Annie & My FD3S

Talent: Friend/Amazing Individual: @annabelle__jain / Annabelle (Annie) Jain

If you’re following my IG, I have to thank you for the warm welcome to Annie. I know our sudden photoshoot caught a lot of you off guard, but it did for me, too!

Initially, we connected with each other a while ago but just needed the right project to work on (also it was around the time when we all had to isolate), and now that opportunity showed up - I just had no idea how compatible we would be. With recent scenarios happening, I reached out to Annie, and she was SO enthusiastic about working together. I was really excited to work with her on some portrait photos to round out my portfolio.

I sent her my inspiration video and she was 100% down for it, but it had nothing to do with cars. You need to understand that this girl can throw down a photoshoot at ANY time at ANY location. I was going to cameo my car in the project we were originally going to work with, but with a change of plans, I asked if she’d be willing to do an impromptu photoshoot with my RX-7 FD afterwards since I had it there.

Since this was our first shoot together, I suggested that we find somewhere secluded to get some practice shots in to get more comfortable with each other. It was at this point, she started roasting me and poking fun any time she could. She’s hilarious. Annie’s the one that made this shoot ULTRA comfortable. Since this is my first portrait shoot in a long time, I was really nervous. I’m really happy we could just vibe and get to work.

We talked about a few personal things that we both related on.. obviously, I won’t mention what they were, but the openness and how we related to each other definitely made the shoot easier.

I found out that her first car was a 3rd Gen Red Mitsubishi Eclipse, whereas my first car was a red ‘96 Mitsubishi Eclipse!

Once I published these photos on IG, I’ve been told several times that they give an “Initial D” vibe. For those not in the know, Initial D is an extremely popular manga/anime based on mountain racing/drifting, but the stars were both the cars AND the driver. Neither could operate without the other, and the way that Annie posed with my RX-7 absolutely gave the same vibe.

Funny, because, the entire shoot, I pictured her as Kyoko Iwase from Initial D, the one with the black RX-7. Initially, I was worried about how well this message would come across. Is it believable that someone young would have a vehicle like this and be able to drive it?

The answer is: YES. I was 18 when I bought my RX-7 FD3S. There is absolutely no reason why gender or age would ever dictate what you drive or what you’re able to drive. I threw her my keys, and she was able to operate my racing clutch with no issues. I barely let anyone sit passenger, but I was more than comfortable with her behind the wheel. The only thing she had to get used to, was the high revving nature of rotary engine in-between shifts, but after that she was right at home.

A far as I’m concerned, Annie has a spot in our crew. Annabelle is a straight up professional and I absolutely cannot say enough good things about her. She’s revealed a few more things about her interest in car culture to me lately, and I think that’s something that I’m looking forward to working with her towards. Keep an eye out for our future collabs!!