The SileightyMania Podcast - Drifting Interviews with OGs and Pioneers Benson Hsu

Hiroshi Takahashi aka Kaicho is an AE86/hachiroku drifting legend from Tokyo, Japan. He started drifting in 1989 and is a self-proclaimed 2nd generation drifter.



In this episode, Kaicho gives us a history lesson and describes the drifting scene in Japan in the 80s and 90s, and some of the people who inspired him.



He tells us about joining team RUNNING FREE, and shares some stories about teammate Kouichi Yamashita and team leader Shingo Murao as young men in the early 90s.



Make sure to stay tuned for part 2 of this interview, dropping 6/11/2024!




Duck Off runningfree86 x SileightyMania Podcast stickers:

https://sileightymania.square.site/product/runningfree86-x-smp-duck-off-sticker/17?cs=true&cst=custom

This episode and all episodes of Season 2 are brought to you by Falken @falkentire , a supporter of drifting since 2003 and a major reason drifting is where it is today. Check out their ultra-high-performance(UHP) Azenis RT660, Azenis RT615K+ and their UHP Azenis FK460 at https://www.falkentire.com.



Follow Kaicho on IG:

https://www.instagram.com/runningfree86



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https://www.instagram.com/sileightymania





#drifting #driftinghistory #driftingpodcast #ae86 #hachiroku #japandrifting #runningfree #hiroshitakahashi #kaicho #runningfree86


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Tony Angelo is a US drifting pioneer from Doylestown, PA. He found drifting from Initial D in the early 2000s and started sliding his car around PA back roads, meeting Chris Forsberg in the process. In their turbo FC Mazda RX-7s, they were heavily into drifting before anybody in their area knew what it was. They eventually hosted sanctioned events at Englishtown Raceway, introducing drifting to others on the East Coast including people like Vaughn Gittin Jr. and Ryan Tuerk.

In this episode, Tony recalls getting into hot rods as a kid, discovering drifting, and his journey as a professional drifter in D1 and Formula Drift. He talks about the shenanigans they got into as team Drift Alliance, and his stint as a Formula D judge.

These days, Tony is well known for his stint co-hosting Hot Rod Garage and Roadkill on MotorTrend TV, and more recently from his popular YouTube show Stay Tuned. Listen in on our conversations where we reminisce on his wild past, share stories on the early days of Formula D, and reflect on how much the sport and he as a human being has evolved.

This episode and all episodes of Season 2 are brought to you by Falken @falkentire, a supporter of drifting since 2003 and a major reason drifting is where it is today. Check out their ultra-high-performance(UHP) Azenis RT660, Azenis RT615K+ and their UHP Azenis FK460 at https://www.falkentire.com.

Follow Tony Angelo on IG:
https://www.instagram.com/tangelo96
Stay Tuned on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@StayTunedTA

Follow us on IG: https://www.instagram.com/sileightymania

#drifting #driftingpodcast #driftinghistory #tonyangelo #anthonyangelo #clubloose #hotrodgarage #motortrend #hotrod #hotrods #mazda #maczdarx7 #mazdafc #mazdafd #formulad #formuladrift #driftalliance #eastcoastdrifting #bloodmasters #staytuned

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Jonathan Wong, proudly grew up in the San Gabriel Valley in Southern California. He was introduced to import racing in the 80s by his older cousins. After buying his EF Civic Si, he and his teammates from Team Macross 7 strived to make an imprint on import car culture through car shows and drag racing.

He started his career at the bottom at a magazine called Super Street and eventually moved his way up to editor-in-chief. There, he influenced millions of Super Street fans as he helped to popularize JDM style.

In this episode, Jon talks about the early days of import tuning in So Cal including drag racing at Battle of the Imports, car shows at Import Showoff, establishing his network through AOL chatrooms, his trouble with his first drifting issue at Super Street, his travels around the world as an editor, and he finally explains why he was fired.

This episode and all episodes of Season 2 are brought to you by Falken @falkentire, a supporter of drifting since 2003 and a major reason drifting is where it is today. Check out their ultra-high-performance(UHP) Azenis RT660, Azenis RT615K+ and their UHP Azenis FK460 at ⁠https://www.falkentire.com⁠. 

Follow Jonathan Wong on IG: https://www.instagram.com/jdmwong


Follow us on IG: https://www.instagram.com/sileightymania



#drifting #driftingpodcast #driftinghistory #jonwong #jonathanwong #jdmwong #superstreet #jdm #jdmhonda #jdmhondas #honda #hondacivic #hondaef #efcivic #jdmcivic #sgv #sangabrielvalley #importracing #importracinghistory




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Phill Lee is one of the first street drifters in the Chicago area.  He co-founded ClubFR, an organization created to get drifting off the streets and to legitimize drifting in Chicago and the Midwest area.  Under his watch, ClubFR has helped produce D1 drivers and Formula D drivers, they’ve hosted the RS-R Drift Festival, Formula D Pro-Am, and most recently, Final Bout.  From ClubFR’s inception to today in 2024, Phill played a role in establishing Chicago as an influential force in the USA in terms of drifting culture.

This episode and all episodes of Season 2 are brought to you by Falken @falkentire, a supporter of drifting since 2003 and a major reason drifting is where it is today. Check out their ultra-high-performance(UHP) Azenis RT660, Azenis RT615K+ and their UHP Azenis FK460 at https://www.falkentire.com. 



Follow us: 

https://www.instagram.com/sileightymania

#drifting #driftingpodcast #driftinghistory #philllee #philliplee #clubfr #midwest #chicago #ae86 #toyotaae86 #hachiroku #toyotacorolla


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Robbie Nishida started drifting in the 90s in Japan, forming an all AE86 Team Hey Man! with his friends at Yokota Air Base.  He shares stories of the origins of his “drifting team”, how they befriended legends of Japanese drifting such as Nobushige Kumakubo, Dart Izumi Jr., and Hideo Hiraoka.

Robbie discusses his 13 year long career in Formula D as a competitor and how he became an FD Judge.  He takes us behind the curtains, and gives us some insight on what it’s like to be a judge and he provides some advice for those who are serious about competition.

This episode and all episodes of Season 2 are brought to you by Falken, a supporter of drifting since 2003 and a major reason drifting is where it is today. Check out their ultra-high-performance(UHP) Azenis RT660, Azenis RT615K+ and their UHP Azenis FK460 at https://www.falkentire.com. 

Follow Robbie: @robbienishida

Follow us: @sileightymania

#drifting #driftingpodcast #driftinghistory #robbienishida #robbiekiester #heyman #teamheyman #driftteam #ae86 #toyotaae86 #hachiroku #86 #kstyle #kstyletruck #gtr #nissangtr #r35 #driftingr35 #driftinggtr #falkentire #teamfalken #kumakubo #bridgesracing #jerryyangracing


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We're pushing the Robbie Nishida release date to next week 1/9/2024. Thank you for your understanding.




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