Where it all began

I thought it would be fitting for my first blog post to cover the first drift event I ever attended in person. It was the 2004 Full Lock Motorsports Drift Nationals at Calder Park Raceway here in Melbourne, which pulled an impressive crowd of 8,000 attendees. After spending a few years watching videos and seeing photos of drifting online, I lost my mind when Full Lock finally announced they were hosting an event and bringing down drivers from Japan. I was beyond excited to attend!

The event featured all the local legends, including James Vahoumis in the D1 Garage S14.5, his brother Danny ‘Denzo’ Vahoumis in the JMS Pink Bits S13.5, Trent Hewitson (now of Chequered Tuning) in the D1 Garage 180SX, Christian ‘Corporal’ Pickering (now Origin Australia) in the black 180SX, Darren ‘Afro’ Appleton and many other local and interstate heroes. But we were all there for one main reason: the Japanese D1 drivers. The D1 lineup included Kazuya-san of B West Co, Tezuka-san of Kids Heart / Free-Dom, Hibino-san, and more.

The event was incredible and definitely gave me the bug that still drives me 20 years later. It’s also great to see that many of the people who founded this culture in Australia are still around, fueling the industry we know today.

Even the car park was a sight to behold, with many imports that were in their peak back then.

Anyway, I’ll be posting regularly on this blog, keeping it all my own content—from photoshoots to videos and project updates on the SK15SPL Silvia and more.