Today we’d like to introduce you to Nathaniel Johnson.
Hi Nathaniel, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I always enjoyed being around cars, but it wasn’t until I purchased my 2012 Acura TSX that things started to take off for me. My very first car was a 1982 Maroon Chevy Monte Carlo. At the time, the car was unreliable and didn’t really feel cool to me at all. My next car was a 2001 Ford Taurus. I modified the car as best I could, but there wasn’t much that could be done to it that would really turn heads. So, back to March of 2020, during the pandemic, I had finally had a car that had aftermarket support and would be something that could be modified and be a little more welcomed in the car community.
The first mod was tints, then an air intake, and then coilovers. Things were coming along nicely. I was very proud of the progress I had made. At the time, my friend Jovanny, whom I worked with, started talking to me about car meets and the car crew he and his brother had started. Now I had heard of car crews but had never thought of being in one or even starting one myself at this time.
A few weeks went by, after going to a few local car meets, Jovanny asked me if I wanted to join his car crew, La Familia. When he asked, I remember being so honored to even be asked to join. At this time, I had already been selling t-shirts online, creating designs and selling them on eBay & etsy. Joining La Familia helped me be even more creative. I started creating designs for La Familia for their banners and merchandise. Because I was experienced in selling t-shirts and the process involved in selling t-shirts print on demand, I was able to share this with Jovanny and show him that it would be possible to create merch for the crew. Once I had gotten involved with La Familia, things really started to take off. I’m also a photographer and actively take pictures of my car and the other cars in the crew, which helped bring a lot of attention to the crew. The crew had gone from 4 members to 6, to 10, to 20 members in less than three months. Things were growing very fast. But what goes up must come down. Members who had joined started to drive wedges between members and create tension where there had been none. And for me, I started to feel as if I was being pushed out, and all the hard work I was putting in just no longer meant anything due to the actions of certain members.
By July of 2020, we hosted one of the biggest car shows to be hosted in the 845. It was an eye-opening and amazing experience. We were contacted by the owners of Cold Stone, and they wanted us to host a car meet. The owner said he would let the city know, and we would be good to host the event. Now I knew I was the one who was a little bit more business savvy, so I did take lead on a lot of the planning. On the day of the meet, we had a lot of people show up. And there ended up being more people than there was parking. The police were called, and when we were talking to the officers, they said there were over 2000 people at that car meet. Unfortunately, the owner did not notify the town or city, and the police did hand out tickets for the mass gathering of so many people.
At that time, it was as if we were sitting on top of the world. As fall approached, tensions got greater, and by September, I had pretty much gone from a lead to an outsider. I remember once ties were cut with La Familia, I waited almost a month to take the banner off of my car, just because I had worked so hard to help build a foundation of what La Familia had become.
In November of 2020, I now sat with a decision. Do I join another crew, start my own crew, or just walk away? I was hooked on being a part of car culture at this point in time, and I knew I never wanted to be in a situation where I could put in all the hard work and be removed. This meant one thing: I needed to start my own crew. So I started brainstorming names for a crew. I wanted something that had Japanese roots since my car was an Acura. I started toying with different ideas and words in Japanese, but they would sound catchy in English. Sokudo means speed in English. I shared this with my wife, and she was like thats the one. So in November of 2020 Sokudo Empire was born.
I asked two previous members of La Familia who had also been blackballed if they wanted to join and be my Vice Presidents. And just like that Sokudo Empire was on the way. I wasn’t too sure where to begin with doing meets and hosting, but I did know that a lot of people knew who I was and saw that I was building a crew that was also a brand. So I spent every day posting content, being as creative as possible to have the page be active. In March of 2021, we were invited to co-host our first meet, and ever since then, we have been hosting meets of our own. Sokudo Empire has grown so much since 2020. We have had out-of-state chapters. We now have a modeling division with models all over the US & Canada. We have photographers who cover events all over the tristate.
I’ve been able to take what I learned from being a part of La Familia and put it into growing the Sokudo Empire. Til this day, we host bi-weekly car meets with Sonic Drive in, we attend local and out of state car shows all while sharing the passion we have for cars.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There will always be struggles in what you do. Learning from those struggles is and will always be the key. There have been times when managing different personalities of a car group can be a challenge. I’ve leared its always best to be patient and never make any decisions when upset. This is what has helped me navigate a few situations that weren’t easy to navigate.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Sokudo Empire LLC?
Sokudo Empire is a car group based out of Middletown, NY. It was started in November 2020. One of the reasons I started Sokudo Empire was because I didn’t want people to feel as if they weren’t allowed to be a part of the car community. It takes a lot to go to a car meet alone and attempt to connect with strangers. Being able to meet and join a crew of people who are into cars and can go with you makes things so much easier. I’m proud of what my brand represents. Even my family and children know what Sokudo Empire stands for. I want readers to know that my brand is enclusive we offer a lot of different styles and sizes. One of the main reasons I first started selling t-shirts was because I wasn’t a fan of the fact that the cool t-shirts were never in a size larger than XL.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
I am always open to collaborating with people on new ideas. I like thinking outside of the box and doing things that aren’t just a copy of what has traditionally been done for years prior in the car community. Shopping with our brand at www.sokudoemire.com is a great way to support the brand.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sokudoempire.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sokudoempire
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@sokudoempiretv
