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Cars have always been something I’ve had interest in. Growing up, my four older brothers were gear heads, and I guess I picked up their habits.
Dad walked out the door when I was 10, no warning, so I had to learn to grow up at an early age. I worked hard, and by age 16 I got my first car… an ’08 Honda Accord Coupe. That car was my gateway (and my weapon) to meeting & joining up with the car community in Houston. I started modding that thing with all my Christmas & birthday money, in addition to my minimum wage job.
Exposure to car culture in Houston, along with the more expansive ‘social media’ car culture, opened my eyes to a lot of opportunities. I got super motivated to get myself more involved, and started Prospekts car team with 6 other guys from Houston. We really strived to take it seriously, and set out to be one of Houston’s youngest & most elite teams. (You have to understand, teams are a big deal in the Houston scene… that’s just part of it)
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So fresh out of high school, I started college in the medical field… like every Asian mother prays their child will do, and a year or so into college, I was blessed with an accounting job that kept a good income while I was in school. Yeah, yeah, it’s all so stereotypical Asian. I know. But by age 20, I was able to trade in my Accord and pick up the ’09 Audi S5.
Before I bought the car, I already had a rendering of the final design on my computer. See, my older brothers started a graphic design business when I was still young. It is a business that I grew up with, and helped-out with since I was 10. Now that I’m older, I’ve got a lot of experience under my belt, and I’m getting more & more involved with graphic design as a career (one of them ha). But the point is: I had this car built to the T, before I ever had the keys.
So when I picked up the Audi in July of 2014, I drove it straight to a friend’s shop in Houston, Unlimited Car Stereo. They accomplished exactly what I had envisioned for my trunk. As that was going down, I was waiting on the Rieger kit and RS5 front-end conversion to arrive from Germany. The body pieces came in 4 months later, and the car went straight from the audio shop, to another friend’s paint & body shop, CMS Collision Motor Specialist. It took them 1 month to have the car kitted-out, and looking flawless. Next, I ordered the wheels, and took the car straight from the body shop to CVT Designs to do my Universal air suspension. They dialed in the wheel fitment & ride height perfectly. So 6-months after the original purchase, I finally drove my car for the first time… other than driving it just to ‘drop it off’ at a shop somewhere haha.
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The S5 became kind of a big hit in the Houston streets. And I’m realizing that it’s becoming another reason for me to get out and meet the more seasoned, more experienced guys in the car culture. The Audi has already been driven to Georgia and California in the past few months – and has really grown my network of friendships in the automotive aftermarket. Two of the best guys in the business are Anthony Quang and David Nguyen from VIP Modular. They introduced me to the California car scene this year, as they took me to Wekfest and opened me up to a whole new world. Thanks to them, I was able to leave my car on the West Coast this summer, as it tours California’s many shows. Hopefully we will make it back to the East Coast soon, and I will get a chance to meet more cool people from a different corner of the community.
My dream way back when I got into the car scene was to own a car that is magazine capable, and to be able to hit events on the East and West Coast. So I guess you could say, I’m living my dream right now.
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The business motto I always heard from my brothers was: It’s not what you know, but who you know. That’s not to take anything away from ‘what we know’… but that’s to emphasize the ‘human element’ under the surface of it all. And I truly believe that this cool-looking concoction of metals, paints, and plastics is allowing me the opportunity to network with some pretty awesome people across this country.
RSV Forged 20×10.5 front & 20×12 rear, Universal Air Suspension, RS5 Front End, Custom front splitter, Rieger Side Skirts, Rear, and Front Undertray, AWE Tuning exhaust, UNITRONIC Stage-2 tune, JHM test pipes, short shifter, JHM short shifter, APR carbon fiber intake and box, Corbeau RRS racing seats, Corbeau harnesses, Full custom trunk setup, 19’’ led Samsung LED TV, JL Audio 10w7 (2), JL Audio, 12000/1 v3 black edition amp, Custom enclosure, Rhino roof rack, 40’’ curved light bar with custom mounts, Custom roof tray.
