(2) Stopping the Decline of Young Drivers

Can you tell us about the HOC (Heisei Owners Club) you founded?

Sure. The “HOC (Heisei Owners Club)” is a group of car enthusiasts born in the Heisei era.

I had been talking with car-loving friends and a friend my age who drives a Porsche 964 about how “it would be fun to create a group for young car enthusiasts.” So, we decided, “Let’s just create it.”

About four years ago, in November 2015, we launched HOC when attending EPM (Exciting Porsche Meeting) Yokohama.

At that time, I was mainly active on “Minkara,” so I first created a group there and started recruiting members.

So at first, it was on Minkara, not Twitter?

Yes. I wasn’t on Twitter yet. Actually, I started using Minkara before buying my first car, writing posts like “What should I buy for my first car?”

After much thought, I chose the “986 Boxster S (MT)” as my first car.

From there, I became friends with Porsche owners on Minkara, and one owner invited me, saying, “There’s a Porsche gathering event at Wangan Nagashima PA. Let’s go together.” That’s how I started attending events.

Jumping straight into your first Porsche event!

Yes. The person who invited me was a well-known Porsche owner on Minkara, driving a 993 Turbo.

I had never attended a Porsche event before, and since my Boxster was newly delivered and I wasn’t used to driving it yet, they kindly said, “I’ll pick you up on the way. Let’s go together in my car.”

Despite meeting for the first time, we met at Ebina SA, and I rode shotgun as we headed to Mie.

Along the way, more people joined at each SA. There were about 10 cars in Hamamatsu, but the group grew to 50, and by the time we reached Wangan Nagashima, there were about 200 cars.

I met many people there and was thrilled, thinking, “Touring is so much fun! Cars are seriously awesome!”

However, at several car events and meetings, there were hardly any young people. Most attendees were much older than me.

Still, talking with those people was very enjoyable and broadened my world, but gradually I started thinking,

“Are there really no other car enthusiasts my age?”

Talking about this with friends my age who love cars, we decided, “Let’s create a group for young car enthusiasts,” and that’s how HOC was born at EPM.

I see, that’s how it happened…

At first, we gathered occasionally on Minkara and went on tours, with about 10 members, but it was hard to grow beyond that.

After some thought, I realized there weren’t many young car enthusiasts on Minkara.

So I opened a Twitter account and discovered there are many young car enthusiasts on Twitter. As I interacted more, Twitter became more fun, and I gradually shifted there.

Now, HOC has about 50 members. We often meet at places like Tatsumi and Shibaura or go on tours.

HOC also has a branch in Kyushu, right?

Yes. A Porsche owner I got to know on Twitter asked, “I want to start an HOC in Kyushu too.” I said, “Sure, no problem!” and the Kyushu HOC was quickly established. It now has about 20 members.

Because of this, I made friends in Kyushu and have been visiting more often.