The humble story of Hitori House

What is "Hitori House"? I don't think my brother ever explained what the strange name was all about... Sure, it sounds JDMey. But why "house"? Why not "team" or "krew, yo, LOLZ"? Well kids, here is the abridged version.

Sean and I didn't know each other until I came back from my 2 year tour in Afghanistan.

At the time, I was having someone build me a right hand drive s13 hatch with an s15 front. I spent a total of 34 thousand dollars of my hard earned money on this car. Since the S-chassis/drift community in Tampa was in its prime (with many shops advertising SR20 swaps and s-chassis work), word gets around pretty quick whether you want to be part of it or not. And since my builder had made a name for himself, it was only expected that other people would hear of a build paid for in cash the equivalent of most new mid-range sports cars on the market (Evo, Sti, Z33, etc)

Upon my return, I met Sean, who was very zealous about drifting. I was interested in it as well, but I was more after the options available for the s-chassis provided for making a fun, fast, and easy to work on car... We immediately hit it off and that was how our friendship began. I began working at RZ motoring, a shop that focused more on bolt-ons and wheels for higher end cars. Then, Driven Concepts (don't want to go into detail the drama surrounding THAT place) when RZ was ran into the ground, which Driven Concepts followed suit.

The term "hitori" in Japanese can be translated as either "alone", literally, or "single"; not with someone. I'm a rather introverted person, quite opposite to Sean who is a social butterfly. But one thing we had in common was, we weren't too savvy with the ladies. Furthermore, we adopted the term from Itsuki in Initial D who claimed "racers don't need girlfriends". We were odd, unpopular, and all about having fun with our cars. 

So, how about "house"? Well, after my family moved out of state, I was left to tend to the house I grew up in. It was time to start a family. A family of drivers blowing every paycheck on tires, gas, and car parts, struggling college students, and whoever wanted a place to call home with good, upstanding people. Hitori House was all about good times and family. Though we no longer occupy the house, the concept is still the same. 

It may have seemed random and out of place to backtrack and recap over the last few years of what Hitori House means, but this is whoever actually follows our crazy rants in this corner of the internet. Cheers.