2018…

What a fast-paced year as 2018 draws to a close. With another year down, looking back at several key moments is worthwhile as it reminds us of  the lessons we learned from challenges and all the other memories to treasure.

Here’s my annual Fatlace Year-Ender – Take 6.

As I started blogging here at the site mid-2013, I took an ‘indirect’ responsibility to showcase several key points in Manila’s “automotive” culture.  I may not have tackled it deeply, but I can say I gave my heart into it.

Believe me that blogging and running a few automotive pages takes away personal time, but sure it is worth it as it serves as a portal to express your inner thoughts. This year, we saw a good number of portals take on the country’s spotlight. With these pages, Manila’s “car culture” seems to be more connected with different build approaches attending the meets and events.

My second year working in Car Porn Racing was a blast. A full time responsibility, CPR gave me a more comprehensive take on cars and on how it connects from the builder to the owner down to each single detail.

Speaking of details, working with Nakai-San was one of my key highlights this year with CPR. Here’s a photo of RWB Noah in progress. I imputed a build thread here, but if you backtrack posts from November 2017-January 2018, they are on idle as the site is currently upgrading its server.  Just in case you’re wondering where the old posts are. 

Now we go the key memories of 2018 starting off with the Tokyo Auto Salon back in January. Travelling to Japan is my outlet and serves as my key inspiration on my way of living. Here are my top 10 picks: Best of the Best

January also marks the annual  RWB New Year Meet at Hard Rock Roppongi. This year was extra special as it celebrated Nakai-San’s 30th year with “Rough World”. This gathering just grows year by year, I wonder what’s in-store for 2019?

It was good to meet and see everyone behind RWB. Here’s a photo of me, Angie, Struan, Mark and Scott – who teased his Renown collaboration steering wheel.

I finally traveled to Kyoto as well part of a 1 week stay in the Kansai region. A very laid-back prefecture, Kyoto embodies traditional Japanese elegance. Trust me, a visit here is a must – even without the car meets and all.

After 17 years, I finally landed back in Hong Kong. A 5-day  family trip, squeezing a day off to visit Reinart Design to check out some of the RWBs was a treat.  Thank you for your hospitality.

This year we kicked off Street63,  a local page which curates builds, meets and people behind Manila’s growing car scene.Although smaller in number of meets for 2018 compared to 2017, it was a good year for Stance Pilipinas / Manila Fitted as we managed to hit our 50th meet. As planned from the start, 2018 had less “organized” meets to focus on laid back ones to maintain the group’s intimacy.  For 2019, expect a few good ones as we celebrate our 10th year.

To add, we held our first Year Ender meet in our go-to spot “Turf BGC” 2 days before closing out the year. The weather was bad, but we were pretty surprised to have a good turn out for a December take 2. Possibly one of the best meets we had this year.  Should our Anniversary meets be moved by the end of December?

Project R34 receives a small-yet-distinct makeover to close out the year with a 1 of 1 set of Work L1s. A keeper, these Meisters has been my dream since I first saw it back in TAS2018. As to what’s next for this one? I guess this car has reached its final form. for now….

A project I’m set to start with, the C110 is now in the hands of my good friend Lloyd. Hoping to start this one mid-2019. Building a Yonmeri seems to be very challenging and costly, but it should be worth it. Looking at the timeline, I look forward to finishing this in 3-4 years time.

Speaking of project cars, here’s an R35 we built at CPR closely envisioning “Project R34″‘s style –  low, wide, deep wheels, ducktail –something not too fancy just letting the details speak for itself. For 2019, Car Porn has a good number of projects lined up to raise the bar here in Manila once again.

2018 gave me an opportunity to share thru a different portal with help of the #IAMTHESPEEDHUNTER program. For 2019,  I am looking forward to pitch in a few stories over at Speedhunters. Backtracking, here’s my first story – Tom Akigami’s NSX in Guam. In addition, me and Tom of Upshift Ent. are currently on the talks of having a Stance Pilipinas / Manila Fitted meet in Guam next year.

For the first quarter of 2019, expect stories from Japan as Tokyo Auto Salon starts in less than 10 days. Looking at the teaser photos, it seems like a huge year for SUVs dominated with multiple iterations of the  Jimny and Toyota Hilux. The new Supra is a sure hit but since the car will debut a few days after TAS, I guess we might wait until 2020’s show for modified ones. How about checking it out at SEMA 2019? Let’s see..

To maintain the Fatlace DNA intact here in Manila, expect stories from local meets, Illest PH, projects at CPR, motorsports events and streetwear events.  I received a few questions on how to get a featured here at the site, feel free to message me at IG @kevcarlos or [email protected]  if you have something cooking up for me to share.

So I guess it’s a wrap for 2018.

Thank  you to everyone for your time and support in reading my features. Special thanks to the people behind these groups for helping me contribute: Mark, Von and the rest of the Fatlace/Hellaflush/Stay Fresh Crew family, Manila Fitted’s core group, Angie and Car Porn Racing, Street63, Illest Philippines, RWB, Sole Academy/SA’ICHI/SAF, David of DMF Drift and the kids, Koji and JC of Work Wheels Japan, Legends of the 90s, JD and Jehl of adidas Philippines, Off White Manila,  Takashi Mori, Renown USA, Lloyd DC, Eightdecals, Ish, The Scene Media, Pau and Richard. Of course to each one of you who dropped by at the Stance Pilipinas/Manila Fitted meets! It would be a crazy list to enumerate each group but again, thanks for your support!

 #StancePilipinas #ManilaFitted#CarPornRacing #Fatlace #DMFDrift #DCGarage#ThaiCulture #ClassicalWorks #JMWWheels#FiveSixMafia #LegendsOfThe90s #TomatoGarage#Street63 #StaticCrew #BuzzHype #Otostethics#EverSince #Safe #AfterMidnight #TheSceneMedia#Hindotismo #Illest

This ends my 6th year-end review for Fatlace, cheers to an amazing 2019!

Kevin Carlos,

Fatlace / Hellaflush | Stance Pilipinas / Manila Fitted | Car Porn Racing Manila

Filipino Pride All Day, Everyday