Obviously there is a big difference between a pearl and a diamond. Experts will agree that both are precious objects that come from nature, but one requires more effort to really expose its true beauty. The term diamond in the rough is most often placed on people who are seen to have amazing raw potential or value, but will only truly exhibit that brilliance if they are given the proper education, exposed to positive influences, or guided along a path that leads to something specific which is usually covered in greatness. Many times, the most exciting finds in nature are ones that grow out of pure influence and almost learn to polish and cultivate themselves naturally which makes their young presence that more brilliant than something older. At times, we see gems of this nature grow out of the vast and inspiring Subaru community. Younger enthusiasts who caught the bug early, began a direct pursuit to a goal, and did not let their age or inexperience deter them from their journey. Again, it is somewhat expected to hear one of these stories from an experienced, more seasoned individual, but not from someone who may have only begun to drive less than five years ago. Jake Hearn is a young enthusiast from Somers, Connecticut, a smaller, quiet, rural town about 25 minutes northeast of Hartford, a short journey from the Subimods offices, and extremely close to the Massachusetts state line. Hearn is not much different from most car lovers who contracted this wonderful virus that inflicts us all with dreams, aspirations, and obsessive worship of speed and performance. Jake had a definite jumping point when he entered the raging waters and current which takes us all away into a larger sea of automotive enthusiasm. This is a launch he proudly shares with the world at large. "My passion for cars began when I was a little kid," Hearn said, "Watching movies like "Cars " and "The Fast and Furious” movie series. I also used to play "Need for Speed" games on my XBox 360.", he confirmed. "That is when I came to a realization that modifying cars to make them personalized and tailored to your exact liking was a way to express uniqueness, and a way to make a car truly ‘yours'." Whether it was immediately known or unknown to his young brain, Hearn had just begun an important journey towards something much greater than himself.

Some strongly believe that you can manifest your own destiny by speaking those desires out to the universe with conviction and positivity. Many successful people in this world have admitted that after some reflection on their early life and examination of their true desires at those times, these convictions were what ultimately led to all the things that others just dreamed about but didn't work hard to achieve. Truly, many of the stories we tell have a strong portion of this element within, which is not missing from the backstory of Hearn when he decided that a Subaru would be his first and favorite car. "I was always friends with the older kids when I was younger," Hearn remembered. "My friend Kyle pulled up to my house with his 'new to him' 2005 STI and took me for a ride up the street," he explained. "From this moment on I knew I was going to be hooked on Subarus. I told myself this was going to be my first car. I remember seeing the gold wheels, big wing and hood scoop paired up with the rumble sound. It was such a badass car and I became extremely interested in these cars from that point on." With all this considered as the story revolves around Jake's young life and mind, it might not seem so far fetched that his determined wanting of a specific brand, platform, and vision of his dream car would not lead to this real life journey. "When I was looking for a Subaru and in the market for one I was looking at a GR WRX sedan," Jake said. "My friend's family owned a dealership and they were able to get cars from the auction. They kept their eyes peeled for a WRX for me for a couple months and a bone stock 60k mile 1 owner GR Hatch came about.", he exclaimed. "We pulled the trigger and ended up taking it home. I got all I've wanted for years, at the young age of 16 years old.", he added with pride. Even though he had a good degree of support and backing from family and friends, this young man had accomplished what many enthusiasts ten years his senior could only have dreamed of that early in their lifetime. Young and badged with an impressive platform to embrace as his own, Jake was quickly moving forward into a much larger world of excitement and reward that he could have imagined.

Hearn knew that if he was to achieve the great goals and see his young dreams come to fruition, he would have to gather resources to not necessarily achieve perfection, but at the very least take a journey that is based on hard work, expected failures, small victories, and a lot of education. All this effort and hands-on experience help him not only build character within his own life as a young enthusiast, but prepare him for all the possible obstacles in the wide road ahead. "My 2011 Subaru WRX was the first performance car I have ever owned." Hearn confirms. "I have done every modification myself, or with the help from friends in my garage.", he said. "If I need help with something like just needing an extra hand, or If I need help to replace my injectors, my friends are one phone call away.", he explains with gratitude. “Built not bought” is a saying I like to follow." Even though many would like to think of themselves as knowing all, the reality is, no matter how young you had started in this game, no one was born a mechanic or a Subaru expert. Being young and hungry himself while looking gratefully back on his early times, even Jake sees that his educational journey is always evolving. "The way I would categorize my level of automotive expertise and degree as a Subaru ‘enthusiast’ is that I am still learning every day”, Jake said with humility. "When it comes to working on Subarus, I can play ‘mechanic.’ I will try to avoid bringing my car to a shop at all costs. I am interested in working on my own car myself and if I don’t know how to do it, I'll call up a buddy and we'll get it done together." he confirmed. "After about 6 years of owning this car, I learned stuff so drastically from doing an oil change for the first time, to replacing a power steering rack." Reflecting on some of his experiences under the hood, Jake explained, "I haven’t ran into any major problems along the way, but I wish I would have done it right the first time, after buying the same part multiple times." He said with regret. "I am on my 4th intake, my 3rd intercooler, 4th set of coilovers, 5th blow off valve, and so on. As I look back, I wish I did my proper research and got the best of each mod, once.", he admitted.

Each enthusiast holds onto a unique collection of hopes, fantasies, and somewhat educated aspirations that, over time and motivation, may be delivered with joyful rewards or extreme disappointments. Either way we should not always expect a profound or inspired response when an enthusiast is asked what modifications, updates, or long term goals are in store for their Subaru in the future. When Jake was asked what additional modifications he would like to apply to his car in the coming years, he replied, "Nothing, It is time to stop spending so much money on this piece of metal.", he said jokingly. Just when you thought he had given up on the work to rest on his laurels, he admits, "All jokes aside, headers would be a sweet upgrade in the future, and possibly a bigger turbo. When I got this car, my goal was for it to be my daily driver, race car, show car, and stance car.", he said. "I also was mainly looking for it to look and sound good. I feel I have now achieved that, after daily driving it for the past 6 years and 60,000 miles." Still young, miles from 30, and with plenty of miles and good times on the road ahead, Hearn continued to reflect on the rewards he has pulled from attending events and achieving goals since becoming a Subaru owner and investing significant time, money, sweat, and tears into his chosen lifestyle and member of the amazing Subaru community. "I attended the Wicked Big Meet four years in a row.", he said. "The first time I went was without my car being in the show. From that point on, I was inspired by all the different unique builds, and tried to get into the show the next year.", he explained. "I got into the show the following 2 years. Unfortunately, this year for 2025, I was not able to finish wrapping it in time to be in the show, along with waiting for a replacement coilover to come in." Considering his story as told, Jake shines as both an inspirational owner with purpose that is not either expert or professional. Although, being somewhat early on his individual journey, he speaks with an old soul and veteran spirit that could appropriately guide anyone new to Subaru on a journey towards years of challenge and reward. "My example of my vehicle represents that these cars can be reliable.", Hearn says proudly. "I have driven my car every single day, and I'm now at 123,000 miles, so it goes to show that if you give them the proper maintenance, the car will run happily.", he confirms. "The Subaru community as a whole is extremely welcoming and everyone is looking to help each other. One of my favorite things about Subies would have to be that no matter which way you build your car, whether it be a race car, stance car, track car, show car, they’ll do it, and do it the best."

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