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About Me

How it All Started

Its my dream to start an online magazine... What we have created here at stance down low is the ability to share my personal experience as a vendor, sponsor, participant & organizer at events and shows across the Chicagoland. Whether good, bad or ugly. 
Our ultimate aim is to build a stronger car community that everyone can appreciate. This event offers a safe haven for individuals who have a passion for cars, music and food to express themselves without any restrictions.

 

What started off as me building my civic in my garage with a friend and my dad, turned into a test of my own limits and documenting the process. This has turned into me going to different meets and events and capturing the moments I've had with my car and my friends. If not for some life experiences, hard work, good support system and some smart choices none of this could of been possible.

I am a one man band here at stance down low with a small core of solid teammates that make our events happen... All the content on the site is me and all me... Words, pics, videos..... It is a challenge, a learning and growing process, an experience I would not change. I've put everything into this, my time, my money, my heart, my soul....

I just want to show the world Chicago car culture & the lifestyle that goes along with it...

 

I got my 1st ek9 when I was 16. I first saw an ek9 modified in a super street magazine, and I instantly fell in love with the body lines and how it looks. So from there, more magazines and research online with plenty of best motoring international videos, helped form the idea of what I wanted out of my car.

Stance down low started when I decided to build my car. I did not want to flood my own wall on facebook with what I was about to do, so the name popped in my head and I created a page. It was all pictures taken from my phone and the experiences I've had with my car. From turning what was just a hobby, into something I love to do, which formed into a business.

 

Carmax located a red 5-speed 98 civic hatchback with 70,000 miles from texas bone stock and rust free and we scooped it up. The first modification was actually a glow tip exhaust, which was a five finger discount from auto zone my friend gave me. I rocked that, for a few months, no lie. I did not know what I was doing that young. Next came a set of kyb gr2’s and Eibach springs from a del sol pulled from a junkyard was our first set up, till the makeover. The next purchases where a pair of black housing lights, a jun replica spoiler, si gauge cluster all off eBay and some rota circuit 8’s I got off the streets. These parts stayed on my car till the day it was stolen.

 


The makeover sparked when I lost my license, and the car was just sitting in my parents garage. With my subscriptions to Honda tuning and super street constantly reminding me what my car deserves, I can not explain it, but something happened. I pulled the trigger and bought a set of skunk2 pro S2 coilovers. From there I kept ordering parts, buddy club camber kit, control arms, ball joints, gsr brake set up with power slot rotors and hawk pad with stainless steel brake lines. Suspension and brake parts were arriving at my parents house weekly until I felt I had everything to attack the car at once to build a well balanced under powered car I could take to the track, shows and just enjoy.

 

 

With the help of a good friend, my buddy and I would work on the car on our days off. Once a week for a couple hours, to the tune of a couple months to finish the build. A good alignment and I was good to go. Perfect timing to complete the build, for it was the start of the summer. The first summer with my car I would go to every little weekly meet and every big show that I could attend. Taking pictures on my phone and posting the experience on facebook. That is stance down low, sharing my experiences in the Chicago car scene with whoever is interested.

 

What changed and turned my hobby into a business one might ask. With my growing interest in photography and some settlement checks bought to come in, from a bad car accident a few years back. The decision was made to make something out of nothing with my life and go full steam ahead with my dream of starting an online magazine. With the money,  I opened a business account, purchased a dslr, some gear, hired a web developer, bought software to edit photos and videos, also bought a canopy, stockpiling on merchandise in the form of stickers and lanyards.

Then for the 2012 season stance down low would make its debut on the show circuit and be a sponsor to events like another level, automass, and stancewi. I would bring my friends and their cars. It did not matter if we brought home a trophy, it's about chilling with friends and families and nice cars. 
Then there's the bad experiences I've had as a vendor which forced me to organize our own shows. I wanted to treat vendors how I want to be treated and this is why we started doing events.

 

The Heist

Now to briefly talk about my stolen car, and the new car recently acquired. Couple days before another level I did what was a routine at the time with a lady friend in the city. I'd pick her up after work and we would cruise down lake shore drive and then return to her place. I parked right in front of her house, in the morning I went out and gone the car was. I knew right away what happened just could not believe it. With insurance covering the loss, the search was underway for a new car. I looked at other makes, but I decided on another ek9 because I was not finished building my first.

 

 
MODS ON RED EK

Stance
  • Skunk2 pro-s ll coilovers

  • Buddy club front and rear camber kit

  • Buddy club rear lower control arms

  • Buddy club extended ball joint

  • Bolt boys nuts & bolts

Rims & tires

  • Rota circuit 8’s

  • Yokohama s drives

Propulsion

  • Stock d series

  • k&n filter with custom intake

  • exhaust

Resistance

  • Gsr conversion

  • powerslot rotors & hawk pads

  • IL4 Stainless steel braided lines

  • Si Proportioning valve

Exterior

  • Mugen-style lip

  • Jun replica spoiler

  • ctr grille

  • Oem front lip hardware

  • Skunk2 license plate frame

Interior

  • Type r shift knob-

  • Si gauge cluster

 

Introducing My New EK9

So the challenge was finding a clean swapped ek9 that has not rusted out. After bought three weeks of surfing Craig list, I arranged a meeting with half a dozen hatches to check out. The winner was a black ek9 out of Humboldt park that has swapped a jdm h22a with lsd tranny. I choose this hatch because it was a deal I could not pass up. I traded my 2002 eclipse gt for it and the insurance went to my parents, and I got my dad’s old envoy. I’d say it worked out pretty well, beautiful ending to a devastating moment of my life. All in all, the plan is to build this hatch like before, all motor and well balanced. Now with more go, I will add some show and document the journey.

Little did I know how much tender, love and care this build would need. So up on jack stands the honda went and in the garage it sat for three years. All the while, I was collecting parts here and there for ol' bessie. In all honesty this build went on the back burner to be resurrected when the covid pandemic hit. We will get back to this civic build but first allow me to catch you up on the rest of the stable. 

 

THE DAILY

I turned my attention to the daily at the time which was a scion XA. This car we had MXPI Tuning lower the vehicle with raceland coilovers. We added a set of TRD wheels and some spacers to get the fitment as flush as we could. Also, a TRD short shifter, carbon fiber hood, and some junction produce curtains to finish off the mini VIP build. I drove this car for years until I ended up selling it to a friend. From the scion, I went into a lexus rx350 for a little bit until....

 


THE FUGA


Then, I came across a deal of a lifetime that I just couldn't pass up to own the one of a kind infiniti M35 aka the FUGA. The car belonged to an ol friend of mine who had been trying to sell the car for some time. I kind of put the thought in his head that maybe I could be the new owner of the FUGA and give it a forever home. A deal was made and I became the new owner of the FUGA. 

 

I'll go into greater detail about the FUGA and the journey it has been on. Everything from no A/C to a new paint job to a bag blowing out and upgrading the whole system. Hang tight on that full feature article of the FUGA and the journey we have been on together. 

 

BACK TO THE HATCH


As I breifly mentioned, the COVID19 pandemic. The time when everything shut down and we were told to quarentine at home. Well it was during this time the spark was re lit and work on the honda begun again. The goal was to finish the car by Tuner Evolution and debut the car there alongside the FUGA. Welp, we finished the honda but not without overcoming its own obstacles.

 

Yes, the honda was built right here in the garage you see pictured. There were a few people that lent a hand and helped turned some wrenches on the honda. Those people will be mentioned in greater appreciation in the honda build article. But wait because this is just the start of the honda's story and it is a story filled with more drama than a daytime soap opera.

 

We should also mention some of the upgrades we have done the booth. Maybe we'll do an article on how we have stepped up our booth and merch game. As of now, this is the current stable in the Stance Down Low garage. Our track ready H22 ek9 hatchback and the infamous FUGA. Where's your Stance....? Coils or bags...?