The SileightyMania Podcast - Drifting Interviews with OGs and Pioneers

Tony Angelo is a US drifting pioneer from Doylestown, PA. He found drifting from Initial D in the early 2000s and started sliding his car around PA back roads, meeting Chris Forsberg in the process. In their turbo FC Mazda RX-7s, they were heavily into drifting before anybody in their area knew what it was. They eventually hosted sanctioned events at Englishtown Raceway, introducing drifting to others on the East Coast including people like Vaughn Gittin Jr. and Ryan Tuerk. In this episode, Tony recalls getting into hot rods as a kid, discovering drifting, and his journey as a professional drifter in D1 and Formula Drift. He talks about the shenanigans they got into as team Drift Alliance, and his stint as a Formula D judge. These days, Tony is well known for his stint co-hosting Hot Rod Garage and Roadkill on MotorTrend TV, and more recently from his popular YouTube show Stay Tuned. Listen in on our conversations where we reminisce on his wild past, share stories on the early days of Formula D, and reflect on how much the sport and he as a human being has evolved. This episode and all episodes of Season 2 are brought to you by Falken @falkentire, a supporter of drifting since 2003 and a major reason drifting is where it is today. Check out their ultra-high-performance(UHP) Azenis RT660, Azenis RT615K+ and their UHP Azenis FK460 at https://www.falkentire.com. Follow Tony Angelo on IG: https://www.instagram.com/tangelo96 Stay Tuned on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@StayTunedTA Follow us on IG: https://www.instagram.com/sileightymania #drifting #driftingpodcast #driftinghistory #tonyangelo #anthonyangelo #clubloose #hotrodgarage #motortrend #hotrod #hotrods #mazda #maczdarx7 #mazdafc #mazdafd #formulad #formuladrift #driftalliance #eastcoastdrifting #bloodmasters #staytuned --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sileightymania/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sileightymania/support

Jonathan Wong, proudly grew up in the San Gabriel Valley in Southern California. He was introduced to import racing in the 80s by his older cousins. After buying his EF Civic Si, he and his teammates from Team Macross 7 strived to make an imprint on import car culture through car shows and drag racing. He started his career at the bottom at a magazine called Super Street and eventually moved his way up to editor-in-chief. There, he influenced millions of Super Street fans as he helped to popularize JDM style. In this episode, Jon talks about the early days of import tuning in So Cal including drag racing at Battle of the Imports, car shows at Import Showoff, establishing his network through AOL chatrooms, his trouble with his first drifting issue at Super Street, his travels around the world as an editor, and he finally explains why he was fired. This episode and all episodes of Season 2 are brought to you by Falken @falkentire, a supporter of drifting since 2003 and a major reason drifting is where it is today. Check out their ultra-high-performance(UHP) Azenis RT660, Azenis RT615K+ and their UHP Azenis FK460 at ⁠https://www.falkentire.com⁠.  Follow Jonathan Wong on IG: https://www.instagram.com/jdmwong Follow us on IG: https://www.instagram.com/sileightymania #drifting #driftingpodcast #driftinghistory #jonwong #jonathanwong #jdmwong #superstreet #jdm #jdmhonda #jdmhondas #honda #hondacivic #hondaef #efcivic #jdmcivic #sgv #sangabrielvalley #importracing #importracinghistory --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sileightymania/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sileightymania/support

Phill Lee is one of the first street drifters in the Chicago area.  He co-founded ClubFR, an organization created to get drifting off the streets and to legitimize drifting in Chicago and the Midwest area.  Under his watch, ClubFR has helped produce D1 drivers and Formula D drivers, they’ve hosted the RS-R Drift Festival, Formula D Pro-Am, and most recently, Final Bout.  From ClubFR’s inception to today in 2024, Phill played a role in establishing Chicago as an influential force in the USA in terms of drifting culture. This episode and all episodes of Season 2 are brought to you by Falken @falkentire, a supporter of drifting since 2003 and a major reason drifting is where it is today. Check out their ultra-high-performance(UHP) Azenis RT660, Azenis RT615K+ and their UHP Azenis FK460 at https://www.falkentire.com.  Follow us:  https://www.instagram.com/sileightymania #drifting #driftingpodcast #driftinghistory #philllee #philliplee #clubfr #midwest #chicago #ae86 #toyotaae86 #hachiroku #toyotacorolla --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sileightymania/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sileightymania/support

Robbie Nishida started drifting in the 90s in Japan, forming an all AE86 Team Hey Man! with his friends at Yokota Air Base.  He shares stories of the origins of his “drifting team”, how they befriended legends of Japanese drifting such as Nobushige Kumakubo, Dart Izumi Jr., and Hideo Hiraoka. Robbie discusses his 13 year long career in Formula D as a competitor and how he became an FD Judge.  He takes us behind the curtains, and gives us some insight on what it’s like to be a judge and he provides some advice for those who are serious about competition. This episode and all episodes of Season 2 are brought to you by Falken, a supporter of drifting since 2003 and a major reason drifting is where it is today. Check out their ultra-high-performance(UHP) Azenis RT660, Azenis RT615K+ and their UHP Azenis FK460 at https://www.falkentire.com.  Follow Robbie: @robbienishida Follow us: @sileightymania #drifting #driftingpodcast #driftinghistory #robbienishida #robbiekiester #heyman #teamheyman #driftteam #ae86 #toyotaae86 #hachiroku #86 #kstyle #kstyletruck #gtr #nissangtr #r35 #driftingr35 #driftinggtr #falkentire #teamfalken #kumakubo #bridgesracing #jerryyangracing --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sileightymania/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sileightymania/support

Calvin Wan is one of the earliest drifters in the USA, drifting his red Mazda RX-7 (FD3S) in the Bay Area of California. He is a 6 year Formula Drift veteran, driving from 2003 to 2009. During that time, he had multiple podiums, including a 1st place finish in front of his home crowd in Sonoma, being the first import car to win a round of Formula D. He’s also a D1GP licensed driver, author, stunt driver, a drifting judge, and instructor. In this interview, Calvin talks about his humble beginnings, his infamous crash where he totalled his RX-7 in front of the judges at D1 Grand Prix Irwindale, some personal memories of fellow Falken teammate Yoshinori Koguchi, gracing the stage at Tokyo Auto Salon as Falken’s first win in a pro drifting competition, and his time spent drifting several cars on a narrow mountain road on the set of Fast and the Furious Tokyo Drift. Follow Calvin on IG @cw_calvinwan Follow us on IG @sileightymania This episode and all episodes of Season 2 are brought to you by Falken @falkentire, a supporter of drifting since 2003 and a major reason drifting is where it is today. Check out their ultra-high-performance(UHP) Azenis RT660, Azenis RT615K+ and their UHP Azenis FK460 at https://www.falkentire.com. #drifting #driftinghistory #driftingpodcast #falken #falkenspotting #falkendrift #falkendrifting #teamfalken #calvinwan #calvinwanracing #mazda #mazdarx7 #mazdafd3s #fd3s #rx7 #mazdafd #formulad #formuladrift --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sileightymania/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sileightymania/support

Gary Castillo is an OG who has been a part of the early import drag racing days in the 90s all the way to today’s premier pro drifting series Formula Drift.  He started as a mechanic, became a magazine editor then turned into a fabricator. Gary witnessed almost the entire spectrum of import car culture in the USA as he watched both import drag racing and drifting go from their illegal street racing roots to professional series.  He was a part of the scene as Hondas tried to break into the 9 second quarter mile, and he was a part of drifting when Daigo Saito competed in the first 1000+ hp car in Formula D. In 1991, Gary Castillo started his journey into import racing by helping his friends work on their cars in San Diego, CA.  As import racing was in its infancy in the United States, he shares his memories as Americans were learning how to make their Japanese sport compact cars faster as DIY projects, without the availability of aftermarket support that we see today. Gary was a mechanic on David Shih’s infamous Silver Bullet CRX (the first 10 second Honda in the ¼ mile) and then became an editor for Turbo magazine and then Import Tuner.  He left his job of being an editor to pursue his passion for building cars and was soon building/working on some of the most legendary pro drift cars, such as the RS-R S2000 (Alex Pfeiffer), RS-R Scion tC (Ken Gushi), RS-R Supra (Manabu Orido), and the Bridges Racing SC430 (Daigo Saito) and SC300 (Robbie Nishida). On top of all that, he is a great guy and an even better storyteller. Follow Gary Castillo on IG @designcraftfab Follow us on IG @sileightymania This episode and all episodes of Season 2 are brought to you by Falken a supporter of drifting since 2003 and a major reason drifting is where it is today. Check out their ultra-high-performance(UHP) Azenis RT660, Azenis RT615K+ and their UHP Azenis FK460 at https://www.falkentire.com.  #drifting #driftinghistory #driftingpodcast #importracing #dragracing #battleoftheimports #formulad #formuladrift #turbomagazine #importtuner #garycastillo #designcraft #designcraftfab #daigosaito #robbienishida #alexpfeiffer #kengushi #rsrs2000 #rsrtc #rsrsciontc #bridgesracing #achillesracing #rsrsupra #manabuorido #orido #oridosupra #daigo 12:41 Describing the DIY culture of the import racing scene in the late 80s and early 90s 23:00 Creating the first tube chassis drag Honda with Dynamic Autosports/David Shih and his Silver Bullet CR-X 26:00 The innovation during the Honda race to break into 10 seconds and then 9 second quarter mile 31:35 Joining Turbo Magazine as a technical editor 45:08 D1 drivers from Japan doing a low-key drifting demo at NASCAR 51:06 Learning to fabricate roll cages for drift cars 54:25 Building the RS-R S2000 1:14:15 Building the RS-R Scion tC (the first FF converted FR in Formula Drift) 1:26:20 Building the Falken G35 driven by Calvin Wan 1:35:28 Working with Orido on his RS-R Supra 1:44:38 Working with Achilles Tires/Bridges Racing to build and maintain Daigo Saito's SC430 and Robbie Nishida's SC300 2:17:11 Covering the Blitz R34 --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sileightymania/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sileightymania/support

Chris Parry, aka Paz, is an AE86 and drifting legend in the drifting scene in the UK. When he bought his first AE86 and started drifting in the early 2000s, Japanese style ae86s and drifting didn't exist in the UK. Over the next several years, Paz owned several different AE86s, and he spearheaded the drifting movement and was a shining light for aggressive driving in low horsepower drift cars in the UK. Paz was a huge fan of Japanese style AE86s, inspired by people like Kaicho Hiroshi Takahashi from Team Running Free, and introduced that style to the UK. Chris talks about the first time Nomuken came to the UK for drifting, his experiences competing in D1 Grand Prix, EDC, and his journey and love for AE86s. This episode and all episodes of Season 2 are brought to you by Falken a supporter of drifting since 2003 and a major reason drifting is where it is today. Check out their ultra-high-performance (UHP) Azenis RT660, Azenis RT615K+ and their UHP Azenis FK460 at https://www.falkentire.com. To follow Paz: YouTube - @PazzaAE86  Instagram - @pazzaae86 Follow us on IG: @sileightymania #drifting #driftingpodcast #driftinghistory #ukdrifting #nightspirit #ukdriftinghistory #ae86 #toyotaae86 #toyotacorolla #hachiroku #toyotahachiroku #86 --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sileightymania/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sileightymania/support

IT'S A PODCAST CROSSOVER! Palmer is our feature guest and we're also guests on the Goodestcast podcast dropping 9/7! Please check out our interview on his podcast to see what it's like when the interviewers become interviewed, Goodestcast style. Palmer Sanderson is the youngest guest so far on the podcast, but he is making waves in the drifting community in more ways than one. He became a member of infamous drift team Animal Style in 2013, and has one of the best examples of a Japanese style BMW E36 3 Series for drifting. Palmer and his teammates have been leading the way for ultra close tandem and high speed aggressive driving in American grassroots drifting. Palmer also has a very popular drifting podcast Goodestcast, where he features interesting drifters from all over the world, showcasing the interesting personalities who are behind the steering wheel. Follow Palmer on IG: https://www.instagram.com/goodestcast/ https://www.instagram.com/palmer_sndrsn/ Follow us on IG: https://www.instagram.com/sileightymania/ This episode and all episodes of Season 2 are brought to you by Falken Tires, a supporter of drifting since 2003 and a major reason drifting is where it is today. Check out their ultra-high-performance (UHP) Azenis RT660, Azenis RT615K+ and their UHP Azenis FK460 at https://www.falkentire.com. #drifting #driftingpodcast #driftinghistory #palmersanderson #goodestcast #goodestco #bmwe36 #bmwe36drift #bmwe36drifting #animalstyle #driftteamanimalstyle #animalstyledriftteam --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sileightymania/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sileightymania/support

Chris Forsberg is a US drifting pioneer from Doylestown, PA. He has a 20 year long career as a professional driver in Formula D, and is well-known as a Nissan Z drifting icon. His love for drifting started in the early 2000s with his Mazda FC RX-7 after meeting Tony Angelo. The two would eventually run DGTA, an organization hosting events that would provide a legal alternative to street drifting. Chris towed his car all the way to Los Angeles for the D1 Grand Prix driver search in 2003, and eventually made the decision to buy a brand new Nissan Z as his new drift car. He built the right relationships in LA and worked for Signal Auto as a mechanic and became a sponsored driver, even driving the Signal Twins cars at local drift day events. In this podcast episode, Chris recalls old stories, talks about his journey as a professional drifter, his love of building cars, reflecting on how much drifting has changed in the last 20 years, the lessons he's learned as a 20 year old drifting veteran and what he sees in his future. This episode and all episodes of Season 2 are brought to you by Falken, a supporter of drifting since 2003 and a major reason drifting is where it is today. Check out their ultra-high-performance (UHP) Azenis RT660, Azenis RT615K+ and their UHP Azenis FK460 at https://www.falkentire.com. #drifting #driftingpodcast #driftinghistory #chrisforsberg #nissanz #350z #nissan350z #z33 #z34 #driftingpioneer #nissan #chrisforsbergracing 05:51 Growing up in Doylestown, PA 07:45 Meeting Tony Angelo 09:00 Buying his FC Mazda RX-7 13:10 Discovering drifting 19:42 DGTA and meeting Vaughn Gittin Jr. and Ryan Tuerck 23:23 Cross-country trip to Irwindale, CA to try out for D1 Driver Search 27:24 Decision to buy a brand new Nissan 350z 30:52 Establishing a relationship with Signal Auto 36:57 Driving the Signal Twins 180sx and what he learned from it 43:57 Working with Motorex and his journey into Formula D 51:30 Drift Alliance Bad as Hell DVD 52:50 Driving the Falken S15 Silvia 1:01:50 Swapping a V8 into his Z33 1:09:00 Problems with the current state of car builds in Formula Drift 1:18:23 Thoughts on introducing a tire size limit to improve pro drifting 1:26:09 What's next for Chris Forsberg Racing 1:34:00 Losing a chase run because of tire smoke 1:36:05 Does age affect your ability to compete as a pro drifter? 1:37:17 Making a living as a professional drifter 1:39:04 Japan vs. USA - who is better at drifting today? 1:44:09 What skills are you working on as a driver? 1:48:17 Benson Hsu Meets Chris Forsberg at D1 Driver Search in 2003 1:53:08 Car setup advice for new drifters 1:58:10 What do you think your legacy is with drifting? 2:00:47 Appreciating and fostering your business relationships, and investing in yourself 2:05:30 Closing and thank yous --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sileightymania/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sileightymania/support

Rob Riter started drifting in the early 2000s and is a drifting pioneer in the Midwest, specifically the Chicago area. He started drifting in his NB Miata and became a hub for Mazda Miata drifting information and style through his website roadsterdrift.com. A founding member of ClubFR, they helped bring drifting off the streets and onto the track. He became one of the best drifters in the Midwest earning time in Formula D and Pro-Am. He later followed his dreams and moved to Japan, where he documented his experiences in his blog with photos while buying a Nissan S15 and an imported Nissan 240sx with SR20DET and drifting everyday at a local touge and at Japan's infamous drift tracks. Listen as he recalls memories of those events and talks about the full circle moment of where drifting started in Chicago and today where Chicago's Final Bout has become a worldwide drifting movement. This episode and all episodes of Season 2 are brought to you by Falken, a supporter of drifting since 2003 and a major reason drifting is where it is today. Check out their ultra-high-performance (UHP) Azenis RT660 and their UHP Azenis FK460 at https://www.falkentire.com. Episode partners: ⁠Bardabe⁠ - Nissan GT-R and Z specialist in the central Texas area⁠ Lot-USA⁠ - Bride Japan Master ImporterFollow on IG: @rob_riter @roadsterdrift @sileightymania⁠ #drifting #drift #chicago #midwest #clubfr #driftinghistory #miata #roadster #roadsterdrift #finalbout #driftday #robriter #podcast #driftingpodcast #usdriftinghistory #midwestdrift #midwestdrifting #chicagodrift #chicagodrifting #mazdamiata #miatadrift #bensonhsu #nadinehsu #marcmondoy #stevenakamura --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sileightymania/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sileightymania/support

Season 1 has been a journey from all of us at the SileightyMania Podcast.  Our graphic designer Steven Nakamura is an OG in his own right, and you get to hear from him because he finally joins us in the studio.  Bring your own beverage for this one, because we're poppin' bottles to celebrate our 1 year anniversary and a job well done! We also spend some time to pull back the curtains to give you some insight on what it was like making the podcast and we talk about what the near and distant future holds for the podcast. Please support all of the hard work that we put into this podcast by purchasing merch from our store: https://sileightymania.square.site/ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sileightymania/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sileightymania/support

In Part 2 of our Hawaii series brought to you by In4mation, our old friend Jason Ryan from Grip Video tells us to hold on to our okoles as he tells us about the early days of Grip Video and his observations of early drifting in Oahu and the mainland.   In this episode, 2 OG drifting pioneers in the USA and Hawaii graced our podcast with their stories and experiences in the early days of drifting on the track and on the street.  Steve Oliberos AKA Steevo is well known for his charismatic personality and being an OG drifter in Hawaii as well as an early competitor in Formula Drift.  He recalls the early days of drifting in Hawaii (at the track and on the street), his experiences with Japanese drift heroes like Komatsu and Maeda Ken, and the sense of family and community with other drivers and aspiring drivers on the island.   Stanford Lau AKA Stan the Man AKA Handsome Stan was known for his drifting skills behind his super clean silver AE86 coupe.  He talks about how he learned to drift in an old dirt lot before becoming one of the most dedicated Drift Session drivers.  In his quest to keep his passions for drifting alive after Hawaii Raceway Park (HRP) closed, Stan moved to Japan and lets us know what that has been like for him drifting away from his friends in Hawaii.   Michael Kitchens began his involvement with Drift Session in 2004 contributing to the organization with the videos/photos that he took and edited for the Drift Session website.  You can tell how fond he was of those early years as he talks about the drivers that stood out to him and how much he admired the skills of the local drivers.  Mike has spent the past several years trying to get a track built on Oahu and provides some insight on those efforts.   Thanks to In4mation for partnering with us on this episode.  They are our favorite fashion brand from Hawaii, now worldwide.  For more information please visit In4mation Please check our IG (@sileightymania) to enter our giveaway brought to you by In4mation. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sileightymania/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sileightymania/support

In Part 1 of our Hawaii series brought to you by In4mation, our good friend Layton Takaesu gives us one propah kine podcast intro, teaches us some Pidgin and then recounts some of his memories seeing early drifting on Oahu when he was a kid.   Our 3 guests in episode 10 are all pioneers of drifting in the USA in the early 2000s.  Not all of them drove competitions, but what they were doing was noticed across the Pacific Ocean on the mainland and in Japan.   Royce Fujimoto, known for his blue and then later brown ae86, recounts what it was like in the first Drift Session events, Ueo drifting his car in 4th gear, and "finding the land mine" on Hawaii Raceway Park (HRP).  He gives us some sage advice about competing against yourself. Justin Kikkawa, known for his stylish burgundy AE86, talks about cool Japanese car style, street drifting on Tantalus, buying SSR Modex Dori Dori wheels brand new from the factory, and his car was a result of Hawaii's rich history of modifying Toyotas.   Barry Wong was Benson's Team KAAZ teammate in Formula D, and also an OG in Hawaii's drift scene.  He's now the father of 2, but he shares his memories of starting with the locally popular Toyota pickup truck, then his ae86 and the S13 hatchback that he keeps ready for drifting to this day.   Please check our IG (@sileightymania) to enter our giveaway brought to you by In4mation.   Hint: Listen until to the very end of the episode for some extra culture. It's good for you! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sileightymania/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sileightymania/support

Alex Pfeiffer started drifting in the early 90s on the island of Oahu, HI.  Back then he was already an avid fan of Option Video and Japanese drifting and would emulate what he watched on the now infamous mountain road Tantalus in Hawaii. In this episode we try to figure out if Alex Pfeiffer is the very first American to drift.  We talk about his roots and what it was like growing up in Hawaii, his big move to the mainland and how it helped him improve his drifting skill, what it was like drifting the RS-R S2000 while being Manabu Orido's teammate, and how he changed the game when he became a judge for Formula Drift. We drink, laugh and shed a tear in this episode all in the name of this thing that we love - drifting. Make sure to listen to this one, as it marks the beginning of the end of this podcast's first season by discussing drifting in Hawaii.  We have 2 more episodes left and they will be dedicated to Hawaii and how it's underappreciated for what it's done for drifting in the USA. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sileightymania/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sileightymania/support

Tommy Chen founded SpeedTrial USA, a group that hosted road racing events in the 90s.  With his friends, he was able to get Option Video with Keiichi Tsuchiya, Nomuken, and Daijiro Inada to come host the very first drifting competition on US soil in 1996.  In '99, Tommy hosted the first sanctioned US drifting event under the guise of "car control" run groups.  In 2002, Tommy made history again when he hosted an event with icons of the AE86 drift world Hiroshi Takahashi and Shinji Minowa.   Thank you Falken Tire for sponsoring this episode and for giving away a free set of Falken Azenis tires for our Toys for Tots fundraiser.  For more information, please go to https://marinetoysfortots.salsalabs.org/2021marinetoysfortotscrowdfunding/p/sileightymaniapodcasttoysfortotsfundraising/index.html --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sileightymania/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sileightymania/support

Toshiki Yoshioka started drifting in 1996 when he discovered it at touge as a young boy in Japan.  In this episode of the Sileighty Mania Podcast, he talks about how he got started with drifting and became a member of Team Bross Running Crazies.  Listen as he takes us behind the scenes of early drifting in Japan, spills the tea on fellow D1GP drivers, and what he thinks of the difference between drifting in the USA and Japan. We're so honored to have Yoshi on the podcast, somebody who worked hard as an unknown driver and has become one of the greatest AE86 drifters ever. Thank you to Apex'i USA for sponsoring this podcast.  Make sure to support our podcast by supporting them.  Visit their website at https://www.apexi-usa.com/ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sileightymania/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sileightymania/support

Most people today recognize Toshi Hayama for his heavy involvement with the Fast and the Furious franchise movies. However, Toshi's influence on US import culture goes all the way back to the mid 90s when he started Apex'I USA. With Apex'i, he was able to broaden Apex Japan's product offering to include tuning parts for the ever popular Honda market in the USA. He brought over from Japan the Apex R33 GT-R for drag racing and ultimately the infamous FD3S driven by Yoichi Imamura for D1 Grand Prix. His experience with D1 Grand Prix earned him the ability to be on the judges' stand as the D1GP USA English announcer. He also became co-host of the ever popular DVD series J.D.M. Insider. Toshi recalls his time with Keiichi Tsuchiya aka Drift King, Takahiro Ueno, and even details his observations with his J.D.M. Insider co-host Hiro, who became infamous for his involvement in a well-known scandal with his company Motorex. For more info about Toshi please go to http://www.stage-10.net Thank you to Final Bout for sponsoring this episode! Please make sure to go to Final Bout 4 in Shawano, WI 9/4-9/5! For more information, go to https://www.final-bout.com/pages/tickets --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sileightymania/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sileightymania/support

Brian Harte aka BH, aka BH World, aka Brad Harte aka BH2 joins us in-studio.  Brian became quite popular in the mid-2000s as a member of the drift team Pink Godzira with his website BH World.  He talks about his still-relevant philosophy about drift car style and the ever important sticker placement.  Listen in as we swap funny stories, and special guest Rhys Millen joins us for the interview. Have you left us a voicemail or text message on our hotline?  Listen in, as we play and read some of your messages on the podcast!  Want to be featured in a future podcast?  Drop us a line at 323-607-6075. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sileightymania/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sileightymania/support

Moto Miwa likely could've been the next Japanese noodle king of the United States, but his heart and passion was into cars and racing instead. In the early 90s, he built his first ae86 coupe with a supercharged 4agze and founded the now infamous website for all things toyota - Club4AG.com. Moto talks about co-founding Drift Association and hosting possibly the earliest legally sanctioned drift events on US soil, allowing early US drift competitions to exist such as Falken Drift Showoff, RS-R Drift Festival, Option Ikaten, and D1 Grand Prix. Don't miss his story where details a late night favor for Keiichi Tsuchiya aka The Drift King, helping him escape Option Video staff in the middle of the night.  More recently, he covertly aided in R&D for Toyota Motor Corporation as they were developing the Toyota 86. Thank you Falken Tires for sponsoring this episode. We are beyond blessed to be able to work with so many amazing like-minded brands every month for the podcast. Announcements for a giveaway will be made in a few days on our instagram @sileightymania --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sileightymania/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sileightymania/support

Nick Fousekis wasn't always the Director of Advertising and Promotions at Falken Tires. He was a street racer and import car enthusiast from San Diego who had a job opportunity and an idea. After acquiring an entry level position at Falken Tires, he dreamed up the idea that Falken should make a name for themselves by being the first American tire company to support drifting.  He spearheaded the effort and soon, Falken became the title sponsor of Drift Association's Drift Day grassroots events. In 2003, Falken was the title sponsor of Drift Showoff, bringing Yoshinori Koguchi and Seigo Yamamoto (and their cars) from Japan for the biggest drift event on US soil to-date. Nick talks about working his way up from the bottom at Falken, his experiences with Koguchi, and how he's partnered with Formula Drift for 17 years. Thank you to <a href="http://lucky-labo.com">Lucky Labo</a> for sponsoring this episode.  Please follow <a href="https://www.instagram.com/sileightymania">@sileightymania</a> on Instagram for giveaway details! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sileightymania/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sileightymania/support