Justin Letterick and his fleet of cars.

Justin Letterick has owned over 50 cars, and he isn't over 30. but this is not abnormal in the culture he is a part of. He stands over his car, proud of a car he inherited from the owner of one of his favourite shows. The vehicle is an MK4 Jetta, and even though I'm unsure of the year, it looks stunning. Every detail was looked over with this car, from the dialling of the wheel fitment-how close the wheel is to the arch of the body panel, and how the paint shines in the sun due to its well-kept condition. The car has made its rounds around the Maritimes, and if you show a community member, they will recognize it as Colin Cusack's car. 

But Justin has his car that he is known by.

 Sitting behind Justin, in an interview that has now been published, sits an R32 Skyline sedan of the GTST model. Justin has had this car for many years, and it holds so many memories. I have a photo of myself sitting in the back of the vehicle as he cruised through a Moncton street, as it was the first skyline I've ridden in. He imported it from Japan a few years ago, and since then, it has been through many versions, as the car community calls them. Most people work on their cars themselves and take pride in that. Justin is no different, except in the location where he worked on his cars. For the better part of 8 years, Justin rented out a storage container, which held all his tools and the vehicle he was working on. The skyline has seen those four walls a lot. But now, for the first time, he has moved into a house on the edge of town, where he has a garage of his own. 

The garage that Justin sits in is filled with all kinds of car parts and accessories, from wall flags, Nobori flags to enthusiasts and way too many sets of wheels for the garage. At heart, Justin is a reseller, storing many types of wheels simultaneously just to be able to turn around and sell them for a price. The Moncton community has a joke formed by Justin's characteristic reselling of cars, stating that it is not easy for him to keep a vehicle for more than three months. The garage is constantly changing, and now Justin is on to his latest project, restoring a 1967 Beetle.

Justin tells me that the first time he was in the front seat of a car, that was what sparked it for him. 

"I remember the first time I got to, like, drive in the front seat of this because I was really small. I was in the backseat of a car, so I got to sit in the front seat of his, and it didn't have seatbelts. I was like, This is so cool. Like this is where I know this is going to be something I like for the rest of my life."

 He then told me that his grandfather also sparked his passion, as watching him tinker with older cars made him realize just how much went into them and how exciting it would be to work on them. He has since had more chances to work on cars than most of the scene he is a part of. He yearns for the time that his grandfather introduced him to, a time of pure craftsmanship and pride in your car, something that he finds sorely lacking in the area today.

 I contacted Justin a week before this interview, asking if I could shoot his new car. He graciously accepted as he was looking for more pictures. I have always wanted to shoot this car as it is iconic in the scene, and to have Justin and this car together seemed right. He had told the previous owner, if he ever thought of selling it, to give Justin a ring. Luckily, he did. At the time of this shoot, Justin had had this car for the better part of a month, but I had been the first person to take pictures of it.

 Photos are a connecting force with enthusiasts, as groups will go out to get photos together, often socializing after the initial photos are taken. The act of getting photos together is merely a way to get together. Justin and I chatted for a while before the interview started, as I had a new project car that I was considering getting. Justin knew a bit more about them than I did. As a photographer, I have a unique niche in this community, as I know a multitude of groups and am able to intermingle with any as I please. But it is a privilege I adore, as I love learning about all that makes this scene tick.

The way the sunlight hits the top of the wheel in  this photo hides the unfortunate scene of events that unfurled after this photo was taken. I had knelt down to take a rear quarter panel shot and noticed wires on the edge of the right passenger wheel and hardly any air left in the tire. I called Justin over, and we realized we had to change the wheel, so Justin got his girlfriend to pick him up and come back with a spare tire and a jack to change it. I can't imagine how many times Justin has done this, but considering it took all of five minutes, I would say it was enough times.

 To me, this was the most interesting part of the job, all the little hurdles that happen with a photoshoot, from getting kicked off of school campuses, to changing a tire in the middle of a parking lot, to towing that same car that we had changed a tire on with just a winch strap, all the while hanging out of a Tacoma, communicating speed and the slackness of the line from in between two vehicles. 

Just as rewarding as delivering a vehicle down to its owner's house, it is just as satisfying to see the enthusiasts' reactions when they see your pictures of their car. These pictures help prolong the effort these people have put into their vehicles, their style choices, what wheels they have picked, and what colour they are really digging at the moment. It freezes a moment in time, and just as we remember memories by how they make us feel, these pictures remind us of how much we love what we do. Looking back on an old photoshoot, just as I have done here, is the most enjoyable thing as I relive memories I haven't thought about for over six months. It gets me excited for the summer when I get to pull out my camera and be able to make memories like this again. 

Before we had to change the tire and tow the car back home, Justin took me for a drive in the Volkswagen as we went to our photo spot. It was neat to see him in his element, as Justin has worked in several dealerships around town, the most notable being Volkswagen. he has a deep love for these cars. You can tell it when you talk to him, as he is able to pinpoint the year, make and model of just about any VW and has modified his fair share of them. The one we are sitting in right now, which he inherited from Colin, was Colin's project car, but Justin was the right man to take it over. 

This last picture is fitting to end things off, as just about every maritime car enthusiast knows the brand of the coat that Justin is wearing. Even more than that, everyone knows the car he is stepping into, but what they do not know, myself and Justin included, is the direction Justin will take the vehicle. Every car has its story with its owner, and just as Colin had to finish his story with this car, that means Justin can now put his twist on it. 

That being said, Colin and Justin are big fans of the OEM+ styling, which means the car should look quite similar to stock, just a bit cleaner around the edges. With that in mind, I don't suspect the car will change too much, but I do believe it is a one-of-a-kind.