February 6th, 2013 – that’s the day this site was launched.
The name was created a handful of months prior, when I began sharing more photos from local events online and wanted a signature to add to them. In 2013 I then decided to launch a site both as a place to host them, and as a way to get back into blogging. I’d dabbled in it briefly before, but following multiple sites online (ill.motion, lifewithjson, Speedhunters, Chronicles, and so forth) started the desire to take another stab at it. I figured it’d be fun to have a place with which to share our stories and adventures, and after five years I’ll tell you this:
‘Fun’ would be the mother of all understatements.
I was always interested in photography and running this site has not only nurtured that, but has also sparked a true love of writing. officialTHREETWENTY has never been ‘work’ to me, it has always been fun and I truly enjoy being able to share the stories that I do.
And while officialTHREETWENTY acts as a showcase for our local automotive community, documents our personal projects, and provides information for Mk3 Focus and Mk7 Fiesta owners and enthusiasts, above all else however it’s a goldmine of memories.
At any given moment my friends and I have the ability to look back on the last five years of our lives and remind ourselves of the amazing times we’ve had, all thanks to cars. Similar to what I said in the previous post about Driven ’12 seeming to be simultaneously so recent and so long ago, the start of this site feels the same way. I can’t believe it has already been five years, but neither can I believe that everything seen here was packed into just five years.
Along this journey we have met many amazing people, had some incredible times, and made memories that will last the rest of our lives. Some of these things would have happened without the site being a thing I’m sure, but many of these things also wouldn’t have happened without officialTHREETWENTY.
At this point in time, 5 years to the day after the launch of this site, Mario and myself find ourselves working with fifteen52 on their Project ST campaign, I write for a print publication, and our car family is bigger than ever. The countless hours we’ve shared working on our cars together have resulted in awards and magazine features, and opportunities to work with some amazing companies and individuals. So many things have changed since February 6th, 2013 and things continue to change as we keep on working to progress our projects, meet new people, and find new opportunities for growth; whether it be for the site or for ourselves.
To recap everything that has happened over the last five years in one post would be impossible, but the truth is I really don’t have to. All of these memories are right here – a click of the mouse away – and they always will be.
officialTHREETWENTY is an ever-growing photo album, journal, and story of our lives with cars; let’s see what we can add to it in the next five years.
-Bill