Welcome (back) to Checkpoint.

This is the beginning of something that ended right in the middle.

So, what brought us here?

Well before we can answer that we want to reflect on a different thought, the idea of how uncanny and easy it is to forget about ourselves sometimes.

And even more interesting to see what we may pass by when we allow ourselves to get so caught up in nothing more than ourselves. In 2017 Checkpoint was created with little more than the idea to unearth exciting collectables, merchandise and rare “good goods” from Japan, and provide the Pacific Northwest with an access point to these rare products that were so reflective of a culture long past and far away.

But almost as quickly as it began, life began to change. For most of us we were in that confusing season of life figuring out what it actually meant to become adults and face larger responsibilities, and when that was paired with the slowly increasing import prices, Checkpoint began to skid to a halt.

During that same time period we all had countless projects we were working on; projects such as car builds, small scale automotive blogs orrefining photography/videography skills. As time went on, the blogs faded as well; but the cars, friendships, and photography never faltered.

After this great hiatus, we finally recognized just how much we missed writing these articles and how important engaging with the automotive world was to us. But parallel to that realization we also recognized that we were no longer interested in looking at a blog like a business with expectations and we needed to let go of ideas such as feeling like content needed to be generated in a consistent manner or that we were required to cover things that we were not particularly interested in.

This realization encouraged us that now was as good a time as any to circle back to the things that made Checkpoint awesome to begin with, and no it wasn’t the jackets and steering wheels, it was the people, adventures and cars.

So with that in mind; welcome back to Checkpoint. A collective of Pacific Northwest friends doing moderately interesting things with silly cars and outrageous scooters.

So what happens next?

I’m not even certain exactly what is bound to happen just yet, but it’s safe to assume that we’re going to continue doing the things we love and going on adventures whenever the opportunity arises with the intention of sharing them. And who knows, maybe one day cool jackets and other random goodies will make their way back onto our online store or maybe not, but for now we hope you enjoy coming alongside us on this journey.