Welcome to my page!
Many people ask me how I got started in the industry and how I ended up where I am.
I've been tuning cars and living this lifestyle since 1989. Never in my dreams would I have thought that it would take me anywhere. That wasn't really the point. It was my hobby, it's what I did after school, at night, and during the weekends. It was what my close group of friends were in to...and that's really all that mattered.
We used to street race every weekend and build our cars during the week...Plan it, talk it over, and try new things out. We started our crew... we built our reputation on the streets. We learned to set up and negotiate races. We won...we lost. That was street racing at it's finest.
I had never before been so intrigued with a subculture than when I first turned the corner at 1 am only to find a dark street packed with cars on both sides…Hundreds of parking lights just lit up down the street with the shadows of people nearby...
So the tuning and racing continued and I started prototyping my car for HKS USA and my friends and crew found a home at Dynamic Autosports. Through there, we pooled all of our resources and starting contacting manufacturers and companies in Japan to get the parts we wanted. Things began to escalate and I started doing some part time work at Greddy and ended up helping Nitto Tire USA penetrate the US market...all before graduating from college.
After that, I was given the opportunity to test myself both as an enthusiast and a business man when I founded Apex Integration Inc. in 1998. Over the next wonderful 9 and a half years, I learned engine tuning theories, received motorsports training, studied product development and business management. Most of all, I learned that tuning companies are like brands. They have their own company colors, philosophies, themes, and specialties. The tuning company was a direct reflection of the people who worked , designed, engineered, and raced there.
Apex was like our microphone to the world. It allowed us to develop products that people wanted. It made us a part of the “industry†and allowed us the platform to go head to head with the best. It proved to us that our tuning style and passion were going in the right direction.
It was during my tenure at Apex that I was fortunate enough be one of the main people to bring drifting to the US. We already had a championship drifting team in Japan and I was the only bilingual person (into cars) that could do simultaneous translations of what the judges, teams and drivers were doing. What started out in a small parking lot in LA turned into my job as the announcer for the D1 Grand Prix. For the record, I am not a professional announcer nor do I want this to be my full time career. Announcing is just the most effective way for me now to help the drifting movement. Maybe in a few years when Stage 10 is bigger, I’ll put together a new team and sponsor some drivers like I did at Apex.
During my Apex years, I also started a pet project called JDM INSIDER. It started out as a basic travel video of what we did, where we went, and who we met on a regular basis when we went to Japan for work. It wasn’t a lifestyle video,…it was OUR lifestyle video. Big difference. JDM INSIDER is really not for profit and if it succeeds, fine. If it doesn't,…then we have the best vacation video ever. The main point was to do it,…to be real about it,…and to leave something behind for the newer generation of tuning enthusiasts. No regrets.
I’ve been fortunate enough to drive, create, tune and evaluate many of the world’s best tuning cars.
Am I a pro driver? NO.
Am I a pro drifter? NO.
Do I need to be to make a difference in this industry? NO.
When I started, there was no scene. There was no right or wrong in our world and there should never be. It’s OK to love drifting, drag, top speed all at once. The more you study and immerse yourself, the more you come to respect and love all cars and the people who build them. Definitely no haters allowed in our camp.
The irony of my situation is that I just love cars. The more I love cars and do what I believe in, the more I come to represent my own “scene†or “styleâ€, the very same thing I tried to avoid in the first place...Life is truly funny.
I am a hyper user and represent just one voice from a generation of people… People who fell in love with vehicle tuning and everything that comes along with it. We are more than just cars.
When I started tuning, I tuned for myself.
Now I tune cars for myself and others.
We are more than just an industry, and we are more than just a passing fad…and yes…I am enjoying the ride.
I get alot of people asking how I got into all this stuff. If you want to know my journey into this world, here are a couple interviews that pretty much explain everything but let me warn you,..it's not that much! ; )
Toshi Super Street Interview
Toshi IGN Interview Part 1
Toshi IGN Interview Part 2
