DaYUUM x USDM FREAX

DaYUUM x USDM FREAX

They say a photo is worth a thousand words. Well who knew that this single photo of a VIP Lexus GS from Hawaii was going to have a lot to say?Spcoom_HI_2014_just_18During our second annual #DaYUUM808 trip to the island of Oahu, Hawaii we also took time to do some Spocom Hawaii coverage. Each of us basically split off to do our own thing and explore the packed Neil S. Blaisdell Center. This GS caught my eye right away so I wanted my lens to catch it too, but each time I wasn't happy with the result. Either the lighting was off or there were people in the way or maybe my eyes were just tired but through out the night I found myself constantly coming back to this car - determined to capture it in it's glory. As you can see from above, I got what I wanted, I was happy, so naturally I did what anyone would do - I Instagram'd it!Social Media is a hell of a creature. Long story short, as soon as I posted it, my phone buzzed with likes and a couple tags - eventually the post found its way to @EQVIPPED the sponsor of this GS which lead to Bryan Lee (@Bippu_Style), the owner of the GS...and Eqvipped! As soon as I was tagged in a repost, I learned that someone else noticed my determination to photograph this GS. Out of the hundreds of people who were at the show, out of all the people who came to their booth, that guy in the red hat up in that GS picture remembered me constantly coming back! Well a couple more tags and soon we became Facebook friends. It was official.Like a shy guy after his first date, there was a silent period until I decided to check out his online store and actually had a question about their merchandise. And just like that the convo just kept flowing - he knew I was part of DaYUUM! and eventually I learned that he's actually been trying to reach out to us and do some collaboration work. I can't reveal everything we talking about now because well, I want to surprise you all and plus I've probably rambled on too much now in this intro. It's time I actually talk about what I came here to talk about.Enter USDM FREAX magazine.USDMfreaxMAG-4Another thing I learned as I talked to Bryan is that he is one of the editors in an up and coming Japanese-based magazine called USDM FREAX. The saying goes "you want what you can't have" so while we are all about that JDM life here in the US, Japan has an infatuation with the USDM stylings. What better way to get USDM content for a Japanese magazine than a US source? With Bryan being limited to the island of Hawaii, he wanted to reach out to a Southern California-based group to help feature a wider range of content. DaYUUM! caught his eye and through my photo and social media he finally made the connection he's been looking for.USDMfreaxMAG-7 USDMfreaxMAG-5I wont bore you with the details, but in a nutshell, we provide content and in turn our DaYUUM! name and skills expand and gets showcased to a new market - Japan. The first step, we planned to do a feature on Nilo's NSX, but we had to get it done in time for the next issue! With some impromptu planning and a last minute surprise by David, my team of Byron and Denny pulled together and got some awesome footage for our first print feature...in Japan! Add in some shots from a past shoot by Jae, and we had it. #DaYUUMinJAPAN is now a reality!USDMfreaxMAG-1 USDMfreaxMAG-3 USDMfreaxMAG-2I am truly blessed to have stumbled on this opportunity for the team/family and myself. I can't wait to continue working with Bryan, a new fast friend and promising collaborator on things to come. Who knows, what if I was happy with the first shot of the GS and never came back, would we still be where we are now? Life is a crazy ride, so its best to enjoy it!Oh and another perk of being friends with Bryan, who regularly travels to Japan when they are putting together an issue...USDMfreaxMAG-8He sends us some JDM snacks! Yum! ^_^On to the next one! - Justin ( @JustDaYUUM )...Seeing your work in print is a different feeling, its great. But you are physically limited by the space on paper. So without further ado, here are the unprinted shots from our impromptu rooftop photoshoot. Photography by Byron Yoshida, cars owned by Nilo Miranda (NSX) and David Li (Benz), and model Donna Lazarescu. For photos from Jae Alba's photoshoot with model Chaba and the NSX click here.

#TDGToyDrive

#TDGToyDrive


SEMA Show 2014: Jayson's Pick(s)

SEMA Show 2014: Jayson's Pick(s)