Lords Of The Stance - Interrogation Room

HellaFlush

Mark Arcenal

If you aren’t familiar with the name Mark Arcenal, it’s time to drop some knowledge on you. He’s the man behind popular brands Fatlace, Hellaflush and illest. A car enthusiast from day one, he hustled for over a decade in the corporate world but followed a dream. After starting an online blog called Caffemocha in ’97, the website evolved into Fatlace, which became his career.

But we’re most particularly interested with a name he helped put into our vocabulary—HellaFlush. It started as a little saying, which transformed into a popular website, brand and show series. And it didn’t just appeal to a few kids with home-built drift cars. HellaFlush didn’t discriminate against any make or model. All you had to do was have the right wheel offset and ride height and you were in.

Cars and clothes—two of Mark’s biggest passions. Here is a view of his stores.

SS: How did you come up with the term HellaFlush?
Mark: I didn’t actually. In ‘03, a friend of mine, Jerry Pham, mentioned that our drift cars were “HellaFlush!” I told him I was going to buy that URL. The website became a place where we would show off our cars and other friends’ drift cars around the world.

SS: What inspired you growing up?
Mark: I was always into slammed VW Bugs and Buses, BTCC (British Touring Car Championship) and later got into JDM. My sister and all her friends were into lowriders with their Acura Legends on Daytons and air. It was a time when everyone was into their cars so you had many ways to go. I always liked racing so I stuck with the look. In the early 2000s, I got into drifting and built drift cars, keeping the wheels close proximity to the fenders. My Audi A4 wagon was that style too but we didn’t coin the term yet. The idea was to always be flush and have the car as wide as possible. It made the most sense.

SS: Can you define the perfect HellaFlush look?
Mark: The perfect fitment is to run wide wheels, -2/-3° camber on a flattened wall without having to yank on the fender.

SS: What cars have you built?
Mark: A slew of VWs—’58, ’60 and ’62 Bugs, ‘64 Kombi, ‘84 GTI and ’03 Eurovan. There were also an ‘84 BMW 318i, ‘94 Integra, ‘98 Audi A4, ‘00 A4 Wagon, ‘00 Honda S2000, ‘08 BMW Wagon, a bunch of Land Rovers and a few more that I’ve probably missed. Presently, I’m building a ‘62 VW Panel, ‘69 Datsun truck, ‘72 Nissan Skyline GT2000, ‘89 Nissan Skyline GT-R, ‘90 Porsche 911 964 C4, ‘95 Nissan S14, ‘97 Civic EK, ‘06 Range Rover Sport (wife’s car) and a Nissan Armada to tow the cars to the track.

When we asked Mark about his favorite stanced car right now, he referenced Rauh-Welt’s 964 on the cover of eurotuner last year.

When we asked Mark about his favorite stanced car right now, he referenced Rauh-Welt’s 964

SS: There are a lot of car shows out there; what’s different about your HellaFlush and Slammed Society shows?
Mark: HellaFlush shows bring people with a similar styling together. It’s like having a be@rbrick party and everyone brings their favorite be@rbrick. Slammed Society on the other hand was created for everyone. It’s like an umbrella for HellaFlush, Time Attack, drag and cruising to all display their cars.

SS: What’s your take on the HellaFlush scene’s growth?
Mark: It’s not really a fad because it’s been with us for quite some time. It’s a style of tuning. What I do think is a fad is the over-exaggerated style of some. Mega camber isn’t the definition of HellaFlush.