S&YE221 - Swampback Adventures

Hey, everyone.

My name's Aaron.

I'm the driver of the Instagram handle for Swamp Back Adventures.

You're listening to episode 221 of the Subi U Podcast.

Hey, everybody.

How's it going?

Welcome back to another episode of the Subi and U Podcast.

Hope everybody had a great weekend and just maybe had some relaxing times or got out there

and hit some trails and had some fun and some mud or some snow or maybe just a dry trail.

Whatever you may have done, I hope you enjoyed the weekend.

It has been getting cold here every evening, which is kind of unusual for us.

We've been getting below freezing for several days now within the past week.

Maybe we will get below freezing for maybe a couple of days throughout the quote-unquote

winter that we have here in Houston, but yeah, it's been unusually cold for several nights

in a row.

I mean, it's nice because it actually makes it feel like winter here, but we're also

not used to it.

I know we get made fun of because we get cold so easily and you see people here

from the northeast or something wearing shorts and a t-shirt when it's like 30 degrees outside

and we think they're crazy and we're all bundled up, but hey, that's how it is here.

I have seen a lot of people dealing with snow and some of the posts and stuff either

being snowed in or having fun out in the snow.

Of course, I would rather have fun out in the snow, but thankfully I've been able

to do that just not in pearl.

Anyway, so hope everybody is doing okay this week.

Of course, as you just heard, we have Aaron on the podcast to talk about his Subaru journey

and his build, so we will get into that here in just a little bit, but before we get into

anything else, I want to give a huge shout out to my buddy, Ben, who is the host of

the Dirt Subis podcast.

I know many of you have checked out his podcast as well, but if you have not, this is

your first time hearing about it, go check out the Dirt Subis podcast.

He releases episodes every other Wednesday and he's had quite a few guests on.

He also can be found on YouTube, on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and several other places where

you can listen to a podcast.

So go check out the Dirt Subis podcast.

He's always given a shout out to the Subi and you podcast, so I appreciate you,

Ben.

Thank you so much.

Let's just keep this thing going, man.

And now, let's hear from one of our sponsors.

The Subi and you podcast is brought to you by Ascentric Designs.

For those of you who don't know, Ascentric Designs is a small, community-driven business

that offers custom fit vinyl overlays for most Subaru models.

This includes various designs for the rear reflectors, tail lights, and side tail

lights.

I also offer fun, detailed designs like the popular fender stripes and stickers.

For more design designs for your Subi, head on over to AscentricDesigns.com.

There's always more projects in the works, so be sure to follow at Ascentric.designs

on Instagram.

Of course, I'm always so grateful for Ascentric Designs sponsoring the Subi and you podcast.

We have been friends for a really long time.

She was my very first guest.

So if you're hearing this episode and you don't know who she is or you haven't

heard her episode, go check out episode one because she was the one that helped

get this whole thing started.

And I'm very grateful for her friendship and for her sponsorship.

And you know what?

Right now, I'm just going to go ahead and knock out the other sponsors as well.

As you know, this podcast is sponsored by Subaru Gear.

If you have not gone over to Subaru Gear and done some shopping, SubaruGear.com,

you need to get on over there.

Go check out the new tab.

They've got a lot of new items that they bring in because they will rotate items

in and out.

So if you see something that you like, get it now because it may not be there.

It's kind of like Netflix.

When you see a really good show or a movie and you're like, man, I really want to

watch that.

And then you forget about it.

And then you go check it out a week later and it's gone.

That may happen if you see something that you really like at SubaruGear.com.

So be sure to, if you see something you like, go put it in your cart.

Check out.

When you check out, you can use the code SUBIENJU2026 to get 20% off your purchase.

And if you fill up your cart and get enough in there and your total is over $50 after the

20% discount, you'll also get free shipping, which is really great.

So I just want to say thank you so much Subaru Gear for sponsoring the SUBIENU podcast

and for bringing these great discounts.

It's very, very helpful.

So thank you so much.

And of course, I got to give a shout out to SUBI mods.

SUBI mods is my other sponsor.

If you have not checked out their Instagram page or their website, go check them out.

They're doing a lot of great things within the Subaru community.

If you've ever been to SUBI Fest or Boxer Fest or Wicked Big Meat, especially the

last few years, they've got a huge display there.

So they're really big in the Subaru community.

And I'm extremely thankful for having them as a sponsor.

They also have a really great rewards program.

So you can sign up for that.

They have two tiers.

And if you sign up for the upper tier, you get even more points for getting money off

your purchases.

So that is really, really great.

So again, thankful for them as a sponsor.

Really appreciate it, SUBI mods.

Thank you guys so much.

And thank you for doing so much for the Subaru community too.

So there's not much else to report or as of right now.

So we will just go ahead and get into this conversation with Aaron and hear about his build,

hear about Swampback Adventures, his outback, and see what's going on with him and where

he lives.

He's also, he's in Florida.

I haven't had, I don't know, he may be my first guest from Florida.

I'm not sure, but I know I haven't had many.

So let's go ahead and get into this episode.

Hey, welcome to the podcast, man.

I know, I know we've been talking for quite a while and like I think a few years.

So like at this point, it seems like the people that I end up getting on, it's been

a few years just because like I've been doing this for over five years now.

And you know, it's like, okay, we get there finally, but you know, welcome.

Thank you.

Have a happy.

Yeah.

So I have to ask the most important question, of course, thanks to Sierra SLT trick.

But do you prefer waffles or pancakes?

So honestly, that's a very good question because they're both kind of the same way

and the way the batter's made, but one, you get the soft, the fluffy versus you only get

more of that crunch.

And to be honest, I think waffles just because that crunch to sweet ratio is just there versus

the soft, but then soggyness to it.

Yeah.

That's a good explanation.

Nobody's ever really explained it that way.

Most people talk about the little pockets with the waffles, you know, they do talk

about the crunch, but as a very important, I think a very good point that you hit on

there, did you've got like their crunchiness with the sweetness and because I mean, I like

waffles too.

I just like pancakes a little bit better, but pancakes are nice because of that fluffiness

you get into it.

Yeah.

It's just there.

Yeah, definitely.

Yeah.

So we know why you're here on the podcast to talk about Subaru's and everything,

but like, where did your interest in Subaru's come from?

Because like, I've had a lot of people that say, oh, you know, I watched, you know, like

World Rally with my dad when I was a kid and I saw, you know, Colin McCray and his Subaru

and, or, you know, my grandma had an outback and I always thought it was cool.

So like, where did your journey with Subaru start and like, do you remember like when

you first noticed them and started getting interested in them?

So as far as when I first noticed them, I've been doing a lot of like going

to a lot of car shows.

We had quite a few of them that were local to where I live right now.

And it'd be like in every Saturday night type of Saturday or Friday night type of thing.

And you know, there would be a bunch of different cars, you know, you got your American muscle,

you have your JDM, your euros.

And I've been noticing, you know, that between not only just American, but the JDMs,

especially where, you know, you get a lot of these nice cars, but it really wasn't

until I have a best friend who's more like a brother to me.

And I've known him for almost a decade at this point.

And he's been in the car scene about as long as I have, maybe not even longer.

So we had cars, you know, we would always go back and forth, jump forward

a few like months or years.

And, you know, I'm going up to a local drug store we have here, CVS.

And I run into him and there's this car read that's having a parking lot over to the side.

And I noticed my buddy there and he's like, what's up?

You know, hey, it's been a bit saying, yeah.

And he's like, I noticed the car he's driving is basically one of the

newer impressive wagons.

It was, I think, 2018 or 2019, the previous model before they switched up.

And I noticed that, you know, it was a car meet.

And I said, I walked over, you checked it out.

I see a bunch of super.

So I'm like, oh, this is really cool.

And, you know, so I was like, oh, this is really cool.

But, you know, I drive a Honda right now, you know, and it's like there.

And not only was it him, but it was also who we call the super mom.

And she basically, you know, walks over and says, hey, you know, hey, welcome,

you know, your guy, you're more than welcome to come and hang out with us here

on, you know, the days they do it, which is usually on Thursdays.

And, you know, they welcome me in.

Was this primarily a Subaru meet or was it an all car meet and mostly

Subaru's there? So it's primarily Subaru meet.

Mostly WX, STI, some wagons of different years and generations.

And if you had a Honda Accord and that's what's so great

about, I think, with the Subaru community is it seems like they're so much

more inclusive of other builds and that's part of what makes the Subaru community

so great is, you know, they're not going to be like, oh, you're driving a

Honda Accord, you don't belong here.

Get out, you know.

No, exactly.

That's part of what the Subaru community has been so kind of

generous about is that they don't judge based on what you drive.

It's just a matter of, you know, who are you as a person?

You know, are you good at what you do with driving and, you know,

being able to, you know, talk to talk and walk the walk?

Yeah. It's not just, you know, all your cars, you know,

not the best or, you know, it's just something that

people just are like, we don't associate with those type of people.

You know, it's they're welcoming, accepting.

And, you know, from there, it's just like I start hanging out with them.

I drive my little Honda around with them, doing cruises, places

and just hanging out.

And it just

I just felt more and more and wanted to get a Subaru.

And, you know, then came the one day where

my Honda was really on its last leg and we're like, all right, this is it.

This is the moment where now we need to get a new car.

And I was like, I want a Subaru.

I want something that I can feel in the community with.

Yeah. OK.

So like you were driving a Honda Accord.

I know it was a manual.

I know you miss a manual.

We'll get into that. But and then you're you're around all these

STI's and imprezs and WRX's and stuff.

And now you have an outback.

So when you were like, OK, I want a Subaru now.

Were you looking at getting more of like a tuner type of car?

And because, like, how did you end up in in an outback?

OK, so the reason why is because

back when I had the Honda and even any of the cars before,

I was really big into camping, really big outdoors,

you know, taking vacations to other states and, you know,

just enjoying the natural beauty.

You know, we know how Grand Canyon is just all inspiring of places.

And it's just camping and whatnot.

It's always been something that I enjoy because being out one with nature

is just fundamental for life.

Yeah, absolutely.

When it came to picking the car when I had the Honda,

it was very tight, very packed, you know, couldn't fit everything

in that you can carry in a much more bigger

wagon or SUV type of vehicle.

And your Honda was a coupe, too, right?

So you had even less space.

Exactly. And less accessibility because you don't have back doors.

Exactly. Not only that, but it was also when we bought it at the time,

it was also pre lowered already.

So it was even lower than stock height.

So it made it very interesting for when we would go to camping

or go to these places where it got a little sketchy.

I'll tell you that.

Yeah. So yeah.

So you're kind of forward thinking about, like, because you had this lifestyle,

obviously, of like being outdoors and in nature and everything.

So when you're thinking, I'm guessing like when you're thinking

about getting a new car and then a Subaru, you're like,

well, I can get something that's going to help, you know, you've found

something it seems like that fit your lifestyle and what you really wanted

to be able to do and have the capability of doing with a new car.

Correct. So it was between the Crosstrek, the Forster and the Outback.

The Crosstrek was one of the options that was up there

due to because it does come in manual.

And that was one of those things that was a really big factor for me.

And I really wanted to keep the manual.

And I knew that the Outback before

twenty eighteen or so is when they still came in manual,

but they were starting to back away from doing those

and the same with the Foresters. Yeah.

So what came to it was, OK, the Crosstrek is nice,

but it's still a little small because, you know, it's not quite

as full sized a wagon as the Outback,

but it's not as tall as the Forester.

So we said, OK, no to the Crosstrek.

And then we decided, OK, it's between the Forster and the Outback.

The Forster had more headroom,

but it was still smaller in terms of length.

Yeah. Whereas the Outback, you know, you have more length,

not as tall, but still just enough headroom where you can

be able to do enough in it.

And that's where kind of the ultimate was, OK,

choosing the Outback is the best option for doing what we want to do.

Yeah. And so I know this is some guessing

because that was your first Subaru, right?

Because you didn't own any prior to that. OK.

And then, yeah.

And then what year and trim level is it?

So it's a twenty one

premium with a two point five liter engine.

So it's not the turbo. Yeah.

Did you get it brand new?

We have bought it brand new.

Yeah. And that brand new car smells so good.

It is so good until it dissipates after a while.

And then you're like, well, time to start doing things to it.

And, you know, fixing it the way you want it to be,

because, you know, there's the way that people have to set up their cars

how they want it. Yeah.

So you kind of already knew that you were going to be doing some modifications to it

because, I mean, obviously, we all know that

like a Subaru like that, an Outback Forester,

Cross Trek, you know, as far as like the type of offroading that you want to do

in places you want to get to stock, it's going to like be very, very capable.

But, you know, I'm sure you were you were thinking like,

I want it to be even more capable and then just, you know,

doing mods that are functional, but also look good, you know,

just totally changes the look of the car.

So when you got it, how long did you have it before you did your first mod?

So I would say the first mod that really did.

I don't know if it qualifies as a first mod, but the first thing I did was I would

because it came with fog lights.

And, you know, we know fog lights are, you know,

the best thing to do when you got that low lying haze that hangs around.

But we also know the fact that due to rally and everything else,

yellow is the best color often for being able to see clearly the most.

So the first thing I did was I took the

the what they called the overlays for the fog lights

and I basically covered them in yellow. Oh, yeah, yeah.

That's the first thing I really did.

It wasn't till I would say

from April until about November, I waited to do my first official mod,

which was basically the roof rack that I decided to do.

OK. And that's just like the basket that you put on top of the rails.

OK. The basket that goes on top of the stock rails. Yeah.

So did you did you like come up with a list of like,

OK, I want to take this thing off-roading and then overlanding.

And did you have like a list of things that you started coming up with of like,

these are the things that I want to do and that I think I need to do?

Or did you just kind of go along with each one as you went?

So I kind of basically did more of going along as how it went is more of

you know, look at other people's profiles and see what's around

what things I'm able to do capability wise, but not only that,

but also what kind of options they have for my type of model in terms of,

you know, because I had the two five instead of the two four turbo,

you know, there's less capabilities there than in the other option.

So it's more of, you know, kind of winging it at that point.

Yeah. So did you I so I'm going to give a little shout out here.

So Adventure One just started a YouTube channel

and they the first video that they did, they were talking about building out

your Subaru and building it out like, you know, one of the suggestions

that they'd made was like, take it off-road, start, you know,

doing some adventuring with it and find out what it is that you need

or that you desire as you're going off-road.

And so were you like, I mean, did you because like you said,

did you like the outdoors you like to adventure and everything?

But did you did you take it out and then kind of start discovering like, OK,

well, I need this if I want to do this or you know what I mean?

Or did you kind of as you were going along,

you just discovered things that you would need for your build?

I was for me, I think it was just going along as I'm driving around

and exploring places and, you know, just feeling out

what things would work and what would it work?

Yeah.

Yeah. And so like you in your profile, it says that overland

overland build processing.

So is it are you wanting to build it out so that you can go out

for multiple days at a time?

Because, you know, there's there is a difference between just like going

off-road and then overlanding because, you know, the overlanding is more of the,

hey, we're going to go out and kind of be maybe potentially off-grid for a while

or just out in nature for a few days in a row or like, hey, let's go,

you know, let's be gone for a week or two weeks.

Like is that the intention?

Is that the intent of your build and where you want to get it?

So, yes, that's exactly where I kind of want to get to is because

it goes back to basically one of the trips I had done a while back.

We took a trip out to California and we decided to go camping

up in the San Bernardino Mountains.

And this is before the Subaru?

This is before the Subaru.

So basically we went to a camping spot that is pretty much primitive as can be.

Basically, the only thing they had around was a spigot

that was down the road for running water.

There's nothing else, no type of, you know, bathroom.

Maybe they had a standalone bathroom, but I think that was about it.

No running water, no, you know, showers or anything nearby.

It's as primitive as you can think as primitive could be.

And so that kind of was one of the things where I was like, OK,

I want to have something where I can be able to keep

enough supplies around, but also make it comfortable.

And as we all know, what the term of overlanding actually is,

is that overlanding is not so much about the destination.

It's about how you get there, the processes you go through

and, you know, the enjoyment along the route to those types of places.

So it's more of, you know,

a feeling of how you want to go about

to the adventure you're going to, right?

Yep. Yeah.

And I'm guessing, too, like if you're going to go overlanding,

you don't you may not necessarily have an end destination.

You just get out and explore and go along.

That's kind of what it is.

It's more of the exploration, the wonder of the world

and just going about as your business.

And if you end up in someplace that's middle of nowhere,

you know, you have things with you that you can survive a night

or two or even a couple nights versus OK,

I could drive into town nearby and be able to grab what I need to as well.

Yeah.

Do you have like as far as that and your intent with the build?

Do you have like a do you want to build it out

to where you can be gone for longer or are you just thinking like maybe two or three days?

And like, and like, do you have like some epic trip planned

where you're like, I just want to go and be gone for like a month?

So, yes, I do have something that I've been wanting to do for a while.

And it's not even so much that it's more of.

I've been wanting to visit like all the national parks

that are within the United States and not even just the United States,

even in other countries to be something to.

And I know that there's that one forester.

I can't remember the name off top of my head that he literally visits all around

world, we were all world. Yes, that one.

Yeah. And yeah, I'm that dude.

He's pretty cool.

So his build is kind of, I guess,

one of the bases that I would feel of where I would want to take the build

is be able to just go out, explore and, you know, travel the world.

Yeah.

Because there's there's so much wonder in the world

and there's so much that people have yet to explore.

And it's one of those things that just it's a dream

to just be able to just go out and be able to just be out there.

Yeah, I bet if you message him, he'd probably answer.

He's he's I think his name is Chris.

I don't know why I'm drawing a blank, but he's he's really cool guy.

He's yeah, it was I just I happened to meet him

because he was at Overland Expo and in Arizona.

And so that was that was really cool.

But yeah, his this is crazy that he's taken that thing all over the world.

Like he just gets it shipped, you know, from one place to another

and is exploring. That's that's super, super cool.

But yeah, no, that's kind of the intent is basically to build it

to where you're comfortable being out

and anywhere for you've not only just three nights, but even if, you know,

you just want to go exploring all around.

It's just yeah, it's kind of being make sure you have the comfort

and you're comfortable with what you have. Yeah.

So so you did your your little overlays for your fog lights

and then you did your basket.

So what are some of the other like mods that you've done so far?

Because I mean, obviously you could look at your account

and you can see if you've got wheels and tires and probably some lift kit.

But what all have you done so far?

So there's definitely the the wheels and the tires

are definitely a big plus of the addition to it.

There was the the lift kit I had done originally,

which was the trails by Gridspeed kit that I had.

Basically, in a way, it's kind of was one.

I wanted it to be fast for a gift card

and I basically used it to buy that kit.

But from there, it kind of evolved to where now I wanted to change

the suspension, have something that is going to be a little more durable.

And I went from that kit, which was using the the OEM struts and whatnot.

And I decided to go with the bill scenes,

the Tara garage, I think or something like that.

OK. I can't remember off on my head.

The B8. Yeah.

So from there, it was also doing the fender flares because

for some reason, when I had the tires on, it didn't feel fully complete.

And the fender flares kind of helped change the image of the car.

Yeah. But as well as also with that,

I figured having some lights on top and around the back

and also having a GMRS radio for out and in the middle of nowhere

helps with communications. Oh, yeah.

That's as well as also as even also as having some handheld

radios like the FRS midlands and whatnot nearby.

Because you never know when GMRS can get somewhere,

but even a handheld can help you with someone that might have one nearby.

Yeah. Yeah.

So like also when you talk about

like your your mods and everything, have you been doing all of them yourself?

So a lot of the mods I've been doing myself, yes.

It's because one of the other things I love to do is I love to be able to wrench.

I love to be able to fix and solve problems on my own.

Yeah. So being able to put things together,

kind of, you know, take it apart and rebuild, kind of like building a model.

Yeah. It's probably a lot of us have done as a kid, even as Legos as a kid.

And one of those bases of exploring, wondering what can you do?

What can you build? What can I, you know, the imagination goes, you know,

far beyond what we would think as an adult now.

What was the most difficult mod that you've done?

So the most difficult mod was definitely the suspension

because being able to take that apart and put it back together

can be a little sketchy, very sketchy. Yeah.

Yeah. That's why you're like.

Yeah. That's why I haven't wanted to do one on my own part of the reason, but.

But honestly, it's like once you get the basis of it

and you know how it's supposed to go, you actually get more

comfortable with being able to take it apart and put it back together.

It's just a matter of the spring compression

and making sure that it doesn't move anywhere so it doesn't explode.

Yeah, I know you got to you got to be careful with that for sure.

You don't want to like launching it across the room or in your face or something.

Or even into the car. Yeah. Yeah, definitely. No.

So what are some mods that you are still wanting to do?

So things that I've been wanting to do is

I've been wanting to change out the roof rack to do either

like the print to or the Sherpa low profile racks.

Yeah.

Because I've been wanting a more sturdier basis, something closer to the body

of the car that it's not something I would have to keep taking on and off

because, you know, as we all know, putting a rack on top of the car

causes a lot of drag, a lot of, you know, wind reduction and

gas mileage reduction. Oh, yeah. Yeah.

So I've been wanting to do that.

I've been wanting to change out my lights for the SS5s on the roof

because I those lights are amazing.

They're very bright.

They help see a lot.

But I think what we want to do was I since I did the lift,

there's the rear subframe drop that rally tech has for the rear

that should help to change the articulation of the rear tire

from being so close to the front.

I've been wanting to also add another inch and a half to the lift

to kind of give it a little more height as well as

I want to do. Go in higher. Yes, higher.

I've been wanting to also do a tire carrier because, you know,

as we change the tire sizes, we kind of need a full size spare.

Yeah. And with the way that outback is in the trunk,

the size that I have, which is a 245, 65,

doesn't fit very well inside the tire well.

So you have a full size fifth wheel and tire,

but it's just kind of in there as best as it can be.

So no, I don't have one.

Oh, OK. Yeah.

I'm running to risk of if I get a flat at some point.

I'm screwed. Yeah. Yeah.

And yeah. Yeah.

I know I have.

Thankfully, I have a full size spare and wheel and tire,

but I've got mine up on the roof, which is not very convenient.

But because it would be nice to have a tire carrier.

I like the way it looks and everything,

but also like the way that the tire looks on top of the roof, you know.

But again, you have to think about the drag and win.

Yeah. But, you know, yeah, I mean, my mileage isn't too bad.

But I know that if I were to put a tire carrier on the back,

I would want to put something else up on the top, just like a

because I've been wanting to get some kind of a box for storage.

But I'm just like, haven't spent the money to do it.

So that's one of the things that definitely did was I actually did get a box.

It would be one of those Apache cases that comes from like Harbor Freight

or one of those other places.

And it fits nicely because they could put more storage into that

and not just have it inside the trunk or putting underneath the wheel well.

Yeah. So it's kind of up there and keeps it safe and dry, as well as,

you know, if you need to go up top, it's right there for you to grab.

Yeah, it's definitely been a plus as well, having that up there.

Yeah. So where do you live?

Do you have, because I know you're in Florida, but like, what part of Florida are you in?

So I would be more of what would be between Fort Lauderdale and Miami

in the sense of I'm on the East Coast and I'm surrounded by mostly cities.

OK. Yeah.

I know I was I was wondering, like, do you have any trails that are like

anywhere near you to go exploring or are you having to drive

pretty far to get anywhere decent?

I would have to drive pretty far to get anywhere decent.

So if I want something that's nearby, it's about an hour and a half

to two hours heading out west towards Naples.

Or if I do the four hours north, I have the Ocala National Forest,

which is where there's a lot of trails.

And I know there's quite a few guys out there that probably listen to the podcast

that know exactly what I'm talking about out there. OK.

So but yeah, as far as that, it takes me over an hour or more

just to find a place to get out to.

Yeah, I'm in the same boat, man.

It sucks. You get all these people on the PNW.

Oh, I'm in the mountains in like 10 minutes.

Shut up. Not only that, but out of Virginia out in Colorado.

It's just like these people in those places.

Yeah, these people know I'm just giving them a hard time.

But yeah, so like, how often are you even able to get out and go anywhere?

So because I work a lot and I'm a workaholic in a way,

I like to be able to, you know, keep doing what I want to do.

But at the same time, you know, work gets in the way kind of

because I work a lot on weekends instead of during the week.

Yeah. Is that why you're able to record right now in the middle of the day?

Exactly. That's exactly why I'm here right now in the middle of the day with you.

Yeah, for context, we were recording it started at two o'clock Eastern time

on Friday, January 30th.

So it's been, you know, it's kind of nice to be able to record during the day.

It's a little bit different for me.

I like it.

It's definitely nice because then you don't have to rush.

You're not, you know, trying to go around and do all the edits right away.

Quick is possible.

Yeah, be able to just sit there, be able to cut out what needs to be cut and what not.

But yeah, as far as getting out into places, it's a little harder.

It's working a lot and the job is a little demanding.

But at the same time, it's pretty nice because even though the drive is your city,

you still, you can change it up by changing the direction to go,

the route to take, what not, and change the scenery instead of taking

the same old route every time.

And that's kind of where the word overlanding is, too,

because you're not just taking the same old road.

You're changing it up.

You're taking different routes.

You're expanding outside the horizon of where you go.

Yeah. So now that you have a Subaru, are you still doing meetups

with all the same people that you were doing meetups with before?

Yes, so we still do the same meetups, mind you, you know, as time progresses,

people change, people get different cars, they sell, they buy something else.

But even then, having the same people that you've been around

since the beginning of time as when I bought the Subaru

has definitely been a plus and a positive.

And even meeting other people and having same like mindedness

to be able to do those meets, you know, getting out into the middle

of the Everglades, even just for a sunset tour

or a drive down to Key Largo, doing a cruise like that.

It's definitely been great because it's you're surrounded by community,

you know, you're surrounded by like-minded people.

Yeah, even if they do drive WXs or STIs, not so much outbacked foresters.

You're all in a Subaru.

We're all in a Subaru.

Yeah.

So when you when you bought or when you, you know,

switched over to the Outback and then were you telling people that you were

doing that or did you just kind of like show up at the next meet

and you're like, look, I got a Subaru?

So only a few people knew exactly that I was getting it.

And that would be the person who is the Subi mom, which still it is.

And if basically she helps me with finding where to go,

getting the discount and being able to get the prices down and.

Oh, that's awesome.

So it's definitely been a blessing.

And then showing up the next day, you're like, oh, you got a Subaru now.

Now you're one of us.

Yeah, that's cool.

So like not being able to get out as often and not having places

that are close by, have you been able to?

I mean, you've had your car for a few years now.

But like, have you taken some road trips with it and gone out of state?

Because you said you like to explore and go out of state.

If so, like, where have you been?

So yes.

So I have been taking some trips within state.

Some of those being either going to the Springs in Orlando or

towards the campsite before we go camping for Subifest.

Usually we do that quite often.

But now since the venue has been changing for Florida and this last one,

we didn't get to do camping.

But as far as the road trip I've taken back in 2024, when the last solar

Eclipse was happening, took a trip basically from here all the way out

to New York State, just close to the border of between Canada and New York.

And it was a very nice drive.

The car definitely loved the change of scenery, the change of, you know,

weather, yeah, all the ups and downs and hills and whatnot.

It was definitely a blessing to the car because it felt like it liked

it a whole lot more than just driving city every time.

Yeah. How long was that trip?

Like, how long were you gone from the time you left to the time you got back?

I would say close to maybe a week.

OK, that's good.

Long? How many like miles was that like one one way?

And I'm sure you didn't just like take a straight shot.

I'm sure you type of the person like you're like maybe exploring a little bit

on the way to detours, explore different places along the way.

I would say close to maybe around 12 to 1500 miles, maybe.

OK. Yeah, that's pretty good.

Good distance. Yeah.

Is that the longest trip you've taken in it so far?

So far, yes.

Within the four years, five years now that the car we've owned it,

that's the longest one we've taken so far. OK.

Do you have like is it because you went out to

California before you owned it, but do you have like us

obviously overlanding you want, you know, it's about the journey.

But do you have like a destination that you would love to drive out

to you, kind of like a bucket list spot? Yes.

So as I said earlier, one of the bucket list places is definitely

visiting all the national parks within the states.

But as well as I've been wanting to go to California for a while.

Because there's a lot to do in California, not just in terms of

the snow or anything, but in terms of

the scenery is completely different.

And the other place I want to do is also I want to go back to Utah

because I flew out to Utah and we went to Salt Lake City.

Yeah.

Salt Lake City is basically the center between four different national parks.

And it's kind of one of those places where I would want to drive out

to and visit all four of those parks.

You have Zion, you have Moab, you have

Arches National Park and it's just a bunch of places that I know

the Subaru would love.

And they would definitely demolish the territory over there

because I've seen others that have done it and they're like,

this thing's a piece of cake for a Subaru.

Yeah.

So you mentioned the Subifest before.

How many times you've been to Subifest, Florida?

So I've done it now four times in a row.

And did you have your car in the show?

I've had my car in front of three of those shows.

Oh, nice. How did that work out for you?

So for two of them, it definitely worked out positively.

Had a lot of people that come by and take a look at the rig

and they're like, it's very interesting.

I'll ask them about the mods I've done and the things I have on it.

And it's been quite a positive experience, not only that,

but also connecting with other like-minded Subaru people

and people that just enjoy their Subaru's in general

and being able to talk about what their love for it.

Yeah. And so it's been a positive experience

and not only that, but helping those that start out

and want to do more of the overland experience

has been a positive note

because there's people that's always asking questions.

They don't know which route to start.

You know, how did I start out doing it and whatnot.

And it's kind of one of those positive notes

that Subifest kind of shows.

Yeah. Yeah.

You did you win a couple of awards too?

So one year I won Best Off-Road.

The second year they changed the category to Best Overland.

Very nice. That's cool.

So like, now that you've won a couple of awards,

are you going to continue to put your car in the show?

Or do you want to go and be?

Because I know that when you've got your car on the show,

you kind of really want to stay around your car

to answer those questions.

But then I know it's also difficult to get out

and explore the show.

Do you want to keep showing or do you want to go at some point

and just be an attendee?

So in reality, having a car show is having a car

in the car show is kind of a plus

because you're basically close to your car

where you have everything you need,

say for something that goes wrong.

Or one of your friends doesn't feel well.

They need a place to sit down.

You know, your car's right there.

You turn it on for a few minutes if they need AC

or if they need something cold to drink.

The cooler is in their trunk.

Or even if they're starting getting heat stroke or whatnot.

I carry a medical bag that I built for myself in the car.

So I have band-aids.

I got heat exhaustion tablets.

You name it, I probably have it.

Ibuprofen, Advil, things like that.

And it's just there, ready to go in case,

for some awful reason, something happens during the event.

I think it's just the matter of knowing where your car is

and being nearby is a positive note to having it in the show.

The other side of it is, yes,

you don't get to explore around so much,

but at the same time as if you're with other of your groups

and they know what you have,

they can answer some of those questions or call you

if they need you to come by and talk to the person

while you're going out and exploring.

Yeah, that's a good point.

So, but with this last 2D Fest, the way that it was laid out

is definitely a little more difficult

to be able to be around the car

and also go check out everything

versus where everything being nearby

and not having to travel as far.

Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, I mean, they're definitely good events.

It's nice to go and see just some of the crazy builds,

you know, and that people are doing both off-road

and the tuner scene.

And like you said, you get a chance

to meet people who are interested,

who either are doing the same thing

or somebody that's like you said, new to it

and they have questions and are unsure

about where to start and where to go.

But, but it's, you know, I mean, it's fun

because you're there with a whole bunch of Subaru enthusiasts

and like-minded people

and then you get to see the vendors

and you know, Bucky Lassick and Rihanna and Gelsamino

and whomever else will make it out and.

Travis or Scott Speed, all of those big nameheads

that people always want to go see and.

Yeah, yeah, another good events, it's fun.

Would you like to try to make it out

to another one at some point?

Just to go check one out?

Do you have any plans to do that?

I haven't made the arrangements to try and see it

if I could attend another one,

but it's definitely been on my list

of wanting to go to one of the other ones,

whether it be Texas or the ones up North by Connecticut

or even a little bit maybe out West.

One of those three that happened,

not just out here in Florida.

California would be a little far to go to,

definitely would be an experience to go

and see the original one.

Yeah, I mean, it's definitely,

I mean, I don't know that I would probably

ever drive out to any of the other ones,

but you know, I've been to Boxer Fest,

I've been to Subifest, California

and you know, I've had people asking me every year

to come up to Subifest or to Wicked Big Meet

and I've had people asking me to come out

to Subifest, Florida and I'm like,

I would like to, you know, be nice at some point,

make it out and meet more people.

I mean, it's the cool thing about being able

to travel like that and go to different events,

like whenever I was at Overland Expo

is just getting to meet so many different people

that I've connected with over the years

and seeing them in person.

That was like super, super cool.

So I was very thankful for that.

Honestly, meeting people that you meet online

and seeing them in person,

it just changes the game completely

because then you're in person,

you're literally talking like-minded everything

and being able to connect better

versus through a phone where it's more interpersonal.

Yeah, and it's so cool

and it's like so, it just looks so different

whenever you actually,

because you can see videos and pictures

of somebody's car of all different angles

and then you see it in person

and it just looks so much, it looks different

and it looks way better than you're like,

I don't know, I just, I love seeing

people's cars in person.

You're drawing shops.

Yeah.

When you see the person versus seeing it through photos.

Yeah.

I saw that you have a little poke ball

hanging off the front on the tow hook.

Are you a Pokemon fan?

Yeah, so I am a Pokemon fan,

have been since it first came out back and way back when.

But not only that, but you know,

animes in general have been evolving and changing

and it's been quite interesting to watch

and see how they change from back

when we used to watch cartoons and whatnot.

Yeah.

And how it evolves.

Yeah, I'm not really an anime or Pokemon fan,

but my daughter is,

and my daughter's cross trek is Moltres Trek.

And that's, you know, that was like her big thing.

And she's been, she's not like a super, super fan,

but it's funny because like,

every time I go somewhere with her and her husband,

they're always playing, you know, the Pokemon

or they're on the Pokemon app looking for,

you know, whatever they're doing.

So I don't wanna try to say something

and be like, I don't even know what I'm talking about.

No, I can fully understand what you're talking about.

Yeah, so was it, what was the transition

like going from a manual to an automatic?

Because I know it's tough not driving a manual

because I had, my first manual that I owned

was a 1994 Ford Ranger and it was a manual.

And then I owned a 97 Ford Ranger.

Oh no, the first one was a 1990 Ford Ranger.

And the second one was a 97.

The two cars I had after that were automatic.

And when I found out that they made the cross trek

like you in a manual, I'm like,

like I knew that the cross trek

was gonna be my next car at one point.

And then when I found out that it was,

they made it manual, I'm like,

okay, that's my next car, the cross trek

and I'm gonna get a manual.

Like there's, that's my only option.

So thankfully I was able to find one,

but I'm sure that transition,

it was kind of difficult, huh?

It was very difficult to transition

from driving manual most of my life

to now I had to drive it automatic.

And missing the manual every day,

you know, it's rough, especially when all your friends,

all their cars are manual and you're like,

yeah, I just wanna swap it to manual

even if it's hard as possible to do.

It'd be something to be interesting to see.

Yeah, do they, any of them let you drive their cars

just so that you can be like, you know,

crying about it, I miss this?

One of my friends tells me,

you could take the drive and drive it around.

Like, I would want to, but I don't wanna mess it up.

Yeah, yeah, that's the tough part.

That's why I tagged you in my story.

I wasn't like, so I did like a full video of me driving

and I was talking and I was gonna post that

and I may still post it or I may just redo it,

but I was like, because my first intention

when I did the longer video was just to do

like a video of me shifting.

And then, so whenever I posted that in my stories,

I tagged you on purpose, man.

Torture, torture.

Yeah, I know, it's all fun and games.

Yeah. In the end run.

It's so fun driving a manual, but.

It really is, it's completely different

versus being able to just sit there

and you're just waiting versus, all right,

now I got shifted to gear and keep, you know,

going and making sure I keep it going

or as I'm gonna stall.

Yeah, yeah.

Is there anybody, Subaru, that you've seen

either in person that you would love to just like

borrow their car and be able to drive it for a day?

There is at least two people that I see their cars

every time it's like, man, I would love to drive

that thing for a day.

And one of them would be a Silver Bullet,

Milton's Cross Shrek.

That thing is pretty gnarly on those jumps.

And then the other one would be Robert Champion's Forrester.

That thing is built pretty nice.

Yep, yeah, those are nice.

Those are good choices.

So I was scrolling through your account earlier

and you did like a little vlog a while back

or how long ago did you do that?

I'd say that was maybe, it feels like almost a month ago

when I did that.

Okay, are you trying to,

are you wanting to do more of them

and like what was the intent of doing that

just to try to get more comfortable being

in front of the camera?

So I kind of want to do more vlogs

because I know that the,

so the algorithm of not just Instagram,

but even Facebook and all these social medias

is ever evolving.

And I know videos are becoming more and more popular

in terms of those things.

So it would be kind of cool to kind of get more

into doing videos and being able

to talk about the things that you're going through

in terms of the vehicle.

Cause as we all know, everyone goes through some problems.

They arise, whether something breaks or whatnot,

they have to fix something

or just even talking about would be

one of the things that'd be cool.

So I definitely want to get more into that.

And I did have an idea for a video

that I was thinking of doing at some point.

Yeah, and you said that you're more comfortable.

You've been, or you're not used to being in front of the camera.

You used to being behind the camera

cause you have photography on your thing.

And we'll talk about that a little bit later.

But so are you uncomfortable being in front of the camera

or are you just like,

just trying to figure out how you want to do it

or what's best for you?

I'm definitely a lot more uncomfortable on video

because I'm not used to being in my face,

being shown all the time.

I'm more of the person behind the camera.

I'm usually the voice or the person

that is taking all the photographs that people see

and they're like, all those photographs are great.

But they never see who the person is.

And I'm kind of that person is like,

hi, I'm just shy here in the corner.

Yeah, I'm the same way.

When you did that video, did you just do it on your phone

or did you do it on an actual camera?

So I did it on my phone.

I had it on a stand

and I went to the quietest part of a park

that's nearby me that I could do it from.

Now, did you have the screen facing you

or did you just have the camera lens facing you?

I had the camera lens facing me.

Okay, so you couldn't see yourself?

No, I couldn't see myself.

I tried to do a photo before to see

how placement would look like.

So by doing the photo first,

then you know, okay, where can I move the camera

or whatnot, to make the shot

the most interesting view of the car behind me.

Because you were asking if anybody had any tips

or anything, that's why I was asking that

because I noticed for me, if I'm doing a video of myself,

like I posted, I think yesterday,

a video of like for Subaru Gear

and where I was wearing the shirt

and I was talking about the hat.

I noticed that if I have the screen facing me

and I can see myself,

I'm just constantly looking at it, critiquing myself

and I'm very uncomfortable

and because I've done videos prior,

like not videos that I posted,

but just videos that I recorded

where the screen is facing me

and then the screen is not facing me.

And I'll be saying the exact same thing,

talking about the exact same thing

and there are two completely different videos.

I think part of it has to do with when we see ourselves

we're uncomfortable with seeing the things that we do

100% versus when you have just the camera facing you,

you're able to freely express yourself

and not critique yourself until after you see the video

and see, okay, work that I've done things better

or different versus when you're looking yourself,

you're constantly trying to change it

and not do so much like touching your hands

or moving your hand over your mouth

and whatnot to cover.

Yeah, exactly, all that type of stuff.

And I find too that whenever I just turn the camera around

and I'm not looking at myself,

I come across way more natural

and way more comfortable and just genuine

and because I'm not really,

and it's like, it's a whole mental thing too

because I just, I hate being in front of the camera,

first of all, like that's why

I haven't done a whole lot of video of myself

because I just don't like being in,

because I'll go back and watch it

and I'm like, oh, this and that and like, whatever, you know?

And so I'm trying to do more of it

to become more comfortable with it

and I'm doing it without the screen facing me

so that I can, you know,

because I like go back and watch myself

but I'm also like very conscious of

as I'm recording that way,

I know that I'm not looking at myself, you know?

I just, I feel more natural.

That's definitely the positive part of not seeing yourself.

Yeah, because you see yourself afterwards

but then like when I watch it afterwards,

I'm like, I look totally fine,

like I like this video, I didn't like the one before.

You just, you feel more natural,

you just, you're seeing the video after, you're like,

okay, the deed is done, I look completely normal.

Yeah, yeah.

Versus, oh, I'm still uncomfortable

the way I look at myself.

Yeah.

So how would you say that your Outback best matches

your personality?

So for that, I would say,

I think it's implied in the name, the adventure,

you know, being adventurous, you know,

kind of trying to get out of your zone.

You know, just looking forward to new experiences

and new everything.

So where did, not just,

yeah, where did the name Swampback come from?

So that is actually a funny story.

So the Instagram handle I used to have

was very long, very tongue-twisty in a way

where I was like, I don't like the way this sounds

and just seeing it is like, it goes off the lettering

and I was like, okay, let me try and see

if I can simplify this to where it's more natural,

more, you know, more ease off the tongue

and being able to talk about it.

And so I was thinking Swamp because, you know,

where I lived, I have the Everglades

and Everglades is a Swamp, the back part

because it's an Outback, so Swampback

and then adventure being, you know,

going out on adventures and yeah, exactly.

Yeah, that's cool.

If you could describe your Outback in one word,

what would it be?

I'd say outgoing.

I mean, just being able to be ready for anything.

Yeah.

Any adventure, just ready to just go,

jump in and go for it.

Yeah.

So with your, like with your setup,

it's obvious like what you could see on the outside,

we kind of talked about that a little bit.

And you said that you like to go camping

and everything, but what is your setup

like on the inside?

And what is your setup like on the inside?

What is your setup like on the inside?

And do you, when you have taken it out,

do you camp like inside your car

or do you have a tent and do tent camping?

So the two of the years I did of Sui Fest,

I had done tent camping.

So I pretty much packed up the trunk

as neatly and organized as possible

for everything fit in its way.

And then one year I decided to do sleepy inside,

which worked out.

The mattress I have fits completely inside.

The only problem I ran into that year was

it was the one year that Florida decided

to change its weather and be like, I want to rain.

Oh man.

So a lot of my stuff I had stored

in one of my friends tent

and a lot of stuff got wet.

And it was definitely an interesting challenge,

but nonetheless, it definitely an adventure

as the name implies.

Learning, okay, what things can I do differently

for the setup and how can I place things

better to suit for car camping.

And so that's kind of where,

kind of playing around with your settings

in the car in a way.

You would play your settings on a camera

or on your computer.

Yeah.

The car is the exact same way.

You set it up to where things feel comfortable

or would work in a way to what you need.

Yeah.

So is that your intention moving forward

as to camp or sleep inside the car?

It would be cool, yes.

Okay.

Eventually at some point,

if I get the rack I want,

I want to get more into doing a rooftop tent

because I've always been fascinated by that

and being having that different perspective

of on top and having more view

versus being inside the car

and just having a look at the windows.

Yeah.

I like a rooftop tent.

I mean, I don't ever go camping,

so it wouldn't make sense for me to get one,

but I know that like,

one downfall to having a rooftop tent is

if you have it all set up

and then you want to go somewhere,

then you got to close it all up and everything.

But what I think is really cool

is when you see somebody that has like

a very light trailer that they've built out themselves

and they put like a frame system on it,

put a rooftop tent on that frame

and then they can use the trailer for storage as well.

And that way you can just unload that at a campsite

and still go drive around and explore.

So that is definitely futuristic goals in the long-term run

is to be able to build a camping trailer

to be able to just utilize and be able to be like,

okay, I set this up here, lock it up and just go on this floor.

Yeah.

Yeah, that would be like ideal for sure.

It is ideal.

I see a lot of it and I'm just like,

that's the way to go.

It's definitely the right way.

Yeah.

So going from driving manuals and being in a Honda

and then now in an automatic and in the Subaru,

like how would you say that owning your Subaru

has changed your life?

I'd say owning the Subaru is definitely

a positive note because you're meeting a bunch of people.

You're talking about like-minded things

and being able to just coerce or talk to them naturally

and not being forced to be like,

oh yeah, I like doing this or I like,

you know, modding these parts and changing things

versus just talking naturally, honestly,

and being able to go outside your comfort zone

and just be yourself.

Yeah.

It's also been able when you mentioned earlier

that you have this outdoor lifestyle

owning a Subaru has allowed you to explore that

because like you said before, you know,

with the Honda you had some sketchy situations

where you're going places,

so owning something that can take you a lot more places

has got to be huge, you know.

It's a huge plus, you know,

because as we know, the Earth is ever-evolving,

ever-changing, things can get deeper,

some places become more and more harder to access,

whether it be a river or some rocky areas and whatnot.

And it just, it definitely makes it more accessible

having a capable vehicle that can get you there.

Yeah.

Do you think you'll always own a Subaru at this point?

I would say yes.

With the intention of definitely having a second car as a manual.

Yeah.

I mean, you know, that could be the part where you go back

and either get like something that's faster in a manual

or maybe like, you know, get a Crosstrek

because you know, now this could be like something

you could still get off-road and have a little bit of fun with,

but you're not going to be taking long trips.

Exactly.

So we're getting into this last segment here

and this is like the segment to get to know you

a little bit better.

But before we do that, I think it's really,

I mean, it's really cool to be able to connect

with so many people through Instagram and, you know,

Facebook and other social media platforms

because we're spread out all over the place.

And, you know, and then it's cool too for me,

like whenever, like with you, we've been talking

for a really long time.

And, you know, so to finally like get somebody

on the podcast after we've been talking

for a few years, it's really cool.

And so it's been fun.

Seven plus.

Yeah.

It's been fun chatting with you and glad to have you on here.

Likewise.

All right.

So this is this last segment.

So like who is Aaron as in describe yourself?

Alrighty.

So describe myself has definitely been a difficult challenge

for me because there's a lot of different things

of different actions of myself.

And as far as I would say is an outgoing

adventurous type, always a lover of outdoors,

whether it's going to the beach, fishing, camping,

just going for a drive even.

I'm always up for doing something

that's different and changing.

I'm a lover of foods, a lover of music,

you know, music tastes eclectic as can be.

It could go from rock to, you know, country to listen to,

you know, some R&B, you know.

Music is essential.

It is essential.

It keeps us sane in the world.

Yeah.

But I'm really just a person who's just sociable in a way,

but, you know, to an extent that, you know,

I'm not someone that, you know, you could say hello to me

and I'll be like, hey, how's it going?

I'll talk to you like as if we've been best friends

for a lifetime and it's just being who you are.

Yeah.

What is it or what is a favorite memory

from your childhood?

So favorite memory from now is childhood.

I would say there has to be at least two of them.

One thing when I was a little kid back when I lived up

in New Jersey, I would always love going to this one park

and this one park had old army tanks as, you know,

laid out throughout the park and kids would always go

and climb on it and hang out on it, do all sorts

of fun things.

And that was one of the one things I loved doing was come

to this park going, playing on the tanks with other kids

and, you know, imagine being, you know, driving that tank

and going through the park.

The other one would be later on when I moved down here,

it was always going to these car shows that I had

mentioned earlier that they did like every Friday night

during the week and get to see all these different

classics, you know, JDM Euro cars and, you know,

seeing even just the stalls of the little model cars

people would put out and I remember one of them

I picked out was this black Blabai Subaru and I still

have it to this day that it's in pristine condition

that just always stayed with me.

Very nice, that's cool.

Yeah, there's always like things to look back on,

you know, to be very fond of memories as a kid.

Exactly.

What is it that you do for a living?

So what I do for a living now is I am what would be

considered a kayak tour guide and a docking.

So pretty much I go take people out on kayaks

and do interpretations within State Park that we

have here, not that far away from where I live

and kind of show them the coastal ecosystem

and the history of this park.

The other half of it is I kind of help attend to

getting these patrons that come to the park

and want to go kayaking and help them onto the

kayaks or give them their life jackets and paddles

and send them out onto the waterways.

So it's kind of where I like being in the outdoors.

Yeah, that's a perfect job for that.

It's a perfect job.

Do you have a dream job?

I certainly do and that is to be a National Park

ranger.

Again, the interpretation and being in nature,

it's just been one of the things that just leads up

to who I am as a person to nowadays.

And just being a park ranger kind of just,

you know, really evolves it because now you're,

you know, you're working with government,

but you're also working in a place to protect it

and bringing people closer to what you love.

Yeah, yeah.

So you talked about the park and going out and,

you know, playing on the tanks and everything.

Did you get out and like explore like the forest

or anything as a kid?

Like what was it that kind of led to you being

a very outdoors person?

I think it was just the fact that back then,

we were kids, we get to play it outdoors,

climb trees, go to camps that you climb these big

old trees or rock climbing or, you know,

jungle gyms back then were made of wood and, you know.

It's a different time.

Different times.

We literally grew up in a time where we could explore

and not be worrying about, you know,

things going on nearby.

Yeah.

So I think it's just that mindset that you set

yourself for how things play out in the future.

Yeah.

What is something that makes you want to get out of bed every day?

Oh, that one was definitely a tough one to find out.

Something that makes you want to get out of bed every day.

I think it's just the fact of where I work,

it's a very pristine atmosphere and, you know,

the people I work with are great.

And just being out in the outdoors, you know,

seeing it every day, it's kind of something to look forward to.

Yeah.

I thought maybe it was going to be getting out of bed

and being able to see that awesome beard every morning.

The beard has been a plus for sure.

It's been a talk for a lot of people too.

But once you get it so big and so, you know, like that,

it's just like, I don't know, maybe it's just jeans.

Me and my daughter one time were sitting somewhere

and we saw this guy with like a really nice, thick,

full-trimmed beard, you know, and it just looked perfect.

And she came up with the acronym EBM.

Like E is in Edward B is in Boy, M is in Mary,

EBM.

And I was like, what?

She's like, Epic Beard Man.

Oh.

Yeah.

So.

That is, I like that one.

Yeah.

So every, now whenever we like, we'll be out somewhere

and I'll be like, look at that EBM over there, you know.

I'll have to, I'll have to use that.

Yeah.

I've tried to grow my beard out, but it just like,

it's really scraggly.

And now that like so much of it is gray,

I'm just like, and I like, I mean,

I've just gotten to where I like a trimmed beard on me,

but I couldn't imagine not having any facial hair.

No, yeah.

There's nothing wrong with some gray hairs though.

It brings out the character.

Yeah.

I mean, it doesn't, it doesn't bother me,

but like just growing it out longer

and then it being scraggly and gray.

Like I think if I had tried to grow it out a long time ago

whenever it was all dark,

then maybe that would have been a different story.

But yeah, I've seen some guys with gray beards, you know,

like gray and dark and, you know, they look really good, but.

I mean, look at the end off.

Yeah.

It just, it gets to a point where I'm like,

okay, I just got to trim it because I just, I don't like it.

I hear you.

It's all about a matter of preference.

Yeah.

So what is something that makes you want to stay in bed?

Oh, the bed is comfortable.

I would not lie.

The bed be comfortable when you just want to,

you're tired.

You just don't want to get up.

You're just like.

Nope.

Not today.

Yeah.

I get that.

Oh, what is something that really scares you?

Oh, the way things are going nowadays,

it's a little scary.

Yeah.

In terms of everything we hear in the news and whatnot.

It's, it's not where we grew up back then.

I get it.

Yeah.

I don't want to get into that, but I get it.

Don't want to get into it either.

But yeah, it's just, it's just how things are.

All right.

So besides your Subaru and, you know,

like just exploring and adventuring,

what is something,

what is something else that really excites you?

I love photography.

To be honest,

I love taking photos,

not just of the car,

but even of nature.

I've photographed a lot of the night skies.

I love astronomy.

The study of stars and whatnot and our constellations.

It's definitely been a big factor of my life.

I've always,

ever since I was,

I've got my mom a telescope and whatnot.

And it's just grown from there,

learning, you know,

the different constellations,

what kind of planets, you know,

solar systems that are out there,

different galaxies even.

It's been, it's so vast.

Yeah, there's so much out there.

It's just like the ocean.

We've only explored 3% of the ocean.

Imagine space.

There's like probably only 0.5% we've actually explored.

Yeah.

What would be your best bit of advice

to give to someone about anything?

Honestly for me, it's the follow your heart's ambitions.

Go for what you want to achieve

and don't second guess it, you know?

Yeah.

So you're all into what you want to do.

Don't look back.

Think, oh, I could have done this differently

or just, you know, go for it.

Live life.

Yeah.

Because I mean, if you start doing something new

and you don't do it well at first,

you'll, if you continue to do it,

you'll get better and better

and then you'll look back and be like...

Exactly.

Try and try again.

Yeah.

You look back and be like,

oh man, I really didn't know what I was doing back then.

Exactly.

You may be doing something for a year

and in six months, you know,

like you may look back at the prior six months

and think like six months ago,

I didn't know what I was doing.

Can that look at us now?

Yeah.

But yeah, it's,

I know there's just,

sometimes there's like the fear of failure,

you know, moving forward with certain things,

but you just gotta,

you gotta find a way to kind of fight through that

and then just make it happen and do it.

To be honest,

failure is the way to start everything,

you know, if you don't fail,

you're not succeeding.

And you're not learning.

Yeah.

By failing,

you're learning something new,

you're broadening your,

you know, your knowledge,

you're expanding who you are as a person.

Yep.

Yeah.

Failure is good.

It helps you grow.

Failure is a good thing.

Yeah.

Exactly.

Do you have anything else you wanted to share about your Subaru

journey or your build or adventures or anything

before we get out of here?

It's been basically just learning to accept when things break

and having to,

having to go forward and just,

you know, get them fixed and keep on rolling.

Yeah.

You,

I think in your video,

you mentioned something about you do a lot of your own

and how you changed out your spark plugs.

So I did my own spark plugs.

I recently just had an axle that leaked out everywhere.

So that was a fun experience changing that on my own.

And yeah,

I just changed out my PCV valve myself.

And that is an important thing to always make sure we always do.

What is the PCV valve?

So the PCV valve is,

it's a little component that is basically sits on top of a block.

It's almost like a breather,

but it allows oil to kind of come in and out.

What happens is that if it gets clogged up after a while,

the PCV can cause the engine to fail after a while.

So it's an important part that it's almost got like what we

call a check valve inside.

So if you shook it, it'll rattle inside.

So it allows the oil to kind of go in and out slowly.

Not like full flow as if it's going through the engine, but

Yeah.

It's an important part of the car.

Is that something that would come up on a code with your,

if you do like, no?

It is not.

So it's something you would notice like if the engine starts,

you know,

you feel like you have a loss of power or whatnot.

And I know Sue Buggy has mentioned that in one of his past videos.

He did that change on his car and it completely changed

you know, brought the car back to life.

Oh, nice.

On one of his videos.

So it's definitely something that people should keep an eye on

and make sure that it, again, that changed out because

otherwise you're looking to premature engine failure.

That's good to know.

Yeah.

Thank you.

Had no problem.

Yeah.

All right, man.

Well, thanks for hopping on the mic and,

you know, putting this episode together for you.

No, no problem.

Thank you very much for having me on here.

Yeah, you're welcome.

Anything else you want to close with?

Uh, no, I just,

I appreciate everyone out there that's been, you know,

keeping the Subi community going.

Yeah.

It's been good.

It's been a fun journey.

And it's,

I always think it's exciting whenever you see a new account

and you see somebody like,

Oh, I just got my first Subaru and I'm like,

that's so cool because I remember that feeling, you know.

Mm hmm.

It is a great feeling getting that first car.

Yeah.

And we'll have a good day and enjoy the weekend.

Yes.

I will definitely,

it's going to be a cold one here.

Oh yeah.

In the water.

Yeah.

So looking forward to that to work.

Yeah.

All right, man.

I'll take it easy.

Yeah.

I'll go into ref.

All right.

Bye.

Hey everybody.

Thanks for tuning in to another episode of the Subi and you podcast.

If you are not doing so already go give Aaron a follow.

His Instagram handle is swamp back adventures.

And there is an underscore between swamp back and adventures.

So that's how you can find him.

And thank you so much Aaron for taking the time to report with me and share your

Subaru journey and all about your build with your outback.

And I wish you the best on your continued journey,

building out your outback to make it into the overland vehicle that you

really want it to be.

And also many trips to come.

So I think it's good.

I think you're going to have some great adventures and a great journey ahead of you.

Also how crazy is it that we're already done with January of 2026.

Now we're into February.

So let's all have a great year.

And I hope you all have a wonderful week.

And we'll see you next Monday.

Much Subi love.

Raf.

The Subi New 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 Subi New Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts,

including Apple Podcast, Spotify, and many more.

To support the podcast, please head over to patreon.com.

Once you join, you will have access to the Discord channel

and Discord chats with other patrons.

If you'd like to get in contact with the show,

you can find them on Instagram at Subi New Podcast,

online at SubiNewPodcast.com,

or by email, SubiNewPodcast at Gmail.com.

That's all for this week.

Thanks for watching.

Let's get started.

S&YE221 - Swampback Adventures

About this episode

SUBI mods

SUBI Fest

Wicked Big Meat

Boxer Fest

World Rally

Subaru Outback

American muscle

JDM

euros

Subaru STI

Honda Accord

Subaru WRX

manual transmission

Subaru Crosstrek

Subaru Forester

fog lights

roof rack

off-roading

overlanding

lift kit

Gridspeed

suspension

OEM struts

SS5s

rear subframe

Ford Ranger

PCV valve

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