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/
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!
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".
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.
DeathCougar
Josh was born May 11, 1983 in the quiet little town of Seattle, WA. With his 3
sisters and 2 brothers, he has lived many other places including Arlington,
Edmonds, Lynnwood, Lake Stevens, and Snohomish.
Josh currently resides in a sleep town called Arlington, north of Seattle by
about an hour. He lives there with his beautiful girlfriend Amira, and his loyal
dog Sylar, a purebred Min Pin. Need rat control? We have it covered
Graduating from Arlington high school in 2001, Josh was already in the work
force. He worked a part time job at an auto parts store, and full time at a fast
food resturant. Soon after he graduated, he was given an opportunity to work
part time at a wrecking yard called Nix99 (http://www.Nix99.com) a few months
later, he was moved to full time and quit his job at the auto parts store. 7
years of loyal service later, he works full time as a parts puller and salesman,
ready to help anyone who calls, including YotaTech members!
4 wheeling is one of the many activities this mohawk'd mod enjoys. On any given
weekend, you might find him cruisin his 87 4Runner through Evans Creek, Walker
valley, or Reiter pit. He spent several years prepping his truck for offroading,
and has it fairly well set up with dual cases, 33" swampers, and a spooled rear
end. However, wheeling is not Josh's only motorsports passion. He is also an
active member of F.E.A.R., which stands for Figure Eight Auto Racing (www.fearracing.org)
Currently set to start his 3rd year of figure 8 racing, it has become one of his
bigger passions.
'Coug strives to be fair and unbiased at all times, but will gladly take
suggestions or critiquing at any time.
waskillywabbit
I've always been a passionate person concerning my interests, so as I've added
new interests, I've expanded my skills and talents. Sometimes my passion about
something has put me in hot water, but as I've
matured and now have boys of my own, I've tried to channel my passion into
positive avenues in order to better not only myself, but my family and friends.
Many of the skills I now possess have been birthed
in this passion and have come through a great investment of time, effort and
expense. Some examples are learning to weld at the local junior college 20 years
ago, learning to play golf and becoming a scratch
golfer (okay maybe a 3 handicap), becoming fluent in biblical Greek and Latin,
having a 200+ average as a league bowler, and learning to play guitar after the
age of 30. I am a true believer that since you
only live once that if you want to be able to do something, learn to do it now!
One of my favorite quotes is "Vita sine litteris mors est" which simply means
that "Life without learning is death". I do not
want to end this life some day with any true regrets as life is too short. Carpe
Diem.
My current passion is Toyota 4x4 trucks and metal fabrication and out of this
passion WabFab Off-Road was birthed. While I certainly do not have the time nor
fortitude to make all the products I sell on my
website, as I have a full time job as a fabrication engineer for a local
industrial contractor, I do greatly enjoy fabricating products for my own truck
and sharing them with others. It is through WabFab
that I help to offset the costs of modifying my own trucks and hopefully my
boys' trucks in several years down the road.
My best created product to date has been the Slider Adapters for Hi-Lift Jacks,
which come in two sizes at the moment. It is out of this one product that WabFab
has grown into what it is today. My goal with
WabFab is not to be the biggest, but simply the best at providing personal
attention and service for my customers and anyone considering doing business
with WabFab. I like to know the name of the people I do
business with locally as I think that helps the relationship, so I strive to do
the same with my customers - to know them by name and develop a personal
relationship with them.
Tofer
Tofer was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. He then headed to
northern California for college in 2002. While in college he bought his first
Toyota, his 94 4runner. Originally perchance because of the Toyota legacy but
once he found YotaTech, the idea of 4wheelin started to grow. He was raised
around the garage, camping, dirtbike riding, and the outdoors, 4wheeling and
wrenching on his rig quickly because a large part of his life. After college he
moved back to the Pacific Northwest to be closer to family. His love for the
outdoors hasn’t changed. He now owns 3 Toyotas in various stages of life, and a
Yamaha Raptor 700 quad. Some of his favorite places to go wheelin are: Browns
Camp (OR), Barney Riley trail (CA), Sour Grass Trail (CA) and Feather River
Canyon (CA) When Tofer isn’t on YotaTech he can be found working on his rigs,
taking pictures, maintaining his forum (pacific-crawlers.com) or running his
small business YotaWorks. (yotaworks.com)
Last update was 4-12-2009