Nobody Calls Me Chicken, Needles!

Wow, 2015, we’ve finally caught up to the year Doc Brown found the technology to not only reach 1.21 gigawatts of power without the use of lightning, but also defy gravity and negate his need for roads.

When I started (admittedly quite haphazardly) penning posts for this site in 2009 I never expected to be still be doing it so many years later. I figured –like many of my ideas– I would grow tired of it in about a year, two tops, and move on to something new.

But that never happened.

Day by day, and post after post, I discovered new events, met new people (several of whom are now great friends), and gained access to automotive opportunities previously inaccessible to me, and with each year being better than the one before it I saw no need to stop.

As time went by the ‘blog-sphere’ changed fairly significantly. In 2009 Instagram didn’t exist, and Facebook pages were a new shiny thing, today those two technologies make up the entire on-line presence of some brands.

The word ‘stance’, which was more or less up for any interpretation, is now almost exclusively tied to aggressive fitment, and has been drug through the mud and shoved into the beginning, middle, and end of hundreds of “lifestyle” pages that bring next to nothing to the table.

Simply put now is perhaps one of the worst times to be an automotive blogger.

However every time I feel like throwing in the towel, every time I think about packing it all in and sitting on the side lines disgruntled, I get an awesome email, read a great comment, or meet someone who says my blog helped influence a blog of their own, or better still their current build.

The fact that I’m still here doing this today is without a doubt because of all of you reading this, so before I kick off another year I must say thank you, thank you for the motivation and overwhelming support.

It’s that support that keeps me going from event to event taking pictures and writing posts, and writing is something I plan to do a bit more of in 2015.

I share a lot of my own thoughts about the scene and attitudes within it on my own personal Facebook, and often I’ve been encouraged to do the same here. This year I’m finally going to listen to those urging me to record my thoughts and try my best to write op-ed pieces on at least a bi-monthly basis.

So in addition to Theme Tuesdays, WTF Fridays, event coverage, and features brought to you by myself and Drake Nolte, Chris Johnston, Nathan Powers, and Mike McConnell who make up the contributing photographers, this year you can expect to read more about what goes on between my ears.

The hope is to encourage thought and meaningful conversation instead of ruffling feathers, but we’ll have to see how it goes. The first few might be a little rough while I “find my voice” but hopefully you guys will stick around and see me through it.

Thanks again for reading, and welcome to 2015!