Meet the staff

Here you can get a glimpse into the background of the current staff here at YotaTech.

Corey

Corey is one of the administrators and cofounders of YotaTech. He started up YotaTech back in May of 2002 along with Kctopher.

He is into computers, camping, working on his FJ Cruiser, and a lot of other activities. Most recently he has taken up RC helicopters as a hobby.

He grew up in the Pacific Northwest in Washington state, and he likes to explore the Greenwater area in the foothills of Mt. Rainier. He has camped up in that area since the early '80s as well as wheeled and explored a lot of that area.

He has a great job with the Boeing company where he has worked for several years, and plans on retiring from there someday so he can have plenty of time to explore.

Corey's entire buildup of his FJ Cruiser can be seen both on YotaTech and his personal website. His goal with his rig is to build it up for expedition/overlanding/camping, and of course a daily driver too.
http://www.yotatech.com/f135/fj-cruiser-mods-thread-90962/
http://www.pnw4runners.com/fjc/

Kctopher

Chris was originally born in Louisville Kentucky but moved to Kansas City shortly before high school and after many years considers KC to be his home.

After graduating college Chris purchased a 2000 4Runner where he began to scour the internet on ways to improve his ride. He found a couple Toyota communities one which he later met Corey and eventually emailed Corey about his complete frustration and dissatisfaction with the Toyota communities out there. Corey shared similar frustrations and then the discussion started "we can do it better" to which the whim turned into YotaTech.com a few months later.

Since that time Chris enjoys staying busy by traveling, triathlons, flying and just about anything outdoors. He recently "flipped" a house and also enjoys volunteering in the community and servers on a non-profit board to help others in need.

Because of his work schedule Chris is mostly confined to lurking YotaTech but leaves the show to the great staff on board.

Yoda

Yoda (David) was born and raised in the NW. Grew up active in Scouts and love the outdoors. When I was 18, I was active in Search and Rescue. One of the leaders had just bought a new 1972 FJ40. It was great and went everywhere. I was in love.

My first 4X4 was a 66 International Travelall (a tank). In '79 I bought "Yoda", my light green '71 FJ40. Next July I will have owned it 30 years. It has changed over the years, now having a TBI 327 and auto tranny (yeah, I'm that old).

I joined YT at the beginning, and have been the mod of the Landcruiser forum.
I am a mechanic at Boeing, working on the vehicles. My primary duty is the Fire Dept vehicles. I have worked on aircraft also, 747, 767, 757, and 737. I enjoy working on my vehicles and my son's 85 Toy truck. Always willing to lend a hand where needed.

Lysmachia

Molly was born in the land of the liberal. Boulder Colorado. But she grew up wheeling with her brother who was a trapper. It wasn't about doing a trail then. It was about going from point A to B... Still aside from the fact that she can skin a beaver she learned how to wheel early.

She started with an Isuzu club and after 3 years and a divorce she found herself with the Toyota guys when pulling out a Taco with her SAS Isuzu. The Isuzu went the way of the Ex, but Molly got herself a SAC 4Runner and the rest is "Tippy" history.

Molly's been very involved with wheeling over 10 years. From wheeling in New Zealand to TTORA, Pirate and YotaTech... she learns from the best forums out there.

After joining YT in 2004 she managed to catch herself a great YT guy (on this very forum) with whom she lives, wheels and wrenches with. In 2005 she was invited to join the moderators.

Molly's favorite place to wheel is Moab. She often goes there just to be a trail guide. She also loves to make 4x4 movies. Her latest venture is working with wheelersforthewounded.com to bring wounded American vets wheeling.

Aside from her current project of a 3.4 swap she is very involved with mental health issues for the less fortunate and cooking.

Molly likes to wheel, cook and wrench. It seems to be in that order.

Molly also ALWAYS takes questions. So PM her with any you have!

See ya on the trails!

rocket

4x4Fink

Fink (or Chris for those wanting to be more formal), was born and raised in a concrete jungle, just outside of Washington, D.C. While as a young boy, he didn't mind the restrictions that such an environment put on him - as he blossomed into an adventurous, free-spirited little punk, those restrictions started to cause issues. Where he lived, a "yard" consisted of a 10'x10' splotch of grass in the front, and if you were lucky possibly a 20'x15' patch in the back. If you were even more fortunate, you might have a shared backyard with one or two other families. Thus, the possibilities for outdoor activities and exploration were limited by the concrete boundaries that seemed to move in closer by the day.

In June of 2001, Fink and his family decided to move to "the home they never had." Fayetteville, Arkansas. While some may say, "Why in the heck would you move to Arkansas?!" I say, "Why the heck not?!" Arkansas is a beautiful place. The people are always friendly and respectful. Even on the busiest of roads, you will usually find at least one or two people who are relaxed enough to let you out into traffic. The towns are small enough to avoid the stresses and headaches that larger cities bring - but still substantial enough to give access to everything one could need. It wasn't until Fink moved to Arkansas that he realized what the possibilities were for him. He instantly fell in love with the outdoors and everything about them - off-roading, 4wheeling, hiking, camping, mountain biking (when in shape), canoeing, etc...

As soon as Fink turned 15 - he began his search for a car. He had grown up with family members driving Toyota's - there were 6 total. All were 4Runner's - all were 2nd gens. So why look for anything else? At this point, the economy was stable, gas prices were reasonable, it was just an overall good time to buy. Fink was fortunate to have parents who were not only willing to help him, but were financially able to and he is thankful for that every day of his life. He found a few 2nd gens here and there, however, nothing that really struck him. Then, he found it. A black 1995 Toyota 4Runner SR5 4WD Automatic with only 89,000 miles on it. Perfecto! Everybody signed off on it - it was a done deal. And thus, another Toyota enthusiast/freak was born!

Around that same time, while doing a Google search for 4Runner accessories/mods, Fink came across a Toyota forum - YotaTech. "What the heck is YotaTech?" he thought to himself. He was hooked from the first click. Fink started here as a total newbie, asking the same repetitive questions that we see on here daily. Fink is more than grateful for what he has learned during his time here - which is one reason why you may find Fink being a little more lenient towards new members than some. While some may poke fun of YotaTech for being a newbie site, it's still home. I go to the "other boards" and I can't stand them. Some have terrible layouts that make his brain hurt and others are just full of hot-headed internet tough guys. Not a very welcoming environment.

Throughout his career here, Fink has always been willing to help in anyway. Apparently, that didn't go unnoticed. Fink was asked to come aboard as a Moderator in October of 2007. He didn't even have to think twice about it. Since then, it has been stressful yet rewarding for Fink and he would like to thank the membership for being so proactive. Without the cooperation of the membership - our job would be 10x harder and this place would not be anything like it is today.

Fink, like all the Moderators here, is always willing to answer questions or respond to any concern that a member has. You can PM him anytime and he'll see to it that you're taken care of. If you ever have a concern about YotaTech - whether it be drama or a personal issue, he'd be happy to step in and do what he can to make your personal experience here as rewarding and enjoyable as his has been.

Remember to Tread Lightly and Be Safe!

aviator

aviator joined the YotaTech family in March of 2003. Like most members he was looking for help, in his case trying to find some of those sweet Euro-style side turn signal repeaters. He finally found some, thanks to cbrsport17, and it only took 4.5 yrs! (Let this be a lesson, it may take a while but YTer's will always find what they're looking for... eventually.) He makes his living as a professional pilot for a small charter company flying cargo, but doesn't get to fly as often as he'd like because, "I made the mistake of becoming skilled at pushing paper and dealing with government inspectors."

In Oct. 2007 the forum had become just too big for the four existing moderators to manage and a call was put out for nominations for willing volunteers to join the team. He decided that having been a member for so long it was time to give back a little and help out as much as he was able.

When asked how his first year as a mod went he said, "I can't believe it's been a year already! I want to thank everyone on the mod team for helping me out as I learn this challenging job and of course all the members and guests who make YotaTech the best Toyota forum on the net."

When not flying or working on his truck aviator enjoys preparing gourmet meals, fine wines and spirits, music, dancing and entertaining friends...
"I like to go to a friend's place, hijack their kitchen and prepare a special meal from time to time. It's just easier that way since most of my friends have small kids."
He is currently single and as he puts it "available".

Elvota

Elvota (or Steve in the non-virtual world) has been involved in dirt since he was knee high. First memories are exploring the terrain in the passenger seat of his father's Chevy Blazer or hiking around the mountains and valleys of Arizona. As he grew older, he progressed into building mountain bikes and competing both in cross country and downhill venues. By the way, he is now considerable less fit then in those days, but currently working towards resurrecting his former glory. There was something very intriguing about building a bicycle with ones own hands and being able to explore forgotten or even unknown sections of single track throughout most of the West. This mechanical inclination bled over into the world of off-road vehicles shortly after graduating college.

Starting with small projects such as spark plug replacements and oil changes, Elvota gradually progressed in both interest and ability until the summer of 2005. At this time he purchased a '90 Toyota 4Runner with the intent to change just about everything himself and see how far the modifications could take him. First mod was an SAS with the most recent and complicated project being the 3.4 swap. At this point there is almost no bolt that has yet to be touched on this once pristine SUV and even fewer mods that haven't been somehow documented on this forum. Throughout the entire process, Elvota read through countless threads here on YotaTech and used the knowledge gained for confidence and motivation. Posting questions and communicating with other members, he was quick to appreciate the depth of knowledge and friendly atmosphere this forum provides.

In February of 2008 Elvota was asked to come on board and help moderate YotaTech. Since that time, some have called him a great theologian, mighty philosopher and an insightful, even handed authoritarian. While it is true the wonderment that is Elvota is contained primarily within his own mind, it is best to tolerate his imaginary superiority and understand that his mental impediments are generally harmless. Further more, despite an occasional sarcastic comment... he is always glad to help a member with a question in regards to the operation of YotaTech as well as tech advice when he can. Last but not least it is his sincere belief that YotaTech is a place where Toyota enthusiasts can share their knowledge and excitement about modifying their vehicles at any level of expertise.

If you are interested in reading more of Elvota's literary contributions...a complete history of the 4Runner can be found here.
http://www.yotatech.com/f78/elvota-s-90-sas-4runner-98105/

Four wheels, three sticks, two hands, one trail!!

UKMyers

Joey UK Myers was born and raised in a small logging community in Northern Idaho. Old beat up Toyotas were what everyone drove in high school. After seeing the abuse they were capable of taking and the places a mostly stock one would go he became a life long Toyota enthusiast.

After high school Joey enlisted in USAF. Besides building and wheeling Toyotas his other passion is Flying. He landed a job as a Inflight Refueling Journeyman better known as a Boom Operator on the KC-135 aircraft. His first base was RAF Mildenhall United Kingdom. In 2000 he spotted his 4-Runner for sale. It was quickly snatched up and the mods began almost immediately. It was not long before Joey found a wealth of knowledge on 4x4wire. Shortly after that he caught wind of a new forum starting and then became one of the first 10 members to join YotaTech.

Joey was fortunate enough to wheel and camp in his 4-Runner all over Europe. In 2003 he did a 2 week tour of Wales, Scotland, England, and Ireland. He met several YotaTech members along the way. In the fall of 2003 the 4-Runner was shipped to the port in Tacoma, WA. It was off the boat less than 24 hours before it hit Greenwater on one Corey's famous Fall Colors run.

After England Joey moved to Spokane, WA which was much closer to home for him. He was able to wheel some of the old trails he wheeled in high school with the 4-Runner. After a lot of time on the trails and some Northwest pinstriping a vision of making the rig more capable began to arise. In 2005 the Airforce had other plans and Joey changed jobs to become a Flight Engineer on the mighty C-5 Galaxy. After an intense 9 month school he wound up at Travis AFB in Northern CA.

It only took one wheeling trip of not even being able to get to the trailhead in the Norcal rocks before plans to make the Runner more capable became serious. In 2006 Joey came across a set of already built axles and decided it was time for a SAS. The build up went fairly quickly. It wasn't long before the Runner was sitting at it's current state. Since then Joey has wheeled all the major trails in Norcal including several trips through the Rubicon.

Besides his built rig Joey drives a 2006 Double Cab Tundra which he recently traded in his 2006 Tacoma for. When not flying all over the world for the AirForce or wheeling Joey enjoys flying RC planes, riding motocross, and spending time with his family.

Last update was 10-16-2008