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Right around this time, four years ago I was in Honolulu Hawaii for the first time. With no idea of what to expect, and no money to pull of a trip of this scale myself, my good friend’s Troy and Corrie brought me to their favorite place, where they had actually gotten married a year before. Since then, I’ve made a promise to myself, that id get back to Hawaii as much as possible. Its unexplainable to anyone who hasn’t been. Ive travelled a good amount, and I can confidently say, There are few places on my ‘to-go’ list other than Hawaii at this point. And if your wondering, ‘blah blah blah cars wheels beer’, don’t worry im getting to that. Troy, who introduced me to this magical place found quite alot of inspiration in hawaii for his MK1 build you may remember from a while back.

Well, luckily I will be able to return, very soon actually, in less than a week. This trip will be me, my girlfriend Katya, As well as Kevin@Euroimage and his wifey. Needless to say, we are quite excited and we have some awesome stuff lined up to shoot while we are there. Starting the week off will be a GTG at one of Hawaii’s go-to shops for european cars, STS808. Ill be sure to get everything posted up asap and hopefully drag everyone out of the winter rut! To end off, I figured id share some photos from my first trip in 08. Enjoy.

With winter finally upon us, inevitably, everything automotive related has slowed down here in New England. Freezing temperatures and salted roads has put it’s usual damper on our obsession . Unless of course, you have some sort of indoor arrangement or enjoy turning wrenches while being exposed to 20 degree wind chills. It’s also a bit less desirable to plan to pull the ol’ camera out of the bag and snap photos in the same conditions. Sometimes you just have to suck it up I guess.

After seeing Ian Smith’s MK1 at Brokedown this past October, I decided it needed to be exposed. With it’s absurdly low ride height, wide multi-piece HTNs, and overall visually appealing aesthetics, it’s no suprise that this car has been turning heads at events and opening eyes on the internet. Love it or hate it, Ian’s MK1 is truly something to behold when you see it in the flesh.

With hectic schedules, it’s not always easy to make plans. After a month of messaging back and forth we finally set a day and time to get together. Once that day came, the wife and I met up with Tobias and headed on over to Banchwerks to join Ian and a few others. This was actually my first time visiting Jesse, Theo, and Chuck’s shop and we have something in the works coming soon involving Banchwerks. After snapping a few shots in the warmth of the shop, we set out for downtown for some burritos.

Watching Ian navigate his MK1 through the treacherous streets of downtown Providence was suspenseful, gut wrenching, and humorous (all at the same time). Sparks were flying and heads were turning as Ian led the way to several destinations. Pictures do not do justice as to how low this car truly is. And while this particular MK1 has been passed around the Brokestatus family, Ian has added his own personal touches and created something one of a kind.

We capped off our night in Providence at the Trinity Brew House for a few beverages and a whole lot of automotive discussion. Without a doubt, Ian is a humble fella and a pleasure to be around. His passion for automobiles goes farther than his MK1as well. When he’s not scraping every road in Rhode Island in his rabbit, you might catch him getting a little sideways in his E46 M3. And when he finds the time, you can catch him slinging dirt in his rally-prepped Mk3 (His personal favorite). All of this was discovered over a few brews and good moods. And that, to me, is what it’s all about. At the end of the day, the friendships we create overshadows any rolling hunk of metal.

Phil R.