side of the row
as per say.
So I am in a,
I think in a ideal spot.
Yeah.
So the entrance is to behind us.
Yes.
So as you're coming in
you walk down this long aisle
there's a bunch of vendors set up
and then you're kind of
in this little showcase area.
But what's really cool too
is you have
like a lot of the really big vendors
inside this area behind you
so they have to pass by your vehicle
to get into that bigger area.
So that's really cool.
You've got some good exposure
and have you had some people come by
talking to you about it?
I've had.
I've had people walk past
and then they realize
I had the drawers set up
and I'm back in the cooking set up
and they think,
oh, and they do the turn around.
They look at it again
and that's when you use
the most conversation to start.
I've had some people come up
and say,
oh, I'm bringing my kids tomorrow.
I'm bringing my husband later.
He wants to come check this out.
Very nice.
If you have some future conversations
I do have a showcase hour
from, I believe,
2 to 2.50 tomorrow
where I'll be doing a full
walk around of it
and answering all the questions
people have.
Very nice.
So I'm looking forward to that.
This is my first expert here
but so far it's been great so far.
Yeah, that's good.
And it's for me
and I know for everybody
it's really cool
when you get to finally
see somebody's rig in person
because you see it
on Instagram,
you see videos,
you see all the photos
and everything
and it looks really cool
but then when you see it in person
it's like such a different
like different experience
and it's like
and it always looks way cooler
in person, you know.
Oh yeah, absolutely.
Great.
Being able to put a name
to the face of the Instagram
but also put like a rig to the face.
Oh yeah.
Be able to see the rig in person
see the person behind it.
You can see them
even so much better.
I mean,
I'm definitely lucky that I've had
to definitely see
a whole bunch of rigs
that I've seen on Instagram
in person before
and be able to catch
up with a person and see
what the work
that person has done
to the vehicle
and see a person
see all their hard work
has paid off.
Yeah.
So have you been
over to the Subaru space?
I have.
I stopped by several times
yesterday
when they were setting
everything up
and I came by this morning
when they're putting
the finishing touches on it
it looked really good.
I have not been over
since the show opened.
Okay.
I plan on making
a couple more rounds this afternoon.
Okay.
So what are your thoughts
so far of the setup over there?
I think it's great.
There's a lot of cars
that bring you 26 outback
looks really cool.
I want to check it out
more in person.
Yeah.
You have some really cool
owners cars over there.
Definitely want to check out
why are there feels
and Troy T designs I believe.
Yep.
Don't forget me
if I mess it up.
Those vehicles are
absolutely beautiful
and one of the
manufacturer ones
and definitely want to
spend some more time
over there
and talk to some more people.
Yeah.
And it's nice too
because they've got
the owner lounge
for people to come in there
and just relax
and I think it's really nice
how spread out it is, you know.
And it doesn't feel like
enclosed, you know.
Yeah.
There's definitely
it's much larger than I expected.
There were some
who's here.
I saw this morning
and they quick lap around
before everything opened.
Some of the booths
are very small.
Yeah.
So definitely
they gave you
a much larger footprint.
I think that is
a huge blessing
to be able to
open up
show it super
what you can offer
show maybe get
potential customers
just start that
open up that channel.
Yeah.
And I like to
because like
there's like a main aisle
that you walk down
and it's right off
that main aisle.
So I think that gives them
a lot of really good exposure
and so it's
further away
from the entrance
but you know
people are
naturally going to gravitate
and you know
go through the whole show
and see everything
and what's really been
cool for me to
experience is
with the other events
that I've been to
the other expos that
I've been to
is there are people
that have come
through space
because they knew
Subaru is going to be
at Overland Expo
what's even really cool
is when somebody
who owns a Subaru
comes in
and they're like
oh I didn't even know
Subaru is going to be here
you know
and so they get excited
that Subaru is at the space
and I think everybody agrees
that they belong here.
I think I definitely agree
Subaru definitely
has a lot to offer
in this market
there's not only
a Toyota in the Jeep
market
for the over
when off road
and even just
for camping
I think Subaru
does a great
scheme
then people
give them credit for
I think that Subaru
does a great job
and I think
now more at the ordinances
that have come out
and people start
modifying those
it gives Subaru
a broader
put print
in this industry
and be able to
say hey
Subaru should be
more of a playing
partner in this
and now we are
and I think it's great
to see them
come out more
and then like
people like you
who have like
really nice
setups here
are doing things
with their Subaru
that people who
maybe own a Subaru
like
I didn't even know
you could do all this stuff
you know
and so it's really great
to showcase
what is possible
and the potential
that you have
I think definitely
I can now
have fun
conversations with people
who like
I didn't know
can modify this
be able to
explain to them
and talk to them
about the different
modifications I've done
over the years
what I found worth
what I found
hasn't worked
overwhelmed with
everything at once
you know
absolutely
or with it
so they can
make a better educated choice
yep cool
well thanks for having
a little chat
I'm gonna
this you're my first
interview today
for the expo
and
I've been
you know just kind of
walking around
chatting with some people
from Subaru
and so I wanted
to stop by
before I actually
go over to the booth
and
chat with you
because it was great
meeting you
last night
about going out
to all these events
whether it's expo
or you know
the subi fest events
that I've been to
I drove up to Subaru flat
fest in 2022
just getting to meet
people in person
that I've either
already had on the
podcast
or people that
I've just connected with
their Instagram
that I could potentially
have on the podcast
and I know for
most people
that connect with
somebody
through social media
when you get
to meet that person
it's like
just super super cool
and it almost always
goes beyond a handshake
it's like
coming and bringing in
for a hug you know
it's just so cool
and then definitely
the social media
has definitely
worked in amazing ways
in that sense
you definitely be able to
meet people
create lasting friendships
doesn't matter you know
where you live
you just send a message
and when you find
to get to meet that person
I bet you like
like last night
it makes it just that much
it's more important to me
and we can name
it a phase
and be able to talk in person
yep cool
well thank you so much
for chatting
absolutely thank you very much
you're welcome
yep okay
alright cool
alright
I'm here at
Overland Expo East
it's our last stop
of Overland Expo
so it's bittersweet
yep
I'm like
kind of going to be a little
sad after this
because
I've met so many people
and these events are great
and I'm
grateful to Subaru
for bringing us out here
and being a part of this
but
so
with this last
Expo
this is of course
day one
of Expo East
you had
the longest drive
getting out to this event
so
tell us about
where you were coming from
what your experience
was like
driving all the way out here
and maybe how many miles
and days
it took you to get here
yeah
yeah no it's
actually sorry
before that
introduce yourself
oh
yes
so my name is Troy
on Instagram
I'm Troy T. Designs
yep
and so
as for
the trip
we actually left
we left on
the 23rd
so we left on September 23rd
wow
that was a while back
yeah we wanted to take some time
to
get out all the way
out east
my wife and daughter
they kind of tap out
like 6-7 hours
drive
okay
but
I would drive
15-20 hours straight
if I wanted to
yeah it's crazy
yeah
most people look at me
like what
yeah
it's a long drive
so we took
some time to get out here
but in that
we stopped at a lot of places
so we
we stopped in Flagstaff, Arizona
nice
and then we
from Flagstaff
we drove straight to
Armilillo, Texas
I think it's
yeah
yeah
right off the 40
we were there just for the night
okay
and then from there
we drove straight to
Little Rock, Arkansas
nice
and we went down to
had you been through there before
no
actually never been down
past Flagstaff
on the 40
okay
so
I take that back
to New Mexico once
okay
but nothing after New Mexico
got you
so when we got to Little Rock
we
we went to
a
garden
that was about
50 minutes
southwest of Little Rock
okay
three hours
walking through this
beautiful garden
nice
I mean the flowers
and the trees
and the like
they had like these little
outdoor train
setups going on
really
that looked like little
fairy towns
I've been to Arkansas
quite a few times
because my daughter
went to school there
I didn't even know about that
I've been to Little Rock
quite a few times
yeah
we just
we came across
it literally like
that night
sitting in our hotel
we're just scrolling
through TikTok
and all of a sudden
all this Arkansas
stuff started
popping up
and I was like
where's this
my wife like
let's go
they had this
crazy
chapel like
architectural design
glass chapel
on the property
that is
becoming really popular online
so I think
Arkansas has a few of those
because
they do
there's one called
Anthony Chapel in Arkansas
and that's where my daughter
got married
no way
okay
yeah
we
this garden had one
and I was like
and then we found
there was a couple more
and I was like
dude this thing
is just
beautiful
oh yeah
they had this
really nice
architectural design
like tree house
in the middle
pretty proud of them
I was like
this is crazy
so it was nice
and then from
basically from
Arkansas we went straight
to Nashville
okay
and we stayed a few days
in Nashville
checked it out
and then we just came
across randomly
there's this music festival
going on
called the Pilgrimage
Festival
down in Franklin
nice
so we're like
why not
let's go grab tickets
it was
we are making a good
trip out of it
yeah
because it's not just
straight for the show
like
we are actually on the road
for like
six weeks
so this was like
the first week
and we're making a family
trip
and we're doing a bunch
of other extra stuff
so
we're like yeah
let's go to this
music festival
John Mayer
was the headliner
and like
the tickets were like
super affordable
and I was like
okay we gotta go to this
yeah
Franklin is
beautiful
in Nashville
and so
we did all that
and then
got to
you know
do all the downtown stuff
in Nashville
and we really
didn't know what to expect
from Nashville
and I was
not expecting it to be
as modern
and super clean
oh
the city is just
I've never been
oh my gosh
if you get a chance
go
okay
it is
so clean
and beautiful
okay I think
my daughter
may have been
because
her husband
lives
okay
so I think
they may have been
I'll have to ask her about it
yeah
it's beautiful
I'll go back
nice
to Nashville
and just Tennessee in general
I've never been
I'd love to go there
if you get a chance
go
you won't regret it
all right
yeah it's beautiful
yeah so
from there
we basically
I don't want to go
from there
we just
ended up coming straight to Virginia
nice
and now we're here
good
at the Overline Expo East
so
any issues
just with the drive itself
or with your outback
on the way here
no
no so
before we left LA
we did a full
vehicle check
at the dealership
super Pacifica
all right
so
they are like
dude you're good to go
we had all the
diff fluids change
smart plugs
we did the whole nine
just because
we're getting ready to do
a lot of miles
yeah
and we kind of like
skipped out on the
60,000 mile one
and the 80,000 miles
so I was like
you know what
we better go do this
so how many miles
well let us know
what you have
and then
how many miles
you have on it
and then how long
you've had it
okay so
our outback
so we have a 22
outback willingness
we got it
I believe
around
mid-22
we got it
and currently
on this trip
we just rolled
98,000 miles
wow
yeah
everyone's like
what
yeah
well I mean
I have 135
on my 21
cross track
which is awesome
yeah I'm like
I want to see how many
miles I can get on it
yeah
and people
asked me all the time
why are you putting
so many miles
I was like
I bought this car
to drive it
and use it
exactly
you know
miles don't scare me
so
yes we have
98,000 miles
and
it's so
it's so crazy
soon as we
crossed into
the gates here
yesterday
in the morning
to check out the expo
first
we just
rolled 2800 miles
wow
so that's where we're at
on our trip right now
2800 miles
yeah that's a good trip
yeah so we still
have
I believe like
41 more
4100 more miles
ago
wow
yeah
so
when we were in Colorado
I was
talking to you
because you had like
issues with your shoulder
yeah
how was that on this trip
so far
well that
that
conversation went south
real fast
when we got back
so
it hurt
going up to Colorado
and I was in a sling
you know the whole weekend
and I was like
what is happening
but we couldn't do anything
because our doctors
is in Santa Monica
yeah
and so when I got back
we did the whole
MRI scans
on my shoulder
come to find out
long story short
I have a torn
tendon
in my shoulder
in a bunch of
what he called
shrapnel around my
rotator cuff
oh
and so
we have to do
what they call
a patching
and it's
from what he
our doctor
explained is
they take a
patch from
a ear
Achilles tendon
which I was like
don't I need that
from what
my Achilles tendon
oh okay
and I was like
interesting
and they
am I going to be
able to walk
I know
I was like
okay I'll have work
on shoulder
but what about
my foot
yeah
you know
anyways he said
they do it all the time
they've been doing it
for 10 plus years
it's a very
small patch
that they take
what they do
is they
they go in
with cameras
in my shoulder
they wrap it around
the tendon
that is torn
and what that does
it's supposedly
but after that
the recovery time
is kind of gnarly
so
8 to 9 months
of recovery
the first
6 weeks
I
cannot move my shoulder
at all
so I physically
have to bandage my arm
like from
elbow up
around my body every day
because I cannot move
yeah
so I was
like oh
okay
yeah
and then there's
8 weeks
of physical therapy
after that
and then
after the physical therapy
they call
tendon tissue
repair stage
and that's
3 months long
so
I can somewhat
move my arm
in my shoulder
but I have to take it
very very easy
I can't pick up
weight
more than 5 pounds
wow
that's 3 months long
and then there's
a 1 to 2 months
recovery after that
but this is the doctor
that you
went to
after the first doctor
told you
you're gonna have to get
all this stuff done
all this long recovery time
so I'm guessing
that with this doctor
he's telling you're
gonna have to do
you trust what he says
because
you said that he
works on like a lot of
athletes and stuff too
yeah so
he's
he does a lot of
the soccer athletes
taking back of him
like all those guys
yeah
and you know
I trust his word
because
you know
those guys wouldn't
be going to him
if he didn't know
what he was doing
yeah
and he's been
great with my knee
from our
first albac
that got in a
rollover
so I was like yep
I'm going straight to him
for my shoulder
and here we are
unfortunately this one
I have to get surgery
yeah
yeah but I mean
you know
it's probably what's
gonna be for the best
in the long run
yeah
it's
sleeping's uncomfortable
driving's uncomfortable
right now
I was actually
not supposed to come out
east
he wasn't too excited
with me
and I was like
you have to give me
six weeks
I can still get it done
just give me some time
yeah
so he's like
yeah
so getting to
the Subaru space
that we have here
because you've been
to all of the expos this year
correct
they're pretty much
laid out
the same at every event
the only thing that's
different really
is the factory vehicles
and the
owner vehicles
that are
at the events
because they're getting
people that are
local to
you know
each area
so
what have you
liked about
the way that
everything is set up here
and then
what are the things
that they can
potentially do differently
well
I mean
the way that
the Subaru booth
is set up
they did a
phenomenal job
yeah
I agree
you know
it's corporate Subaru
but it's
it's comfortable
it's inviting
and I think
that's a really big thing
yeah
you know
and it's like
if you look back
at photos and footage
a lot of people
are coming to the booth
and they're excited
that Subaru is doing this
oh yeah
you know
comfort of just like
you don't feel
intimidated walking in
like oh should I
walk into here
like you can just
come and walk in
sit down
show your Subaru key
get a free gift
and come into the little lounge
yeah we're sitting
in the lounge
we're sitting in the lounge
right now
shaded
yeah which is
amazing
yeah there's snacks
and drinks
I mean it's great
I feel a little VIP
to be honest
yeah seriously
yeah it's great
so they did a
phenomenal job
I really love
from every expo
to improve
man
off the top of my head
I don't
I mean they did such a
good job
I mean live music
on one of the days
of the expo
we've got Rihanna and
Gelsamino doing a talk
right now
which is super cool
which who else is
doing that
yeah exactly
yeah yeah
it's been great
so cool
to see that
to like
be here personally
and see that
we'll get to see that
you know
oh yeah
yeah I know
same here
so Subaru
does a lot of like
surprises for
like the customer base
future customers
and
and having
like owner vehicles
not just OEM
I think is a
really smart idea
absolutely
because
people that aren't
Subaru owners
they didn't know
you could do this
with Subarus
and so
they can come to us
and ask us questions
and they're like
oh my goodness
they only see
Jeeps and Toyotas
modified or something
right
maybe they've never seen
a modified Subaru
and then they come by
and they're like
well you can do that
to these too
you know
or whether it's
somebody that doesn't
own a Subaru
or somebody that does
own a Subaru
maybe they bought their
Subaru
and they just
because I know
I've talked to people
that
have come to
Overland Expo
the other events
where they
own a Subaru
they've been coming
to Overland Expo
that's why they wanted
to come to Expo
like oh I want to go see
Subaru
and then there's been people
that
own a Subaru
but
they didn't know
that Subaru was going to be here
and so they go to the Expo
and they're like
oh I didn't know
Subaru was going to be here
so
but I think you can
get a lot of people
who
own a Subaru
that maybe
are just a daily driver
and they see
Subaru here
and they see
all these things
that you can do with them
and like
obviously they're being built
to go
and maybe people have never
really thought about doing that
and now
they can talk to people
and be like
I never really thought of that
but maybe that's something
I'd be interested in
trying and then
now the wheels are spinning
yeah
but then also learning too
that
the Subaru
that they have
that's stock
most likely
can do a lot more
than they realize
that's what's surprising
to a lot of people
it's really
I think
I think the Subaru
is in the Overland Expo
just to get
kind of like a little
what do you say
oh man
a little underrated
yeah
I guess
because
like
you think over anything
the mid-sized trucks
the big trucks
the Jeeps and stuff
but these cars
out of the box
just being factory
are completely capable
so much more than what
people think
yeah
because when I bought mine
I was surprised
yeah
and then when you start
adding a bunch of little stuff
to it
they become
really capable
of doing some stuff
and
you know
I've had my Jeeps
my trucks back in the day
you know
but I don't rock climb anymore
I don't do anything
crazy crazy anymore
so
this is like a perfect vehicle
or out back
it's a great daily
it's comfortable
the gas miles
is still decent
but I can still
not every trail
that Jeeps and trucks can
but
of course
but
I'm pretty capable
well and the thing is too
is
you can have
a lot of fun with these
and get to places
that you just can't
with another car
you know
if you've got
because like
I had a front wheel drive car
before my Subaru
and there were places
that I would see
when we would go off
to our family reunion
in East Texas
and I was like
some county roads
and I'm like
I can't get up this road
but I
knew at that time
that my next car
was going to be a
cross-track
and I'm like
if I already had a cross-track
I knew I could get up this road
and it wasn't anything
super complicated
but I just knew
that my car
that I had
wouldn't be able to make it
and if it could
I would not
feel comfortable
or confident
and so now
like having experienced
especially the all-wheel drive
in some situations
where I'm like
this car is so amazing
so amazing
oh and also let's add
to that amazing
that's about your cross-track
that it's a manual
yes
that is very fun
you don't see too many of those
yeah that's why
I'm like hanging on to it
yep I would too
absolutely
that's amazing
do you have anything else
to add
man
besides this
being bummed out
the last expo
for the season
you know
but
you know we'll be back
next year
you know again
maybe with the same car
maybe a different setup
I don't know who knows
yeah
but
yeah we're just excited
for this trip
because we're going to continue
on eastward
after the expo
good
so we're driving
all the way up the coast
of Maine
cutting through Vermont
and Canada
and back to Michigan
for a week or so
and then
we head back to
Los Angeles
so
well this has been great for me
to
and I'm sure for you too
to meet a lot of people
that you've probably connected
with through Instagram
absolutely
because you're going to
different parts of the country
and getting to meet those people
in person for the first time
yeah
and like
me being involved
with all of the events
except for California
and you being at all of the events
getting to travel
and see
the same people again
you know
like it's great seeing you again
it's been great
seeing people from
you know
Subaru of America
anybody that's been involved
with each of the events
it's cool
it's like
I get excited
I'm like
oh I'm going to get to see
all these people again
and then I know I'm going to get
to meet new people
for the first time
yeah
and that's what's been great
about being a part of this
yeah it's like
and I said before
it's the Subaru community
like
we
I met a gentleman here
he said
he's like
dude I've been following you
for a long time
nice
I was like
what that's
I mean I'm nobody big
like you know
it's awesome
to meet like other people
that's not in your
surrounded area
yeah
I've been following you
for a long time
like it's crazy
yeah
in a good way
you know
it's like
not like a soccer kind of way
it's amazing
the community is amazing
I love it
yeah good
well thanks for taking the time
to chat with me
absolutely
and it was
great again
meeting you
and getting to travel
to all these events
and you know
seeing you again
and meeting your family
you know
just getting to
chat
and be a part of this
it's been great
yeah the same
likewise
yeah thank you
thank you
you're welcome
alright
awesome
sweet
okay
I'm here at
Overland Expo
with Milton
Silver Bullet XV
this day one
of Overland Expo East
and the end of the
Overland Expo Tour
and it's bittersweet
yeah it's definitely
bittersweet
we've been super happy
to be a part of all of them
this year
the whole tour
all over the country
meeting awesome people
and talking about Subaru
is the thing we love
so
ready for a break
this winter
but definitely
sad to see it
end so quickly
I know
it's been great
because
it's been cool to
like see you
at all these events
see Troy
see John
who's here
you know
helping people with
Subaru
learn more about them
and you know
just other people
from Subaru America
that have been coming
along here
new people
that we follow on Instagram
that we haven't met in person yet
absolutely
we've met new people
at everyone
and it's always really exciting
to have those conversations
yeah
so what I wanted to ask you
about
is you've been
to every single event
so far
yeah
and I want to get
your thoughts on
not like
each individual one
per se
because for the most part
the setups are the same
you know
I know we were talking
earlier how
in
Overland
and P&W in Oregon
we had a little more space
in front of the owner's lounge
yeah
actually we had
quite a bit more space
in front of the owner lounge
they had chairs
and tables
with umbrellas
and you know
here is similar
but we got less space
no umbrellas this time
but
like overall
for all of the events
like
what do you feel
worked really well
definitely
I think the
definitely the
lounge
there's so much
heat
this is generally being
this whole event
is through the summer
summer months give or take
yeah
and everywhere we go
there's been a lot of sun
yes
or a lot of wind
you know
west
and being able to have
a space for people to come
and you know
have that oasis
like we've talked about
in the past
where they can
kind of get out of that
and relax a little bit
eat some snacks
talk to people
that's been really awesome
and kind of
brings people in
to make it more
of a community
just a
I'm stepping in a booth
people are trying to sell me things
and they have to get away
because they're going to
just keep talking to me
you know it feels a little
bit more welcoming
and I think that's big
with Subaru
and with what they love
you know Subaru
is all about love
they're going to
giant sign
the Subaru Love Promise
so
what makes a Subaru
a Subaru
exactly
so I definitely love
that aspect of it
and then
just being able to
show off a couple
owner vehicles
gives them
people the opportunity
to ask questions
about their vehicle
you know at the end of the day
everybody loves their car
that's here I think
at least
or one hopes
yeah
but
everybody wants to do something
different with it
so being able to kind of
see different vehicles
ask different questions
and see people
really using them
I think is super awesome
to show that off
yeah
so what are some things
that you feel
maybe didn't work so well
that they could
potentially do
differently next year
yeah totally
I think
I would say
it would be nice to have
maybe some recycle
yeah
just you know
and this isn't necessarily
Subaru's fault here
but
it'd be nice to have some
some places
to throw some stuff away
and you know
take care of it nicely
I'd love to have
just
access to water
you know
Subifest events
they have that awesome
water truck
with the
the water cups
I feel like
that's a staple
of Subaru events personally
I'd love to see that here
it's hot
it's hot like I said once again
would love to have water here
yeah
I know they have the
owner lounge with drinks
and everything
but I think if they made
that accessible to everybody
that comes through
then that would be good
exactly
yeah
especially along the lines
of the Subaru loves pets
side of it
you know
we have all the toys
which is great
but
some snacks
or some
treats
and a water bowl
would be great
for animals as well
I know they have
a couple of water bowls
up here
a couple more around
I think it would be really cool
so
I think that would be sick
and
yeah honestly
I just love having the
owner vehicles
and I think if we can continue
to do that
that would do really well
but
also having more
varied vehicles
you know I feel like
we've had a tendency
to have a lot of
outback wilderness
which makes total sense
you know it's Subaru's
pride vehicle right now
or pride vehicle
obviously we're getting the
new one this coming year
which we have here
which we do have here
which has been super exciting
to just pay attention to
look at
see the things I like
see the things I don't like
you know
and just kind of get an idea
of it
but I would love to see
a more varied
cast
we'll see
you know right now
we have three outbacks
a forest during a cross check
it's pretty diverse
but
one of the events we had
mostly outbacks
and you know
we still do have
mostly outbacks
not that I hate outbacks
I love outbacks
I love the owners
but it would be cool to see
you know
maybe a lifted Impreza
maybe a lifted
WX
I'd love to see something like that
that would be really cool
you know we
I've met a lot of people
who love their ascents
and they want to know
if there's a wilderness coming out
you know who knows
if a wilderness ascent
is going to come or not
but you can totally show off
one that's been
an owner vehicle
and I think that'd be super cool
and that was a cool
like
the fact that you mentioned
a lifted WRX
because there's probably
people that
maybe have never seen that
and didn't even know
that you can do that
absolutely
and so I think that would be
definitely a good one
to showcase
yeah and especially when
you go into the Subaru space
from
or into the overland
off-road Subaru space
from the performance sector
you know
from that street oriented
WRX people
showing them that
hey your platform
that you love so much
can do really cool
off-road things
and can look super sick
and very mad max
in a good way
would be really sick
and I think a lot of people
would really appreciate it
and bring people in
bring a lot of interest
so intense
hopefully next year
we can build something
really cool
but we'll find out
and then last question is
if Subaru
next year
were to
not attend
all of the events
which ones
were your favorite
that you would like to see
like
these are the
top three or four
that I would
really
want to make sure
that we attend again
absolutely so my number one
and I'll say this
you know
maybe I'm biased
you know it's my hometown
or rather my
my home region
we'll call it right
it's not quite hometown
but P&W is definitely
my favorite
I was mine too
P&W is amazing
the terrain around is awesome
the food vendors are great
you know you're missing
some of your food vendors
from that particular event
right now
I'm missing some of my
vendors from there
absolutely love that
event
and the other thing too
it was so close to the entrance
so as people are coming in
they're passing right
by the Subaru space
exactly yeah
so I think that was
just a very prime event
loved it
loved it
would love to go back
to that one
I think
Arizona would probably
be my next favorite
it was
I mean it's the biggest
event of the year right
it's the largest
attendance
relatively cool area
I enjoy the space
it's a little windy
maybe perhaps
but once you get
over that
and can kind of
just enjoy the space
when there's
a break in the wind
or a break in the weather
I really enjoy
the layout
maybe not so much
how far away the
camping is of course
but everything else
is super awesome
the terrain around
is really cool
and then
my other favorite
would probably be Colorado
I really like Colorado
that one was a good one too
the mountain passes are great
to get up there
and around
so the journey was awesome
and
I like the venue
it's very dynamic
with a lot of
terrain change in it
so you kind of
get a chance to run around
and enjoy some really good food
but everything's kind of
mixed amongst itself
it's not as much
you know here
I feel like it's very much
you go here for this
type of stuff
and here for that type of stuff
but it's very much
more mixed around
so you get an opportunity
to see things
that you wouldn't otherwise
see maybe
so I think that's a really cool
spot to go
yeah
so just those three
those are my three favorites
those are my three favorites
I'm not going to go into
others
but those are definitely my
three favorites
alright that's good
for sure
P&W is number one
yeah
anything else you want to add
I mean after this whole
experience
I think
I'm just super happy
that we got to come
and talk to people
about Subaru's
about overlanding
off-roading their
really all-wheel drives
in general
but specifically of course
and I just hope that next year
we can come back even stronger
come back with more
educational stuff along
you know on my side of things
and really help people
learn
and so
maybe we'll figure out
what people want to learn
that I didn't know
yeah
maybe there's some stuff
I didn't know that
they're interested in learning
so we can put together
some different
seminars and programs
and maybe some more
live demonstrations
maybe some driving classes
maybe we'll do
an on-course driving class
that'd be super cool
yeah that would be
really really fun
yeah I'll get people
on the wheel of either their
own vehicle
or maybe even a factory
Subaru
maybe that could be really sick
hopefully we can
some fun stuff next year
yeah good
well thank you for sharing
your ideas
and your thoughts
and it's been
like I said it's been fun
to get to see you
at you know
all the events
that I've been at
and Kerry unfortunately
is not here
because the Rebell rally
shout out
Rebell rally
Kerry
and you know
it's just been
I'm very thankful
that
Subaru included me in this
and that I've had a chance
to talk to
a lot of different people
and meet new people
and it's just been
a great experience
overall
absolutely yeah
definitely excited to
to see how it goes
and hopefully
people can
really enjoy it
next year too
when it comes back
absolutely
alright
thank you
bye
bye
alright
I'm sitting here
at Overland Expo
day one
Overland Expo
East
and Virginia
and I'm sitting here
with Patrick
how's it going
this is your first
Overland Expo
experience correct
this is my first
Overland Expo
yep
considered coming before
and didn't work out
so yeah
I'm glad to be here
yeah
and even better
because your car
your Orbis Overlanding
cross track
is in the
Subaru booth
it is
or Oasis
maybe if we want to
call it that
yeah
I feel like
it's one of those
milestones in the
Subaru
my Subaru journey
I guess
to have my car
in the booth
is pretty cool
yeah absolutely
so
what do you think
of Overland Expo
first of all
as far as
I don't know
if you've had a chance
to walk around much
but what do you think
of the venue
and this event
that's pretty cool
to see all the different
brands
and companies
in place
and
I've gotten to
walk around a little bit
not a ton
because I've been pretty
busy talking with people
that's good
in the booth
so
nice weather
can't complain about that
yeah
it's been a little warm
it's been a little warm
at all the events
but
you know
it's summertime ish
so we can kind of
expect that
but
right now
we're sitting in the
shade and there's a nice
breeze
and it feels really good
yeah this is a good spot
it's been really nice
so
what do you think
of the Subaru
setup here
the setup's cool
yeah
you know
I listened to some
of your other podcasts
over the last few weeks
it's been a nice spot
nice little lounge area
yeah
yeah
it's a nice setup
they did it well
good good
is there anything
that you've seen
in the space
I mean I know this is your
only event
that you've been to
but
do you see anything
that you would
potentially do different
or want to see
differently for next year
I mean
I'm sure
I could come up
with things if I thought
nothing like
jumps out
like
immediately to me
I think it's
something pretty good
I mean
some more shade
would be nice maybe
yeah
but
yeah
I mean
I'd have to put some thought
into it
yeah and in Oregon
we had
they had some
umbrellas up
and chairs under the
umbrellas so that was
kind of nice
I do miss that about
about that event
so I think
that would be good
if they could
bring that back
to or have that
at all the events
you know next year
yeah I wonder if there's
a space constraint
here
could be
cozy
yeah
we've got five cars
in the booth
yeah
so for example
like
Overland Expo P&W
in front of the
Subaru Lounge
the owner lounge
we had a lot of
space
okay
and it was like
went pretty far out
and they had like
chairs and tables
and stuff
so it was pretty
nice there
but
yeah so
but yeah
this one is a little
more constrained
like as I was
thinking about that
and talking to other
owners here is kind of
kind of narrow
kind of short
yeah
but overall like
I love the setup
I think it's great
it's very inviting
and you know
of course the owner lounge
is just great
I think it's cool
they've
they've definitely plugged
into
the fact that you're
not just here
looking at the things
you know it's
it's the whole
owner experience
you know they're
giving away the stuff
for the dogs
they're taking a picture
as everybody gets
their pet
you know so again
it's that whole
super experience
super community
and some of the other brands
even at
arguably more
off-road
or overlandish brands
don't seem to
have that same
they just don't have
the same feel
yeah
and I've heard that
from a lot of people
and so
you were
camping
on
Thursday night
so what did you think
of the whole camp
Subaru set up over there
yeah that works good
you know
it's always cool
at these events
when Subaru does this
to be able to
meet, hang out
and interact with other
owners
and
see the different
builds
and
you know
just that ability
I think
anytime you're
camping
it seems like
you're able to
just kind of
hang out
at sort of
a different level
you know other types of
events right
you
you just have that ability
kick back
with a little propane fire
and just have a
fireside conversation
kind of a thing
yeah
so what have you
how has it been
for you here
in the Subaru
space
with having your car
and conversations
you've had
it's been cool
I get a lot of compliments
which is great
I mean
I've got a lot of time
and I've heard in the
end of what I built out
to make it functional
so to have
people kind of
excited
and think it's cool
is really cool
I got to share it with
Rihanna
which was really
neat and got to share
kind of my story with her
and
that was just
it's fun for someone
like that
to get excited
about what I've done
because
she's not an overlander
but she's in the
motorsports right
so she understands
the
for any of us
like this
she understands the
passion that goes into it
the time
so to be able to share
that with her
and have her
be kind of excited
about my build
is pretty cool
yeah and then
I remember like it
at Flatfest
you had Scott Speed
asking you about stuff
and I was like
how cool is that
you know
that was awesome
so what if you had
people ask you
about the most
about your car
has there been
like one thing
about your car
people have asked the most
or has it been
just a mosh
of different things
my bumper
my bumper gets everybody's attention
which is really
kind of ironic in some ways
because
I intended to build that as a product
and the shipping has just become
so
exorbitant
on it
that
I haven't been able to
turn it into a product
that makes sense
so
so that's kind of
ironic that that's
what people
really clue in on
but
you know
you
when I can start to share
kind of the other pieces
and you know
the way to carry
the water
the fuel tanks
you know everybody's kind of like
oh
that's
that's what you
produced
or
you know I had a couple people
it was actually funny
the same thing where
like I'm talking to them
and then I make a comment
like well
and this is my product
and they
it was like one of those
light bulb moments
they're like oh
wait
your
like this is a sponsored car
well yeah I know that's
it's me
yeah this is me
so that's so cool
so that's fun
yeah
those moments are always nice
yeah
it's like oh
oh you're the guy
yeah it's not yeah
this isn't just a sponsored car
that showed up it's
yeah that's really cool
anything else you want to share
about your experience so far
I mean I know this is
kind of early into it
but I wanted to
I kind of wanted to do that
on purpose
yeah I know
it's been great
it was
it's awesome to
hang out with
with you
and some of the other guys
getting into Milton
has been a lot of fun
because he's
he's a character
he's definitely
a legend
and
I mean I got to do some
trailing with him
yeah
yesterday
and so that was
really cool
I think to
hang out with him
yeah so no
it's been
been a good start
looking forward to
the next couple days
yeah and it's nice to
see you again
because I haven't seen you
in three years
yeah
because we
I drove up to
Flatfest
that was in
22
yeah
and got to meet up
and hang out
and then
well what I really
enjoyed about that too
is we had some time
afterwards me, you and Jen
had an opportunity
to go have breakfast
and hang out
just with the three of us
and
and we went to dinner
too
the night before
so that was
that was really a lot of fun
but and
and that's
I mentioned
and did a million times
that like
one of my favorite things
is getting to finally
meet somebody
that you've connected with
through Instagram
and you know
that you've started
a relationship with
and then
and then also
if you have an opportunity
to see their build
you know
because like
all these events
nobody's been able to see
my build
because I just can't
you know
take the time to drive out
but I drove up to
Flatfest
and y'all were all
able to see Pearl
and that was fun for me
because I'm like
I'm here in my own car
and like
at these events
I wish I could be here
in my own car
and maybe
it would be possible
like Colorado
wasn't too far away
Flagstaff isn't too far away
so
it's definitely a possibility
but so who knows
but yeah
it would be fun
to be here in my own car
and do it
yeah
but you're here
that's what's important
yeah of course
well thank you so much
for hopping on the mic
and chatting for a little bit
it's been
it's been fun so far
like I said
it's been great to see you again
and I'm glad
we get to hang out
all weekend
yeah likewise
all weekend
yeah all right thank you
that's it
yeah
it was really really great
seeing Patrick again
because
I hadn't seen him since
Flatfest in 2022
so that was really great
to catch up
but
so that was the end
of Friday
day one
of Overland Expo
and this
is the point
where if you want to
take a break
and listen to day two
and day three later on
day three
by the way
we had a conversation
because it was really really slow
and Milton and I
needed to leave to
I needed to get to the airport
to fly home
and he needed to get a hotel
near the airport
so that he could fly out
Monday morning
so we ended up leaving
earlier
in the day
I think we left
a little bit after one
which worked out great
because
got there just in time
for the airport
and he got his hotel
so everything
worked out with that
but yeah
so here we go
with day two
and day three
of Overland Expo
conversations with people
so hope you enjoy
alright I'm here
check check
at Overland Expo
day two
in Virginia
and I'm sitting here
with Cori
and she has
a cool little company
called
SoFly
SoFly yeah
that's great
welcome to your
first
appearance
on the podcast
I love being here
and seeing
all the different
setups
you know being a
Subaru person
it's really neat to see
all the different
variations people do
when customizing
their car
but since this isn't
a Subaru specific event
I actually get to see
some other really neat
setups too
yeah
but
but mostly like
the Subaru booth
is just look
it's beautiful
has beautiful cars
seeing the 2026
out back is
yeah
very cool to see
and
yeah I'm very happy
to be here
the weather's gorgeous
yeah it's so nice
so what do you think
like I know you said
that you've got
cars in the 2026
out back
but as far as like
the layout
the feel of the Subaru
this Subaru
Oasis
what somebody called it
what do you think
so I've
been observing it
from the outside
looking in
and it's nice
to like be sitting
in here now
enjoying it
from this perspective
and I
love that
there's shade
and it's welcoming
and we're sitting
on cushions
and not like
hard camping chairs
and
I like those
I always love Subaru
styling of things
it's very
um
welcoming
and
and it's not
too full of like
you know
overwhelming frills
and shiny things
you know
they give you that space
to walk around
observe
at your own pace
and they aren't like
hounding you
I really love it
yeah
well good
so how did you
get to this event
and
yeah
and obviously
you're over with
the camping group
so what is that
how did you get here
and then what has your
experience been like
over there camping
yeah absolutely
so I
I'm connected
with Patrick McKinney
through Orbus Overlanding
he sells the
SoFly car window rainfly
on his website
and he
told me that
he could help me get
in to participate
in the camp Subaru
and
I was floored
I was very excited
about the opportunity
I really wanted to
experience my first Expo
my first Overland Expo
yeah
and so
it's even more special
being able to camp with
a bunch of really cool
off-road
setup Subaru's over there
and
and be with people
that have already
you know bought my products
or
yeah that's so cool
I met at Wicked Big Meet
earlier this year
or Boxer Fest
and so
it's fun to
just continue
re-establishing
friendships
that I've made
at prior events
but also camp together
yeah yeah
how's the
weather been
for camping
it's been really
good
I'm surprised at how warm
it is during the days
yeah it's cool at night
it drops down
it's little
shocking when that
sun goes down
how cold it is
yeah
but
for car camping
since I
actually sleep
in my cross-track
I've been really
appreciative of
the cooler nights
it makes it much
more comfortable
for sleeping in the car
that awesome product
on there
the rain fly
blocking out
all that sun
I love it
so we'll get into
a full episode
with you at some point
but
tell everybody
what your product
is
just kind of
sum it up
because I don't
want to go too much
into how it's
solid and all that
absolutely thank you
just so you can
say
hey this is
what it is
what it can do
for you
yeah
just a quick
blurb about it
I've been
selling it to the public
since
December of 2024
and
it's a
fabric-based
rain fly
that sits on
the rear doors
and fits over the window
and
attaches with magnets
and a cinch buckle
and
it blocks out
wind, rain,
snow, sun,
bugs
but gives you
privacy
and that peace of mind
you're always
getting fresh air
in the cabin
and
I'm super excited
to offer something
that allows people
to have a really
positive experience
when they're sleeping
in their soobroos
how many
have you sold?
I have sold
over 130
units
nice
yes and I make
all of them
and I'm sure you sell them
as a pair
so that each window
can have them
so that's
single units
and so
that's
in less than a year
of being available
to the public
and the
support and feedback
from the community
has been stellar
I couldn't be happier
because you
you were solving
an issue for yourself
and then now
you get to help other people
have the same
experience that you did
it's so gratifying
to know that something
that you were looking for
to improve your
experience
is something that other
people were looking
for to also
improve their experiences
and that I can
offer that to them
it's so fun to be
both in the community
involved in the community
and offering a product
for them too
yeah
it's very fun
so have you been
eating the meals
over at Camp Subaru
yeah
how's that been
oh man
Chef Chad
with Trail Feast
is spectacular
he makes
so I got to
enjoy his food
at Camp Subaru
clinic
at their R&D facility
oh nice
so he did that too
yeah so I was there
a couple weeks ago
and so I actually met
him there
for the first time
and
so chatting with him
and realizing
he was going to be
doing the food
set up here
I was so excited
his food is delicious
I like that it's
it's not heavy
it's not rich
it's
it's chicken
and rice
and we had salmon
last night
I think we're having smoked
goat tonight
like just
delicious
I know you're a vegan
I'm sorry
because last night
he had butternut squash
that he made
with coconut milk
oh
and so I was
because I talked to him
on
I think it was
Thursday night
and I let him know
hey I'm vegan
because he was
making some potatoes
on Thursday night
but he was mixing in
with cream
and I said
do you have any potatoes
that you can make
just by themselves
you know just
with seasoning or something
and he was like
oh do we have any
potatoes left
he said no we're out
and then I said
you know I'm vegan
he said
oh well this is
we're going to have
tomorrow night
it's going to be
a mix of coconut milk
we're going to have
some greens
and then we're going to
have some
candy pecans
and he said
we're going to have
salmon
it wasn't really cooked
it was almost like
grilled carrots
yes those were so good
and I don't like
cooked carrots
where they're like
real mushy and soft
yeah that's so gross
but these were
grilled
and they were still
have like
not really a
crunch to them
but kind of chewy
they have texture still
yeah they still have texture
and it was
so I was like
apprehensive about
eating the carrots
it's just because
my pre bit
because I'm like
I hate cooked carrots
but these were
like so good
the cooking was amazing
and they were just
oh they were so good
his cooking is really great
and it was nice to chat with him
prior to this event
because I have celiac disease
so I can't eat any wheat
and so
talking to him
about that
he said
you know that's
not an issue
my wife is gluten
intolerant
and dairy intolerant
so I'm very aware
of these
you know
these dietary issues
and concerns
and honestly
like that was
such a breath of fresh air
because usually
for people like you
and I
you know
like
you go to these events
and you just bring food
because you
just assume
you can't eat any of it
so it's so refreshing
to be able to actually
enjoy the same meal
that everyone else is having
that's been really special
it is nice
yeah it's good
it's good when you can
find something like that
and then
and then when you can
talk to somebody
and let them know
what's going on with you
and they say
oh well we can actually
accommodate that
they're receptive
and helpful
yeah
and he's
he was so nice about it
he got that response too
from people
and just like
I can't help it I'm sorry
I can help it
I just choose it
right yeah
but it's the same case you know
yeah and so
it's just
it's been such a great
experience here
yes
and I mean
all these expo events
have been so cool
for me
and I know
like people like Milton
and other people
that have been traveling
around to the different ones
to meet so many people
that we've connected with
on Instagram
and get to meet them
for the first time
in person
it's such a full circle
and then getting to meet people
like see people again
that I haven't seen in a long time
like
I got to see
Pat
yeah Pat
and then Chip
who goes by
N.R. the underscore
O.B.X.D.
and then Pat
from Orbis Overlanding
I've met both of them
previously
and so
you know
and there's some other people
that I had met previously
like Andrew Compton
and so
it's just
it's so cool
being able to be a part
of these events
and connect
with all these people
and connect with brands
that are running the event
yes
people from G7
and other people
that are involved in this
and it's just been
like it's been a
it's been a really cool
networking opportunity
very much
very much it's been
I can definitely echo
that sentiment of
like you know
you know these people
online
from you know
what their cars look like
and what their
Instagram handle is
and to like meet them
in person
put a face to the car
and face to the name
and meet them
in person
and just like
it feels so solidifying
and say like
oh we're not just
social media friends
like we actually
we're friends in real life
like this is awesome
until you
run into somebody
and they've never
shown their face
and you're like
yeah
it's a little awkward
you're like
can you show me
your Instagram
because I've had people
come up to me
at events
and they're like
hi I'm so and so
and I'm like
I don't associate
the name
with the account
most of the time
I just
know the account
and a lot
because there's
a lot of people
I don't respect that
that's really good
yeah and I do too
100%
but like
if they come up to me
and start talking to me
like they know me
because they listen
to the podcast
I'm just like
who are you
and I feel bad about it
it's a little awkward
of like
trying to make friends
as an adult
when all your friends
aren't Instagram
but then as soon as
they say
their Instagram handle
then it's like
oh
now I know
who you are
and it all comes
together
and I was
and I'm like
okay introduce himself
and I'm looking at his car
and then I look over
I pan over
and I see his
Instagram handle
and I'm like
oh
awesome
mind explodes
but then also
like you see some of these
cars in person
and it's like
that looks way
cooler in person
than online
yeah
cause I feel like
the two dimensional
in a photo
you don't really
get
the full experience
like when I saw
Pat's car in person
for the first time
of being I was like
oh my god
yeah it's so cool
uh I want to emulate you
yeah
yeah
uh huh
awesome
anything else you want to add
I'm just really
glad Subaru is here
and I'm so happy
that they're embracing
the overland
and off-roading community
and me too
they belong here
they really do
like it feels natural
it feels
like it's meant to be
and so I'm just
very excited
to see
how they grow
and continue this
like overland
exposure for Subaru
yeah
and to also be
a part of that
oh yeah
you're excited about it
yeah
thank you
you're welcome
thank you for hopping on the mic
thank you
you're welcome
thanks Raf
alright
so I'm sitting here
with Amy
and the owner
lounge at
overland expo
east
and uh
why don't you
let us know
what you drive
currently
I currently drive
a
2022
Subaru
Outback Wilderness
okay
a little bit about
your apprehensiveness
of getting a Subaru
so kind of talk about
that
and then what
got you into the Subaru
okay
um
so I was driving
a
Scion TC
oh yeah
and my husband
and I were
talking about having children
and I needed to get
something that was a
little more practical
yeah
so
where we live
in southwest Virginia
we do a lot
of trail riding
and I wanted something
that was capable
yeah
and not too capable
yeah
um
but I did not
want to get
something that was
a mom car
I wasn't ready
for a minivan
um
and I wanted something
that was cool
but not something
that was gonna
look awful
um
so I
looked at several
different vehicles
I was sold
on the Jeep
Rubicon
and my husband's
like yeah
I don't think
you should buy that
let's go look at
the Subaru's
he's like
with a new one this year
they come out with
a wilderness edition
let's go look at it
so he took me to the car
dealership
and I was like
okay I'm sold
let's buy it
this is the one
yeah
so I ended up
ordering the one
that I wanted
and it came in
and I've been driving
it ever since
I love it
what color did you get
I got the
magnetite gray
oh okay
very nice
yeah
so what was it
about the wilderness
that attracted you
to it
because you
not getting a Subaru
I was
because you didn't
want a mom car
yeah I was
dead set against it
so I liked
I like the stance
of it the way it looks
it doesn't look
like
with the badges
and the
contrast of the colors
with the wilderness
that copper
pants
it really just
it looks
it looks cool
yeah
I also have
a awning
that I've put on mine
I've got the
truly large
I have on mine
so I've
added a few things
but I like
how capable it is
oh yeah
we
it goes
my husband has a
Sierra
GMC Sierra truck
okay
and he has a 79
square body
and when it snows
we take the Subaru
it goes better
in the snow
than both of those
vehicles
that's great to hear
yeah
so
did you know much
about Subaru
before you bought it
I have
a friend
that has a forest
I've ridden in it
a couple times
and I mean
it was okay
but I wasn't like
oh my gosh
I gotta have one of these
it wasn't till I saw
the wilderness
out back
that I was like
oh yeah
this is what we're doing
so you've
I'm sure you've taken it
off-road some
and everything
were you
surprised with the
capabilities
and like
were you thinking
that it wasn't
gonna be as capable
as it has been
actually yes
we got
a pretty deep
snow
which is
wow
and so we actually
took it back
National Forest Roads
oh no
and my husband's like
let's just see
what it can do
I was like
alright
so we took it back
there and
there were spots
that his truck
were spinning
and
my Subaru
did not
yeah
it just kept going
but it is a beast
yeah
the all-wheel drive
system too
is just so amazing
and it's like
I have
you know
a base model
and so
like
I've never driven it
through snow
but I've driven it
through mud
a lot
and I'm just
so surprised
like I'll just
drive out in the
middle of a mud puddle
and stop
and then
like
let me see
if it can go
and it just goes
so it's just
and I think
a lot of people
like you
don't realize
the capability
of the Subaru
until they actually
get a chance
to really
and that Subaru's like
okay
what else you got
like it doesn't
it doesn't even
flinch at it
yeah that's great
so you said also
that you're thinking
of upgrading
now
yes
so we have
a child
and we have
a big German shepherd
and this
the outback's
a little tight
when we're
all in there
and have
still have room
for cargo
so
I'm thinking
about getting
an ascent
okay
I haven't
I still
it's probably going to be
fall of next year
before I'm
able to do something
but it's in my mind
now that I need to
start looking
and need to start
figuring out what I want
but I do want to
look at the ascent
so I'm so happy
with my Subaru
I want to keep
keep going with the Subaru
yeah
and this was
your first Subaru
you said
mine too
it's like
I didn't even know
much about Subaru
I didn't know
that there was a
community out there
until I bought mine
that they were
capable just from
watching YouTube videos
because like
once I decided
I was going to get
a cross track as my next car
I started watching
because I live in Houston
so we don't get snow
but I was watching videos
of cross tracks
driving through snow
I was looking up
those kind of videos
on purpose
because I just wanted to
see what they were
capable of
and I'm seeing
these stock
cross tracks
driving through snow
with so much ease
and I'm like
that's the car
I want
that is so cool
I need to drive
other Subarus in snow
just from traveling
and meeting up with other people
so I know
that they're pretty awesome
in the snow
but yeah
I love it
they're so great
what do you think
of the whole
Subaru space here
I haven't gotten to
look at much of it
but I'm
looking around
I want to
definitely look at
some of these accessories
that they've got
oh yeah
they've got so
we have
three owner vehicles
we've got this one
here
the blue one
and then we've got
that's
the plasma
yellow or plasma
pearl cross track
and then we've got
an out
or
the
forester wilderness over here
and then the new
outback wilderness over here
okay yeah
we definitely want to check that out
but
what we all like about it
is one of the things
that we like about it the most
is the owner and the
island cheer
because we've got a place to sit
we've got the shade
snacks
drinks
so it's really cool
yeah
well thank you so much Amy
for taking the time to chat
for a little bit
alright thank you
you're welcome
where would you like to sit
over here
sounds good
okay
we can be
in the shade
a little bit more
or try to be
yeah I was sweating there
I had a like
I was embarrassed
I was like
oh my gosh
is it good here
I'm great here
okay
it was just over there
like
yeah right
directly in the sun
I think yeah
because the shade
isn't really covering
like there is it
shade for the
stage next
next year
thank you for doing this
is this on
it is on
look at that
that's a good flash
I know I love these
look at the upgrade you're making
I know it's so cool
I'm impressed
so anyway
so I'm sitting here
with Rihanna and Gelsamino
at Overland Expo East
day two
are you not sick of me yet
no of course not
no it's
always so great
talking to you
I have a lot of fun
I know everybody
else enjoys talking
to you
talking to you as well
thank you for coming out
and doing this
no problem it's been a lot
of fun already
we've done two rally 101
sessions
they were packed to house
which is great
you never know
when you come to an
overland event
if there's an
interesting rally
I guess it's off-roading
still what we do
but it's a different form
so it's really cool
to see so many people
out here
interested in
this border rally
and great questions
and all those sort of
things
yeah and hopefully
next year as
they do it again
we can get even
more people out
some stuff
ahead of time
a little bit more
and promote it more
but yeah
it's great
to see people
sitting around
listening to you
and
listening to you talk
talk about rally 101
but yesterday
you were talking about
some of the different
words like
you and travis say
and you and your dad
and how there's
like
some
miscommunication
and stuff
and so
we were all
just sitting around
cracking up
listening you were
laughing too
and so
can you kind of go through
some of the stuff
that like you and travis
say that are different
the words that you say
that are different
than like you and your dad
because that was just
really really funny
it is pretty funny
like I've lived over here
for 13 years
I moved to America
in 2012
mm-hmm
but
I am
still
use a lot of
a strange language
yeah that makes sense
awesome
Paloma
Paloma
can you turn it down
a little bit
sorry
that's okay
I did not know
you're fine
yeah that's okay
you're fine
they did not tell me
no we just
it was a preemptive
kind of thing
yeah
we'll put it back on in a second
doesn't matter
don't worry I'm sorry
we're stressed
yeah
that's why you
have editing
capabilities
that's right
yeah
or I may just
leave it in
it's fun
yeah
so you're talking
living over here
yeah I've been living here since 2012
and I still use a lot of
Australian slang
which is quite funny
and I was saying yesterday
when you guys were all
cracking up as we say
it's pretty funny
because like now
I'm so busy in America
I don't get to go home
to Australia very often
and I'll go home to
Australia
even you my dad
he's like
definitely like
a crocodile
that need
I guess is a good way
to explain him
and I'll be like
hey mate
how you going
that's not a knife
that's a knife
we'll be at dinner
and I'll accidentally be like
dad can you hand me
the ketchup
that's not ketchup
it's tomato sauce
dad can you hand me
the french fries
they're not french fries
they're chips
like and so
dad's very like
hey you live in America
but you're still Australian
like when I was
getting my citizenship
he was like
make sure you still race
under an Australian flag
and I said
yes that's really important to me
like I'm a dual citizen
yeah
but it's so funny
that like
everyone in America
hears me as an Australian
I don't have
you know any type of
accent
I go home and family is like
oh you're starting to sound
very American
but like
I definitely don't think
that's the case
I slow down
I slow down my speech
a little bit I guess
but there's so many
it's just so funny
how often like
little words like
on our race car
for example like
I call the hood a bonnet
so the
the service crew
now know like
on the service
sheet if I've written
something about bonnet
what it means
and Travis knows
but it was pretty funny
like
the
I say driveshaft
the
prop shaft
is a tail shaft
the hatch
is the boot
so there's like
countless things
that like
you just don't think
we all speak
the English language
yeah yeah
different words for it
different words
and then I was saying
it's quite funny
when I'll
make a post on Facebook
or I'll
text my mum or something
in America
we don't put you
in a lot of words
so like color
for example
I would put
in Australia to be
how
O you are
here we don't have the U
so my mum will be
like have you forgotten
how to spell
and I'm like
no mum I haven't
forgotten how to spell
my laptop
which is American
spell checks
and takes out the U
that's so funny
anything like
with
like I was talking about
Bluey yesterday
Bluey's teaching the kids
on TV
the alphabet
and the last letter
of the alphabet
here in America
we obviously say Z
in Australia
we say Z
so apparently there's
a lot of kids
saying the alphabet wrong
because they
they go blah blah blah
A B C D
they get to the end
and they go Z
and the teacher's like
what?
and then they'll say
zebra
and they'll say
so it's quite funny
to think that
like this little cartoon
Bluey is also like
and Travis in my
rally car last year
was actually called Bluey
so we had some funny
conversations
about some of the things
on Bluey
and the words they use
and so it is
interesting that
yes I've lived here
for 12 years
I'm definitely
Australian and American
I still get confused
with some of the
lingo that's different
from each country
yeah and then you said
something too
like you say H
and we say H
because like when I had you
on at one time
you were saying something
and you said H
and I was like
okay that's a little
different you know
what we would say
when I spell my name
it's a disaster
you're like
what did you just say
and even when
Ken Block was around
it was so funny
the kids would be
growing up
and all three of his kids
name ends in an A
so Lia
L-I-A
Kira
K-I-R-A
Micah
M-I-K-A
and I
my Australian accent
instead of it being
Lia like just A
I'll be like
Lia
Kira
Micah
and so Ken used to think
it was funny
he would walk around going
Lia
Kira
so it's still the
running joke
us and the kids
I raised with Lia
probably six weeks
ago
and we were all laughing
because Lia was in
the car with me
and we had Micah
and Kira working on the team
and they're like
Lia you still see our name
E-R instead of A
I'm like
sorry it's my
straight accent
yeah cause I've noticed
that too
like it'll be like
E-R
and I'm like
I guess that's just
obviously an Australian
thing the way that you
say stuff
but like yeah
the whole
boot and bonnet
thing
so me and my son
have been watching
the show on
I think it's on
Disney Channel
and it's called
oh what's it called
it's basically a show
where they restore
their rides
like people's rides
and so
and it's
I think it's a British show
and they're always saying
like the boot and the bonnet
you know and all this
and so we're watching
these shows
first of all we love
the British accent
and I love
Australian accents too
but then we just
kind of
you know crack up
whenever we hear
all the different
words and everything
but it's
it's just so cool
that
how you have
people speaking
words differently
you know like
we call it an elevator
they call it a lift
it you know
so it's like
call an apartment
they call it a flat
exactly
I think we said something
about parking yesterday too
yeah
what did I say
parking lot and you guys
I can't remember
we said something
and even tyre
that's another funny one
I spell tyre
T-Y-R-E
yeah
here we obviously
spell it with an I
and so the engineers
I deliberately
were like
do tyre shit
with a Y
and now they're used to
when I first started
working with Subaru Motorsport USA
they're like
you spell tyre wrong
every time
I'm like
no you spell tyre wrong
so we have a little bit
of a debate who's wrong
or like
I'll be like
that's a drive shaft
no that's an axle
no it's a drive shaft
so now they just
whatever we
we'll just
we'll go with her terms
we know what she means
is there
any of that
like whenever
you're calling
pace notes and stuff
where you had some
troubles at the beginning
with Travis
so Travis
when it's a really
short corner
he likes to use this thing called
Schleft and Schreit
which is
an absolute mouthful
for anyone
but especially in
Australian accent
I really struggle with it
and so
a few times he's had
slowing Schleft 5
Schreit 6
and like
when you're at speed
and you're trying to
spit that out
and he's like
really it's your
Australian accent
I'm like
no it's the word
you're using
so sometimes he'll
jokingly say
so Aussie
and I'll be like
sorry about that
and it's usually
when it's a fast section
and I get a little
bit tongue tied
on these different
Schleft Schreit
slowing
I think that would be hard
for anybody
Schleft Schreit
Exactly
we cut it out
for a little while
and we just used short
but he was telling me
no it's shorter
than a short
so he needs
Schreit
Schleft
he needs short
he needs half
he needs
oh it's a lot going on
so it's always fun though
and we get a good laugh
talking about
all these different things
going on between
and I think that's the fun
part about travelling
and stuff too
like I think
you know
when I have my
Australian family
or friends come over
they'll be like
oh they call it a hotel
in Australia
we always say motel
but if I say motel
here everyone's like
I wouldn't say in the motel
Exactly
yeah
whereas all of our
hotels
whatever we always call
a motel
and a hotel is more
like a pub
or a bar
that has like
accommodation
a motel for us is usually
worse than a motel
yeah
so it's quite funny
so my friends were like
oh they kept saying
this and that
and I'm like yeah
it is quite funny that
we're all speaking English
but there's little you know
twists and turns
that make it a little bit different
tell us about
the experience you have
with your dad
at Cracker Barrel
that was so weird
I forgot about that
so I was really excited
I wanted to take dad
to Cracker Barrel
I actually really like
Cracker Barrel
because I'm a country girl
from Australia
so I enjoy meatloaf
mashed potato
you know
corn, broccoli
all those sort of things
so I'm like
oh dad's coming over
I'll take him to Cracker Barrel
he'll enjoy it
it'll be like a good
country Australian meal
so we get there
and I
he's looking at the menu
and the lady says
you know
what would you like to drink
and the first thing
that happens is pretty funny
because I say Coke Zero
and I say that
all was one
so if I don't
if I don't say
Coke Zero
I say Coke Zero
they're like
what what
and so that was funny
because the lady couldn't
understand my order
so I slowed down and said
Coke Zero
oh you want Coke Zero
now I get it
yeah now I get it
and then dad says
can I get white with one
and she looks at him
and she's like
sorry we don't have that
and dad's like
white with one
and she's like
no you don't have that
and I look and I say
a white cup of tea
with milk
and sugar
and the lady goes
oh cream and sugar
dad's like
not cream milk
so we've started off
on a good step
with this poor lady
so she goes
and gets our Coke Zero
and our white with one
and comes back
and then she says
what would you like to eat
and so dad says
whatever he wants
like meatloaf
or whatever
and mashed potatoes
and gravy and whatnot
and then she says
would you like
biscuits
or cornbread
well if you know anything
about Australians
biscuits is a cookie
so my dad
looks at him
and goes
why would I have a biscuit
with lunch
and there's mine
he's picturing a cookie
he's picturing a cookie
that's dessert
he's picturing a
chocolate chip cookie
not what we would
refer to more like a scone
or a scone here
so I say to dad
it's like my grandma's scones
and dad's like
why would you call it
a biscuit
and the lady's like
I've got no idea sir
so then she comes back
and she's got the biscuits
and my dad gets into
these are scones
and the poor lady's like
I've got no idea sir
like
what is going on at this table
what is going on
I'm gonna give this to you
you can handle this table
so it was so funny
and in Australia it's very common to have
virtually what those biscuits are
to be honest
with jam and cream
then like you whip your cream
you put your jam on top
very common
my grandma would always make a forest
for like what we call morning tea
which is like
usually you might start work
say at six o'clock
and then you work till nine
you'll have morning tea
and then you'll go to twelve
which will be lunch
and you have lunch
and then you get to three
and you'll have afternoon tea
so you'll have scones
and jam and cream
and cup of tea
and then you get to lunch
so in Australia
we sort of break it down that way
so dad thought it was great
because cracker barrel had virtually
what his mother's scones were
even though we call them
a little bit different
I forgot about that one
those are
they're really good
they're scones or biscuits
are very good
but they're very good
and I actually had it the other day
we were always
oh when I was driving here
there was one on the way
and I was like
oh I'm hungry
I think I'll get cracker barrel
do you like send a picture
to your dad
look I'm having some biscuits
my brother still thinks it's funny
because my dad hasn't been over
for like
it's nearly been three years
he was over
started 23
Travis flew him over
for a daytona 500
oh nice
that's so cool
so he put us in the RV
in the middle of the track
it was absolutely phenomenal
like I couldn't ask for
a better Christmas present
and my dad had the best time ever
and the cracker barrel
was right next to the track
so that's how that all happened
because every morning
we'd get in a golf cart
go out there
so even Travis
the whole team knew
about this joke with dad
so it was a funny running joke
and like
so then when we'd go
each morning they're like
hey Mike you want a white we won
so he was doing his best
to say it the American way
yeah
well it sounds like he had a good time
he had a great time
so it was awesome
and it was really cool for Travis
to do that
yeah that's
like that's so nice
yeah he knew dad loves
NASCAR so
yeah that's a good thing
for him to do
I mean he's
Travis is such a great guy
oh he's fantastic
I think that's the cool thing
about him
there's no ego
he's just a chilled
really nice guy
and you know
I think that's why
there's so many fans
and that's why Subaru is
I think it's been 21 years
or something
that's a long time
to work with an athlete
and for him to be
at that position
and that level
and that
level of success
and that level of
notoriety
and fame
if you want to call it that
you know I mean
and for him to still be
incredibly humble
and be so much about the fans
that's like
it's
you know
you want to see that
with more people at his level
and it's
it's great
hundreds and agree
and I think that thing is
that a lot of people
just assume athletes
like that
with millions of followers
and who they are
they have an ego
but there's
Travis says
I'm still an everyday person
you know
he said I was just lucky
I worked hard
and I had a dream
and I was talented
and I am where I am
you know what I mean
so I think that's why
he's just like a brother
to me
so I think it's why
we get along so well
there's no
you know he respects me
I respect him
we've both got a job
to do
and then
get to hang out with fans
and sign autographs
and do all those fun things
so
it means that we get to
enjoy our job
from the other side as well
which is really cool
oh yeah
and like when I had him
on the podcast
I was like
cause like so many people
for a long time
were like you gotta
get him on the podcast
I'm like
I can't just make it happen
but
yeah
I mean I just
you know
thankfully it's
knowing the right people
and then
thankfully and unthankfully
I guess you know
he was recovering
which was perfect for that
but yeah
talking to him
it was just like
in kind of a way
I was somewhat intimidated
you know
but then at the same time
like as I'm talking to him
like
I'm realizing
like he is just another person
and he's
where he is
because he's worked hard
and everything
but at the end of the day
yeah he's still another person
and he's just
so nice to be able to
sit around
and talk to people
and he
I don't
I mean
I haven't been around him
very much at all
so many other people
is you never get this sense of
like him
being like
get away from me
I don't have any more time for you
you know
I know he over extends his time
signing autographs and stuff
yeah he's good like that
he's actually an Australia
at the moment doing some work
and
one of the guys
working with a team
that's actually driving the truck
is Simon Evans
who's four times
Australian rally champion
and I wake up to the messages
from the guys
saying
you know Simon Evans
I'm like guys
more like
you should know Simon Evans
they're like the truck driver
he's one of Australia's best
every rally drivers
and they're like what
and I'm like
Simon Evans is four times
Australian rally champion
I said
he raced my dad
he raced my brother
and I said
he's an absolute legend
and the nice thing was
Simon messaged me
and he was like
Ree
this team is amazing
he's like
he's over there
very much sports car
Travis
and he's like
Travis is so nice
with how he talks with them
and works with them
he's like
there's no ego
he's like
it's a really cool team
you're involved in
I'm really proud of
you know
the opportunity I have over here
and how hard I've worked
to be where I am
because
Simon's known me since a little girl
you know
and to see
what I'm doing
and I was so proud to think
how cool that he doesn't
have an ego either
they needed a truck driver
to move around
their logistics
and whatever
while they're over there
Simon had the capabilities
but he didn't go there
and be like
hey I'm Simon Evans
like
Toyota factory team driver
who's won this many champion
he never did that
you know
so I thought it was cool
I was sort of messaging
questioning
do you know this guy
he said he knows you
from a little girl
yes
so cool
so I think that
I think that in our sport
I gotta
admit that I feel like
rally is a sport
where we don't have
the egos as much
I feel like people
far more humble
which I think is why
we all love it as well
yeah
yeah
and it's a
it's just such a good thing
to be a part of too
and with Subaru of course
we love that
I mean
Subaru has been amazing
to think that
I started with a team
20 you and I have
in this conversation yesterday
like
I always tell people
dreams don't work
unless you do
and I have worked
so hard
like you have to be here
with your podcast
we're here with Subaru USA
you're like
I know that
and to think that
I went from co-driving
to Travis now
they have me
you know I did a talk
at the Subaru headquarters
I've spoken at
Subaru summit
I come to the
SuviFest
I come to the Overland events
I've even got now
other people
getting me to do
motivational talking
and stuff
from it
so it's amazing how
if you work hard
and you're committed
and you dream big
just like you have
with your podcast
how big it's got
and you're here at this event
as well
it's amazing where you can get in life
so I think that
Subaru is great
for giving opportunities
if you work hard
and you're showing
that you're dedicated
to the brand
and you know
showing
what a great car
Subaru is
and what a great
manufacturer
they are to work with
and there's so many people
just in the community
doing everyday stuff
that
I talked to you on the podcast
that
owning a Subaru has
changed your life
and because of the community
and it's just
it's such a great
brand to be a part of
amazing even the dog
adoptions
they were doing this morning
the cat adoptions
you just don't see those things
you know what I mean
and I think that's amazing
the dogs this morning
were the most beautiful
little things
they just need a home
and I think it's great
I go to the SuviFest
I come here
and the pet adoption
thing
I think there's a couple
little cats as well
I think it's really cool
the different things
they're involved in
yeah absolutely
so
well thank you so much
for your time
yeah that was great
I appreciate it
you too
see ya
alright
we're here at Overland
Expo East
day two
and I'm sitting here
with a cross track owner
I want you to go ahead
and introduce yourself
I'm Ginger
Ginger nice to meet you
nice to meet you
so what model
or I guess what year
do you
cross track
do you own
we both
my other half and I
we both have
and what got you into
is this your first Subaru
it is
for both of us
driving back and forth
from one location
to the other
we drive from south of Dayton
to Hilton Head
okay
alright
and did you know anything
about Subaru
before you bought yours
no
absolutely nothing
I got treated poorly
at one of the other dealerships
and
my other half
sat there
and looked at a car
and said
well this one gets
used to a tank
yeah
yeah
so I said really
yeah
so he bought one
that
his second favorite color
which was a dark gray
okay
and
his first color
he wanted that orange one
oh yeah
they couldn't get it
yeah
and so I said okay
a month later
I liked it enough
where I bought one
and I bought the orange one
and I sold his gray one
okay
nice
so technically
we both have them
yeah
that's good
so what has your
been owning
Subaru's for the first time
for the
and you bought them brand new
I'm assuming
but two brand new
same one
same year
2019's
okay
love them
they're great cars
for mileage
and driving places
I don't really do it
at all
for overlanding
it's just for
going back and forth
great fuel economy
yeah
great car
we have big dogs
okay
so
we just sit there
and have the dogs
in the back
actually we had one
too
so we're thinking about
upgrading to the
outback
okay nice
which outback
are you looking at
the 26
the wilderness
it has to be wilderness
yeah
nice
because I missed
the wilderness package
I bought one year too early
oh okay
yeah
yeah
for the cross-trick
yeah
so are you
so with the
wilderness outback
you're wanting it
just more for the size
and then the capability
are you
planning on
doing any
I know it sounds
terrible
I have other vehicles
for off-roading
more for the fuel economy
and for the dogs
and I love the way it looks
okay yeah
but
you know
my other half will
probably take it
off-roading somewhere
yeah
they're actually
very capable
especially like just
you know as they are
as a stock vehicle
and they're
a lot of fun
I mean I bought
mine initially
with no plans
to do
anything to it
I just like
there was
we have a family reunion
in Houston
but up in East Texas
there was some county roads
that I couldn't get up
with my other car
and so
I was like
oh I can get up
these roads with a cross-trick
and that was like
the extent of what I thought
I was going to use it for
and so
it's turned into so much more
well I'm sure
and with the wilderness
packages
higher up
which I like
yeah
and I just like the size
and I
love the colors
yeah
you can't get those
yeah
so what do you think
of the whole
layout of the
at the Zivitz
yeah
so just like
just a super
second largest exhibit
right here
I believe so
yeah
yeah I don't know
which one is number one
but I thought this was
the largest
I walked by yesterday
yeah
five times
I'm like
if I come in here
I'm going to want to get
another car
yeah
and in all reality
my 2019
it's wonderful
can't say anything bad
about it
but the big thing
we're running into
is we have two
yes
oh okay
so my puppy right now
is 85 pounds
and he's going to
outweigh me
yeah
so we're going to
have to upgrade
okay
so I don't know
if we're going to
get rid of both of them
and do
two of them
I don't know
I want to do the
cross track
wilderness
yeah
but he wants
the outback
wilderness
okay
maybe get one of each
well that's what we did
in 2019
we're probably going to
end up doing the same
but it has to be the wilderness package
okay
it has too much to offer
that the other ones don't
yeah
yeah
they're very nice cars
and Subaru
put a lot of thought
into
creating the wilderness package
you know you've got
like the extra height
like you said
and then other amenities
that the other ones
don't have
and just the overall
styling
is just so nice
on those
it's more the styling
I know it sounds terrible
but
no that's
I mean if you like
the way it looks
and that's
you walk out to your car
every day and enjoy
what you see
so that's great
I notice that the grill area
I'm guessing that it's because
of air flow
yeah
it's like that
but I don't know
yeah
and it's definitely
a new look
for the outback
and there are people
that really like it
and there are people
that don't like it so much
got to think about
the fuel economy
yeah
that too
yeah
that's important as well
I think it looks great
yeah
so yeah
and then this is nice
owner lounge for everybody
to come sit in
and grab snacks
and get out of the sun
for a little bit
and the giveaways
yeah
like the silverware
giveaway
yeah those are great too
everybody's really nice here
compared to the other places
I've been
I've kind of been ignored
two or three times now
really
well that's good to hear
because I
think a lot of people
really like
the welcoming
aspect of
the Subaru booth
and then
just like
how open it is
how relaxed it is
everything
I ended up with the Subaru
because I got treated poorly
at another dealership
they totally ignored me
wow
and
I think somebody
said to me
do you want to go in
get your husband
and ask him about it
and like
no
why do I need to do that
no
and I walked into the
Subaru dealership
the guy sat there
walked over to me
didn't hound me
asked me
do you know anything about
the type of car you want
I have no idea
told him
what I'm looking for
and he's
want to point me
to the cross truck
and then he went there
and got me a soda
oh yeah
there you go
he sold me
good
good
I'm glad you had a good
experience here
and I'm glad you had a good
experience at the dealership
I'm guessing the next one
will be just as good
I hope so
well thank you so much
for having a chat
alright I'm sitting here
at the
Subaru
booth
space
oasis
whatever you want to call it
at overland expo
east
guess who I ran into
I ran into the brick
man how's it going
hey it's me
you just can't get rid of me
yeah
nobody can see you again
in person
anywhere there's Subaru
is
I'm here
I'm there
I'm everywhere
nice to hear it
yeah
so what do you think
of the whole Subaru
setup at overland expo
this is cool
it's actually very
so I did get to
stop by overland
expo mountain west
for just a short amount
of time
and it's essentially
the same setup
that they had there
but it's really cool
they've got
some kind of
Xebo type thing
they've got some
delicious drinks
over here
they've got a lot of cool
a lot of cool Subaru
is actually
looking around
and the new outback
wilderness
yeah
that's sweet
yeah we were
when we started off
with the overland
expo tour
we were like
I hope that by the end
of this
we get to see
the new outback
and here it is
yeah it looks
even better in person
honestly
so what brings
you to this
overland expo
is
an hour and 45 minutes
from my house
very nice
so this one was
very easy to come
check out
obviously we need
Subaru would be here
yeah
and it's just kind of
you know we want to
stay in touch with
things in
the aftermarket
and
you know with Subaru's
stuff growing
quite a lot
in the overland
zone
that's just
something that
we want to be
in touch with
so I just wanted
to come out here
and you know
check it out for
for
you know
our events as well
okay
have you gotten any ideas
about
ways that you can
incorporate more
overland stuff
into the
subi fest events
or subi events
yeah well those
so that's what
that's what we're working on
and part of that is
trying to
attract some more
overland
type vendors
which would be great
so you know
if you've got any
overland vendor
that are listening
any outdoorsy types
or something
that want to come to
our events
we've already got
the crowd for it
like a lot of our
events we have
a lot of requests
for more overlanding
things
we've started doing
our own
like special overland
parking
zone
for
that's you know
it's part of the
general parking
but a special designated
area for the
overland people
to meet up
and roll out the
rooftop tents
and awnings
and all that
good stuff
we also
this year have
started
with
the
vehicles
which
it's a little bit
difficult to do
we've got a
ship a bunch of
pallets around
the country
to do
the
subi events
stuff
but we
have a
pallet that goes with
us now
that is
basically
like wooden
obstacles
but just
some articulation
stuff
there's some
rollers
that are kind
of opposite
because
like those little
balance
things
I don't know
what they're going to
yeah it's basically
like a
big platform
yeah it's like
a metal
tube
with a
platform
welded on to it
yeah
so it makes like
a little ramp
and you put
like
one in front
of each
tire
and then you have
to slowly
drive up it
and just like
find just
the right amount
of
like
big obstacles
with
what we ship around
but we're
always looking for
more ways to
expand it
more fun things to have
at our events
so
coming out to
events like this
is just always good
to see what other
people are doing
and get some ideas
and it's
a really good time
yeah
I know that
the overland
people
and off-road
people have
kind of
requested
or something
for
doing off-road
but
I know it's difficult
some of the venues
because
especially if they're
like in a big parking lot
or like a motor sports
like the
speedway or something
because
you just don't really
have
the infrastructure
for it
you know
like
I know that
at Subaru
Flatfest
where they do
there's
at the motor
speedway
they have
some property
off to the
bigger and bigger
so
I think
that would be
the only way
that you'd be able
to do it
is if you had
a spot
that has some land
that you were able
to use
and utilize
and create
some sort of
off-road course
and so
I mean that would
you know
because I think
people would be
would want
the more authentic
off-road stuff
although
you're doing
what you can
and I think
that's great
because
you know
we do have
quite a bit of
our attendees
are
still more
the performance oriented
or the car show
like super low
cars
where if
you know
for example
if we had
an event
in this field
that we're currently
sitting in
half of the cars
would get stuck
on the way in
so we do have to
consider everyone
but yeah
we try to
do what we can
we also have
to consider
yeah
we need a place
to be able to do
our driving demos
we need
a big area
for SOA
to set up
their double-decker trailer
and all the displays
that they have
so finding venues
that fit
all of our needs
is actually
probably a lot harder
than most people
might guess
but yeah
we're always trying
you know
if we find a way
to improve something
or a venue
that works better
or something
we're always open to
we're always trying
to improve
just to
balance that
with the needs
of everyone else
yeah
well
I'm excited
and many other people
who live in Texas
are excited
that
you know
Subifes
Texas came a thing
and then
is continuing
and
that's going to be
next weekend
yes
Subifes
one week
exactly from now
so
yeah
will this go on
before then
no
okay so
Subifes
Texas
well I mean is this week
so
this week
a few weeks ago
yeah this week
a few weeks ago
event that was in the past
yeah
in the future now
but in the past
yeah exactly
well thanks for
you know
swinging by
I mean it's great
seeing you again
and I'll see you
in a week
and I don't know
it's just always fun
you know
running into people
in different places
and getting a chance
to meet people
out there
in the community
thank you sir
all right yes sir
all right
bye
cool thank you
no problem
no
all right what are we talking about
I don't know
we'll just wing it
okay
I'm sitting here with Alex
at Overland Expo
East
this is day two
how's it going man
it's going well
how about yourself
I'm doing well
why don't you give us
your Instagram handle
and then I'll tell
the funny story
sure
so
I guess I have
two main accounts
I got
an account
which is
Escargo
how do you
yeah
yeah it's spelled
Es-C-R-G-O
the thinking behind that
was
I could have
gotten a vanity plate
for that
that name
that account
except
where I live
Rhode Island
they ended up
shutting down vanity plates
like a month after
I got them
oh my
that sucks
that sucks
apparently some guy
like
with a Tesla
got FK gas
as the license plate
and then
they took it away from him
he said it's not
what do you think it is
it's fake gas
oh yeah
okay buddy
yeah
yeah
so it's rough
yeah
that's my first account
for my car account
and then the business
is
snailworks.us
okay
nice
and just
can you tell us
briefly what snail.us
is because
we're going to have you
on a full episode
at some point
sure
but
what do you do with that
sure yeah
so
I bought
the
Microstrick
in
2021
it's a 21 model
okay
it's a metallic gray
same as me
yeah
same as you
it's also a manual
yes
we love our manuals here
yes
and I got it
when I was in college
because
you know
as a lot of college kids
need to sort of
convince their parents
at some point
to
for them to get a car
it was like
yeah
so it was a budget friendly
vehicle
absolutely
my trim is like
the base space
space trim
so is mine
yeah
but
I mean
it's a great car
I've driven it for
four years going on
four years now
it's fantastic
so I remember
like
about
three months
into ownership
of the car
I had a friend
in college
who was crazy
into like
overland builds
he had f-150
he did all this
and he kept
sort of like pressuring me into like
starting to mod my
cross-track
and do crazy stuff to it
and then over time
I put a roof basket on
I did the rock blocks
I went through all that phase
and then eventually
I had like
enough balls to
buy the
relation race rules bumper
when they're still making it
oh yeah
I
at the time in college
only had enough money
to buy the front bumper
not the rear bumper
so I bought the front first
with the full intention
of buying the rear
when I had money
mm-hmm
and
uh
by the time
I was ready to
pull the trigger
and buy the rear one
they weren't
they stopped making it
they just continued entirely
I remember like
months I was just sending emails
to them being like
when are you gonna bring it back
yeah
they're just like
yeah I just don't want to do
anymore
and so
me like going to school
for industrial design
I was like
okay
I'll just whip up
a design of a rear bumper
and I already had
my Instagram at the time
so I ended up
posting a few photos
of the CAD drawing
for the bumper
and I remember
just a ton of really
great responses
it turns out a lot of people
also had the same idea
as me
bought the front bumper
had intention of buying
the rear and never got to
and so everyone was like
you gotta make this bumper
to fit with my
RW front bumper
yeah
and
I didn't know
how to bend the tube
I didn't know
how to like
really mig well
I had done some
TIG welding in school
but like nothing
really serious
yeah
and
yeah
I was just like
I don't know how to do this
but let's try to
figure it out
I went around
all of
Rhode Island
just like
asking fabricators
if they could make this for me
and eventually
I found a guy
in New Bedford
who was able to do it
for a price
that was
reasonable
except
when I got to his shop
it wasn't his shop
I'm doing
air quotes
air quotations right now
it was just his
stepdad's backyard
that's interesting
and he had
two saw horses
and
he had a
a pipe
fender
which is very different
from an actual
mandrel tube
fender
and so
we ended up making
the first prototype
of the bumper
with pipe
instead of tube
okay
which is
the structure
of pipe
is very different
from actual
DOM tube
which is what we use
now for the bumpers
okay
and that was
the first prototype
the prototype bumper
is still the one
that I run
on my vehicle
to this day
oh nice
yeah
I know
and I saw your
cross-track over there
I met you
and then
it's like
oh you know
Alex
and then
I
but I didn't
associate you
with the car
and then
I'm
literally scanning
looking down
the length of your car
and I see
S car go
and I'm like
oh yeah
I was talking about
your business
and I was like
so what's your business
and Milton's like
Snow or
I'm like
okay I feel stupid
I mean
in fairness
I don't really
make a huge effort
of linking
S car go
and snow works
in terms of media post them
or sometimes you'll see
both of them
like
as the
the authors or whatever
of the Instagram post
but
yeah I guess I don't do
that much
social media work
in the other day
so like
when I first met
Jin
who goes by
eccentric designs
yes
and
I didn't know
for a while
that
she was also
ghost extract
because
she didn't really
combine the two
back then
like she had them
completely separate
she didn't have
like
you know
on her car
account
I'm the owner
of eccentric designs
or on eccentric
designs like
this is my car
account
I just
what I do remember
is that
like
I didn't know
it was the same person
and I've had that happen
with some other accounts too
where I didn't know
like
the car was associated
with the
business or brand
or whatever
they were doing
but
yeah
I think
a lot of us
like to
sort of
like
we like the idea
of our car
accounts being
our alter ego
and sort of
there's a distance
between our personal
think of the whole
Subaru
setup here
as far as like
their space
within Overland Expo
you know
not the camping space
but like
where we've got
the owner allowance
and everything
yeah I think
Subaru have really
put in
quite a bit of effort
this time around
this is actually my first
Overland Expo
from what I've heard
from what
Milton
Silver Bullet
XP has told me
this is like
the most amount of effort
that Subaru has put in
Subaru's one of the lead
sponsors of
this Overland Expo
East this year
so
it's pretty impressive
that
Subaru's putting so much effort
into
you know
overlanding in general
and this sort of lifestyle
because
me as a creator
specifically for
Subaru cars
it makes me have hope that
you know
this is a direction
that can also go in
yeah
yeah
and it's nice
because you've got
the little stage over here
for doing presentations
you've got the owner lounge
with Rhiann and Gels Amino
just hanging out
talking to people
which is super cool
yeah
and then of course
you've got Patrick
with his car
almost overlanding over there
and then Troy
with his Outback
and then a couple of factory vehicles
one of them being
the new Outback
which really
what are your thoughts
on the new Outback
oh yeah
and then you
we're sitting right
behind
Leo's car
over here
yeah
lots of really
tricked out cars
first time seeing
the new Outback
in person
what do you think
so it's
it's a wilderness
which I didn't realize
it was a wilderness at first
I just noticed
it had like the graphics
on it and everything
because
not having seen
one of these in person
I mean I could have taken
the clues by
the accents
and everything
but I was just like
focused on the car
as a whole
just kind of looking at it
and it wasn't until
I saw the wilderness badge
near the
near the rear window
that I was like
oh it's a wilderness
but
I've been
I've been wanting to
see it in person
so that I can kind of
do more of an assessment
of it and
I mean
I like it personally
I mean I think
one of the things
that
has always attracted me
to
a lot of different
things throughout my life
is things that are
different and funky
and it's very
different and funky
and
I think that's
one of the things
that I kind of like
about it
I know a lot of people
don't like that
it's
it's
being called an outback
like maybe
people have said
like maybe they should
just release it as a new
model
and not call it the outback
because it looks so different
but
I don't know
I like it
I don't
you know
there's not really
anything I look at it
and go
oh man that's just
totally awful
again because
I like things
that are different
and funky
and this is
different and funky
and your thoughts
yeah I mean
absolutely
on its own
I think
if you're not
considering the rest
of the Subaru lineup
this is really
a fantastic car
I mean they've
really taken a lot
of the feedback
that people have
given them
they've really fixed
the main infotainment
it's actually
a really large
usable screen now
as opposed to
the last generation
where it's sort of
like the Volvo system
but a lot slower
so they've actually
taken the feedback
they've added more
physical buttons back
which is great
overall like
the whole thing
is like a step
in the right direction
I think
if you do
look at the whole lineup
that Subaru has
it starts
to get a little bit
more confusing
because
you know the outback
used to be
the wagon option
yeah
and then there was
the cross track
which was the small
sort of
a small crossover
option
and then you had
the four star
which was an actual
SUV
and then you had
the Ascend
which was a big
SUV
and now you have
the outback
which is now
essentially an SUV
and then there is also
the four star
which is also an SUV
and seeing them in person
they're quite similar
in size too
yeah
so
I think the new
outback
is
it looks great
I know a lot of people
weren't
sort of
digging the design
from the very beginning
but
I mean
the WRX
when it first came out
I remember so much
hate for that car
the new one
seeing it on the road
just seeing people
drive it ever since it came out
it's
it's literally
become my favorite
WRX that
Subaru has put out
nice
driving it also
is one of the best driving
out there
I still want to drive it
I've never driven one
it's great
once you get in
the WRX
the six speed
gearbox
and that compared to
our cross tricks
it's not the same
yeah
it's not the same
our slow baroos
yeah
not even like the speed
I wish we could get
you know
the F824
in our cross tricks
that'd be really cool
but just the way
that the gearbox
the tightness of it
it's just a really good gearbox
and one of the best
parts of the car
is the gearbox
on that car
the WRX
yeah
so how has your experience
been over at Camp Subaru?
oh it's been awesome
it's been
really cool
hanging out
with the
Adventure One crew
they've been really
awesome to me
they've always been
and a lot of the
Adventure One crew
they're
very good
we've done a lot of
work together
so I'm super appreciative
of
all the support
that they give
yeah
and it's been good
also
having Rianne
over and shooting
videos with all of us
about our builds
of our builds
and yeah
it's been a great time
yeah
and then the food
that they've been
making over there
it's been pretty incredible
at Camp Subaru
the breakfast
and the dinner
I
surprisingly have not
been able to try it out yet
oh okay
yeah but hopefully
this afternoon
will be my first go
okay good
anything else
you want to add
about your experience here?
um
I had a lot of
events
planned
for this year
mm-hmm
I'm going to
um
obviously we did
Wicked Big Meats
I ended up
Skipping Boxer Fest
but I still have
um
I got SEMA
to go to
next month
nice
I'm not really sure
if this was
the event
to go to
but now that I've been here
I'm
very certain that
I will
be at least
attending this one
next year
if not more
of Overland Expo
great
that's great to hear
yeah
it is a
it's a good event
I mean it's
it's great
for
anybody
whatever
car brand
you own
for
looking around
and seeing
all the different
you know
makes and models
and so it's just
especially in
you know Subaru
definitely belongs here
especially with where
they've taken the brand
with the Wilderness
editions and everything
and like you said
listening to the
customers and stuff
yeah
so this is
Overland Expo
it's all about
being outdoors
and outdoor life
and outdoor lifestyle
and that's what
so many of us
are doing with our
Subaru's
yeah couldn't say
better myself
alright well thanks
for hopping on the
mic for the
so how close
just
like this
okay
yeah
alright so I'm sitting here
with Chip
goes by
in our
underscore the OBXT
yes
okay
and
we're sitting here
actually in on the stage
at Subaru
booth
and
I just wanted to
talk to you
and ask you about
your experience here so far
especially
Camp Subaru
but
what do you think
of the space
here that
Subaru has laid out
where they have
all the factory cars
and everything
I'm very impressed
with
everything that
Subaru has done
at this event
not just from the
camping part
but this section here
with the display
of the cars
the new vehicle
the Outback
which I love
yeah
couple of
individual
their
Subaru's
I think it's great
because you've got
a little station
to sit and relax
you've got a stage
here for the show
last night
they've done their homework
is there anything
that you would like to see
differently done here
differently
I don't think so
I just think it's been
really well done
I commend the Subaru staff
all of them
the organizers
the people here
their feet on the ground
doing the leg work
it's just been
very welcoming
to all of us
we've talked about it
in different times
about how well
it's run
yeah
so how
what's your experience
been like
over at Camp Subaru
so you were invited out
and
had an opportunity
to camp with a bunch
of different Subaru owners
so what was that
how was that
it's been great
because
while A. they're providing us
fantastic food
for lunch and dinner
by
pretty well-known chefs
chefs
food's been great
excuse me
but they had an organized
breakfast
and options for
hiking
a trail run
or
a drive through the
Canada
skyline trail
and
it's been
just to have those options
alone
it's been great
but yeah
it's
the area there
we've met
a number of people
that we probably
normally have not met
a lot of us
kind of staying together
because we're
kept together
but there's so many people
here
it's in the Subaru section
that are
just super
it's been great
good
yeah
you think you would
come back again
absolutely
if I was lucky enough
to be chosen
I would come back
I've got a good
travel buddy here
she's a pretty
game to go anywhere
we go
yeah
and it was nice
because you had
your little
heater thing
that
I've been
since I'm not from
any places
that it's cold
it's been nice
to snuggle up next to
that
and get a little warm
since I'm not used
to the cold
as much as all of you
are
I bought that
a few years ago
and I saw one of those
I'm like
I didn't get it
bought it for
myself around
Christmas time
after Christmas
and I've used it
a handful of times
but it's really nice
it's just nice
to have
it's quick, easy
setup
but the fuel
doesn't last that long
so
yeah
I guess you
probably have to
maybe have a couple
of cans
on how many
nights you're
going to stay
I know you kind
of cranked it up
a little high
so that's going
it's been fun for me
to just kind of move around
and chat with a bunch
of different people
and meet people
that I haven't met before
and see people like you
again
question for you
you've been to all
five of these now
as far as sites
except for
I didn't go to California
oh that's right
you did four
as far as the size
how is this compared
to the others
this one's the smallest
the smallest one
yeah the
entire venue
the Overland Expo
is the smallest
of all the ones
I've been to
and then
our space
where they have
all the factory vehicles
and the owner vehicles
from like
side to side
it's been
it's about the same
but from like
front to back
this one's more narrow
it's more narrow
than the one we had
in P&W
I think P&W
where we had stuff
set up
was the largest
and then
but
they've all been
relatively the same
yeah you know
as far as like
the amount of space
but
you know to be
able to see
all the same stuff
set up
very very similar
at each event
you know it's been pretty cool
yeah I would imagine
P&W would be a huge event
yeah it's
like just the terrain itself
is going to
lend itself to
more off-roading
overlanding
yeah and then
also at P&W
we were right near
the entrance
so that was really cool too
oh nice
very nice
so this one
set up a little bit differently
because where you
drive in
and then
park
I guess at least
for us
for the vendors
and stuff
might be also because of the
except for Flagstaff
for Flagstaff
I parked
in the vendor parking
okay
and then everybody
was kind of funneling in
to the same entrance
but like here
we were kind of coming in
the back end
and not through the main entrance
even whenever I went
like even when I went to
well no I guess
that was kind of
a side entrance
I'm messing up my own story
no I guess
because like
when I was at P&W
I just parked
along the front
and went right in
the main entrance
and there we were
so it just
everyone's been different for me
where I parked
and then where I came in
I assumed where we came in
was the only entrance
there was a different way in
yeah there was another entrance
over here
up at the front past
where the food is
so yeah
I didn't realize that
until yesterday
because this one
and then like
for all of us campers
and vendors
and stuff driving in
it was like
one narrow drive
yeah
so that was
that was a little bit different
I just
I feel
very honored
and blessed to have been
all of these
it's
I can't imagine
the amount of work
to organize
the entire
trip
but the Subaru side of it
is for us
like I said earlier
we've all been
really appreciating
what they've done for us
as far as food
the planned trips
just everything
it's been great
so
I gotta commend
everyone involved
yeah absolutely
and big big
huge shout out to Joe
because this was
kind of his
baby in his project
and really appreciate
everything that he's done
yeah
he's been amazing
and
I'm missing him on this trip
because he
he went off
and went on vacation
which is fine
he deserves it
he's been working
really really hard
Sean's been
picking up the slack
so it's been great
it's been great
with everybody
we've worked with
so both from
Subaru and from
G7
and from all the other
people involved
you know
it's just been
it's been amazing
and you know
if you got
Elizabeth is getting married soon
oh sure yeah
so yeah
so
she's been great
working with us this weekend
well thanks for
being here
at all these
and an update on everybody
because
listening to the podcast
I heard a couple of the updates
from the other
other shows
and then you had
mentioned the camping aspect
and that's when
I kind of reached out
and
hey is there a chance to go
and
like I was lucky enough
to pick so
it's been good
awesome
I'm gonna see
if I can come over
and chat next
sounds good
thank you
you're welcome
alright
I'm sitting here
at Overland Expo
and
Overland Expo East
and we're
talking about
your outback
and your experience
a little bit
yeah
and your Nina
and your
another green outback
and I discovered
that last night
yes we just met last night
in person
so that was really cool
yeah
so what has your
experience been like
here
do you think they have
all of the
the vehicle set up
like
give us
give me
your opinion on
all of this
and what you've seen here
I think it's interesting
they have
like the newer models
to actually
like sit in
and look at
all the new
controls and features
yeah
I drive an outback
so I was
looking more
at the
outback
but
I'm glad they went
to some more
like
buttons
and kind of back to that
until today
when I was sitting in there
and they've got
all the push button
controls
for the HVAC
stuff so that was really cool
yeah
and then yeah overall
I think
it's nice to just see
be able to see them
because in pictures and stuff
it looks
they look a lot different
in person
it's
cool to see that
as far as the overall
layout here
what do you think about it all
I think it's good
I think it's pretty welcoming
compared
I feel like some of the booze
I know not everyone
is a title sponsor
but some of the booze
seem very tight
I feel like you can walk in
and like look at things
maybe
but
so you did a nice
job like kind of a whole
community space
yeah
especially the owner
lounge
owner lounge has been really nice
because it gives people
a spot to sit down
get out of the shade
grab some snacks
and drinks
and yeah it's been
really cool
so as far as camping
what has your experience
been over there
in the campsite
so I've never
done something
exactly like this before
I was a little nervous
because I'm not
a very big people person
I'm an introvert
but I got to park near
the Adventure One guys
who I have come to know
kind of well
so I'm really glad
I got to park together
and it's been
it's been a positive experience
and everybody loves your dog
yep
Tobin definitely helps
he's good for the introductions
yeah
and he's had fun too
he's been getting
all the attention
oh yeah yeah
so coming into it
and like you know
being nervous
and like you said introverted
which a lot of people
are including myself
even though I do the podcast
yesterday yeah
definitely
I'm not one to just like
walk up to people
and be like hey how are you doing
you know
I'm trying to get better at that
because of the podcast
and being at events like this
but you know
being around other people
that own Subaru
did it kind of
did you feel more comfortable
because everybody's there
for the same reason
yeah definitely
kind of
we all have like
like minded
I don't know
we just
have a lot of similar
I guess opinions
and
yeah
just overall views
and just
it's a big community
and it's nice to
make new friends
and meet people
who I haven't met before
in person
yeah yeah
I've known online so
yeah and I think that's one of
the best parts
is when you get a chance
to meet people in person
yeah definitely
and then meet new people
too that maybe you didn't
even know
follow new people
make new friends
yeah
and there's people here
from all over
so it's nice
like people who
I wouldn't usually
meet in person
because they're from
like Michigan
yeah it's nice
so and what year is your outback
it's 2022
okay
yeah nice
and it's green
because it's another green outback
it is yes
yeah cool
well thank you so much
for having a chat
thank you
and yeah
it was nice to come out here
and just
meet people
and see the event
definitely
thank you
you're welcome
sitting here
again
Overland Expo East
I'm sitting here with Kyle
how's it going man
I'm doing good Raf
how are you
good
what's your Instagram handle
Instagram handle is
the create outdoors
alright
and if you don't know
he's been on the podcast
before as a guest
I have
what episode
because I don't remember all of
I was episode 197
okay great
so
what do you think about
the Subaru booth
if we can call it that
as far as like
the way it's laid out
and everything
like what's your
take on it
I think this is
a really great start
I like the symmetrical
piece of it
because you know
you have the
the main booth
in the middle
with the hangout spot
and the snacks
and then you have
you know a car on each side
and then you have
like the stage here
that we're on
on the outside of that
and I think it was
the trailer was
on the other side
yeah
it was definitely a good start
I mean a pretty clean
layout
honestly
I feel like
the only thing
I would
change
maybe is
and obviously it depends
on the booth
if it was like
a deeper booth
having the cars
or one of the cars
closer to the back
so that way
everyone sees
everything in the booth
yeah
on the way to the car
yeah
you know
because people are
probably going to come
to see the cars first
and then everything else
is secondary
so
doing that would be
maybe a good idea to do
yeah
so
for this space
in particular
we got that up
I think with this space
we were just a little
more constrained
because
Overland
Expo P&W
it was a lot more
spread out
like if you think
of the space
in front of
the owner lounge
yeah
it's less
than what we had
at P&W
because we had
at P&W
there was
quite a bit more space
in the front
and so
there was an opportunity
to lay things out
a little bit better
so that you see
mostly everything
kind of from the front
and
because there were like
chairs
and
some little tables
and they had
umbrellas for shade
so that's kind of
what we're missing in this one
but
this one
it does feel more constrained
but it's also
still more open
than a lot of the other
booths
and very welcoming
I agree
so
they did a good job
you know
with the space
they
they utilized this space
well for sure
I agree
and so what has your
experience been like
over at Camp Subaru
has been
been good
I know there was
a little bit of
you know
confusion in the beginning
I don't think it's anyone's
fault
but
you know
because we
you know with Adventure 1
we've been camping
you know for so many years
we kind of like
have ideas of how
we want to set things up
and I guess
at the beginning
when we're all parking
everyone's just going to
park next to each other
like a regular parking lot
and we're like
oh
hold on a second
we can do different
setups here
because I think
when we registered
there wasn't really like
there weren't any questions of
oh what kind of camping gear
do you have
and I think
you know
if people knew
oh
some people have rooftop tents
some people have
ground tents
other people are sleeping
in their cars like I am
you know
you have a better idea
of how people
might want to utilize
that camping space
yeah
that's a good point
and I think
if maybe like
moving forward
like for next year
that would be a good question
like
what is your particular
camp setup
like how much space do you need
do you have an awning
you're going to put out
are you going to put out
a ground tent
or you have a rooftop tent
because I think
that would like
really help with
thinking about
how people can
lay out their spaces
and everything
and you know
and if you're coming
as a group too
you know
definitely probably want to
be all together
and maybe you have an idea
of how you all
want to lay out
some good things to think about
yeah
because when we go camping
at a campsite
we're always figuring out
alright
one person could park here
someone could park here
like we're having that idea
in mind of like
what's going to be the best
way so that way
people can go in
they can also get out
if they need to get out
so
yeah
good points
anything else you want to add
about your experience here
I mean this is my first
Overland Expo
and I liked it
there's some stuff
I still haven't even
looked at yet
because there's
so much going on here
but I like it
I kind of like it more
than Wicked Big Meat
because I think
Wicked Big Meat
still has that
you know
track car
road car
focus
you know
this is more
we're all in the outdoors
I could go to every
single booth here
and find something
interesting in it
that could apply to me
rather than
you know
Wicked Big Meat
so
yeah
I mean
and I know like
CB events is more
performance car
focus
and it kind of
always has been
you know
vendors
and I know that
and I actually
asked Brick about that
earlier
because I was talking to him
and talking about some of
the challenges
and stuff that they're
trying to do
so
you know
we understand
that they're at least
trying
and they want to be
able to do more too
but then
you know
they have to coordinate
that between
what the
guests want
you know
the people coming to
the event want
and what kind of vendors
would be
you know
you know
that might be
a good thing
where we can start
trying to
maybe come up with
the list of vendors
that we would think
would be good
for
CB events
so that
you know
they can
reach out to
some of those brands
and be like
hey
we're trying to get
more
overland
off-road
focus
at these events
you know
we have people
that are really
interested
I think the reason why
you're getting more
road cars
than say
overlanding vehicles
is I think
everyone with a performance
focused
Subaru
is probably an enthusiast
where everyone
that's overlanding
a Subaru
or going outdoors
with a Subaru
isn't
you know
so
you know
the average Joe
who goes camping
with their Subaru
isn't in Subaru culture
might not have any idea
of what
Wicked Big Mean is
or anything like that
you know
the other thing
the other point that he brought up to
which was
I didn't even really think about it
but he said
like
for the performance
side of
you know
Subaru
they have to have
places that are like
you know flat
and level
you have people with really low cars
and stuff
and if he did it
a venue like this
like
they would have issues
because
you know
this is gravel
and grass
and stuff
you know
I told him
I said
you know
there's a boat
where you've got somebody
that has
you know
pavement
that you know
the show cars can go on
and then like
grassy area
that's available
for all the
overland cars
and stuff
so
yeah
yeah
but yeah
it was nice chatting with you
nice chatting with you again
too Raf
alright
thank you
you're welcome
let the interrogation begin
is that still recording
yeah
yes
alright
really an expo east
and
got a nice surprise
that you stopped by
and
said hello
and introduce yourself in person
because
a lot of times
I don't always recognize somebody
but
I'm sitting here with Isaiah
how's it going
it's going good
yeah it's finally nice to
put a name to a face
or voice I guess
yeah
over podcast
but yeah it's good to be here
my first
overland
and
so far it's been pretty good
good
and your Instagram handle
is court low
yep still court low
yep
not that it matters
it comes up either way
yeah
so
and another guest that I had
on the podcast
which is cool
so what
or what are your thoughts on
the way they have
like their booth space
set up
so yeah
so the booth space
is
it's very well set up
with the owner experience
kind of in the middle
with the couches
and the snacks
and stuff
as well as the owner cars
kind of surrounding it
with the
I guess dealer provided
I guess you could call it
cars
kind of
behind the owner cars
I think it gives a good
atmosphere
to the public
that Subaru does care
about their owners
in addition to promoting
their own brand
yeah definitely
yeah
I think
the owner lounge
is definitely a big hit
because you give
people an opportunity
to sit down
get out of the shade
grab some snacks
grab some drinks
and a lot of the feedback
that I've heard from
people is like
how welcoming it is
and I think that's
really important
and like you said shows
that Subaru cares
about their owners
because
it's really good to have
owner vehicles
out here
and then also gets people
an opportunity to see
what you can do
with your Subaru
what's possible with it
that people may not
have even known about
yeah absolutely
did you
camp
did you get here today
or did you camp last night
I came in yesterday
in the evening
so I camped last night
and I'll be camping again
tonight
okay so what has your
experience been like
over at Camp Subaru
camping has been great
obviously can't control it
it is a little cold
here at night
yeah
but that's okay
that's what sleeping bags
were for
yep
the food has been excellent
oh yeah
the catered chef
has been absolutely outstanding
and it's probably the most
gourmet food
I've probably had in my life
and now I want to
try and figure out
how to make it at home
but probably won't go
nearly as well
yeah it was good stuff
so as far as like
you know people over there
and everything
have you had a chance
to meet
like a lot of different people
I mean I know
there's a lot of people
here that you already know
any new people
that you hadn't met before
um yeah
it was cool to finally meet
Milton
um
from Washington
I've been following his page
on instagram with the
cross track and the new
new forester
and it was cool to finally
meet him today
yeah
um
it's been good to see a
lot of people again
um that I've gone on trips
within the past
and gotten to meet
in passing
but not really
actually get to talk to
for more than a couple
minutes on the trail
so it's been really nice
yeah
yeah it gives people
an opportunity
to relax
and there's so many different
settings here
you've got
you know like stuff
that's going on here
at the stage
that we're doing
so you get an opportunity
to be around people
and chat with them there
and then
you've got dinner time
and then
they're doing karaoke later
tonight
which is cool
they got yoga in the
morning
so I think
there's just so many
different opportunities
throughout the day
to like
spend time with people
and being here
for three days
you get a chance
to learn stuff
and I think that's really great
yeah it's certainly nice
yeah
so thank you so much
for sharing
your experience
yeah and maybe we'll
see you at karaoke later
I won't be singing
because I only hold the mic
behind the scenes
same here
I won't be singing either
but it'll be cool
to see what everybody
else does
there we go
yeah thank you
you want to go next?
sure
alright
we're sitting here
on the stage
at Subaru Space
here at Overland Expo East
with Milton
talking about lifts
and stuff in the background
so for everybody listening
why don't you go ahead
and introduce yourself
and give your Instagram handle
yep my name is Ken
my Instagram handle
is Blue Root Ventures
it's blu.roo.adventures
okay alright
so what is your thoughts
on the way that Subaru
has like laid out
the space here
for you know
people to come
and visit their booth space
I've quite enjoyed it
the open happy hour
they had last night
was delightful
yes
definitely enjoy that
they're showcasing
some owner vehicles here
it's nice to see that
and
show people that
hey this is what you can do
with your car
if you want to go
a little OEM plus
get a little adventurous
get your hands dirty a little
don't have to keep the car
as we sell it to you
have a little bit of fun with it
and you know
I think that's good
that Subaru does that
because
they're not afraid to showcase
that people are adding
aftermarket products to their car
that you know
they
you know they're like
really showing people
like our owners
really like to have fun
with their cars
and accessorize them
and stuff
and I think that's amazing
that people get to see that
and like
I'm sure a lot of people
that probably come through
and be like
you know especially being
over the course of three days
you get a lot of people coming through
and being like
I didn't know you could do that
had no idea
so it's really cool
to see them doing that with these
yeah and we've had the same thing
with people walking through the camp
and seeing some of the cars too
and wow I had no idea
you could do that with a Subaru
and they're like
we didn't either
until we tried
exactly yeah
and it's so great
because you start connecting with people
within the community
start asking questions
and start getting answers
and you're like
oh these people are like
helping me out
they're super cool
absolutely yeah
and that's something we love to do
we want to see more people
get into this
and get adventurous with the vehicles
take them off the B and path
yeah so as far as like this space here
they were sitting in
is there anything about it
that you would think
that they could do differently
honestly the one thing
I'd like to see if they
whether it's next year
or next event
is the owner's lounge
be a little bigger
I've thought of that too
yeah it's
I mean it is definitely
a nice space
it is yes
it provides seating
provides shade
which is really nice
with these days being so hot
and then of course snacks
and drinks
but I
so I know
at one of the other events
they had
the couch
but then I think they had like
three chairs
so they had a little more seating
yeah
right now seating is a little lacking
yeah
four or five people can sit down
but
it'd be nice to be able to sit down
and have conversations
with a larger group of people
like we've been doing at camp
yeah I agree
and
I know somebody talked about
the lack of shade on the stage
because they do have
a shade over it
but it's so open
on all four sides
oh yeah
depending on the part of the day
it doesn't really provide
that much shade
yeah
but
you know
this is their first go at it
and so
I know that
they're going to take
a lot of this information
and
you know
kind of figure out
what they can do differently
what they can do better
next year
I think that
put a positive note
I think that
my favorite thing was
seeing all the
optional accessories
and how much they're
judging interest in that
they want to see if people
like this accessory
or this accessory
and
testing with the waters
with stuff they haven't done before
yeah
so what was one of the
like your favorite accessories
that you saw
honestly
I really like the idea
of having a super
to install
livery
or decals
on the car
as an option
some people really like
to have something more
than
a gray car
yeah
to have your super dealer
put on
a decal for you
mm-hmm
and just to show
a little bit more personality
in the car
yeah
I really like
I didn't notice it until
like later in today
but the
forester
wilderness that they have
over there
did you see the decal
along the side
I did yeah
it's like
got a mountain range on it
it's very intricate
and it's very well done
yeah I like that a lot
and again
I said I didn't notice it
until later
but I was just
and I think I didn't even
notice until they turned it
around because
they wanted to show
the back of the vehicle
as people were walking
okay yeah
it was facing forward
initially yeah
and it was after
they turned it around
I just
I was looking at it
and I was like
well I didn't even notice
that
but they did a really good
job
yeah both
both the cars
look really good
with the
I think the
the paint colors
and the decals
they chose to display
them with
I think they really
accentuate the
style of the cars
definitely
our
car awnings
angle together
into an easy up
but it's been nice
because we have that
open space
for to set up our tables
and our chairs
and all hang out
and get out of the sun
during the day
and a lot of room
to set up the
fire pit at night
but it's been
really awesome too
seeing all the
different levels
of Subaru owners
everyone from
us who are sitting
here on
jacked up Subarus
with
ridiculous amounts
of lift
and Milton crawling
under them
to just
couples who are here
and they're
you know camping
in a mattress
out of the back
of their cross track
and
you don't need to
have a crazy car
like we do to just
get out and camp
and that's what
I love to see
yeah and you
don't have to
have like
do crazy stuff
with it to
thoroughly enjoy
your Subaru
absolutely
because they're so
they're so capable
of the way that
they are
because not everybody
is going to
want to do
and
he wants to do more
stuff to it
but like
he doesn't really
like decals
and a lot of people
like decals
because it helps them
personalize their car
so he's like
yeah I'm not really
into putting decals
on it
but he does want to
do like
other things
eventually with it
but so yeah
so seeing
seeing that some
people are
doing a little bit
and some people are
doing a lot
and then the
diversity within
the community too
is just like
there's no worship
there's nothing stopping you
from rolling right out
and just going camping
oh yeah
absolutely
they're built so
capable now
and Subaru
really seems to stand
behind their performance
and I respect them
for that
yeah and I
I really like too
that you
can have
somebody with
you know a setup
like yours
which is like
super cool
like I was looking at
at the other day
just looking at
everything you have on it
and then some
you're welcome
and then somebody
completely stock
Subaru
whatever model it is
and
you know
while they may
feel kind of intimidated
at first
people find out
really quick
that
just because they don't
have anything
on their car
they're not like
not welcome
you know
it's like
even if you have a
stock car
we're so excited
that you're here
you know
why did you
buy a Subaru
what do you like
about your Subaru
and that's how
I started out
didn't do
anything to it
for a while
but
I got involved
back when Mountain Real
was still
in the game
I met
some of the guys from
Tri-State
I went down to them
with the Pine Barons
when my car
was still stock
I should say
not fully stock
I had an engine
skid plate
but I still had
the stock
17 inch tires
and the all seasons
it was sold
with
to me
and I
ripped that thing
through the Pine Barons
and I went
you know what
I want to play around
with this little bit more
yeah
yeah
it's definitely fun
to do more
with them
and everything
but yeah
I mean
there's so many people
that end up doing
something really cool
with them
and you know
when they're stock
and then get really
surprised
how capable it is
I was
thoroughly impressed
with my Forrester
how it
performed stock
and definitely having
a skid plate
is really
much more
it should be skid plates
100%
yeah
well I guess
it also depends
on what you're going to do
with it
I should say
if you're going to be off-roading
if you want to go off-road
you want to
find some campsites
out there
in the middle of nowhere
you need to
put a skid plate
on your engine
yeah
because you may not
be doing
like going over
any rocks
or anything crazy
and stuff
but you never know
what you're going to
find out there
you could kick up
yeah
if you
you just hit something
on the trail right
and I've seen
you know
tree branch get
kicked up
and it just
lodged itself right
through
especially some newer
cars that have
aluminum oil pans
yeah
it's a good point
or even if it just
hits the drain plug
yeah
and then
you don't have a way
to hold the
oil anymore
that's a really
good point
you're in the middle
of the trail
and you're done
yeah
and I was
getting underneath
and I had
kicked up a rock
because it's
it's very
rocky there
and I was
I guess kind of scared
me at first
and I was like
I thought I
like dropped
and hit something
but I was like
I was
I was still just
driving across
the gravel road
and then
I realized
that my
tire
must have just
like
kicked up a rock
and hit the
underneath part
of the skid plate
and it's
really dense
especially
take your
transmission pan
on the edges
the edges are quite
vulnerable
and if that
gasket
starts to break out
and you slowly
leak out fluid
over
six months
yeah
it could
yeah
you may not damage it
that day
but you may
be doing some
long-term damage
to the car
that you're not
going to know
until it's
a problem
yeah
and
when we put it on
because I have a manual
so I don't
necessarily need
a transmission skid plate
but
when I had primitive on
they gave me a full set
of skid plates
yeah
so I have
a transmission skid plate
but
when
when I was under there
I was like
I can't believe
like how vulnerable
the
transmissions
the transmission pan is
it is
it's just right there
because I'd never
looked under one before
and I'm like
I definitely
at some point
skid plate
yes
that would be very helpful
it sits surprisingly low
and that's
why I wanted to
I didn't
when I went around
for the first time
I didn't cover the
transmission skid plate
and at some point
I did nick it
and I was getting
a very slow leak
out of the pan
okay good
I was able to
quick fix it
you know
loosen the bolt
shove some RTV
in there
and call it a day
and then immediately
ordered a
transmission skid
plan
and a rear diff skid plan
I'm always learning
something new
and I'm recording with people
and you know
talking to them
about their experiences
so it's very good points
so
thank you
well thank you so much
for hopping on the mic
absolutely
all right
talk to you later
all right
continuing on
with my interviews
with the interrogations
sitting here
on the stage still
at overland
expo
east
sitting here
with Andrew Compton
how's it going man
pretty good
can't complain
it's been
what's your Instagram handle
it is
at
a Compton
94
okay
I knew it had your name in it
somehow
I just couldn't remember exactly
what it was
too many
Instagram handles
in my head
so
what has your experience been
like here
at overland expo
and then
like
what do you think about
this
booth space
that Subaru has set up
honestly
I'm blown away
by the whole thing
I
this is my first time
being here
what to expect
so
I said a couple of times
throughout the weekend
this set a high bar
the whole thing
and
Subaru's display
in particular
awesome
I may or may not be biased
but I think they had one of
if not the best displays
here
super welcoming
it's
open
they've got the community spaces
they had snacks for owners
they had a lot of representatives
talking
to
anyone interested
yeah
absolutely
knocked out of the park
yeah
and then
so
being that you've been able
to come through the space
for you know
a good part of the day
or the weekend
is there anything that you see
in here
that you would like to see
done differently
or you know
added for next year
um
I mean
this is nitpicking
but you know
how hot it was this weekend
so
more shade but
that's
it's kind of hard to
work around
but
honestly
I'd have to sit on that
off
but now this was a stellar
display
I
like I said
it
this sets the bar high
yeah
and that's good
that's good to hear
so what has your experience
been like over at Camp Subaru
it's been a fun time
uh
I came down here
met a lot of people
who I'd followed on Instagram
so
it was super cool
to meet them in person
put
names and faces to vehicles
uh
we've all kind of
we set up a
communal area
if you will
uh
we had
Rhian and Gelsomino
come over for dinner
a couple times
which was awesome
yeah
uh
everyone's just kind of
sharing their stories
sharing experiences
everyone's super nice
welcoming
so
the Camp Subaru
experience has been
stellar
okay great
that's good to hear
and
uh
yeah
and then you've got
the amazing food
that they've been
serving up
from Chef Chad
absolutely
they
had about your experience here
um
I hope to come back
in the future
uh
if not to
this particular
overlay that's so possibly
other ones
but uh
yeah hope to do it again
yeah it was great to see you again
because I saw you
48 hours of tri-state
for sure
it's uh
it's always cool
when you get a chance
to either see somebody again
or meet somebody
for the first time
anyway it's funny you mention that
that is
I've had this thought
a couple times over the past couple weeks
I was out
in Indiana
two weeks ago
while the Subaru owners
who
I'd followed
and
seeing them
seeing more people
who I've
known tangentially
out here
and actually met them in person
Subaru likes to say
they're more than just
a car company
and I think
that phrase
and this experience
really
goes hand in hand
this experience
really embodies
that uh
sentiment
definitely
you know
and they say
love
it's what makes
a Subaru
a Subaru
that they put together
and just bringing
Subaru owners together
and
people who enjoy
their Subaru's
and just
wanna
you know
see what this experience is about
and I think it's great too
that they
reach out to
people out there
in the community
that may not
necessarily
have like
you know
be connected
with other people
in the community
and bring them
to this kind of experience
so they can see
like
what Subaru is all about
and to meet
other Subaru owners
for sure I am
immensely grateful
for the opportunity
to be here
good
glad to hear it
well thank you so much
for hopping on the mic
thank you
you're welcome
awesome
alright
how close should I
uh
just
put it all up in your
uh
nah I just like
you know
like that's good
so uh
yeah
I'm sitting here
again
still
on the stage
at
Overland Expo East
why don't you go ahead
and do something
so uh
I'm Sean
I go by
at
Jamie the
Subaru on Instagram
I have a
2015 Subaru
Forester
oh nice
very good
so as far as
like the
Subaru
booth space
here
what is your
what are your thoughts
on the way
that's laid out
and everything
um
I liked it a lot
I mean
it was cool to see
the new
um
you know
much more
capable skid plates
compared to
the previous generation
um
uh
I like the layout of it
it was cool
you know
watching
the
um
uh
shows from
from Milton
um
about building Subaru
or
um
you know
the rally class
it was uh
yeah it was pretty cool
good
yeah
is there anything
like about the space
that you
have
I kind of wish there was
like
some
some more cover
uh
there were
you know
I guess
you don't know
the space until it's there
and the weather you're going to have
but you know
it's pretty hot
pretty sunny
and so having some extra cover
would have been nice
yeah
so when we were
in
Pacific Northwest
they did have
more
they had some
umbrellas
and chairs
sit out
and I think that had to do
with the fact
yeah the space here
definitely seems a little limited
yeah
which I mean
isn't anything Subaru can really do
it's more
you know
the Expo
yeah
so what has your experience been
like over at Camp Subaru
oh I mean it's
it's been great
this is
definitely a very
memorable weekend
I've had an absolute blast
every day
um
I'm going to be a little sad
when I
you know
leave
on Sunday
um
but no
I've had an absolute
great time
it's been
I've known online
but
have never met in person
um
so
yeah and just hanging out
with the people I do know
you know
um
yeah it's just
it's been a great time
good
yeah have you
talked to
like other people
that are over there
that you didn't
because I know that you've
followed some people
so coming to who they were
and then obviously
you're here with people
that you already know
yeah
but did you get a chance
to meet
even other people
that you
you know weren't following
people that
super invited
um
it seems like
you know
they're very new
to the whole
super camping
kind of scene
um
and
yeah it was great
being able to talk to them
um
and
you know
talk about
mods
and
um
you know
adventures we've
you know
I've been on
they've been on
and
you know
share
you know
and we
we kind of
I have all these
people that we've
connected with through
Instagram
but there's like
so many other people
out there
you know
some people may
just be a daily driver
and they may not
want to have anything
to do with other people
and
you know
doing some of the stuff
that we do
but
I can only imagine
that there's a lot
of people
also that
love their
Subaru's
yes
may not know
that there are
people that may want to be
a part of that
and so
I think it'd be really cool
to try to reach
more of those people
for sure
the
kind of more
regular people
I would say
yeah
I know
it's like
you don't want to sound
bad saying that
but I mean it seems like
that's the best way
I mean we have
Instagram accounts for our
cars like
yeah
we're not regular
we're not normal
because I remember
like when I
bought my car
and
before I even bought my
cross-trick
I knew I was going to buy it
mm-hmm
and
I
just remember like
got the car
a few days later
I was like
I guess I'll
do that silly thing
and start an Instagram page
for my car
and I remember thinking
like man
what are people going to think
about me
having an Instagram page
for my car
I had the exact same thought
for like
I don't know
how many months after
I started the car
and was like
posting consistently
like I told
friends or my family
like hey
I actually have this account
for my car
yeah
so we're definitely
a little bit different
of a breed
which is why
it's so nice to meet
people that are different
from that
and
you know
who still
enjoy being in the
community
but aren't
you know
posting every week
about what they do
or
you know
modifying their car
as crazy
as some of us do
you know
it's
it's very nice
you know
the weekend warrior
who
you know
just take their Subaru
on forest roads
to get to like
a trailhead
to go hiking
or to get to a campsite
it's definitely
nice to hear
a
slightly different side
of
you know
the off-road
overlanding Subaru community
and the modifications too
because
I've seen a lot of
Subaru's around
where I live
because I live in the
Houston area
and we don't really
have a lot of
opportunities to go
off-roading
we have like
campgrounds
that are not too far from us
we have state parks
and stuff that people
go camping in
so I see Subaru's
that might have like
an awning on it
or like a roof
roof rack
or like a basket
and maybe like
a storage thing
or something like that
but very rarely
do I see one
that has
a lift
and wheels and tires
and all this other stuff
it seems like
they have more
lifestyle accessories
yes for sure
and
you know
I mean
like my car
I don't have a lift
because I don't need one
mm-hmm
you know
yeah I think for most people
like it's not really
practical for
their daily car
or you know
maybe it's something that
they haven't even thought
about
which if they're not even
thinking about it
they don't need it
you know
so as long as
they can get them
to the place
they want to go
to you know
go see nature
and go explore
I mean that's
you know
all you need
yep it's been great
thank you so much
thank you for having me
yeah you're welcome
yeah I know
they're getting ready
to do karaoke
so
are you going to join in
I'm not going to sing
oh come on
I can't
I can't sing
just because
I can talk on the mic
doesn't mean
I can sing
yeah so
yeah thanks again
yeah thank you
you're welcome
okay
right now
I am doing
something different
because
I am
sitting on
the deck
of the Airbnb
my girlfriend
here in Seabrook
because she was planning
she had been planning
on coming down here
for
I think
a month and a half
or two months
or something like that
and
the plan was
for
me to work
while
she
was
out
with her daughter
going to the beach
and stuff
and I was going to
stay here with her dog
and her cat
and just kind of
make sure everybody
is doing okay
but
as you know
life changed
I was laid off
this past Monday
that I'm recording this
so
I don't have my
I don't have my whole setup
I'm just using the
microphone
on my MacBook Air
to record this audio right now
just to see how it's going
because I
I realized I got to the end of
day two
of Overland Expo on Saturday
and I wanted to do
a little intro
to transition into day three
in the last day
in the last conversation
and realize
I don't have a mic
I don't have a way to record it
but I do have the
onboard
MacBook Air mic
so I'm giving it a try
but anyway
I don't know how this is going to sound
until I play it back
but
I'm going to get into
we're going to get into
day three
in the last day
of Overland Expo here
alright we're sitting here
at Overland Expo East
day three
sitting here with Leo man
how's it going
doing well Ralph
thanks for having me
you're welcome
why don't you let everybody know
what your Instagram handle is
my name's Leo
my Instagram handle
is wilder feels
that's wilder as in wilderness
not wilder like most people say it
yeah that's how I was saying
in my head
so glad you said that
so it's W I L D E R underscore
and then feels with the Z
at the end
okay cool
so how did you
get out here
into Overland Expo
I was actually
invited
by Joe
who's one of the corporate
people at Subaru
I met him in California
in a small
Overland Ex
show
okay
that was kind of like a
pre
pre-production for the Overland Ex
done with Troy
at one of his shops
and I was just there
you know doing my own thing
and I met Joe
and then from there
he liked my Subaru
he saw how enthusiastic
I was about towards Subaru
and how involved I've been
in the community
he's like hey
it'd be cool if you came
with us
it started off by
asking to be featured
on the loyalty program booth
or area
yeah yeah
and then
I was like what I gotta do
to get my car in one of these booths
I was originally supposed to participate
in like Colorado
but then I recently moved
so I wasn't able to do that
Virginia was closer
so I decided
let's pull the trigger on Virginia
nice yeah
since it's the last
of the five stops
so with the
all the space that
you know the area that Subaru has set up here
is like their booth space
what do you think of the way it's all laid out
and what they've got going on here
I really like
what Subaru has done
in getting into the Overland Space
out of the
ones I've been in
the California was really nice
the one in Oregon
was really nice
I've been to
this one in Virginia
is probably the least elaborate one
yeah
because of the spacing
but overall
I do like what they've done
they really
went over the top
it wasn't just a small little
booth
it's a big presence
they came in hard
and I really
I'm happy to be a part of it
yeah
yeah it's been a good experience
you know the layout is basically the same
as you know throughout
all of the expos but
some of them have allowed for us
to spread out a little bit more
but I think this one might be the most constrained
at this location
but it's still really spread out
and I feel like you said
you know it's not as constrained as a lot of the other
I don't want to just give my opinion
on this one in particular
I'm kind of putting all my experiences together
overall it's been a great experience
being able to do the
camping experience
at PNW
being
like a guest
and then also being able to be an exhibitor
in the booth
I'm able to see both sides
I'm able to see what it's like
to be a consumer
and doing the customer side of things
and then also being as an exhibitor
seeing the behind the scenes
how much work goes behind it
the crew members
because I'm camping in the booth
so I'm up at 6.30 in the morning
so I see
the first people that show up
the cleaning crew that comes and wipes down the cars
the ladies that come and they start sweeping the floors
they come and
setting up the chairs
they start setting up the chairs
and I'm like man a lot goes into this
you know a lot goes into this
and I'm talking to the people because I'm the only one here
and I'm getting to know everyone
so what do you do?
this is what I do
so it's like
it's so fun to just
learn
the behind the scenes
you've been more of a part of
the whole process I think
than a lot of other people would do
now that I'm talking about it with you
I'm like the first one
I'm already here because I'm sleeping on the ground
and I'm here since 6.30
the sun's not even out yet
and Troy rolls up with his car
and then he starts taking pictures
before the sun comes out
and it's like I get to see it all
and it's been fun
so is there any like looking at the space
and like you've been to other ones
throughout the year but
what do you think like is there something
that you would like to see done differently
or maybe a little bit better than
what you've seen that they did here
I think what they're doing
at the booth
is good
they're marketing
this cool little
loyalty program
people come up they show their
key fobs and they get some snacks
and waters a little bit of shade
I do think all that's really cool
how they have the outdoorsy
decorations with REI collaborations
they have Thule out here demonstrating
the products, the stage
how they have shows throughout the day
different people come up like Rhiannon
yourself, Milton
I think they
first year
I feel like they really hit it on the nail
and then going above
and beyond
inviting 30 plus people
and renting an entirely
separate camping area
and letting them enjoy it
wine and dyeing them with the gourmet breakfast
and dinners and then
the karaoke at night
there's some things that I would recommend doing over there
but as far as here
I think it's perfect the way it is
what would you recommend doing over there
a little bit more involvement with the community
like at night time
maybe doing some bonfires
like it was cool that there was
karaoke last night but that was the first time
I've seen it done
but it would be cool if there was a movie night
maybe bring out a projector
play a Disney movie or something
get the community to get together
like this morning
waking up and seeing the circle
and everyone's having breakfast together
that was fun
it's a good point because that's the first time I've seen that
at any of the events that I've been to
because it's kind of like
you go back to the campsite
and then it's kind of like you're just on your own
I usually see someone
we say hello
and then I may not bump into them again for the rest of the weekend
it's cool when you see them
on the meet and greet on the pre-meat
on Thursday
and then you wake up the next day in the morning
and then you're sitting next to them eating breakfast
on the next day and then at night time
and it's like you keep seeing the same people over and over
and over until they become your friends
by the time the event's over
I don't remember their names unfortunately
but there was
two girls that were walking back
to their cars because they were
getting ready to leave
and I said y'all didn't know each other before
this event
and they're like no and I said this is great
because this is what it's all about
is bringing people, Subaru owners
to this event and meeting other Subaru owners
and
ever since like I think maybe
Saturday morning
or maybe even Saturday or Friday evening
those two girls have been together
the whole time like every time I see
one of them the other ones with them
and so and I know over at
in Colorado
there were some women that were camping
they were meeting each other for the first time
and they talked about putting together
like women's trail runs
group and all this kind of stuff
these are people they never would have met before
and they met each other because Subaru
decided to bring these people together
and create
a presence at this event
with Subaru owners
and I think it's been great
yeah definitely
for me I'm new to the whole
Subaru scene
and outdoor scene as well
I'm trying to be more explorative
your car does not look like you're new to it though
see I came from
the street
scene I had a BMW M3
prior to this and I would mod it out
and I would do car shows
but it was all about like the street
and then
I needed to get more
of a adult vehicle
for the family but I didn't want to lose
that
you know the ability
to play with it mod it out
have fun go to car shows and people look at it
hey your car is unique
like what you've done to it is pretty crazy
and then at first
I wasn't really sure about
a Subaru my wife brought it up
because of its reliability, the safety
the resale value I'm like yeah that's cool
but a Subaru to me
was like
it's like a grandma car
do I really want that
wagon car I used to feel that way
a long time ago too yeah but then
they have a wilderness
what you want you know it's got a turbo charger
it's got the lift it
the lift and it's got
everything you want and I was like alright
I went to go test drive it
the guy at the dealer was super nice
and
it did check off all the boxes so I ended up
placing an order I picked it up
and then little by little I've just been
doing what I've known to do with cars
is swap out the wheels, the tires
start putting accessories, researching
so modding was already on the radar
I was going to do something with it
I just didn't know to what extent
I wanted it to be a daily driver
I didn't think it was going to become
this crazy overland
adventure vehicle
but you can do all
of that stuff and still have it
as a daily driver that's great
I do drive it daily it's the only vehicle
I have but
it's been fun the experience
has been fun I go online I research
I look at other people's builds
the crazy part is that the people that I researched
that I looked
up and got my inspiration from
I'm starting to run into those people
at these shows and then they're like
oh man your car is my inspiration
I was like no way because your car inspired me
it's pretty cool and it's cool that
I'm running into these people and seeing them in person
and it just comes full circle
so what has your experience been like
here having your car in the booth
and having people come up to you and
ask questions and stuff like that
a lot of people want to know
how did I do certain things
like how did you mount to the light bar
to the OEM rails
you know they have questions about
my tire sizes
and how I was able to fit
a six piston big brake caliper
you know they want to know
how do you like your
comic awning or how did you get those mounts
for your max tracks
do you think the wee boost is worth it
does it do what it says it does
and it's basically just answering questions
which I don't mind at all
because if it's going to help them
decide whether they should buy it
or not I'm happy to be able to give them
my honest opinion and say you know what
this is garbage don't buy it
don't spend your money on it
but every item I put in my car
has been thoughtfully
processed in my mind
with intention and I've done a ton of
research and if I don't like a product
I'm not gonna put out my car
or I will return it and take it off
but everything that's on my car right now
I'm very happy with
and a lot of research and thought has gone
into it with intention
so when someone asks me a question
I can probably say this thing is definitely
worth it some things are a little pricey
maybe not your priority list
but if you ever have
a little extra cash and you want to spoil yourself
sure go and get this
but it's not a priority you don't need to have
a big brick hit you don't need to have
you know a trail
swing in the back it's for convenience
oh yeah 100%
but it does make your car look cool
I'm all about the cool factor
so did you have anybody ask you about
like the your car itself
because you've mentioned all the accessories
that people are asking about but have you had people
like you know what has your experience been like driving
the wilderness
I have but I feel like
the people that have
approached me already have
an outback
so their research
is already done
they know that Subaru is reliable
they know it's very safe
they know they have good resale value
so it's going to be a good investment
and now at this point
that is no longer in their minds
now they're just thinking of what can I do with it
I haven't been approached by someone
that doesn't have a Subaru yet
they usually already have
the Subaru and they just want to know about
the accessories that goes on them
every once in a while I get asked
you know
how do you like the turbocharger
is the wilderness worth it
versus the one that doesn't have the turbocharger
they ask if it's a smooth ride
how's the gas mileage
are the seats comfortable
I do get those kind of questions
okay yeah
good anything else you want to add
about your experience here
overall it's been great
getting to know the cast
getting to learn
the process
of
marketing a Subaru has been kind of cool
being able to meet people
like you
like Kerry, like Milton
all of the community
people that come out here with their crazy
built-in foresters and chopped up
cross tracks with cool bumpers
even like small little mom
and pop shops
like Alex from Snailworks
I just met him today
and it was cool to see his
cross track in real life
because I've been staring at that
thing on Instagram and that's a really
sexy cross track and I finally get to meet him
and stuff like that's really cool
overall it's been a great
experience I think that
being able to camp at the booth
brought a different element
right because I knew that by 7am
this place was going to be packed
with people working different
angles so I was like I gotta be the first one
up and ready so that
not only I can get my
my glamour shots in the morning
when the sun's not over
exposing all your shots but
you also get to see how everything
works and you get to know
people and overall
it's been a very awesome
experience you get to try some stellar
snacks you know
they don't put away the snacks
at night so I
help myself to some munchies
I'll be like in my car watching
some YouTube and I'll be like
I want some chips
I'm going to go over to the suru
snack section and grab some of those cool pretzels
that Ralph brought
so cool man thank you for hopping on the
mic and having a little chat
yeah no worries
looking forward to having my
own episode yeah you will
alright man thank you
man thank you for having me and I'll see you around
alright thank you
okay are we
ready we've got
one two three
can't see through
hello everybody thank you
so much for tuning in to this
very long episode
I think we made
a record here
in the longest episode of the
Subin U podcast but it was
the last event and I had a lot of great
conversations so
I have no regrets
that it was this long
but I hope you all enjoyed it
and again thank you so much
Subaru of America
thank you so much Joe, Sean, G7
everybody that
participated in the event
thank you so much for including the Subin U
podcast as part of the Overland
Expo series
and I hope that I can make it out to
all of the events next year
if Subaru does end up going
to all of the events again
I think that would be a lot of fun
and I'm looking forward to seeing
what they may change up and do a little bit differently
next year but one of the things
that I would like to see and then I've talked
to them about already is having more of a
presence more of a visual
presence for the Subin U
podcast so that's something
that I definitely want to work on
and we might be doing things differently
with the podcast next year too
we've already thrown out some ideas
that we can make it more of
just more of a visual presence
and you'll just have to
wait and see but anyway
thank you again so much
if you're
able to help support the podcast
you can join Patreon
and help support
my efforts and what I'm doing here
and it would be greatly greatly appreciated
especially now
with everything that's been going on
in my life and
no longer having a job
so I would greatly appreciate it
and thank you all for
the ones that have helped
it really means a lot and
I'm extremely grateful this community
is absolutely amazing and I'm
blessed to be a part of it so
have a great weekend
much Subi Love
Raf
The Subin U 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
you can find the Subin U podcast
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that's all for this week
see you next week
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