In our first installment of our Industry Spotlight Series we interview Elvis Skender founder of StanceNation.com.
In case you don’t know – StanceNation has become a powerhouse in bringing amazing content to the masses. Don’t believe me? Check out their Instagram feed. Over 400,000 subscribers!
Elvis, tell us a little bit about how and why you started StanceNation
I started StanceNation back in March of 2010. It started off as a small blog with me re-posting random photos of cars that I found around the net, but as the time went by and I realized that the fan-base was increasing, I opened up forums & hopped on social networks.
As the time went by I started working on exclusive content by getting exclusive photographers to contribute and actually going out to more events and shooting more cars myself. I can’t say that my intentions were to not ever have a blog seen by lots of people, but I also can’t say that I ever expected it to become as big as it is. We now have a team of about 20 exclusive photographers from all over the world and a few very talented writers.
The concept of Stance/HellaFlush/Dumped etc has been around for a long time. Why has it suddenly become such a popular look?
Everyone will give you a different answer, but in my opinion one of the biggest reasons is Internet. You can now build a proper car, post a photo of it on your Facebook or a car forum and within 24 hours it may end up on the other side of world and be viewed by 100’s of thousands of people. You also have to give credit to people like Mark and the Fatlace guys for helping make it mainstream stateside here.
StanceNation has a HUGE vibrant community. Your Instagram feed is incredible to watch. What is your secret to building this passionate community?
The biggest so called “secret” to social network growth is to value your fans. Take the time out of your day to interact with them, listen to their opinions (good or bad) and don’t forget that without those fans you wouldn’t be where you are. I honestly think that THAT is one of the biggest things that differentiates us from other fitment-oriented blogs & pages. Not saying others don’t value their fans, but we go the extra step to hear them out and interact with them every chance that we get. Fans mean everything.
How has the Stance movement evolved? Where is it going?
While I have always been a car guy and have always liked “low” cars, I’m not going to pretend to know it all. I can only give you my views & opinions based on the things I see & people I’ve met. Based off of that, I can tell you that we’ve moved from working on just our fitment to having an all around “complete car”. In other words, wheels/drop/bumper lip just won’t cut it anymore, rather interior, engine & more exterior work is where it’s at. Creating one-of things has also been on the rise these past couple of years whether it’s aero or custom suspension components.
Any big plans going into 2013?
There are a few things like events & collaborations across the world, but I rather keep it on the low until we make it a reality. One of the biggest things is the “unveiling” of my personal car (which pretty much represents StanceNation). What we have been doing is clearly working so we are not trying to stray away from what StanceNation was originally built upon. Biggest thing is to open peoples eyes and hopefully get more people involved in this awesome community of ours.
Bonus Question… your personal favorite showcased Stance vehicle on the site?
Oh, I can’t. I really can’t. Far too many, but if I had to point out a few off top of my head it would be that lime green S14 from Thailand, the E85 R34 GTR from Melbourne I believe or the black Supra from Sweden just to name a few. Countless cars though…
Awesome that wraps it up guys.. Thanks Elvis!
Make sure to check out StanceNation shop to pick up some SWAG!
how much does it cost to get a car stanced..????
It costs your self respect… dont stance a vehicle this website was created to make fun of the people that stance their vehicles