2010 will be the last year modding my Q. I said it before but I will repeat it. I have had a nice long run, acomplished things I would of never dreamed of and gotten the car to levels I could have only imagined. All good things must come to an end and if I don't offically announce an ending, there will never be one. Truth is, I could redo my entire car 30 times over in my head moddifying each panel each time and never be done. I figured by putting it out in the public again, it will force me to stop. The car might be for sale at the end of the year or I might just hold onto it and give it as a gift to one of my best friends who comes home in 014 after doing a long bid.
Don't think that means I am going to take it easy to aviod getting injured. I'm still going to continue to dive into the 5th row chasing loose balls (no homo) in the closing minutes of games where we are up by 30.
Hopefully the year is a good one for everyone and VIP can reach new levels in the US.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Update on the car. . . sort of
Nothing new, the car is still stressing me out. Luckily I have good genes or else I would of been bald a long time ago.
Right now, they are stuck at a road block with my car. There are spike strips, 8 rows of baricades, hungry police dogs and Robocop all in the way. Time is not on my side either. I'm not going to give up, we will make this happen by any means.
Right now, they are stuck at a road block with my car. There are spike strips, 8 rows of baricades, hungry police dogs and Robocop all in the way. Time is not on my side either. I'm not going to give up, we will make this happen by any means.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Liberty VIP 6 month recap
It's been 6 months since Liberty has officially been a crew. What a half a year it has been despite all the adversities we had faced along the road.
We accomplished a lot during that short period of time. With just two weeks notice, Liberty held a BBQ which turned out to be one of the biggest vip showings on the whole east coast and that was despite no one knowing who was apart of team or anything about the crew. From there, we just rode the momentum. The next month, we held another BBQ at Liberty park where we debuted our first of 3 shirt's. During those first couple months we reached out to all the locals as well as out of towners that we felt would be a good fit on the message forums. Some left but the ones that stayed helped shape the crew into what it is today. Its is no longer a north east crew but rather a world wide phenomena.
If you are on the forums, you can't help but run into a Liberty signature on clublexus.com, vipstylecars.com or luxuryjcars.com. We made it a point to be everywhere on the internet and in person. I visited the west coast twice in the last month including San Diego for the big Autofashion meet. We had members reppin at multiple car shows every weekend collecting over 30 first place trophies (half were from one member) in 7 different categories. Not only did we have the car shows and streets on lock, we had the media in our vice grips too. 2 covers awarded in that period (Ron Lextronics feature didn't come out yet but the photo shoot and article are done) and a few other features or pics in domestic or foreign mags. We spread like swine flu but the only difference with us is that people wanted it. As of now, we got chapters in about 20-25 different cities, 12-15 different states, 4 different countries.
Why Liberty?
We are regular guys who like to have fun. When it comes to cars, we take vip very seriously and people see that. We have members from many different backgrounds and age groups all united for our love of the style. The crew is run like a democracy. Everything gets voted on and any active member has as much say as the next one. No membership requirements or fees. Everything is funded through merchandise sales. The only thing we ask is that ego's get left at the door to keep the crew a drama free zone. If you want to rep or not and how much you want to rep is up to you. We have helpful experienced members in many different areas and vehicles. Not every car is expected to be show car quality because we place a bigger emphasis on the people rather then the vehicles. Now do you have what it takes to be the first in your town to make it land of the Liberty?
What to expect from us in the next year:
We accomplished a lot during that short period of time. With just two weeks notice, Liberty held a BBQ which turned out to be one of the biggest vip showings on the whole east coast and that was despite no one knowing who was apart of team or anything about the crew. From there, we just rode the momentum. The next month, we held another BBQ at Liberty park where we debuted our first of 3 shirt's. During those first couple months we reached out to all the locals as well as out of towners that we felt would be a good fit on the message forums. Some left but the ones that stayed helped shape the crew into what it is today. Its is no longer a north east crew but rather a world wide phenomena.
If you are on the forums, you can't help but run into a Liberty signature on clublexus.com, vipstylecars.com or luxuryjcars.com. We made it a point to be everywhere on the internet and in person. I visited the west coast twice in the last month including San Diego for the big Autofashion meet. We had members reppin at multiple car shows every weekend collecting over 30 first place trophies (half were from one member) in 7 different categories. Not only did we have the car shows and streets on lock, we had the media in our vice grips too. 2 covers awarded in that period (Ron Lextronics feature didn't come out yet but the photo shoot and article are done) and a few other features or pics in domestic or foreign mags. We spread like swine flu but the only difference with us is that people wanted it. As of now, we got chapters in about 20-25 different cities, 12-15 different states, 4 different countries.
Why Liberty?
We are regular guys who like to have fun. When it comes to cars, we take vip very seriously and people see that. We have members from many different backgrounds and age groups all united for our love of the style. The crew is run like a democracy. Everything gets voted on and any active member has as much say as the next one. No membership requirements or fees. Everything is funded through merchandise sales. The only thing we ask is that ego's get left at the door to keep the crew a drama free zone. If you want to rep or not and how much you want to rep is up to you. We have helpful experienced members in many different areas and vehicles. Not every car is expected to be show car quality because we place a bigger emphasis on the people rather then the vehicles. Now do you have what it takes to be the first in your town to make it land of the Liberty?
What to expect from us in the next year:
- New gear including different color tshirts and sweaters
- Show display items like flags, banners, euro plates etc.
- Sick new cars under the knife
- Old cars getting redone to be better then ever
- A strong physical presence at most (if not all) big vip meets in the states and Canada
- Well organized meets
- Exciting non car related activities from strip club meets to go carting
- Media coverage
- Access to the private Liberty forum which is highly active
- Different chapters added in more cities
- Lots of fun
This is all in love of VIP. The scene has never been as united as it is about to get. Let's do this!
Sunday, November 29, 2009
How to form and run a car crew
I get asked random questions all the time. One recently was "How to form a sucessful car crew?"
The most important thing is finding the right people. When I say right people, I am not talking about their knowledge or skill level. I am refering to their attitudes. They can learn skills or gain knowledge over time. They can't learn the willingness to help others and become a good teamate. What keeps crews together isn't the quality of the cars, its what goes on behind closed doors. When members go out of their way to do favors and ask for nothing in return-thats what a crew is all about.
Rather then forcing people to do anything, lead by example. If you want everyone to drive low, you need to do it and let them see for them selves how good it looks. After a while, the 4x4 guys won't want to park or drive next to the low guys. From there, they will do what it takes to get lower. No need to insult anyone to get your point accross.
When giving advice that could come off as hate, do it in private so that member does not feel like they are being singled out. Not only will that member get offended if you air him out in public, so will others who may fall in the same bracket. If that behavior is proved to be acceptable by the leaders, then it sets a bad vibe for the rest of the crew as far as what is ok and whats not.
Leave the ego's at the door. This seems like the most simple of rules but it is the hardest to do. Ego's naturally build when you are in a position of power. As a leader, you need to make sure you put your team first in everything you do so they can all shine. Rather then obsorbing all the light like a solar panel, you need to reflect it like a mirror upon your teamates.
The most important thing is finding the right people. When I say right people, I am not talking about their knowledge or skill level. I am refering to their attitudes. They can learn skills or gain knowledge over time. They can't learn the willingness to help others and become a good teamate. What keeps crews together isn't the quality of the cars, its what goes on behind closed doors. When members go out of their way to do favors and ask for nothing in return-thats what a crew is all about.
Rather then forcing people to do anything, lead by example. If you want everyone to drive low, you need to do it and let them see for them selves how good it looks. After a while, the 4x4 guys won't want to park or drive next to the low guys. From there, they will do what it takes to get lower. No need to insult anyone to get your point accross.
When giving advice that could come off as hate, do it in private so that member does not feel like they are being singled out. Not only will that member get offended if you air him out in public, so will others who may fall in the same bracket. If that behavior is proved to be acceptable by the leaders, then it sets a bad vibe for the rest of the crew as far as what is ok and whats not.
Leave the ego's at the door. This seems like the most simple of rules but it is the hardest to do. Ego's naturally build when you are in a position of power. As a leader, you need to make sure you put your team first in everything you do so they can all shine. Rather then obsorbing all the light like a solar panel, you need to reflect it like a mirror upon your teamates.
Friday, November 20, 2009
DiVIPci code
In a couple months, it will be my 5th year that I have been deeply involved in the vip scene. Out of the 5, I would say that 3 of those years have been spent studying the Japanese style on a hardcore level. I went under the surface and got on a pyschological level. It got to the point where I can predict some of these cars next moves based off of the styles they are going for. There is a code and once you crack it, it all becomes so simple. Cracking it is the hard part. I don't think anyone can dissect it in dept like I feel I can. I am not trying to boast, I am just trying to get a reaction out of what I am about to say. Either you strongly agree with that comment and want to know more or you strongly disagree with that comment and are interested in hearing what I have to say just so you can feel right.
I have been working on long detailed project that will not only put you in the minds of a hardcore Japanese vip tuner, it will help you understand what works and doesn't. You will not need photoshop to know that your ideas will work and come out the way you want them to. I can't drop any more details in regards to exactly what I am doing or when it will come out. This blog may even disappear. . . Consider this a leak
I have been working on long detailed project that will not only put you in the minds of a hardcore Japanese vip tuner, it will help you understand what works and doesn't. You will not need photoshop to know that your ideas will work and come out the way you want them to. I can't drop any more details in regards to exactly what I am doing or when it will come out. This blog may even disappear. . . Consider this a leak
Friday, November 13, 2009
I'm back
Sorry I have not been blogging. I have been all over the place these past few weeks including the AF meet in San Diego. I kind of felt it was only right that I went out there. Even though I only talked to Freddy on aim and never met him prior, I had to go out there out of respect. He may be the most influential figure in the growth of the scene in the US. By going there, it also put the pressure on peeps who didn't show to the meet to show up next year since we flew from the other side of the country just to be there. It is the same time every year, no one locally really had an excuse to not be there. It showed people that the Liberty members are not just people who frequent the forums because we are bored, we are hardcore enthusiasts. Next year, we will be back with more members and possibly cars too.
Everyone was friendly and they showed the crew lots of love. If I give shoutouts, I will be here all day and leave out people by accident which might cause them to get offended so I won't go there. All I got to say is thank you for having me and showing not just me, my boy too (who doesn't post that much on the forums) lots of love.
Hopefully, we moved in the right direction in uniting the entire US vip scene. Dallas/Houston, I will be done there too in 2010.
Everyone was friendly and they showed the crew lots of love. If I give shoutouts, I will be here all day and leave out people by accident which might cause them to get offended so I won't go there. All I got to say is thank you for having me and showing not just me, my boy too (who doesn't post that much on the forums) lots of love.
Hopefully, we moved in the right direction in uniting the entire US vip scene. Dallas/Houston, I will be done there too in 2010.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Image is everything
Liberty VIP.
When you find "the one," you do things out of love. You give it your all with out asking for anything in return, just that it works out. I think I found "the one." It is in the form of a car club. Lots of my time gets spent trying to keep its message forum active. Once hype dies or the right people leave, its hard to get it back on track. Luckily, we got the right chemistry within the crew with a good share of post whores who are just as ecstatic about the movement as I am. I try to do things with a business mindset. Us (Liberty) are the product and everyone else is the consumer. The consumers need to buy the product in order for it to survive on the open market. Once people start investing in it, the brand grows bigger and stronger. Quality then increases and as a result, the people get a better product. Just like with any other business, you have to keep things fresh. "You ain't never had this sh*t before."
On the flip side, you can't over sell your product. Gotta keep that residual income flowing from your loyal supporters with honesty. It is what it is. We are in the early stages of development but we got the best coaches, PR and general managers that money can buy. We might of struggled to get to .500% this year but we had some pleasant surprises in the development of the team. 010, we won't be struggling for a playoff spot. We will be trying to clinch the division with a month left in the season. If it happens or not doesn't matter at this point. The intent is there and the people buy into it. Good players all of a sudden want to sign to the club. Season ticket sales are going quick. Every game is a sell out. All the attention is now on the "team to watch." All the pressure is on the crew to perform. They are forced to succeed due to the system they are apart of. All the fame comes easy due to the fact that the spot light been shinning this direction. Our Wheaties no longer taste like cardboard. "What do they taste like" you ask? They taste like success!
When you find "the one," you do things out of love. You give it your all with out asking for anything in return, just that it works out. I think I found "the one." It is in the form of a car club. Lots of my time gets spent trying to keep its message forum active. Once hype dies or the right people leave, its hard to get it back on track. Luckily, we got the right chemistry within the crew with a good share of post whores who are just as ecstatic about the movement as I am. I try to do things with a business mindset. Us (Liberty) are the product and everyone else is the consumer. The consumers need to buy the product in order for it to survive on the open market. Once people start investing in it, the brand grows bigger and stronger. Quality then increases and as a result, the people get a better product. Just like with any other business, you have to keep things fresh. "You ain't never had this sh*t before."
On the flip side, you can't over sell your product. Gotta keep that residual income flowing from your loyal supporters with honesty. It is what it is. We are in the early stages of development but we got the best coaches, PR and general managers that money can buy. We might of struggled to get to .500% this year but we had some pleasant surprises in the development of the team. 010, we won't be struggling for a playoff spot. We will be trying to clinch the division with a month left in the season. If it happens or not doesn't matter at this point. The intent is there and the people buy into it. Good players all of a sudden want to sign to the club. Season ticket sales are going quick. Every game is a sell out. All the attention is now on the "team to watch." All the pressure is on the crew to perform. They are forced to succeed due to the system they are apart of. All the fame comes easy due to the fact that the spot light been shinning this direction. Our Wheaties no longer taste like cardboard. "What do they taste like" you ask? They taste like success!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Going to pick up VIP style. . . I'm not that excitted though
Today I am going to pick up VIP style magazine. You would think I would be ecstatic to get it because my pretty mug is in it. Truth is, I am not all that hyped about it. Why you may ask? One reason would be, I don't have a car. Seeing my ride in a magazine will just make me miss it more. Second reason is because it is not a feature. I already went in on that in my last blog so you know the deal on why I would be bitter. I am just using the fact that I am in the magazine as an excuse to get it since I have not picked up a VIP mag in close to a year. This issue also has all the sexy girls of the style in it which is another big reason I want to get it. It's still cool that I got in there since I don't own any K-Break parts. I bet the Japanese were cracking up when they seen the pic because I am not even Asian.
It's time to put the pic up on my Minkara page in hope to get groupie love from females when I go to Japan. I had to put the "from females" in there cause I know how some of those guys do over there. Not that I go out of my way to take a second look at the male owners in the magazines but some of these pic's are not cool at all. You see grown men hugging each other with daisy dukes on.
Last thing,
If you are taking the pic (k-break/vanilla ice haircut) too seriously, thanks. You people are the ones that make it all worth while for me. If you know me, you know I do stupid stuff all the time even if it means being the bud of the joke. That is who I am. I wasn't made to blend in. If I really cared all that much what people thought, my car would not be what it is today. Ok bad example, what my car was last year ;)
It's time to put the pic up on my Minkara page in hope to get groupie love from females when I go to Japan. I had to put the "from females" in there cause I know how some of those guys do over there. Not that I go out of my way to take a second look at the male owners in the magazines but some of these pic's are not cool at all. You see grown men hugging each other with daisy dukes on.
Last thing,
If you are taking the pic (k-break/vanilla ice haircut) too seriously, thanks. You people are the ones that make it all worth while for me. If you know me, you know I do stupid stuff all the time even if it means being the bud of the joke. That is who I am. I wasn't made to blend in. If I really cared all that much what people thought, my car would not be what it is today. Ok bad example, what my car was last year ;)
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
"What's the status of your car?"
This is a question I must get asked at least 10 times a day. It is frustrating and usually puts me in a bad mood. As much as I appreciate the concern, I rather just chill under the radar for now at least. If you know me, you know I have a lot of energy and have a hard time keeping excitement to myself. If there is an update worth mentioning in regards to my car, you will know about it.
I put a lot of pressure on myself when it comes to my ride. My quest for perfection will never end. At first, I just wanted a nice ride. I got that in 07. I was really happy, would get a lot of looks from people but I grew bored. I realized it wasn't even close to a Japanese build but it was real nice under US standards. I did a few things here and there and was happy with the outcome. Everything was done in preparation to the next major round of mods. That's when the PresiBent came into reality. I honestly didn't think it would be well received on the message forums since it was so different and against most peoples belief systems. The people loved it and the build up thread grew out of control. I didn't like driving it daily because I am not that social of a person when I am sober and people at every light wanted to ask questions. It had a real Strong presence on the road that can not be captured in pictures.
I sent my friend Dominik a copy of the Rides magazine that I made the cover of while he was in Japan in 2008. Luckily, it got there before the king of sedan event. He told me he had a hard time getting it back because it was being viewed by so many people that he lost track of where it was last. He even told me that VIP style was very interested in the car as well as the owner of K-Break. I finally realized my dream, I had gotten the Japanese attention. Dominik even worked on getting me a feature which would have been then biggest achievement of my life. I guess everything in my life has to be a challenge. The opportunity would be blown due to the fact that I had never received the pictures I had taken from a photographer. It was hard to swallow because it was out of my control. What made it worse was that my car was in horrible shape after words. I couldn't just go and take new pics of it. My bumper was damaged, my fenders got messed up due to an electrical issue (car had to move while it was slammed on wheels) and two rims had to be repaired because they were not drivable.
I recently was reminded of what could have been in this months current VIP style car magazine. My car and I are in it but not as a feature. It was pictured in the K-Break section which is for entertainment purposes (which is why I had the lines cut into my hair). That section is basically of anything that has something funny or entertaining to do with K-Break or the charismatic owner.
Just so you believe me that I had no good pics of my car, look at the neon green grass. Dom took what he could find. Instead of complaing about my missed chance, I am just going to make sure the next opportunity I get will land me an even bigger feature then I would have gotten in the past. Stay tuned because I am on a mission to get a full feature in VIP car or Style magazine.
P.S. Just to kill any speculation, I am not competing with anyone in the states. Hopefully, everyone that deserves a feature will get one. Although it would be a tremendous honor to do it first, it won't effect me as long as I eventually get in there. Good luck to all and keep modding.
I put a lot of pressure on myself when it comes to my ride. My quest for perfection will never end. At first, I just wanted a nice ride. I got that in 07. I was really happy, would get a lot of looks from people but I grew bored. I realized it wasn't even close to a Japanese build but it was real nice under US standards. I did a few things here and there and was happy with the outcome. Everything was done in preparation to the next major round of mods. That's when the PresiBent came into reality. I honestly didn't think it would be well received on the message forums since it was so different and against most peoples belief systems. The people loved it and the build up thread grew out of control. I didn't like driving it daily because I am not that social of a person when I am sober and people at every light wanted to ask questions. It had a real Strong presence on the road that can not be captured in pictures.
I sent my friend Dominik a copy of the Rides magazine that I made the cover of while he was in Japan in 2008. Luckily, it got there before the king of sedan event. He told me he had a hard time getting it back because it was being viewed by so many people that he lost track of where it was last. He even told me that VIP style was very interested in the car as well as the owner of K-Break. I finally realized my dream, I had gotten the Japanese attention. Dominik even worked on getting me a feature which would have been then biggest achievement of my life. I guess everything in my life has to be a challenge. The opportunity would be blown due to the fact that I had never received the pictures I had taken from a photographer. It was hard to swallow because it was out of my control. What made it worse was that my car was in horrible shape after words. I couldn't just go and take new pics of it. My bumper was damaged, my fenders got messed up due to an electrical issue (car had to move while it was slammed on wheels) and two rims had to be repaired because they were not drivable.
I recently was reminded of what could have been in this months current VIP style car magazine. My car and I are in it but not as a feature. It was pictured in the K-Break section which is for entertainment purposes (which is why I had the lines cut into my hair). That section is basically of anything that has something funny or entertaining to do with K-Break or the charismatic owner.
Just so you believe me that I had no good pics of my car, look at the neon green grass. Dom took what he could find. Instead of complaing about my missed chance, I am just going to make sure the next opportunity I get will land me an even bigger feature then I would have gotten in the past. Stay tuned because I am on a mission to get a full feature in VIP car or Style magazine.
P.S. Just to kill any speculation, I am not competing with anyone in the states. Hopefully, everyone that deserves a feature will get one. Although it would be a tremendous honor to do it first, it won't effect me as long as I eventually get in there. Good luck to all and keep modding.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Intro
Where do I start? First I need to thank Nationwide Painting in Queens NY for doing all my body work, Dreamakers Kustoms in Endicott NY for doing all my suspension work and the Japanese for pushing me to go harder.
I go by the name AGIM JONES. Creativity is something I was blessed (or cursed) with. I can't turn it off, it is always on. I could be looking at a fridge and get like 6 ideas on car modifications from it. It's like I see dead people and no one else can.
VIP styling in Japan is like that uncut raw. It is not that pure here in the states since it is still relativly something new to most and not fully understood. I feel it has a bright future in the US as long as people lead by example by building some sick rides.
Liberty VIP is the car crew I represent, created by Rob. Taketomi-san owner of Junction Produce said there was so much freedom in my style from the city of Liberty. That was a sign for me to become a member of the Liberty car crew and help build it. I couldn't ask for better crew mates, we got big plans. Keep an eye out for us. We got a bunch of wild animals held down by chains and musels in cages, waiting to be fed. 2010 is the year we will beast.
I go by the name AGIM JONES. Creativity is something I was blessed (or cursed) with. I can't turn it off, it is always on. I could be looking at a fridge and get like 6 ideas on car modifications from it. It's like I see dead people and no one else can.
VIP styling in Japan is like that uncut raw. It is not that pure here in the states since it is still relativly something new to most and not fully understood. I feel it has a bright future in the US as long as people lead by example by building some sick rides.
Liberty VIP is the car crew I represent, created by Rob. Taketomi-san owner of Junction Produce said there was so much freedom in my style from the city of Liberty. That was a sign for me to become a member of the Liberty car crew and help build it. I couldn't ask for better crew mates, we got big plans. Keep an eye out for us. We got a bunch of wild animals held down by chains and musels in cages, waiting to be fed. 2010 is the year we will beast.
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