NoBraking

Jessie Madera is an artist who really started honing her craft after battling chronic Lyme Disease when she was 18 years old. She would use the art as an outlet to ease her mind from the intense treatment process. In the next 10 years Madera established herself working with digital images and acrylic designing for independent brands, the music industry, and apparel companies. However it was in the last 4 years when Madera discovered airbrushing that her career transformed as she started taking on projects in the automotive field. Her goal when working on a piece is to create miniature works of art, not just traditional airbrush imagery. Her style now includes a mix of hyperrealism techniques and pop surrealist tones, to demonstrate disguised macabre themes in a whimsical execution. At the end of the day Madera wants to create pieces that make her happy and the airbrush community has allowed her to showcase in a way that has pushed her creative process.

In a previous episode we talked to Albo Agunday, a film-maker based out of Japan, about his automotive background. However after our cconversation we thought it would be great to connect again and talk about the value of a car. In the past 2 years the values of cars have significantly increased across the globe, so what better time than to talk about the price of Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) cars.

The nostalgic effect makes people buy their dream cars. The popularity of both Gran Tursimo and the Fast & Furious franchise escalated the demand for Japanese performance vehicles. These memories bring drivers back to their youth in the blink of an eye when they get behind the wheel. Japanese sports cars also offer a more analogue experience on the road compared to the computer-aided vehicles today. This has meant that demand grows by the day pushing the market price up for these vintage vehicles.

Zac Mertens from Hoonigan Racing has always found a means of creating value for others through the things which he is passionate about. Over the years he has had the privilege of working on projects that have taken him across the globe. However it all started with "Gnarpm" automotive content before a switch to Hoonigan. He is a thrill seeker, an adrenaline junkie and curiosity has led him down many paths that has forged an ability to adapt and overcome any obstacle, sometimes by jumping a vehicle over it.

Justin Bell has over 20 years as a professional racing driver, winning the 1997 Le Mans 24 Hour race and the 1998 GT2 FIA World Championship. However there came a time when he realized that maybe he could talk faster than he drove, and so a successful TV and web hosting career followed with Speed and then Fox Sports.

Justin created the Torque Show with Tommy Kendall and Jason Jacobson, their unique Live-streaming show from the IMSA paddock has been a huge success. The company has also expanded to breaking new ground as host and producer of the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, the Audrain Newport Concours, and Motorweek. Now in demand as a host for shows ranging from 'Drives Unexpected' with Hagerty, and branded content for Omaze and Motor Trend, Justin has always been ready to take on greater challenges in front of the camera.

Winslow Bent is the Founder of Legacy Classic Trucks, a Full-Service Auto Restoration Facility located just outside of Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Legacy Classic Trucks has grown to be one of the premier truck restoration facilities in the United States. Legacy builds several lines of vehicles, including the Legacy Power Wagon Conversion, the Legacy Scrambler Conversion, and the Legacy Napco. They also take on custom jobs and specialize in rare and special trucks, such as Diamond T, Mack, Studebaker, and Hudson.

Faruk Kugay was born in the small city of Swidnik, Poland. His mother is Polish and his father is Laz, a Turkish ethnic minority. Faruk's family immigrated to the United States and he grew up in the Bay Area. Faruk started drifting in 2002 and remained close to his passion by helping and working at drifting events. A move to Europe in 2007 led to him organizing, announcing, and judging events as well as coaching other drivers. However a return to the States led to him pursuing his dream, achieving a spot in the Formula Drift series. In 2019 Faruk turned his attention to television and he was featured on the show, Hyperdrive and The Getaway. Faruk also manages a shop based at Sonoma Raceway where he also runs Sonoma Drift.

Matt Field thrives off every form of racing. However not only is Matt a talented driver, Matt is also a technician, fabricator, engine builder, driver & team owner. Matt has accelerated his drift career as a pro driver and business owner as in 2013, he opened the garage doors to The Drift Cave a motorsports/fabrication shop located in Silicon Valley - San Jose, CA.

When he first got behind the wheel he competed in grassroots events and gained his Formula Drift license through the Just Drift series in '09. Since then Matt has been a proud supporter of the sport; giving back to local organizations, and offering driving instruction, event judging and car setup advice to other drivers.

Our latest guest is Ron Zaras, Senior Brand Director for Hoonigan. However to hear his story in detail about how he came to Hoonigan you can listen to this earlier episode here. Today we are talking about a passion we both share and that is the World Rally Championship. After Ron's recent trip to Germany which you can watch in the Hoonigan Carcaine Abroad series, we talked about our love for Group A cars and the idea for a podcast came together. The Group A era was between 1987 and 1997 and included both Rally and Touring cars, and some might say one of the best era's of rallying.

Mike Andrada is a talented fabricator currently based in the Pacific Northwest after stints in the Bay Area and Anchorage after his family emigrated from the Philippines. His talent for fabricating came from his time learning from his peers and putting that to work on his projects at home and for friends. While Mike does have a passion for Honda with M-Fab Mike is able to take on projects both big and small that help him keep pushing his abilities to improve as a fabricator.

Jim Liaw is our latest guest and we discuss his new role as General Manager for Performance Racing Industry (PRI). In his new position Liaw will direct and oversee activities related to the PRI Trade Show, PRI Membership, PRI Magazine, online content, and promotion for all segments in the motorsports industry. 

One of Liaw’s priority initiatives will be successfully executing the 2021 PRI Trade Show in Indianapolis, Indiana, December 9th-11th. The PRI Trade Show is the racing industry’s No. 1 source for new technology, ideas, and business opportunities. The in-person event includes over 45 conferences, seminars, and social gatherings, making the PRI Show the best place to learn and build valuable business connections. Liaw will also assist in building PRI’s new membership program. The PRI Membership is a groundbreaking program that advocates for the motorsports market by uniting the worldwide racing community.

Like many in the automotive industry, Liaw was an auto enthusiast before he was able to drive. After graduating from UCLA, he joined McMullen Argus Publishing (now Motor Trend) as a sales associate for Sport Compact Car magazine, and later served as sales manager for one of the first-ever sport compact drag racing series, Import Drag Racing Circuit (IDRC). He then co-founded Formula Drift in 2003 and introduced the sport of drifting to America and built what is now the premier drifting series in the world.