I was getting lots of requests to make some off-road themed gear for the 4x4 drivers. I dabbled with a few ideas and layouts, but nothing felt good enough to put out. I didn’t want to just create a design and call it a 4x4 division of Makina Drivers Club. It felt fake and shallow. Despite the requests, I put the project on the back burner and worked on other things that I had more inspiration for.
A couple of weekends ago, as many of you saw, I had a booth at the 2nd annual Mooneyes New Year’s Party at the Irwindale Speedway. It was a busy morning, but after I got the booth set up and was settled in, I finally had a chance to relax and even walk around to mingle. My friend Gary pointed out a person walking around taking pictures. He described him as dripped out in Makina gear. I saw the Makina New Era SnapBack and Gail KF Au Racing T-shirt. I realized it was Mikesumoto.
Mikesumoto is a renowned photographer from the San Diego area. He's known for his style of streetscape photography as well as his work in the hip hop scene. Many of his shots have been used by the City of San Diego and sold off by various organizations for charitable purposes.
He’s been backstage and shot photos for Dilated Peoples, Beat Junkies, Peanut Butter Wolf and the Stones Throw crew, Q-bert, Soul Assasins…just to name a few. When Mike isn’t shooting Hip Hop shows or city scapes, his other passion is being out in the middle of nowhere chasing the Milky Way.
He has studied moon phases and calculated exact locations along with the direction his camp should be facing during Milky Way season in order to capture the perfect photographs. This love for being outdoors, alone in the desert or mountains, photographing nature and astrology in all its glory led him to form his own lifestyle brand…Pacific Southwest. I would say it’s actually more of a movement than a brand. His mission statement says it all - the documentation and preservation of the Pacific Southwest.
We had been communicating for the past year online, but this was the first time we met in person. Photography and music are key elements of Makina Drivers Club, so naturally Mikesumoto fit right in. In our conversation, the subject of Pacific Southwest came up. The brand had done one successful run of T-shirts last year (one of which I own), and then just disappeared. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the project had to be put on hold. Even though it wasn’t active anymore, I still believed in it, and I knew Mike did too. A few libations and a joint session in the middle of the Makina booth produced some of the greatest creative energy between us. This was the energy I needed to create something for the 4x4 community. At the same time, this was the energy Mike needed to relaunch Pacific Southwest.
The PSW x MDC collaboration was born.
The Pacific Southwest region encompasses all of California, Nevada, and Arizona. Documentation and preservation means exactly that - produce amazing photographs of the natural world as it is, and do what it takes to keep it that way. As enthusiasts of off-road adventuring, camping, and photography, an important overall message of this collaboration was LOW SPEED & LOW DRAG. When off-road, drive at speeds that have minimal disturbance to nature and the least potential harm to wildlife. Travel light. Small groups. Minimalist camp set ups. Out in the wild, we are the visitors. Do your part to travel in nature with minimal footprint…anyway you can. Leave no trace.
PSW X MDC 2023. Coming soon...