As a company that specializes in Subaru performance being a part of Wicked Big Meet (WBM) is a no brainer for us. WMB 2015 had 6,300 Subaru enthusiasts in one venue for a one day show. This includes over 60 vendors and the best of the best east-coast & midwest Subaru builds.
In 2014 we made the drive from Michigan to Connecticut as WBM virgins and set up our vendor spot in our 25ft booth space.. for 2015 we stepped it up as an “official partner” for the event. We upped our booth space to 50ft, brought more booth cars, bigger displays, more parts, and most importantly gave bigger & better deals to attendees.
It was a long road to the show and lots of work, but we’d go even farther to meet our awesome east-coast customers. Here’s a look back at WBM from our perspective…
DAY 1 (hitting the road)
04:15 a.m.
Up long before the sun — but today it’s worth it: Trekking from Michigan to Connecticut for Wicked Big Meet!
06:00 a.m.
A quick stop at our shop for a few last-minute things. Trailer’s loaded up, ready to go. Badge overlays, check. Cosmis wheels, check. 773 miles to go.
06:30 a.m.
Meet up with our Subaru specialist, Alex Skatkov (IG @wrbluerex) and service rep Allen Vang (IG @al_vang). Allen’s driving one of the booth cars (static SF Forester) while the rest of us drive the trailer… WBM bound. 757 miles to go.
10:10 a.m.
Quick stop in Ohio to pick up our sales rep, Jason Willis. He’s agreed to help us out this weekend so we forgive him for driving Mitsu. And for living in Ohio. 589 miles to go!
02:30 p.m.
Sheetz for lunch in Pennsylvania? HELL YES!! This is starting to become a tradition for us when we go to east coast shows. Worth the hour-long delay (we don’t have Sheetz in Michigan). Most epic gas station food ever.
02:30 p.m. to 06:30 p.m.
Waaaaay more bathroom and gas breaks than we should have needed. Maybe we ate too much Sheetz? Getting closer, though!
07:50 p.m.
Welcome to New York! Quick stop for a sunset pic at the lookout…
09:30 p.m.
15+ hours later, FINALLY at the hotel! Quick parking lot meetup with our other two booth cars, Justin Mancuso (IG @WRXCTY) and Phil Russo (@_JDMGEEK), both in from New York. We offer Justin some spare change for a car wash but he declines ; )
DAY 2: (show time)
05:00 a.m.
It’s another up-before-sunrise kind of day. Not that we could sleep much, anyway. So much to do…
06:57 a.m.
It’s go time! We’re at the speedway three minutes before vendor gates open. Tents, tables, and displays ready to get unloaded.
10:00 a.m.
Gates are open, booth is up, cars in place… Not too long before to crowd rolls in. A few people (mostly staff & vendors) walking through and last chance to gather yourself before things get nuts.
11:00 a.m.
Crowd is officially insane at our booth.. talking to hundreds and hundreds of people non stop, meeting friends we’ve known over the years online, meeting new customers, signing autographs (@WRXCTY), & giving away some crazy deals on parts.
02:15 p.m.
Subaru badges are selling like crazy & we have to shut down our on-site badge production because we can’t keep up with the orders. Plus the sticker girls are getting finger cramps…that makes them cranky. (link to our Subie badges —> Subaru Badge Overlays)
03:00 p.m.
Things start to slow down a bit and finally some of our staff can start walking the show to check out the cars & meet up with some other vendors.
05:00 p.m.
Show’s over… break down the booth, pack the trailer, and roll out. One more night at the hotel then back up the next morning for our 15+ drive home. We’ll worth it =]
Our sincere thanks Khanh Duong & Robert Champion for hosting the biggest and baddest Subaru show in the world (www.wickedbigmeet.com) as well as a huge thanks to everyone who worked hard to make AutoCity Import’s Wicked Big Meet booth a success: Alex Skatkov, Allen Vang, Joe Tiano, Jason Willis, Phil Russo, Heidi Tiano, Nikki Anderson, Justin Mancuso, Allison Galgan, and Charles Siciliano. Also, tons of love to all our customers who stopped by our booth to purchase something, say hello, or just take a photo, or get a video clip. Thank you for your continued support, we are truly humbled and grateful to be apart of a scene that we are so passionate about.
See you all again in 2016!!!!
We currently have over 5,000 Subaru specific parts and growing in our online Subaru Performance Parts section. We are proud to support the Subaru community and if you have any questions about our products please reach out to us and let us know.
