Interview: The Wolves behind Wekfest – A Visit To Weksos Industries

Every once in awhile, my life points me in the direction of some pretty great things.  I have a passion for this industry, and above all, I enjoy sharing it with the people who share my same sentiment – sharing and networking have always been the heart of my blog.  As a result of this, I’ve had the opportunity to meet some really amazing people.  Last year, if someone had told me I’d be having conversations with the pioneers of the industry all across the world, I would have laughed; or chuckled at least.  Well, it turns out it wasn’t such a funny concept.  Getting a chance to meet the people behind the brand, or the builders behind the cars is something not everyone gets to do.  A few days ago I had the chance to sit down with Kenneth Li and Adam Luong from Weksos Industries in San Jose, CA.  We chatted for a couple hours about the current state of the scene, where it came from, where it’s headed, a little about Japan, and a little about wolf fighting.  Click past the break to learn more about what Weksos is, and who is responsible for one of the greatest shows in the US – Wekfest.

Kenneth:  Weksos is primarily a retail business focusing on aftermarket automotive accessories. Throughout the years, we have thankfully seen our supporters grow. In response to this, we have been focusing on customer interaction lately as well by pushing our own Weksos apparel products and constantly updating our blog and other social media pages.

Kenneth:  Prior to Wekfest, we have always held our annual Weksos meet at our office location. At that time, any car related events within our community were far in between. After seeing our 3rd annual meet with positive feedback, we decided to host an organized show and try to rejuvenate the community as enthusiasts ourselves.  We saw that we were in the position to make a difference so we gave it a shot.

Kenneth:  I personally think that slowly but surely, using consistency and focusing on serving the community as a whole became our overall growing process.  Step by step, we starting seeing more individuals supporting the Weksos brand either  by purchasing goods from us or visiting Wekfest events. I wouldn’t say we’ve made an impact in the industry since we still have so much to learn and absorb, but staying consistent and understanding what the general public wants to see has helped us tremendously in our growth.

NDF:  The show scene stateside has grown past just cars; fashion and lifestyle companies make up a large portion of partnerships now. Looking forward from now, how important are these relationships?

Kenneth:  They are very important. In my opinion, fashion and lifestyle related topics are closely connected to our industry. I think people build their cars to their likely and personality. Much like how someone will prefer to dress a certain way or listen to a certain genre of music based on their preference. I think it’s important to connect all those things together in today’s scene so everyone can relate to what we’re trying to do. We want people to understand the things we do behind Weksos & Wekfest has some type of personal meaning to it. As a group, we try to maintain a standard by working with individuals or products in which we personally believe in. In doing so, we hope to deliver a sense of cohesiveness behind our business model. 

Kenneth:  I think fashion relates a lot to how people build their cars. You see cars that are painted a specific color or have specific trinkets in relation to their fashion preference. I think we’re entering an era where appearance and aesthetics of a car is as important as it has ever been. Sometimes that does detract the purpose and functionality of a specific automotive product itself. However, I think that’s why it is important that businesses within our industry do their part by educating the community the right and wrong things. At the same time, we hope that each individual can apply this info and still build their cars to their own preference.

Kenneth:  If I had to pick it would be a tie: Junction Produce & Weds. The display at JP was simple, but elegant. Their cars never go out of style. Sometimes by doing things simple, you can make a bold statement as well and they certainly did that. As for the Weds booth, the good use of lighting, combined with their impressive fleet of demo cars did it for me. There was a lot of product and info to absorb at the Weds booth, and it’s a good thing because it made us spent quite a bit of time checking things out in that area.

Kenneth:  We’ve gone twice within a year’s span and I’ve been there once in 2009. As we develop our relationship within the Japanese market, I hope our group can visit more often and really captivate their culture and understand their way of business. Tokyo is by far my favorite city to visit. I love visiting big metropolitan areas and Tokyo is one of the biggest in the world. There’s just so much to see and so much to learn that visiting for a few days will not do it justice!

*Agreed – visiting Tokyo, or any major city in Japan requires the dedication of at least a few years lol

NDF:  How much inspiration does the Weksos image draw from the Japanese car culture?

Kenneth:  We try our best to pay attention to everything. An idea can come from a place you least expect so it’s important to focus and look at things from different angles. Weksos definitely has a good amount of influence from the Japanese car culture. However, in order for Weksos to be different, we have to take in what we have seen, and either use these ideas as inspiration or decide to adjust our style accordingly to stand out from the crowd. 

NDF:  Japan typically drives the trends that we see in the us, but that’s not necessarily the case any longer. What progressions do you see emerging solely in the us?

Kenneth:  I think U.S. car builders are starting to really modify their cars based on their personality. In the past we have parts available and people would purchase these parts as a bolt on item and leave it as is. However, we are starting to see more custom work such as one off fabricated products and custom painted goods. It looks like the trend is to be different by having something others may have never seen or thought of before. Although custom work has always been popular, I think that this idea has really made an impact in the last couple of years. 

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NDF:  Did you ever imagine Wekfest garnering so much attention? And when will it go worldwide? You know it’s coming!

Kenneth:  To be very honest, we didn’t think it would draw so much attention. During the first few years, our intentions were simply to throw an event for the people within our community. We have been thankful that we are approaching our fourth year of operation. On the other hand, I think it is very crucial for us to stay humble by this experience and keep an open mind of learning new things, correcting our mistakes and focusing on the original intent, which is the people itself. Going worldwide would be an amazing experience but we are never ready to run with something before we can walk. Last year, we hosted a Wekfest nationwide tour which included stops in Chicago, Dallas, Hawaii and Los Angeles. The experiences we encountered on tour definitely open our eyes a bit. Sky’s the limit and I hope that one day we would be prepared enough to host an event internationally and spread the ideas and philosophies behind Weksos and Wekfest globally.

Kenneth:  Thank you for the support! Words of encouragement and growth is the fuel behind our work ethic. As long as we can deliver a good product or service consistently, Weksos and Wekfest are here to stay and we will endlessly attempt to improve as a group. We hope that Weksos & Wekfest can grow with the community as a whole and take the industry to a new horizon.

I’d like to sincerely thank Kenneth and Adam for lending me their time.  I’d also like to thank Geoffrey for setting everything up and for being a great mediator.  All humble, hard working people who deserve the accolades of their supporters.  If you are in town, or even if you’re not, you should definitely make the trip to Fort Mason on February 19th to take part in Wekfest 4.  Click the link for more information on the show.  I’ll be there and I’ll be square – if you see me holla and maybe I’ll give you a free NDF sticker.  I hope you have a better idea of what Wekfest is, what it truly represents, and who’s putting the muscle behind it.  Enjoy and, as always, thanks for visiting!