At the previous MOONEYES Christmas Party, Hiro “Wildman” Ishii, MOONEYES’ artist and pinstriper, customized our “Craft of Speed” MOONEYES Photography Book. We were inspired to have it done after a MOONEYES fan bought our book at the earlier Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show and then had it decorated by Wildman. We thought it was a brilliant idea and wanted one of our own.
Wildman has been working with MOONEYES for more than 35 years, creating art and design for the company and pinstriping cars and collectibles for clients. Originally a sign painter in Japan, Wildman met Shige Suganuma, the Owner of MOONEYES Japan, when he was searching for a car and later started working for him.
Shige knew legendary Ed Roth, an artist, pinstriper, show car designer, and the creator of counter culture icon Rat Fink. Shige naturally introduced Wildman to Ed. Not knowing any English, Wildman traveled all the way from Japan to Utah, where Ed was living, to meet him and learn more about pinstriping. Astounded, Ed called him a “wildman,” and the nickname stuck.
Wildman would go on to become one of the first pinstripers in Japan and internationally renown for his artwork. Now, Wildman is a fixture at all of MOONEYES’ big events, pinstriping cars and other memorabilia for happy MOONEYES fans. We’re excited to finally own a piece of artwork by Wildman.
To buy the “Craft of Speed” MOONEYES Photography Book (artwork by Wildman not included):
https://www.craftofspeed.com/store/photographybook
THE MOONEYES OPEN HOUSE—A REUNION OF OLD FRIENDS
The MOONEYES Open House isn’t just a typical car event. It’s an annual gathering of MOONEYES fans at the historic MOONEYES Santa Fe Springs, California headquarters. We’ve had the pleasure of meeting many attendees and learning about their connection to MOONEYES. A constant refrain is that a lot of them have been coming to this popular event for years. Indeed, it feels like a reunion of old friends with attendees who are happy to see each other. MOONEYES staff curate the cars and motorcycles that are displayed in the storied parking lot, but the vehicles on the street and the adjacent lots are just as amazing. MOONEYES pinstriper, Wildman, attends from Japan and does demonstrations of his rare artform. And music by a live band and DJ fills the air. Besides the incredible cars, we love seeing proud parents bring their children all decked out in MOONEYES gear—a new generation of hot rodders. We’ll be exhibiting at the event and selling copies of our “Craft of Speed” MOONEYES Documentary on DVD and “Craft of Speed” MOONEYES Photography Book.
MOONEYES OPEN HOUSE / “CRAFT OF SPEED” EXHIBITOR
MOONEYES
Santa Fe Springs, California
Saturday, 7/11/2026
9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
MOONEYES
10820 S. Norwalk Blvd.
Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670
To learn more about MOONEYES:
mooneyesusa.com / @mooneyesusa
To learn more about “Craft of Speed”:
craftofspeed.com / @humanistfilms
THE “CRAFT OF SPEED” MOONEYES DOCUMENTARY TO SCREEN AT THE GARDENA VALLEY JAPANESE CULTURAL INSTITUTE CAR SHOW FUNDRAISER
Our “Craft of Speed” MOONEYES Documentary will be screening at the Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Institute (JCI) Car Show Fundraiser on Saturday, 8/22/2026. The JCI is a thriving non-profit community center offering numerous classes, services, and programs for youth, adults, and seniors in the South Bay of Los Angeles County for more than 76 years. Their powerful mission is to create a space to engage, share, and embrace the Nikkei experience and culture.
We’re deeply honored to work with the JCI, which is a much-loved hub for the Japanese American community and everyone who’s interested in Japanese heritage and culture. The institute has a rich history. Founded in 1912, it was originally a Japanese language school, called Moneta Gakuen. After WWII, it became a hostel for Japanese Americans who returned from the concentration camps. In 1967, it was formally established as the Gardena Valley Japanese Language School. And in 1968, it was renamed the Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Institute to reflect its broader mission, which it pursues to this day.
In addition to the curated car show, there will be an exciting “Craft of Speed” screening, engaging post-film panel, delicious food trucks, and popular vendors. The star of the film—legendary MOONEYES—will be in attendance and displaying one of their historic race cars.
Thank you to Lyndon Meighan and the entire JCI team as well as all the event participants for this wonderful opportunity to work with you in supporting the JCI’s important mission. Our deepest appreciation to Mitchel Matsumura for his thoughtful referral.
GARDENA VALLEY JAPANESE CULTURAL INSTITUTE CAR SHOW FUNDRAISER / “CRAFT OF SPEED” MOONEYES DOCUMENTARY SCREENING
Gardena, California
Saturday, 8/22/2026
7:00 a.m. Vehicle Check-In Time
10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Event
11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Film Screening
Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Institute
1964 W. 162nd Street
Gardena, CA 90247
To learn more about the Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Institute Car Show Fundraiser:
jci-gardena.org/car-show-2026.html / @gardenavalleyjci
To learn more about “Craft of Speed”:
craftofspeed.com / @humanistfilms
“CRAFT OF SPEED” TO EXHIBIT AT THE MOONEYES OPEN HOUSE
Our “Craft of Speed” MOONEYES Documentary will be exhibiting at the MOONEYES Open House on Saturday, 7/11/2026, 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. We love being a part of this special event because it’s the annual gathering of MOONEYES fans at the legendary MOONEYES headquarters in Santa Fe Springs, California. We enjoy seeing old friends and meeting new ones.
The MOONEYES location is a powerful character in our film. Like a person, it has many moods, from industrious when the MOONEYES team is hard at work during the week to inspired when Chico Kodama, the President of MOONEYES USA, is building his land speed race car during off hours to celebratory when big events like this one are happening.
Learn more about this historic place and the amazing people behind it in our feature documentary, “Craft of Speed.” We’ll have limited copies of our “Craft of Speed” MOONEYES Documentary on DVD and “Craft of Speed” MOONEYES Photography Book for sale.
MOONEYES OPEN HOUSE / “CRAFT OF SPEED” EXHIBITOR
MOONEYES
Santa Fe Springs, California
Saturday, 7/11/2026
9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
MOONEYES
10820 S. Norwalk Blvd.
Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670
To learn more about MOONEYES:
mooneyesusa.com / @mooneyesusa
To learn more about “Craft of Speed”:
craftofspeed.com / @humanistfilms
THE “CRAFT OF SPEED” MOONEYES DOCUMENTARY IS AVAILABLE ON VIMEO AND DVD
Many people have asked us how they can watch our “Craft of Speed” MOONEYES Documentary.
To raise awareness about our film, we’ve been organizing many cinema events—not just typical screenings in a movie theater but special screenings with powerful themes, dynamic locations, curated car shows, respected guest speakers, engaging post-film discussions, gourmet food and beverages, limited edition merch drops, and more. We’re grateful to all of our community partners for their support.
In addition to our exciting cinema events, you can watch our film via Vimeo, a premier high-definition video platform. We chose this specialized one because it offers exceptional quality to our viewers. While there are much bigger and more popular streaming services, they often don’t showcase smaller independent films or enthusiast subjects. For Japanese speakers, we offer a version of our film with Japanese subtitles/captions.
For those who requested our film on physical media, we created a DVD especially for you. Even if a major streaming service picks up an independent film for distribution, they usually only offer it for a short period of time. With a DVD, our film can be part of your permanent collection. Best of all, the DVD disc is designed like a coveted MOON Disc. Because everyone needs to be MOON Equipped.
To watch the “Craft of Speed” MOONEYES Documentary with English subtitles/captions:
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/craftofspeed
To watch the “Craft of Speed” MOONEYES Documentary with Japanese subtitles/captions:
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/craftofspeedjapanese
To buy the “Craft of Speed” MOONEYES Documentary DVD:
https://www.craftofspeed.com/store/dvd
“CRAFT OF SPEED” STICKERS NOW AVAILABLE
During the making of our “Craft of Speed” MOONEYES Documentary, we discovered amazing archival photos of Dean MOON having his famous MOON Equipment Company stickers printed. Before the concept of branding was widely used, Dean was a genius at marketing, advertising, and brand building, creating his iconic MOON logo, painting all of his race cars in his yellow and black team colors, and putting MOON in the names of all of his race cars—the MOONEYES Dragster, MOONLINER, MOONBEAM, and many more. MOONEYES carries on Dean’s visionary branding to this day.
To design our own “Craft of Speed” sticker, we couldn’t help but think of MOONEYES’ powerful branding that’s lasted the test of time. We worked with Sven Igawa of Igawa Design, an award-winning graphic designer and longtime creative partner, on all of our marketing materials, from our movie poster to our DVD to our photography book to our stickers. We wanted to create something that could pay tribute to MOONEYES’ timeless stickers and long history of design.
To buy “Craft of Speed” stickers, movie posters, and other merch:
https://www.craftofspeed.com/store
DAVE SHUTEN’S “A SPARK OF COLOR” OPENS AT THE COREY HELFORD GALLERY
Congratulations to Dave Shuten on his new art exhibition, “A Spark of Color,” at the Corey Helford Gallery! The show is on view from 4/4/2026 to 5/9/2026. Owned by Jan Corey Helford and her husband, Bruce Helford, the gallery is one of the leading ones of New Contemporary art.
We had the honor of interviewing Dave for our “Craft of Speed” MOONEYES Documentary. He’s the lead builder at Galpin Auto Sports and has restored many of legendary Ed Roth’s show cars. He’s also one of the stars of the Discovery Channel series, “Galpin Auto Sports.” He’s not only a respected builder but also a talented artist, combining his passions in this exhibit.
The opening reception on Saturday, 4/4/2026 was an incredible event attended by many devoted fans and passionate art lovers. Entering the immense exhibit space, visitors were greeted by giant sculptures of spark plugs, outlined in black and painted in bright neon colors. Mounted on the wall were profiles of more spark plugs. Under the exhibit signage were large reclining forms painted with a spark plug and other bold designs in the same color palette.
We love how Dave was able to turn a tiny unassuming spark plug into a huge colorful sculpture—transforming something mundane into fine art. Upon closer examination, the vibrant paint and its subtle gradations also reveal his master craftsmanship. His brilliant work ignites our imagination.
To learn more about the exhibit:
https://coreyhelfordgallery.com/shows/dave-shuten/info-press/
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO ATTENDED MAKINA DRIVERS CLUB’S SUNDAY SERVICE AT THE OINKSTER!
It was wonderful to see so many old friends and meet new ones. Our deepest gratitude to those who brought their amazing cars and motorcycles to display.
A heartfelt thank you to Nick Tolosa & Makina Drivers Club and Max Guerrero & The Oinkster for inviting MOONEYES and the “Craft of Speed” MOONEYES Documentary to be Special Guests at their popular event.
Many thanks to NHK Broadcasting’s “Real Travel English” crew for covering Makina Drivers Club and this special event for their show, which will air in Japan.
“Salamat po” to Ron Dizon, Blake Dizon, & Teofilo Coffee Company for serving their rich-tasting coffee and introducing specialty coffees from the Philippines while giving back to the country.
Special thanks to Erwin Federizo & Oficina M’Arte for your beautiful t-shirt design and powerful creative work.
We deeply appreciate Shige Suganuma, Chico Kodama, and the MOONEYES Team for supporting this community event in Northeast L.A.
With your generous assistance, we were able to raise some money for Hawaii flood relief. When the news coverage recedes, your continued support becomes even more critical. Please consider donating directly to the Lahui Foundation or another local Hawaiian charity.
To donate:
https://www.lahuifoundation.org/