It’s interesting to see how the Japanese do it. Most of us try to emulate that JDM life but I find it intriguing how they also draw influence from us. Nothing proves this more with the success and popularity of events such as Slammed Society/Hellaflush Japan and supporting publications like USDM Freax. Coupled with the immediacy of the Internet, the landscape of how we globally collaborate and share ideas is quickly changing. So with that said, I want to illustrate how one particular Canadian-based crew, Level One, had successfully crossed waters, making it a true global family.

Level One was founded by one of our contributing photographers, Galen Wan. If the name sounds familiar, Galen’s own personal car (2008 Turbo Honda Fit), was recently featured in Honda Tuning magazine. To make a long story short, the crew received some welcome exposure on popular fitment-oriented sites, captured the attention of like-minded enthusiasts from Japan, and after some quick e-mails with Galen, Level One Japan came to fruition! Definitely not the first time we’ve seen something like this (ie. Lowballers & Lowballers Japan) but the key thing to note is these chapters don’t just share a mutual name. They share the same quality, attention to detail and aesthetic across the board. Here’s Level One Japan and friends represented at the Tatsumi PA meet and the famous Akihabara UDX parking garage.