Goodbye Sloyota

Goodbye 91 Sloyota Pickup. This is hands down one of my favorite designs and I can happily say I fulfilled a childhood dream. I’m selling it cause I need to Marie Kondo my hobbies. My girlfriend thanks me.

I bought this car a little over two years now and have racked up 10k plus miles doing outdoors shit like; camping, fishing and even drove it 1000 miles from San Francisco to Oregon with zero problems. How amazing is that considering it’s a 30 year old truck. To put it in perspective it’s older than my gf and it runs like day-one. It’s true what they say about these tanks, they keep on running even without oil (LOL, don’t actually try it though.) If you don’t believe me check out the thee part series on Top Gear called “Killing a Toyota.” These guys left the truck in the ocean over night and drove it out like nothing had happened to it.

In the time of owning this truck, I’ve restored and upgraded various parts to SR5 4Runner parts. You can see some of the efforts in the photos below but will appreciate it more in person.

I’m posting photos here to memorialize this car before I sell it. I regret not taking the photos of the car with the rims I copped for it- but that’s ok. You can see those in a previous post.

My favorite part about this truck is the vanity license plate “OMGTFTI”

yeezy THREE-FIFTY

Christmas came early this year. Little brother came back from Portland with a surprise. Placed this box on my lap and said " Merry Christmas" The original 350 Turtle-dove's are still my favorite design. Since I have those already. I'm stoked to receive these. WHOOO!

Nai'Ke AF1 Boots

I have yet another red swag post. I'm excited about these custom Nike's because I've been shopping around for new motorcycle boots for a minute, and these are exactly what I've been looking for. Only ten of these are made, and mine are No. 4 of 10. Plus they're my favorite color. Randy is the genius behind the Air Force 1 and Vibram mash-up. He runs a cobbler shop out of Arizona, and is booked for months. I'm glad I got to him early. If you're not familiar with Randy The Cobbler, check him out on Instagram or his site. 

Supreme Wool Camp

My latest red swag pick-up. The Supreme Wool Camp Hat. The materials feel high quality, its constructed very solid, seam-lines and stitching are tight. No loose parts. My only wish is; that the black adjustment feature in the back is made of another material other than the cheap black nylon and plastic clips. 

Biltwell Bubble Shield. An Astronaught Artifact

I have a problem. I think I'm obsess with the Biltwell Bubble Shield. I own the chrome, orange, and now red option. The bubble shield and the gringo helmet combo looks so futuristic to me. What do you think? I feel like I'm space traveling with it on. Zooming though California highways on my triumph. It looks like an artifact straight out of the movie "The Martian."

A Little Bit of Sunshine. Eno "SUNSHINE" Hammock

Today's pick up. The ENO Double Nest, SUNSHINE & Atlas XL Strap. I'm glad I decided to go with the XL straps. Tree's in California are girthy as fuck. I'll need the extra reach.

After napping in one of my buddies ENO hammock in Havasupai last month. I knew I needed one of my own. Its going to be a tough choice deciding between hammock camping or tent camping from now on. It's I'll just bring both. The hammock is so comfortable, like unbelievably comfortable.  It packs up small, very key in keeping light while backpacking. I'm definitely going to keep a set in my car for when the opportunity comes.  Here's a few photos of the Sunshine colorway I bought. I wish it was more red than orange. But I still love it. 

HO°BO° NIKE PRESTO'S

It's everything I wanted. I'm so glad Nike brought back the original Presto's released in the late 90's and early 2000. These Presto's are hands down my favorite design of its Lineage. They are light and comfortable, and give a lot of flexibility in the toe area. Of course I had to pick up a pair in red. Check out my custom HoBo ID's.

POWERTYE CARGO NET

If you ride a motorcycle that doesn't have a trunk. You need a cargo net. You'll never know when It'll come in handy. I picked mine up from Amazon for 8 bucks. It comes in black, orange, red or blue. The hooks are plastic but feel really sturdy. I keep mine in my backpack, and mainly use it to strap down groceries, or an extra helmet. In its relaxed state the net sits about 1ft x 1ft. Fully stretched out it's about 3ft x 3ft. These days I use it to go crabbing on my motorcycle.  But no luck so far.  Don't it at home. 

Portability is Key

I'm constantly quoting Chase Jarvis. He says "The best camera, is the one that's always with you." Its True. I take more photos using my iPhone than my micro 4/3. This is why I rarely carry my fancy camera anymore. I wish I did, and I should because It takes amazing photos. But, the convenience of a phone, the built in apps, and these Joby tripods make for an ultra portable, and killer combo.  

The Joby Grip Tight, Micro Tripod, and Mini Gorilla Pod pictured above can be found on Amazon. Each costing below 15 dollars, and fit in your pockets. Making them a no brain-er purchase. 

"Buy the Gorilla Pod over the Micro Tripod." 

I couldn't help myself so I bought both. I'm sorry, the red accents got me. After two weeks of use. It's safe to say. "Buy the Gorilla Pod over the Micro Tripod." The Gorilla Pod is way more versatile. It has magnets in its feet. Allowing you to get more creative with your shots. It contorts into complex positions, where as the micro tripod only sits low and pivots at it's mounting point.

Currently I used both tripod to grab filler time-lapse footage. They're both small and compact, so easy to whip out, and travel with. My main goal are to reduce hand held vibrations, and a clear steady shot. Trust me it makes a world of difference in post editing. If you don't already have a portable tripod for your phone. COP IT NOW.

Lastly. Here's a fun time-lapse using the Gorilla Pod placed over a cooler. 

Bentley like nanoBlocks

Anna and I picked up one of these "Golden Retriever" Nanoblock toy from the hobby store. It resembled Bentley so much. I had to. I bet if I grabbed two sets of these I could make a miniature Bentley. Here's a time-lapse of the build. It took forever! 

Picked up the Solo-Seat

I finally got a hold of a Triumph Solo Seat, and I can't wait to re-upholster it. I'm going for the pleated Oxblood (burgundy) leather look. Same color as to the Biltwell Recoil grips pictured here. 

This seat & bar combination will be way more practical for the road trips I'm planning this Summer.  I'll miss the cafe racing look that's on the bike now. But my back and butt will thank me later. 

Manfrotto D1 for DJI Phantom

If you're in the market for a drone bag, that is innovative and has plenty of extra room for other gear. Look no further. ( I can go without the red piping though.)

So I just scooped this new bag. Note, it's strictly designed for the Phantom 3 and below. People have said the Phantom 4 does not fit in these. I can be wrong. Anyone want to lend me their 4. I'll test it out. All other drones like, the 3dr Solo will not fit either. 

The bag costed 199. I bought mine up from Amazon here, or you can find it on Manfrotto's site here. 

The reason why I bought this bag over any of the other bags on the market is:
1. Most importantly. Holds the drone and the Remote.
2. Holds my laptop. 
3. Has an upper compartment to hold my camera gear. Lumix G7, 2 Lens, 1 GoPro and some mounts. It holds alot. BUT VERY BIG.

Here is my favorite part about the bag. The access panel in the front has three clips inside, to hold the drone with its propeller assembled.. This is super useful when you're shooting on location moving from one point to another, and don't want to disassemble the drone. Very innovative Manfrotto. 

Parts Slowly Coming In

These Renthal bars and headlight guards came in today. Can't wait for the rest of the upgrades for the Triumph to arrive so I can install everything in one sitting. 

Inexpensive 4k Video Cam

I'm no professional photographer, but I enjoy taking photos leisurely.  I'm more of a video guy. Specifically, I like shooting process videos of the things Anh and I do with Creative Session. So when Panasonic announced the G7, It was the perfect budget 4k video camera for me. I was gushing over the full frame Sony a7s II but couldn't justify dropping 3k for the body. Yet alone investing in new lenses.  I love the G7 price point. It's affordable, lightweight, and perfect for the type of work I'll do. Highly recommend. I'll post sample footage soon. 

Below is the G7 straight out the box. To the right is the blacked out version. Just the way I like it. If you're wondering I used black architectural tape to mask all the white labels.

HOT OFF THE PRESS

This is exciting. I purposely made red hats to do some giveaways. The only request is that you take a photo of the hat wherever you travel to. Tag #hoboworld & #gohobo

Astronaut Dreams

I really like the Gringo w/ the amber bubble shield combination. Its the closes I'll get as far as astronaut dreams go. From here on out, all my space travelling aspirations will, and shall be contained in this beautiful helmet. To space travelling everyone...

UKE LIFE

Look what I just got. A ukelele. No, I don't know how to play it, but i'm familiar with the guitar. Hopefully that will help. I'm not very good at guitar either though. HAHA

I figured I should learn a new skill this year. The last two years I picked up photography and videography. I'm now at a place where I'm quite confident in my ability to operate a camera and edit. So now for something new.

Peep the embarrassing video. So far I know a few chords, two strumming pattern, and trying to switch between chords smoothly. 

Rouge Roshé

Once again. Shout out to my brother from another mother Terry for these red Nike Roshe. My red shoe collection is growing fast, I've been switching out my sneaker wardrobe to all red kicks. Its a conscious branding element I've made. Steve jobs is to black turtle necks, like Hoang is to red shoes. 

Red October in November

This Thanks Giving comes with many blessings. I'm thankful to be alive, that my family and friends are all happy and well. That my brother and I started working together officially on paper. Shout outs to Playground, its been such a fun time and for allowing us to stay creative. 

Today I'm super thankful for my brother in law Terry Dang aka TDangerous. I dont care what anyone of you guys say, I'm still voting for Yeezy in 20/20. Anyways look what landed on my lap this lovely autumn day. Yup! red October in November isn't that late. Better late than never.  Happy Thanks Giving YALLLL.

Yeezy Taught Me

I've tried hard enough to get a hold of some Kanye's each time Nike or Adidas drops a pair. I want them so badly that I've considering buying from a reseller at a ridiculous price. I haven't done it yet, but I'll let you know when I do. For now I picked up some NIKEID Roshe's in the Yeezy dark color-way. Check them out, they're my poor man's yeezy no. 2, first ones are these Adidas.