Subimods was born out of a family of true enthusiasts who possessed a powerful spirit that was quickly passed from a gearhead grandfather to an enthusiast father, to the entrepreneurial son, who, as a young high school student, had big dreams and visions of a successful future in a new type of business. Subimods’ CEO, Nick Nazzaro had just grown up enough to witness his father launch his own career in the automotive industry in the late 1990’s in Wethersfield, CT. The business model of his father, Dan Nazzaro, focused mainly on auto electronics and hi-tech components popular at that time. Dan’s offerings included early car phones, high-end audio upgrades, and the needed support and maintenance of specialized electronic devices such as remote starters - which were becoming very popular in the marketplace but, with any tech, required unique understanding and the expertise to correctly install and configure in specific makes and models.  

A more defined focus on automotive performance came in the early part of the 2000’s as the senior Nazzaro began to follow this passion which, ironically, was inspired by his own father’s love of racing cars at the historic Stafford Speedway (which has hosted car racing since the end of World War II) while he himself was professionally involved in the automotive business. By 2002, the redirection of his father’s business model, dedication of his efforts and switching his primary aim to supporting performance upgrades for JDM cars began to pay off quickly. Over the coming years after the 2002 Subaru WRX arrived in America and as the STI was later released in 2004, Nazzaro would make the call that Subaru was his path forward for the next years to come, so much of our history to date goes back to this one decision.

The Subimods team has learned a lot in a very short period, but assuming the hardest battles are over and have already been won would be immature and unrealistic. Milestones come with challenges attached. Victories come from exhaustion, hard work, and sometimes serious pain. Nazzaro and his company have recently come to grasp the phrase “Pressure is privilege” and carefully weave it into their business acumen and mindset. Nazzaro believes that this phase is something that solidifies the spirit that fuels the engine at Subimods. “We as a company and I as an owner understand that at our core, we have to do our jobs to the best of our ability”, says Nazzaro. “We are taking people’s hard-earned money and delivering a product to them. We look at this as a privilege that we cannot take for granted. As a result, there will be a greater sense of pressure that lands on me and the rest of the team to always excel and always do better. We understand that our growth and success stop without wholeheartedly supporting our customers. The practice and understanding of these basic truths function as a core element of our company.”

The spirit of motivation, inspiration, and dedication that exists within the Subimods core comes from the moving parts that propel daily success and maintain the personal engagement the company works so hard to sustain. Building the Subimods team over time is more than interviewing and hiring a few warm bodies to churn out the work with no personal conviction or ownership. Success requires endurance, positivity, stability, and the desire to learn how to improve. Building a good team is hard and a very important investment that Nazzaro takes very seriously. “We take the time to educate and develop the next generation of skilled workers within our company” Nazzaro confirms. “You can’t just be content with the turn and burn. At Subimods, we take the time to train. We allow our staff to learn and grow. We empower and show them that if they develop their skills, greater things are on the horizon – professionally and monetarily”. The Subimods team exists to be flexible in times of need and rigid when those winds of change become challenging.

The new Subimods headquarters allowed Nick and his rapidly growing team of passionate individuals to begin working at a different rhythm, a more passionate pace, with a different focus while grinding out their successes one victory at a time. Every year brought new challenges, new milestones, new opportunities, and new relationships which added to the excitement and motivation which became the driving force of the team and their fuel to push their brand to new heights as each calendar page flips. The business moved with technology, innovation, vendor engagement, and involvement with industry events. Subimods grew beyond being another choice for aftermarket Subaru parts and accessories in the vast and unpredictable ecommerce world. In a few short years, the Subimods brand developed a personality, a voice, an identifiable face that the Subaru community can recognize and see as dependable. 

Between 2013 and the present day, the Subimods world has continued to grow at a rate that could have never been predicted by anyone who held the fabric of its construction and the visions behind its modern birth. The team worked seamlessly through a challenging, unpredictable, Covid-19 pandemic and sometimes frightening economic timeline without losing focus and always concentrating on the target to serve the larger community like we would want to be served. These extreme efforts, goals, and achievements prompted Subimods expansion with the addition of a second warehousing facility and more staffing resources in 2021. The team attended SEMA with its first year Subaru VB WRX modification in 2022, appearing in the same year at the Tokyo Auto Salon proudly being featured in the Varis booth. The success and level of exposure continued into 2023 as Subimods made a second appearance at SEMA with the second year VB WRX modification. The timeline for the company continues to populate with more exciting milestones as each day passes, but this team is always directed to focus on the potential challenges that need transformation. The challenges that were transformed into victories of the past and those that will be victories in the future.

The methodology behind the wheel directing this company has allowed Subimods to cut its own path and worry about its own journey while serving the customer and Subaru community at the highest level possible. The most important motivation for success is the hunger to always improve on the quality of what you offer and how you stand behind everything you do each day without focusing on the other guy. Nazzaro remembers the hunger that kept pushing him forward to do things better, differently, while remaining uniquely focused on Subimods core business values. “I remember walking vendor row at Wicked Big Meet when Subimods first began when I was working the event alone.” Nazzaro reflects. “I would see several brand names displayed at the entrance and wonder how this is possible. ‘How am I ever going to get up here?’ That hunger to have what they had propelled me forward, but I always kept true to my firm belief that we had to do it our own way. Subimods couldn’t get far if we just copied what everyone else did. I had to make those decisions for myself, and the best interests of our company are seen even today. Subimods does not follow someone else’s path through the corn maze, we cut our own for better or for worse. At the end of the day, we reap the most positive reward.” 

Subimods has learned that the automotive aftermarket industry is a unique playing field which depends on the extreme passion and motivation of the individual enthusiast.  Their overall success, level of innovation, and acceleration of progress as creative, dedicated Subaru owners, directly aligns with the bottom line. Recent industry reports and insider predictions indicate that the total direct/online sales of auto parts, accessories, and sales of aftermarket parts for performance modifications could reach over $44.1 billion by the end of 2024. As the Digital Age moves swiftly over the industry landscape, is it impossible to envision that these numbers will ever decrease - but, it's not hard to see our industry stop progressing by refusing to learn from its mistakes and obvious complacency. Subimods observes many organizations standing still, fearing change, and refusing to do things differently because of predicted success into the future. Since its founding, Subimods has spent a large degree of our energy and passion accelerating along on a different path, focused on opportunity, and always looking for different solutions for a growing community. We have paid close attention to our mistakes and the mistakes of our peers. We have adopted a creed of supporting and serving our unique community of Subaru drivers with the same passion, energy, and enthusiasm that drives them to live through their vehicles. Our rewards come from their happiness and success, so we will never stop moving forward.