S&YE222 - Another Green Outback

Hi, this is Nina, and you can find me on Instagram at another Green Outback.

You're listening to episode 222 of the Subian You podcast.

Hey, everybody, welcome back to another episode of the Subian You podcast.

Before we get anything else started, if you've seen the information going around and posts and reshares,

we lost somebody a while back at the end of January, and the information was just coming out this past weekend.

And it was Jonathan who ran the Page Overland Subis.

And I talked to a few different people who have chatted with him also,

and we all had the same consensus that he was a really, really great guy, and he was always checking up on people.

I know there were many times that he would send me a message through Instagram, like on a Monday or a Saturday or Friday or whatever day,

and just say, you know, Happy Monday, Happy Friday, and he usually followed it with Broski, like Happy Sunday, Broski.

And we've been chatting for the past four years or however long we've been connected.

I mean, it's been a long time.

And, but you know, I wasn't the only one that he followed up with and checked in on.

I mean, there were other people that I've heard from that he did the same with.

So I'm definitely going to miss chatting with him and miss hearing from him.

As I know some other people will too.

He worked really hard at sharing other people's accounts and sharing their builds

and just trying to get some more recognition out there for everybody,

and just genuinely seemed passionate about sharing other people's accounts and builds and stories.

While I never met him in person, and I don't know who else may have met him in person,

but he was just always very friendly and always a pleasure to talk to.

And I talked to him the day that it happened.

And I know somebody else that also talked to him that day as well.

And we were just talking about getting him on the podcast.

And, you know, so now it's not going to happen.

But I just wanted to give a moment of silence for him and just say that he'll be missed.

So I just went to the Overland Subis page and it's Overland underscore Subis.

And now it looks like it's a dedicated page to him.

It says, In loving memory of J-Row, page creator, February 9th, 1984 to January 29th, 2026.

Also in the bio, there is a Relief Fund link if you want to go and donate to his family

and help them out in this trying time.

So again, we'll miss you, Jonathan.

And may you rest in peace.

All right, now, so back to this episode.

We are here to talk to Nina, who goes by another green outback.

And I asked her where that name came from.

I mean, it's kind of obvious, but it was a pretty, pretty cool answer.

But anyway, we'll get into her conversation here in just a little bit,

but we will hear from our sponsors first.

The Subi and You podcast is brought to you by Eccentric Designs.

For those of you who don't know, Eccentric 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, decal designs like the popular fender stripes and stickers.

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to rep on your Subaru. So again, as always, thank you so much Eccentric Designs for sponsoring

the Subi and You podcast. This episode is also brought to you by Subaru Gear. If you have not

gone to SubaruGear.com, you need to head on over there and check it out. There are so many great

Subaru branded products. They also have a lot of different collections like Subaru Motorsports USA,

Bucky Elastic, and so many others. They also have a tab that says new, so you can go and

explore all of the new items. If you see something that has the word sale on it, red sale, like for

sale, that means that that product is going away. So if you see something that you really like,

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really great. So go check it out, SubaruGear.com, use the code, get your merch. Thank you so much

Subaru Gear for sponsoring the SUBI and YOU podcast. Also, so somebody was asking me recently,

if I was going to get any new mods for Pearl, are tires considered a new mod? Because I just got

the Milestar Patagonia AT Pros. And I have to say that I really, really like them. They are,

there's not much road noise. They have a very aggressive look, which I really, really like.

And they were less expensive than the Toyos that I had before. And a bunch of people were running

them and seemed to like them. And I really like them so far. So if you're on the fence about getting

some, I recommend them. I think they're great. So go check them out. But anyway, we're going to go

ahead and get into this episode with Nina and hear all about another green outback.

Hi, Nina. How's it going?

Good. How are you?

I'm good. It's nice to see you again.

Yeah, you too. Thanks for having me on.

You're welcome. It was cool to get to meet you out at Overland Expo in Virginia. And I know

we'd been talking for a while before that, but it's always fun to get to meet people in person.

Definitely. Yeah. Especially like, I feel very fortunate, I guess, and blessed that I was able

to participate in the Overland Expo because being in Houston and then getting to go to

different parts of the country and meet so many people was really cool.

Very cool. Yeah. So what's been going on with you lately and another green outback?

Nothing too major. We've been getting ready for a camping trip next weekend with Offroad Roos.

That's right. Yeah. And this will come out the Monday after that. So can you tell us like,

how much can you tell us about what is going to be going on and what you're going to be doing

and what you're excited about for the event? I'm not really sure exactly how much I'm allowed to

talk about it, but I know they're going to have some of the new Subaru models there,

which will be cool. And I think we're going to do some trail drives and then

like a group camping on Saturday. Okay. Yeah. That'll be fun. It'll be nice because I know

they're going to have... I had them on the Subi Scoop Monday. I forgot about that. So

they talked about it. Yeah. So I know you are going to have the Forester Hybrid and then the

2026 Outback Wilderness. So that's going to be super cool to see that. And for you to be able

to experience that and everybody else that gets to participate, that's going to be really cool.

Yes. So what are you looking forward to most?

For that trip probably, I haven't really seen the... Well, I've seen the new Outback, but I haven't

actually sat in it or driven. So I think that'll be cool to see.

Yeah. It'll be nice to see what it can do off-road and what they end up putting it through.

Yeah. Because it looks very different from the Outback that we know.

So just a very new platform. It'll be interesting.

Yeah. I watched Driving Sports TV. I can't remember the guy's name and I feel bad because

I see him all the time, but I see his videos all the time. But he did a video of taking

the Outback Wilderness off-road and it did really well. So it'll be interesting to see how it does

this weekend or the weekend. So I have to ask the most important question before I get too far

away from it and that is whether you prefer waffles or pancakes. I'm going to say pancakes.

Yes. Good. Yes. So what is it you like about pancakes over waffles?

I think it's like a nostalgic thing. Yeah. That was one of the first foods I learned how to make

and kind of grew up making them with my grandparents. Yeah. That's cool.

I remember going to iHop as a kid and getting pancakes because there's like an iHop in Houston

that's been, I don't know. I don't think it's the original iHop in Houston location, but it was like

one of the first ones. And I remember going there as a kid and just thinking it was like a cool

place and getting pancakes there. Yeah. So where did your interest in Subaru come from?

Like did you have family members who owned Subarus or did you like a friend own one?

What is your like Subaru origin story? So my grandfather, he had a 2007

and present Outback Sport. Oh, nice. And then my aunt had a 2011 Outback Limited.

So I grew up, I had family members who had them and in PA there's a lot of Subarus,

East Coast in general, but there's a lot up here. So yeah. And then when I was looking for my first

car, my aunt was actually getting ready to sell that Outback and I wound up buying that from her.

Oh, okay. So the one you have is your aunts? Yeah. Well, my first outback was my aunts.

So this is your second? Okay, cool. So when you like were growing up and they had those

Subarus, were they taking them off road at all? Were we all like going, you know,

on any kind of trails to just to like get off the pavement or go camping or anything?

Or was it just the fact that they had Subarus? I don't know if my aunt really took her

Subaru off road. I know my grandfather did a little bit, but I didn't usually go with him.

He used to mountain bike and stuff. So okay. So when you bought your aunts,

how long did you have that one? I had that from 2017 to 2023.

Okay. And did you make do any modifications to it? No, nothing major. I kind of always wanted to do

a lot of things I've been doing to my current Outback, that one. But I was a student then and

just didn't have really time or the money to do that. Yeah. Did you get a chance to go off-roading

with it or anything or go camping with it? Just a little bit really, really light off-roading.

Okay. So I guess you and did you know like what the capabilities were or did you find that out more

when you bought the next one? Definitely found that out more when I bought my current one.

Okay. But I've seen like pictures and videos of people off-roading all different generations

of the Outback, but I didn't really look into it too much when I had that other one.

So did you end up buying the one that you have now like after school?

Yes. Okay. I bought that one in 2023. Okay. And like so being that you said that you wanted to

do stuff with the first one, I'm sure you already had plans. Like when I get the next one, I know

I'm going to do stuff to it because now I can. I definitely did. Yeah. Yeah. Did you have like a

list of things that you wanted to do right off the bat? Definitely kind of build it out to be able

to car camp. That was definitely something. I'd seen a lot of people with like drawer systems and

different kinds of interior build outs. So I was definitely on the list and lifting it also.

Yeah. Because it looks like you do have a lift on it. So what is your lift on it now?

I have the 2-inch Ironman, the ATS suspension. Oh, okay. When did you put that on?

Just last year in March. Okay. So how's it been working out for you? About a year. It's been good

so far. I know there's been, make sure you use on that particular system. But yeah, so far for me

it's been wonderful. That's good. Yeah. Because I know when I had Luke on, he had talked to people

in Oregon, I believe, about it, like some of the campers because they were having issues and

Derek, who goes by unpaved P&W, went up to Luke and was like, hey, would you be willing to talk to

these people? And he was like, yeah, absolutely. So I haven't followed up with him since then,

but it seems like he was on the right path to take care of people and do the right thing.

That's good. And that's good that you haven't had any issues with it.

So when you had your first outback, were you just dead set on, did you end up liking it so much

that you're like, okay, the next Subaru I get is definitely going to be another outback?

Yes. I pretty much, Subaru pretty much has me at this point. I don't, I think I just,

I drove that car so much and went on like all my own like solar adventures and hiking and stuff.

And I was like, this is definitely the right car for me. So that's good. So what is yours now? And

when you bought it in 2023, was it new? Is it a 2023 model? And then what trim level is it?

So it's a 2022 limited and I bought it used. Okay. Nice. So like what,

what was like your first trip that you took it on?

Probably just some, some local like state game land roads.

Okay. Not really major trip, but like a day hike. Yeah. And then it's obviously green,

another green outback, but was like, was green the color that you definitely wanted to get or

were you open to other colors? And like that's the one that you just, that happened to be available?

What's the story behind the color? Some of both. I really liked green. So I was looking for green,

but they wanted of having, they had a green, I think, I think it was a wilderness and then

my car, which was the limited and they used cars. So I wound up looking at both of those.

Oh, okay. Nice. Yeah. So they just happened to be green, but I was happy because I was looking

for that anyway. Yeah. I know it's nice when it works out that way. So that's good that, that it,

you know, ended up doing that. So I mean, the name of your outback is obvious,

but did you have like any other names in mind or was it just like, and was it,

is it another green outback because like there's other green outbacks that are out there or was

your first one green? So my first one is also green. And I made my account when I had my first

outback. Oh, okay. So when I made my account, I was, I looked up like green outback that had

already been taken. So I was like, well, there's, there's a lot of green outbacks. This is just

another one. So it's kind of just, that's what the name is. Yeah. That's good. So is that like,

is that the name of your account or is that like the official name of your car? Because I know

some people like, they'll have a specific account name that seems like it could be the name of their

car, but then they have like an actual separate name for their car. Yeah, I guess, yeah, that's

the name of the car and the account. Okay. Okay, cool. So like, I know you have the lift, you

have the lift on it. And then, you know, they've, I've had people on here that have some like

really heavily modified Subaru's. So what else have you done besides the lift kit? I know you've

got some stuff up on the roof, but what else have you done? Yes, I built that roof rack out of like

extruded aluminum. What? Nice. To save money. Because I looked at so many different options and

I kind of like different features of different ones. And I was like, well, I'll just,

I'll just make my own. And then I can kind of customize it how I want it.

And then on the interior, I built like a drawer system and sleeping platform. And it kind of

goes around my dog's crate. So in a car camp, we have a pretty nice setup. Other than that,

I don't really have any major mods. So I'm looking at your, I mean, your, I would have never guessed

just from the photo that that was like a, what am I trying to say? That that was a roof rack that

you built on your own. Like, did you design it? And then you, like, how did that happen? I'm curious

now. That sounds, it's really cool. Yeah. So I used, it's, there's different companies that make

like extruded aluminum pieces. And then they make all these different kinds of brackets you can get.

So I just looked up a bunch of those. And I'd use that system before for building other things. So

I used CAD and kind of drew it out and then made my own drawings and just went from there.

Nice. So who, how did you have it actually like cut and everything to which you needed it to be?

I just bought like stock lengths of the material and then I actually cut it at work.

Okay. We have aluminum saw. So nice. So you just did it all yourself, huh?

I did. That is really cool. Thank you. Yeah. I know I like it when people have

custom stuff that they've done either to save money or just because they like doing DIY stuff.

And my favorite one is, I can't remember his account. He was like on the podcast really,

really early on, but he built his out of an IKEA bed frame. Oh, wow. Yeah. That's really cool.

Yeah. So I just thought, I thought that was pretty cool. Yeah. So anytime somebody does some like

cool DIY stuff, that's really nice. Yeah. So you, I was looking through your account like you've

gone to some pretty nice spots. So where like, where all have you gone out from where you live?

Because I'm guessing are there some really nice spots really close to where you live or do you

have to travel far to get there? So I'm pretty thankful to be in like in Central PA because

I'm pretty short drive away from a lot of really cool like hiking trails and overlooks.

And then there's places like New Jersey and Maryland that, you know, they're right next door.

So I don't have to travel too far for some, some pretty good views. Yeah. That's good.

How like, what are some of your favorite spots that you go to?

There's this one that's in, it's in Jim Thorpe PA. It's, you kind of drive back on the state

game lands and then it's a, you know, like a two mile hiking trail to a, it's just a really nice

overlook of the Lehigh River. Yeah. That's a good one. Some driving and some hiking.

What, did you go on the, for Overland or yeah, for Overland Expo in Virginia,

did you go on the more off-road trail or did you drive on the more tame trail?

I was on the Skyline Drive. Yeah. That's what it was. Yeah. I was with you. Yeah. That's what I

thought. Cause that was, that was a really pretty drive. It was long. That like, it was long. Yeah.

It was so nice, but it was kind of like after a while I was like, okay, it's kind of looking

like the same view over and over again. I mean, it's still beautiful, but just being in the car

for, for that long. Cause I think the whole trip was like, what, five hours or something? Cause it

was a hundred miles. Yeah, four or five hours I think. Yeah. But it was fun. That was, it was

definitely nice. Yeah. And I know it was like during the government shutdown, so we didn't have

to pay any fees to get in. So that, that was nice. Yes, it was. Yeah. So also like, I've seen that

you've driven through like snow and you've been on the beach and you've driven through sand and

stuff, but have you driven through mud also? Nothing really deep. Maybe a little mud just

here and there, but. Yeah. Nothing crazy. Yeah. Nothing crazy. And have you ever gotten,

Oh, sorry. Yeah. Yeah. I, I know we, we have some pretty good muddy spots here, which is

how I got in trouble and messed up my viscous coupling from driving too aggressively through it,

but, but I think it was worth it to me. Have you ever gotten stuck in the snow or the sand?

I haven't yet, but. Okay. Are you planning to? No, but in the snow, sometimes it gets a little

bit sketchy, especially if there's ice. Yeah. Sometimes it, not really the best to drive in,

but. Yeah. Do you. I'm cautious. Do you prefer the snow or the sand? Yeah, the sand.

Probably snow if it's not like more than six inches. Yeah. But sand is fun. It,

it's a different experience for sure. Yeah. I've, there's a park here that's north of Houston

that I took my car to like three weeks after having it and there was sand in the park and

no, just like stock tires didn't air down and I was driving through some sandy spots and I knew that

it was possible to get stuck, but I'm just like, I'm going to try it anyway. And it's definitely

a weird feeling driving on sand. You can feel the car just like shifting with the sand and, and then

I haven't, I mean, I've driven Pearl when we had the hard snow here back in 2024, but I haven't

driven through like proper snow in Pearl, but I have driven other Subaru's through snow and it's,

that's a fun experience too. Nice. Yeah. I really like it. I also see that you've been to Wicked

Big Meat and Boxer Fest. Are they like, I mean, because, because Boxer Fest is in Pennsylvania,

right? It is. That's in York. Yeah. And then how far is Wicked Big Meat from you?

Maybe about six hours. Okay. Yeah. And how many times have you been to both of them?

So Wicked Big Meat, I've, the first time I went was actually last year and then

Boxer Fest I've been, I think five times. Oh, nice. Yeah. Yeah. The first time I went,

I didn't really know anyone else who, who was going, but I was like, oh, this will be

interesting to go see because I have a Subaru now, but I didn't even stay the whole day. I just,

I walked around for a little while, but I left, I think, you know, knowing people that are also

there makes it a totally different experience. Oh yeah. Yeah. Cause going like when I, cause the

Subaru flew me out to Boxer Fest in 2021 and I only knew like maybe three or four people.

So, and I, I was there like, I wasn't there with anybody. I can't like Subaru flew me out there.

They were doing their own thing. And like I said, I only knew like maybe three or four people there.

And so I was like walking around by myself a lot. So it was kind of like

boring at times, not boring, but just, I guess lonely because like, I didn't have anybody with

me to like walk around and hang out with. I had to like just kind of find pockets of time with

people here and there. But so I get that. Have you, have you ever put your car in the show or

just attending? So last year, I was actually in the show at Boxer Fest for the first time,

which was cool. So what was that experience like having your car in the show versus just

attending? It was definitely different because you're, you're kind of trapped there for the

whole day, but you also get to meet and talk with a lot of different people, which is definitely

cool. You kind of have, kind of have your own space and then people will come and go from your

car, but a lot of people came to, to Pet Tobin. So I kind of stayed at my car almost the whole

day. I didn't, I didn't really get to walk around that much. Yeah, it's, it's tough having your

car in or having a booth at one of the CB Fest events because it's like you get stuck in the

booth and you don't get a chance. The only time you really get a chance to walk around is like

before everything gets started and after and then maybe a little bit during the day,

but it's not, not always easy. But like, did you have your awning at the time?

I did. Yep. And were y'all able to put it out?

We were. Yeah, we, we kind of, all the overland suvies kind of parked near each other. So

we made sure to leave space and kind of figure out whose awnings were on which sides. So.

Yeah. Yeah. Cause it's, it's important to be able to, if you have an awning to put it out like

that so that people can see like how it gets used. Yeah, definitely. So what was, what were like some

of the like biggest questions you had about your car and did, and did you have your drawer system

in there at the time? I did. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. A lot of people asked about the drawers and

most of the questions are about Tobin. So I think I didn't have Tobin probably talk about the car

more, but yeah, Tobin definitely steals it. Yeah. So just so everybody's listening, let everybody

know who Tobin is. Tobin is my blue healer dog. And if you, if you've met me, you've probably

met him. He goes to most car events and hikes and camping with me. So. He's very friendly too. Yeah.

He's very friendly. Yeah. He's a good dog. So like with your drawer setup, what all like,

how did, I know you said you've got it kind of built around his crate, but like what is in your

drawers? How do you have it like built out for you and your purposes for when you're getting out?

So I kind of, you know, I can kind of change what's in the drawers depending on where I'm going,

but usually one of my drawers is for like my camping stove and then cooking things,

and then the other drawer usually has tools and some of Tobin's gear.

Okay. And then how like, how long are you usually getting out? Is it just like,

like overnight or are you doing like a whole weekend sometimes? I know that Overland Expo is

like several days, but like, you know, so that was kind of planned out with Subaru. But

when you're going either by yourself or maybe with other people, like what is the longest time

that you're usually staying out? Probably the longest that I've stayed out maybe with a group

is like three nights. Okay. And then solo usually just one, because it's usually just on the weekend.

So it's like just a Saturday night. Yeah. And then do you have any future plans of having

like a rooftop tent or doing any kind of pull behind trailer with a tent or are you just going

to plan to continue to sleep in your car? And is that working out really well for you?

Yeah. So for now it's working out pretty well to just stay in my car. I definitely feel safe

in my car. And then having Tobin right there next to me is nice, but rooftop tent could be a

possibility someday. Yeah. Yeah. They are pretty cool. Yeah. Yeah. They're nice. And definitely,

I mean, it's nice because it gets you, you know, like in a tent space, maybe a little bit more space

so that you can load more stuff up in your car if you need to. Yeah. You have a rooftop box, don't

you? I do. What do you have in that? I have some tools and like emergency gear in that. It's not

really that full. So sometimes depending on how long I'm staying out, I'll also put some food or

other light things in there. Okay. And how often do you get out to go like solo camping

as opposed to like going with a group? Not super often, maybe once a month, but

just depends what else I'm up to. Yeah. How far would you say that you've like,

or what's the furthest distance you've driven in your outback?

Probably 11 hours to Cape Lookout in North Carolina. That's probably the farthest.

Okay. Do you have any like longer trips planned or any big trips for like the next year or within

the next year or so? Not really, but I would eventually like to take a longer road trip,

see some of the national parks and stuff out west. Yeah. But I don't have anything planned yet.

Okay. Yeah. Do you, well, I guess I know that like with Overland Expo, Virginia, it was through,

it was, could you received an email from Subaru, right, as like an invite? Is that how it worked

out? I did. I also, I was kind of part of the Adventure One crew that was growing. So, yeah,

they kind of invited that whole group together. Okay. Do you know if that's the plan again for

this year? I'm not sure. We haven't discussed yet, so I don't know. Okay. All right. So like,

whenever you're getting out with other people and you're like going out, do you all like go to,

I guess, just off-roading or just mostly like campsites?

Mostly just camping, like super light off-roading maybe, but...

Okay. And then like, who are some of the people that you hang out with the most?

So I'm kind of, I know a lot of people from a lot of different areas, I'm sure a lot of us probably

do. Yeah. So definitely like the Adventure One group, I've been, I've camped with them,

I camped with them before Wicked Big Meet last year, and then again at Overland Expo,

and then Corey Crosstrek in, created the SoFly. Yeah. We hung out a lot at Overland Expo, and I

think we're going to try to plan more adventures soon. Was she the one that got in Tobin's tent with

him? Yes, she did. That was so funny. That was a really fun trip. I really enjoyed that. Yeah,

that was definitely a highlight. And then I mentioned Cape Lookout before that. There's

all a group of people who kindly invited me to join them on that, and I've been two times now,

and we're actually going again in April of this year, but some of my friends from that group,

Molly, the Neverending Suvi, and then Mothtrack Annie, she's in

Missouri, and then Matt off-roading the Outback. I think he was on an earlier episode of your podcast.

Yeah, he was. Yeah. And then I could just keep going. I have so many friends. No, that's good

that you have a lot of people out in that direction to get together with. It's nice having a variety

of people like that too, because then not that you're stuck with the same people, but it's nice

when you have a bunch of different people that you can meet up with. And so I know that the

off-road event over the weekend is with off-road ruse. Is this your first time doing something

with off-road ruse? It will be. I do know some of the people who are in that group. I've never

actually gone to one of their events. They've just always fallen on at a time when I'm busy,

but I've met up with a lot of people within that group just at other events, like cars and coffee

and things. Yeah. So I was looking at your account and it says you have NH Adventures. What is that

account? That's kind of like my personal account. I just kind of all non-super content, like hiking

and some abandoned places, just other photography stuff. Yeah. I guess you're into photography?

I am, yeah. Okay. Yeah, because you have some nice photos over there. Thank you. You're welcome.

I appreciate it. You're welcome. How long have you been doing photography? Probably since like

2013. Okay. Yeah. Not professionally, just for fun. Oh, okay. Yeah, that was my next question,

is if you've done anything with it professionally. Is that something that you would aspire to do?

I definitely would like to. I've looked into it before trying to get a little more serious about

it, but we'll see. Yeah. So you talked about like when you were at Boxer Fest and Tobin was

kind of stealing the attention and everything. Is that pretty much the case wherever you go?

That is often the case, which is fine with me. It's a nice way to meet new people and also

just want to have Tobin. I'm a pretty introverted person, so it makes it easier for me to kind of

be with a group of people if I have him. Yeah, I can imagine that would make it easier, but like,

yeah, this is my dog. And then, you know, because I mean, so many people have dogs or love dogs, and

it's always a good topic of conversation. And then having a dog that's super cute and friendly

definitely helps. Definitely. Yeah, because it could be like, hey, I'm over here too.

Yeah. I know we've got Tobin around. And then you also have Tobin's Auto Club.

Is that just like an account dedicated to him? Pretty much. That's Tobin's account, yeah.

Tobin in cars, and I take pictures of a lot of him at whatever events we go to, so usually just

pictures of Tobin in front of a car. Okay. So that's where the name came from then, Auto Club.

Yeah. So like, now that you have this other Subaru and you've had it for like close to

three years now, because you said you got it back in 2023, are there some other mods that you

are planning to do or want to do? I'm not really sure. I might do some lights. That's one of the

things that I really haven't dove into, so that might be on the list. But other than that, I'm

pretty happy with how it is now. Yeah. Because I'm guessing it's like built out to what you

need it for. And like there's not really anything else you need. Because I know like with Adventure

One, I had Kyle on to talk about their YouTube channel and like the first video they put out,

talked about just that, like build out your Subaru that's the way, you know, suitable for what your

needs are and what you're doing with it. Yeah. You know, you don't have to have a lot of crazy mods

like everybody else. And because like, I feel like mine is looks pretty stock compared to some

other Subaru's. But I don't also don't need a lot of stuff because unfortunately, we don't have a

lot of stuff here. But it's nice when everybody can come together and just like you can have a

completely stock Subaru and everybody's excited for you just for the fact that you own a Subaru.

Definitely. It's a very welcoming community. Yeah. So would you, did you like find out about the

community when you had your first Outback? Or did you kind of get more into it with this one?

So I made my account in 2020. And so I kind of started making Instagram friends

during that. And that's, that's when I've learned about all the different things people were doing

to their Subaru's. Yeah. Yeah. And then like, I mean, it sounds like you've probably met a lot

of the people that you were talking to with all these different people that you get to meet up with.

Yeah. I've definitely gone to meet a lot of people that I like, I've talked to them a lot online

first and then I go meet them like a year or two into having many Instagram conversations. And it's

always cool. Yeah. Yeah. It's nice, especially when you've been talking to somebody for a really

long time and you become good Instagram friends and then you finally get a chance to meet in person

and then see each other's cars and get excited about that. That's always fun.

Definitely. So what would you say has like been a favorite memory that from owning your Subaru?

Like I guess maybe this one now, since you've done more stuff with it and probably traveled more with

it. Yeah. Either Overland Expo or the Cape Lookout trips, probably, those are probably tied.

They were both really, really cool opportunities. Yeah. How would you say that your Outback best

matches your personality? Back to what we were talking about with kind of building your Outback

to fit your needs. I think my Outback is pretty practical. I feel like I'm a pretty practical

person. So yeah, that's good. Yeah. And if you could describe your Outback in one word, what would

it be? Probably home. I think I feel pretty safe when I'm in the Outback or just traveling with it

and can fit all my things in it that I need to and usually I'm going somewhere, somewhere fun with

friends. So that would be home. Yeah. So when you're doing like solo traveling, what kind of

like preparations and precautions do you take as being like a solo female traveler?

I think I just make sure I'm prepared for like if I have a bit dead battery or a flat tire,

so I make sure I have like basic tools. And then I almost always have Tobin with me, which

yeah, maybe false sense of security. I don't know. But I feel like he's helpful. Other than that,

I just kind of make sure I'm aware of my surroundings. Don't go to like sketchy looking places.

Yeah. Well, yeah. I mean, having Tobin with you is it's good because then you're not alone. And then

it lets other people know that you're not alone. Definitely. Yeah. And then do you like let people

know where you're going? Like friends be like, Hey, I'm going to be going out for this trip. And

this is where I'm going to be just in case like just in case you know something happens, at least

people know where you are. Yeah, I usually let at least one person know. That's good. Just just in

case. Yeah. Have you had any issues while you've been out? Not any like major safety issues. I've

had some car issues, but with my old car, but nothing, nothing too, too dangerous. Yeah,

that's good. How many miles do you have on this outback? This outback, I just hit 79,000 last week.

So yeah, it's getting up there. Yeah. How many did it have when you bought it? It had 18,000.

Oh, okay. Wow. Yeah. So you've put, you've put a decent amount on it. I have, yeah.

Is like, is most of your miles coming from, I mean, because like you said that one trip was

like 11 hours. And then obviously you went out to over, how long was, how long did it take you to

get to Overland Expo? That was about six hours. Oh, okay. So that's not too far. Yeah. Not too far.

But then there was quite a bit of driving while we were there. Yeah.

Was there like, are there, other than like, you know, taking longer trips to try to go out west

and go to national parks, are there any other places that you've seen where you're like,

I have to go there someday? I mean, in the world, yes. I don't know. In the US, there's just,

like, it would be great to spend like a month or two all like out west. Yeah.

There's some places in Canada for sure that I would definitely like to go to. And would be,

you could drive to them because. Yeah. Yeah. That would be good. Yeah. There's a lot of

Subaru's up there too. There are. Yeah. I've had a few Canadians on. Nice. Yeah. So it'd be good

to, you know, you could actually meet up with people up there. Definitely. I know, I know a few.

So I think maybe we'll have to plan something someday. Yeah. It would be like, I would really

like to take a west coast tour and just go like, just drive all in the west coast area,

like California, Oregon, Utah, Washington, all those like, because there's so many

beautiful spots to see. There's so many people out there. It's like, and what's really cool about

connecting with so many different people everywhere is like, there's almost, seems like

there's hardly any places that you could go that you wouldn't have met, you know, connected with

somebody online. Yeah. I think that's definitely true. Are there like any people that you've

chatted with for the past few years or whatever that you have become like really, really good

Instagram friends that you really, really want to be able to meet? Probably, you know, Dan, he

used to have the Titanic Subaru. Yeah. I think he was on your podcast too earlier. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. We talk a lot. So I definitely, he's in California, but if I make it out there someday,

I definitely would like to meet up with him. Yeah. He's a good guy. How's he been doing lately?

I haven't talked to him in a while. Yeah. I think he's very good. That's good. I need to reach out

to him. We haven't chatted. That's the hard part too, is you like end up connecting with so many

people. It's hard to like keep up with everybody. It is definitely difficult. People have their own

things going on and then you just like, somebody like that, you brought up his name and I was like,

oh my gosh, I haven't talked to him in a long time and I feel bad. But hey, he hasn't messaged me either.

Yeah. But yeah, no, it's always fun to be able to meet up with people.

So how would you say that owning your Subaru has changed your life?

Well, it's definitely helped me make friends and kind of be part of a community.

Again, I'm pretty introverted if we didn't talk about that already.

So it's hard for me to make friends just because I'm so quiet, but having my Subaru and then

meeting other people that we have very similar things in common, I think that definitely has

changed my life in that way. So like being introverted, because I get that, because I mean,

I know there's like different levels of introverts, you know, people being introverted,

because like when I went to Boxer Fest, I just walked around by myself and I could have just

walked up to people and started talking to them. But that's not my personality to just walk up to

people and be like, hey, how's it going? You know, I'm usually like when I'm at an event or something,

I'm usually like over in the corner just watching everybody else being quiet.

And yeah, I do the same. I mean, like that and that struggle is real because like I want to be

more outgoing. I want to be the person that can go up to somebody and just like introduce myself.

And then also like having the podcast, you would think like that would be something for me to just,

but I don't feel I don't like talking about myself and the podcast and be like, hey,

hi, I post a podcast, you just check it out. You know, I'm just like, that's not my personality

either. I'm trying to be better at that so that more people will learn about the podcast who may

not know it. But and what I'm getting at is since you've owned your Subaru for a while and you've

met up with a lot of people now that own Subarus. And I know even when you meet up with people,

because like when I was at all the Overland Expos, I, we're all there with Subarus. We're

there for the same reason. And I still didn't walk up to people and introduce myself. I,

it's almost like I, I was like, see people talking and I like, okay, maybe they'll come

introduce themselves to me. So I don't have to do that, you know, I get that. Yeah. And so, but like,

so with all the time that you've had your Subaru, all the events and stuff that you've gone to,

has it gotten easier to kind of initiate conversation? Since you know that you're kind of

all there and you, because like the thing is, like, once you get started talking to somebody,

you know, it's going to be okay. That's true. Especially in the Subaru community,

because people aren't going to be like, what are you talking to me for? You know,

you're all there for the same reason. But has it gotten any easier? Is it still like,

still difficult to go up and talk to people? I think it's, it's gotten a little easier,

definitely in like smaller groups. It's still like at WickedVigMe, it was, it was still a

little tricky. There's just so many, when there's just so many people, it can be tough.

Yeah, I get it. Because I've like, I'm trying to, I guess, like use my experiences with opening up

more with Subaru events and trying to carry that over to other parts of my life too, like outside

of Subaru. You know, you go to an event that's not Subaru related, like where there's other people.

Has that helped with that? Any? Yeah, it definitely has a little bit.

Yeah. It's, it's not an, it's not an easy thing to do. I totally get that. I feel like,

I feel like there's, I know I've had a lot of people on the podcast that are on the more introverted

side. And they have said that, you know, owning a Subaru and being able to go somewhere where they,

you know, over time realize like, okay, I know that when I go to this event or just meet up,

like especially with smaller, you know, meetups, that, you know, people are going to be like accepting.

And, and I think it has helped a lot of people to be more open, especially when you're in a

situation where you're around people for the same reason. So thank you Subaru for making awesome

cars that we all love. Definitely. It's formed a good community. Yes. And so you kind of alluded

to it earlier because you said Subaru has me now, but do you think you'll always own a Subaru?

Probably. I'll say yes for now. Okay. So like with all, so with the new lineup of

Subaru's, like if somebody said, hey, we're going to just give you another Subaru, not like take

yours away, but just give you a second one. And you can choose whichever one you want. Which one

would you choose? I really like the Imprezas, the Imprezahatchbacks. They're, they're just a little

bit too small. So I actually looked at some of them before I got my current outback. They just

didn't have enough space inside for me, but as a second car, I had to have a second Subaru. I

definitely go for one of those. What is it that you like about them? I don't know. I think I just

said they're fun to drive because I, I got to test drive some. Okay. When you were looking,

yeah, that's good. Yeah, I like, I like that they're lower to the ground. And like, yeah, I mean

for, for what you were saying, you know, it's too small for what you were wanting to do, but

it's basically the same size as a Crosstrek just not lifted. And I love, like I'm not doing any

car camping. So my Crosstrek for me is perfect, but I like having a smaller car, but also like

having a hatchback because having a hatchback is just so much better than having a trunk.

Definitely. Because you just for space, moving things, just all sorts of reasons. And like,

especially for you, what you're doing with your camping setup and sleeping in your car,

it works out perfect. It does. Yeah. So anything else you want to share about like your Subaru

journey, things you've learned along the way, things that you've done?

I don't think so. Okay. All right. So this is the like segment to get to know you a little bit

better. But like, who is Nina as in describe yourself?

That's a tough one. I'm an introvert. I also an adventurer though, I like to explore a lot

places and really find joy in going to places and hiking and yeah.

So where did your love of adventuring and hiking come from?

Where I grew up, I had like a creek in my backyard. So I used to spend tons of time

down there. And then also visiting my grandparents, they had different like

forests around them. So just really just playing outside a lot as a kid, I think.

Yeah, because you had the environment that was just like, that was just what was there.

And so you're getting out because like my grandparents lived on a little bit of a land.

I think it was like an acre and a half or something. So there was a lot of grass. And then

when we would go to our family reunions up in East Texas, there was where we would have it.

There was a creek that was off in the woods and we would go hike over to that creek and just

walk along it. And then yeah. And then my great grandmother's house, it had like just a bunch

of trees in the backyard. And they had this really long tire tree swing and just, you know,

it wasn't like just a typical flat yard. There was, you know, a lot of terrain. And so I kind of

grew up around that too. So it's kind of like whenever you're just automatically put in those

environments, you just grow to love the outdoors. Yeah. So what is a favorite memory from your

childhood? My dad's parents, they used to live in Maryland. I'm not sure how much land they had,

but they had this cool little house and they had just a few neighbors kind of up on this mountain,

very like secluded. So just visiting them and then like driving the tractor, going on hikes,

things like that. Just good memories. Tractors are cool. They are cool. Yeah. My grandpa had a tractor

and because they had, they had some, they had a pretty good size garden for a while. So he would

use it to like hoe the rose and everything and for other stuff out on their on their property.

But yeah, I love tractors are cool. So what is it that you do for a living?

So I design custom enclosed trailers. Okay. Like for clients or for like a brand?

It's for all different clients. So basically, clients will come to us and ask for a quote for

like a food trailer or a classroom or a mobile office. And then we'll design that for them.

And then we build it from the ground up, which is really cool. So it's completely custom.

That is cool. So where you work, do you all do like all the design and building and everything

all there in house? So you get to actually see it go up? Yeah, it's all in house, which is,

it's definitely cool to see something go from nothing and just being on a piece of paper to

actually having a physical design. What is the, what would you say the coolest one you've ever done

has been? We did a like a mobile welding lab. Oh, that one was pretty cool. We had nice is

is like all steel interior and we had different booths for for welding.

So you do you use like CAD to draw all that? Yes. Is that is that where you did the design for your

rooftop rack? It is. Yep. That's cool. That's really cool. I know it's nice when you have

those conveniences like that. It is. Yeah. Do you have like, do you have a dream job?

Maybe going back to what we were talking about earlier, being a photographer,

like landscape and wildlife would be really cool. Yeah. I love seeing outdoor photography,

especially like landscape. I like industrial photography too. Like buildings and you know,

it's just like interesting architecture, stuff like that. Yeah. I was into like abandoned

photography for a while, but it's hard to do with with Tobin. So I haven't been able to do that as

much, but that's definitely a passion. I guess there's the fear of him running into an abandoned

building and getting injured in there or something. Yeah. That's probably not, probably not safe for

him. Yeah. Yeah. That's good. What is something that makes you want to get out of bed every day?

Probably just every day's different and a new adventure and also Tobin needs his breakfast.

Yeah. What is something that makes you want to stay in bed?

I guess the whole world right now is a little bit scary. So just in general, the

violence and stress of the world. Yeah. That leads into my next question. What is something

that really scares you? Probably the same thing. Yeah. We'll go with the same thing. Just

seeing people get like physically injured, I think definitely scares me. Yeah. Why can't we just have

more friendly people? I've said it before, a long time ago, everybody just needs to own a Subaru

and that's like, that's just soft world peace. Yeah. Yeah. Besides Tobin and your Subaru, what is,

and I guess photography, are there any other things that really excite you?

Going hiking to like a new overlook, definitely always exciting. Yeah.

How many, how often do you get to go explore and discover a new overlook?

Not as often as I'd like, but I do hike. I try to go for hikes a few times a month and

I try to go to new places, but sometimes I just can't drive too far in one day.

Yeah. Are there trails around you that you know of that you haven't even been on yet?

There are a few. For some reason, I have a map of PA that have on my wall and I put like

pins into all the places I've been. For some reason, I just keep avoiding like two hours

south of me. I don't know why, so maybe this year I need to get to some of those parks and

trails and check them out. You need to put some more pins on your map.

Definitely. What would be your best bit of advice to give to someone about anything?

So a lot of people who have met me in person have asked me what my bracelet means. It says

no zero days and that's basically, that phrase basically means like every day do like one thing

to work towards a goal or whatever like larger picture thing. So I'd say probably if you haven't

tried it, adopt the no zero days mindset. I like that. Anything else you want to share before we

get out of here? I think that's it. Okay. Well, hopefully I'll see you again this year, maybe at

Overland Expo, Virginia again. Definitely. I'm not sure if I'll be there yet, but we'll see.

It's cool that we got to meet because then I can add you to the list of people that I've

met in person that I've had on the podcast. That's always fun. Definitely. It was definitely cool

to meet Tobin and see your outback. Yeah. Tobin enjoyed meeting you too. Yeah. So thank you so much

for taking the time and chatting with me and I hope you have fun. I mean, again, this is coming

out after your weekend trip, but as we're recording this, I hope you have a lot of fun at the event.

You're welcome. And I look forward to seeing what's going on with it. I know that Offroad

Roo's has a YouTube channel, so no doubt we'll be seeing stuff on Instagram, of course, and then

I'm sure they're going to be putting stuff out with the YouTube channel. And so we'll see what

happens. I'm excited to hear all about it. Yeah, definitely exciting. All right. Will you have

a good evening? Yeah, you too. I will talk to you later. Yeah, thank you so much. You're welcome.

All right. Bye. Hello again, everyone. Thank you for tuning in to another episode of the

Subi and You podcast. Thank you, Nina, for taking the time to record with me. And again,

it was great meeting her in person out at Overland Expo, Virginia. It's always fun when we all get

to meet somebody in person, especially when you've been chatting with them online, then you finally

get to see their rig. It's always such a cool, cool moment. So thanks again for tuning in. If

you're not giving her a follow yet, go follow her. It's another underscore green underscore outback

and go check out her build. Also, go check out Tobin's Auto Club. It's T-O-B-I-N-S underscore

auto underscore club. So you can go check out what he's got going on over there. If you ever get a

chance to meet Nina and Tobin in person, that'll be really cool because Nina is a really great person.

And then Tobin is such a fun little dog and very cute. Thanks again, Nina, for taking the time to

record with me. I hope everybody has a really great week. We will see you next Monday for

another Subi Scoop. And then of course, there's more episodes to come. So have a good week. Much

Subi love, RAF.

Houston. You can find the Subi and you podcast wherever you listen to podcasts,

including Apple podcast, Spotify, and many more. To support the podcast, please head over to

patreon.com slash Subi and you podcast. Once you join, you will have access to the Discord

channel and Discord chats with other patrons. If you'd like to get in contact with the show,

you can find them on Instagram at Subi and you podcast online at Subi and you podcast.com or

by email, Subi and you podcast at gmail.com. That's all for this week.

S&YE222 - Another Green Outback

About this episode

Eccentric Designs

mods

road noise

trail drives

Subaru Forester Hybrid

off-road

Subaru Outback Sport

Subaru Outback

car camping

lift

ATS suspension

trim level

roof rack

customization

drawer system

viscous coupling

all-wheel drive

Wicked Big Meat

Boxer Fest

Overland Expo

Subaru Impreza

Subaru Crosstrek

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