Background

Origins
DOHCcorp and DOHCresearch were long term projects that began as a small personal webpage started up in ’98 on a free Geocities-hosted website. After gaining more interest in automotive photography and upgrading to the now obsolete Sony DSC-F707 digital camera, DOHCcorp.com was established in 1999, which was the original company name. Through time, shooting friends’ modestly “souped up” cars expanded to photoshoots with other local car enthusiasts and clubs in the Hawaii import automotive scene.

Progression
Through mutual friends, I was fortunate to meet and become an apprentice to Steven Smyth, the original founder of SpeedHawaii.com, which was the primary website that brought worldwide exposure to Hawaii’s automotive scene at that time. A few other websites were also around, including the very popular 808rides.net (Marc and Kazzy), 808speed.com (Keoni), and eight08.net (Peter), which also contributed to the success of online media coverage for Hawaii’s import automotive scene. These sites slowly dissolved, bringing in the second generation of import websites, including my close affiliates at the time, aznlyfe.com (Khai Tran) and teamrice.org (Justin Saiki and Lance Akagi). Steven also came back through a new website, nucleartiger.com, which was also a part of our organization. At that time DOHCcorp.com had evolved into the current DOHCresearch.com name as I continued to grow the website.

Accomplishments and Woes
Through the span of 7-years, hundreds of gigabytes of photos and countless friendships made, DOHCresearch shot over 40 official features from Hawaii’s elite car crews including Alpha Project, Eurotechnik, PimpLux VIP JDM Styling, Night Garage, Turbolence, Speed Aura, EFI Unlimited, 1320 Performance, Team PRO5, ENDLESSgarage, Team Revision, Team Ultraspeed, Racing Pretty, and Vision in Progress Racing; and featured numerous events, which helped promote national exposure for Hawaii’s automotive scene.

Through the closing of Hawaii Raceway Park in 2005, the scene took a turn for the worst.  With no venues, enthusiasts had nowhere to race, smaller tuning shops withered away and only a few still remain.  Kapolei Industrial Park, known back then as “Triangles,” had further become industrialized and was no longer a viable place to hang out and drift late night.  Project cars and backyard builds slowly died down and interest was also lost in DOHCresearch as a result.  The site was retired at the end of 2005, kept alive only to retain past memories and serve as a database for Hawaii’s past.

Revival
Since the retirement of DR, I have worked on numerous projects with other companies and magazines to bring more exposure to Hawaii’s import automotive scene. The scene in Hawaii has improved since then and continues to flourish without a racetrack. The VIP scene is booming as well as the import scene as “fitment” has become a critical aspect of car builds. The Honda scene still remains strong as key players from back in the day as well as new enthusiasts are keeping the scene alive and kicking.

As I continue my journey in Japan, interest has once again sparked in DOHCresearch.  DR will always be a Hawaii-based import automotive website, but focus has turned to Japan to share and inspire enthusiasts back in the state in hopes to grow and mature the scene back home.

Client List

Air Runner Systems (US)
:: Freelance Photographer – Product Advertisements

Green-Bottle Productions (Hawaii)
:: Freelance Photographer – Automotive Features

Junction Produce (Japan)
:: Freelance Photographer – Automotive Features and Product Advertisements

Revision Audio (Hawaii)
:: Freelance Photographer – Automotive Features and Company Advertisements

Work Wheels (US)
:: Freelance Photographer – Product Advertisements

Publications

Option2 Magazine (Japan)
:: November 2002, Drift Session Hawaii – Battle Version event coverage

VIPCAR Magazine (Japan)
:: February 2008, Junction Produce Advertisement (2 full-page spread)

Honda-Tuning Magazine (US)
:: July 2010, Hellaflush Hawaii event coverage

VIP STYLE Magazine (Japan)
:: July 2010, Air Runner Systems Advertisement

Import Tuner Magazine (US)
:: August 2010, Hellaflush Hawaii event coverage