I got asked, “Sheldon, why do you always go to Hawaii?” I simply replied, “The car culture is sick, the food is fucking fire, and most importantly the people are awesome! Oh yeah and the women are complete babes! 😅” My annual trip to Oahu keeps getting better almost every time. The connections I’ve made over the past decade definitely helped make the memories worth it. This year marks my 10th year in a row attending Spocom Hawaii, so this recent event meant a lot to me. It’s been amazing to see how things have changed, whether it’s the style of the builds or the people who show out. Quite a few friends from Seattle and some heavy hitting models came down from the mainland including Marie Madore, Tamiko Lee, and the homegirl Mila Bunny. A solid amount of new cars came through to play. The venue was packed as hell with good people during the whole duration of the show. Last year’s gathering was a bit odd since it was held in June due to the venue availability. I didn’t even make a blog post for that lol. Nonetheless, the vibes were immaculate this time. You can always count on me to attend this show every year. Shoutout to those who made this trip and show a memorable one, especially Ross Maeshiro for always showing love. I didn’t get too much coverage during the show since I got caught up shooting the models I was with, but enjoy what I got lol…

First car that caught my eye during roll-in was this supercharged C6 Corvette on Advan GT’s owned by Barry Wong.

Rotary powered Mazda mini-truck representing SMG.

Dylan Watanabe hopped on the British Racing Green trend with his S2000 rocking an ASM front bumper & rear over fenders, Spoon diffuser, Voltex wing, Car Shop Glow taillights, and TE37 Sagas.

Compared to the last time I posted, Shayne Javier blacked out his Varis STi and threw on some Volk Racing 21A Spec-SR wheels. No surprise he took home ‘First Place Subaru’. Congrats again brah!

Kai Kaneshiro’s cambered out WRX on Work ZR10 wheels.

JP Damo debuted his full Spoon Sports JDM Integra Type-R last year, and decided to bring back his sick S2000 this time. I don’t think much has changed, but the GT kit is something I will always appreciate. JP was able to score ‘First Place Honda’!

Never a shortage of MK4 Supras with SMG…

Not often you see a done-up De Tomaso Pantera.

Loved this Stagea with an R34 front end conversion staged outside.

The Seattle homies, Jake Sidmore and Dung Nguyen, came down and experienced their first Spocom. They put in some work during their vacation by giving Mike Mariani a hand for Shop Space, but it’s all love haha. Mike gave his Prelude project a fresh paint job and slapped on the fire Racing Hart C5’s for the show. Very nostalgic, and memorizing.

It’s been a while that I last seen Ray Evans bring out his Spoon NSX. Last time he brought it out when I was there was the Hawaii S2K-NSX-Type R Meet back in 2021. As you can tell, the biggest addition he made was the Takata livery. Ray paid tribute to the JGTC widebody NSX from the early days. Pretty interesting overall and I give him props for doing it himself. He also threw on some Renegade Aero mirrors, a roll cage, and Advan RGIII wheels. Looking good as always bro!

Ray tossed on his cutout bumper with diffuser and Voltex wing. Super aggressive, and I love it!

Ryan Kumabe’s bridgeport FD RX-7 rocking an RE Amemiya kit and Work VS-ZF wheels.

Always nice to see Keila Kinjo and her Zenki S14. She hasn’t done much to it over the years, but I still appreciate how clean it is 💕

Caitlyn Iha’s EK hatch running a Tactical Art front lip, CTR rear lip, Spoon carbon duckbill, and OG mag blue TE37’s. She was kind enough to gift me a bag from her brand, Sachi Co. Mahalo again Caitlyn! Go support her! 💙

Tiare working hard… Or dreading the long, warm morning and waiting for Matt Le to bring her coffee…

A lot of history with this EK owned & built by Joey Sabugo… I’ll explain later, but I love the Mugen SS lip and bronze MF10 combo!

Boons Tiangco Jr. always finds some way to take his EK to the next level. He acquired Jesus Aguilar’s Rando Sports kit and wasted no time paint matching it in time for the show. Jr. also copped a set of Spoon SW388’s and a J’s racing wing to flow with the aggressive look.

Zammy Budollo experienced an unfortunate accident some time ago that affected his every day routine, but that didn’t stop him from working hard to the point where things are pretty much back to normal again and I’m super happy for him! He gave his EK a nice makeover compared to when he last brought it out in 2022. Zammy got a brand new C-West aero kit from Japan, Mugen MF10’s, and Endless big brake kit. Even did some stuff to the motor that you’ll see in a bit…

Rey Opriasa also copped a brand new C-West kit for his EK Zenki. I dig the blue decals on the Regamasters that pairs well with the Spoon brakes.

*Bumps into Bryan Bonilla at the roll-in door and played catch-up:
Bryan: “Did you see the car?”
Me: “Oh did you make any changes?”
Bryan: “Go check it out real quick over there and let me see if you notice.”
*Immediately recognizes the Osaka JDM fenders.
*Me: “Ooh nice carbon fenders! Wait a minute… You’re 5 lug now!”* 🤣
It’s the little, yet big changes I like to see for these builds. Bryan also got a clean set of OG TE’s and BattleCraft seats for the EF as well. So fire!

This will forever be one of the greatest EF hatches to be built.

Tanner Tamura’s supercharged S2000 running a J’s Racing front half spoiler and CE28’s. Peep the hardtop too. Baller!

Ryan Yasuhara tossed a Seibon carbon hood & fenders on his SGP FK8. Looking good brah!

Super clean boosted EM1 fitted with a J-Blood front bumper, Chargespeed side skirts, Mugen Wing, and Wilwood brakes tucked behind some bronze CE28’s.

Love the color on Rhenzo Biacan K-powered EK coupe.

Renee Douglass managed to score “First Place Acura” for her K-swapped JDM front Integra sedan on SSR Final Speed wheels. Congrats to her!

Jackie Hee debuted her Boost Blue FL5 Type R on BBS RI-A wheels. She was contemplating on bringing it out because her Exceed lip took forever to arrive from Japan. Thankfully it arrived the week before the show, and Leighton K. was able to fit it in his tight schedule to paint match it. Everything was proper! Shoutout to Picasso, BITCHES!

Jessie Jr.’s GT86 running a TRD kit and TE37SL’s. Took a high shot so you can see the Carbing strut bar and ARC induction peeking from the bay.

First time I’ve ever seen a carbon hood on a 4Runner. I dig it!

Caitlyn Iha and Mark Real working hard… Or staying cool…

I haven’t seen Jonjy Catalan since Wekfest Seattle 2019… Over the years he’s been staying lowkey from JC Films and focusing more on his brand, One Off Haus, and his Aimgain GS350 on Work Meister L1’s. The custom Emerald Gold paint was shining bright under the sun.

Randall Baniaga ditched the Work Emitz for some BC Forged wheels and also slapped on a Seibon carbon hood & LEXON Exclusive lip.

Matt Le didn’t showcase his A90 Supra this year, but still managed to get prime parking. Birthday boy gets whatever he wants 😜

The master mind, Martin Phan, hauled in the OG 2JZ-GTE swap he first brought out in 2022 and debuted his newest build: A 2JZ-GE utilizing a Third Strike Fabrications low mount turbo manifold and plenty of Titan Motorsports components. Fire as usual my brotha!

Dom Concordia stays making changes to his JZX100 Chaser, and I’m all for it! For this year, he slapped on some BN Sports sideskirts & rear bumper. His front bumper didn’t arrive in time, but the ITO Auto Traum front bumper flows pretty damn well with the rest of the kit. He also got some triple chrome Work Meister S1 3P wheels to go along with the hotboy phase. Good shit guapo guy!

Chris Diza’s JZX100 Chaser slammed on Work Equip 05 wheels.

The car I was most excited to see: Jake Antolin’s hella sleek Sport Design GS300. After many years of knowing him he finally showcased it at Spocom. Jake has been prepping the car for paint for quite some time to utilize the Ulterior Motive fender flares and Aimgain front bumper. He’s also running a Seibon carbon hood and Ganador mirrors to match the overall sporty look. Love everything about this GS!

Jake stays true to the 19’s… He decided to rock a set of Work Emotion ZR10’s finished in a Glim Black Diamond colorway. Tucked behind those are some OG Endless brakes. So beefy, yet so fire!

This year’s event was an emotional one. The community lost a true enthusiast and local legend, Travis Higa from HyperSports Racing. I never met Travis personally, but I know he was a real outstanding and loving guy, and he definitely made his mark in this world. Sending love and condolences to his friends & family 🙏🏼. The team brought out the Mustangs to pay tribute to Travis. No better way to show some appreciation for him.

This shot was from last year’s show. #TravisHigaForever

Alyssa Verdugo’s 240SX Hatch equipped with a SR20DET, M-Sports Type B aero kit, and Work Meisters.

The awesome Spocom staff [Keila Kitsu, Stacey Lau, Alice Hayase] hard at work slanging some merch 😁

Some people are saying R34’s are becoming played out now that they’re legal and more are starting to pop up on the streets and at shows. Might be a mainland thing… GT-R or not, those are just haters saying that shit or broke asses who can’t afford them lol. I’m enjoying the sight of these masterpieces like Chad Barcelona’s V-Spec R34 rocking a Mine’s livery and Work Meisters.

You can count on SMG for displaying the most R34’s…

This restored Honda Acty was definitely one of my favorite cars at the show.

Jon Natividad showing off his latest R34 project with his supportive family.

After going through a couple of MKIV Supras, Christian Rodrigo decided to switch it up and copped an ER34. He wasted no time slapping on a URAS super wide aero kit and TE37SL’s. Looks and sounds so good!

Mike Matsumo parted ways with his F360 Modena F1 a couple years ago and acquired this ER34 shortly after. He immediately threw on a URAS D1 Spec 2 kit and a few other things for last year’s show. This time he ran some SSR Professor SP1 wheels and made some mayjah changes internally….

Mike got quite a lot of custom work done under the hood. He retrofitted an RB26DETT valve cover onto the RB25 and applied a Greddy top mount manifold turbo kit that’s originally made for an R33 GTS. Mike also installed a Greddy intake manifold with a Q45 throttle and upside down throttle just to make it all usable for an R34 chassis. All this work earned him ‘First Place Skyline’. SUPER ACTION PACKED BRAH!

Some awesome model friends from Seattle, Mila Bunny & Nina Nadine, and Texas gal, Baby Lyna, made their first Spocom Hawaii appearance. I pretty much guided them throughout the venue. This is the reason why I didn’t get much coverage done during the show. Just playing lol 🤣

I mentioned there’s a lot of history with this EK… You’re actually looking at Hawaii’s first ever K-swap! Joey Sabugo built this car with a few of his friends back in 2005 all within a 3 month period. They came up on this K20Z1 swap with 2400 miles from a donor ‘05 RSX Type-S. Back then these swaps weren’t common, but they made it happen on the island and the work was done proper!

Rey Opriasa’s super clean bay including a K-swap with Kinsler individual throttle bodies.

The team with a theme… ITB is the way for Elusive Chapter 2! I was talking to Zammy a couple years ago and he mentioned that he planned to go ITB, and I’m glad he made it happen! Zam managed to take home ‘Third Place Classic Honda’. Talk about a strong comeback, Manong! 💪🏼

Boons Tiangco threw on a signed valve cover to go along with the Spoon theme. His car was definitely a crowd pleaser that earned him ‘First Place Classic Honda’. Well deserved brotha!

Tad Matsuno, owner of Mooneyes Hawaii & Pacific Rod and Street, vendored for the first time for Spocom. It was great to see him and his wife be a part of this after visiting his awesome shop in Kaimuki the past few years. He was able to take home the ‘Best Vendor’ award as well 🏆👀

Dom Concordia slapped on a Weld heat sink cover for his 1JZ and even got his valve cover repainted. It wasn’t the proper shade he wanted, but I still like it.

Jake had a little incident the day before the show, but that didn’t stop him from recovering and pulling up!

He swapped in a full 2JZ-GTE motor paired with a big BorgWarner turbo and R154 transmission a few years ago. Another reason why I love Jake’s car. Big inspiration fasho!

Vichida Loeum and Mila Bunny modeling on the new JZ Filth crate.

The Texas girls, including the one & only Marie Madore!

Best part as always: The infamous Spocom Bikini Competition 👯‍♀️

Best Team goes out to none other than SMG Hawaii! No surprise at all 🍾

The JZfilth guys killed it! Dom scored ‘First Place JDM’ and Jake dominated with ‘First Place Lexus’. Shoutout to the JZ guru, Martin Phan, for helping make this happen. Much respect to him and the fellow JZ enthusiasts 🤝🏼

That’s it for now! Now it’s time to focus on my project car lol. Mahalo for reading and stay tuned for the next one 🤙🏼

Spocom Hawaii 2025

Midnight RevUp Vancouver 2025