Message from Antonio
First of all, I’d like to thank everyone for visiting this page and taking the time to read this. I’ve been getting a ton of support from all the pro and grassroots drivers, fans, teams, manufacturers, magazines, websites, and mainstream media outlets who have heard about this book, and it means a lot. This book will be America’s first book about Drifting, and I’m very excited about it being released!
It has been well over a year since I first began talks with the publisher of this book, and began working on putting it together. This book is a bit different than most traditional motorsports books- it’s partially a history book, partially a photo documentary, and partially a behind the scenes look at Drifting in America. I’ve spent over three years taking the photos that you see in this book. At first, I was just shooting for my personal photo album as a drifting enthusiast- never in my life had I imagined that I would ever be writing a BOOK! Especially a book about Drifting! Anyway, one thing I think is interesting about this book is the fact that you can see my photography progressing from the beginning of the story to the end of the book. When I first started out getting into cars, I was shooting film!
We have some of the older photos in the book, but we wanted to focus more on the newer, more exciting photos. The publisher felt that most of the people buying this book would be looking to see photos of the professional drift cars from Formula D, so there are a ton of photos from the first two seasons of Formula D in the book, as well as numerous D1 and Drift Showoff events. Don’t worry, there are still a ton of older photos in the book, so for those who want to see what the current American pro drivers went through when they were still amateurs, there are plenty of those photos in there as well. We had to make this book as a general overview of drifting in America, from back in the day, up to the present. There are plenty of photos in there that have never been seen or printed before, and tons of inside information that most drifting fans don’t know about.
This is book was made for drifting enthusiasts, by a drifting enthusiast. Even though I work within the drifting industry now, doing photography, marketing, announcing, and consulting, I am really a die hard drifting enthusiast at heart. I’ve been working for the top drifting magazines in Japan for the past few years, and have been there every step of the way- from when drifting first came to America as an underground movement, to the phenomenal growth it’s been experiencing today.
I think that’s what sets me apart from the other photographers or media outlets involved in drifting today. Many of these new media outlets are new companies seeking to capitalize on drifting’s newfound mainstream popularity, whereas I’ve been there as part of the scene from before there even was a “drifting movement” in the United States. This means before the first D1 or Formula D, or even before events like Drift Day and Drift Showoff were even conceptualized.
However, I’m glad that the drifting scene has been experiencing tremendous growth in recent years, and I feel honored to be a part of it today. It is such a great honor for me, to be given the opportunity to create this book, and especially because it’s about something I love so dearly. Drifting changed my life. And it has changed the lives of a lot of people in America today. For us, drifting is not a fad. It is our lifestyle! Join us in supporting the drifting movement. Become a part of the drifting movement!
Pick up your copy of DRIFTING today!
Thank you everyone!
Antonio Alvendia
Cipher Garage
Los Angeles CA 2006
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