I'll see what I can do on my end.

 

I have talked to Sean within the past few weeks. He assures me my kit is done and he will be shipping by the end of this week and will be emailing me the tracking numbers for the two shipments I'll be receiving. However this was the Friday before last and I still haven't gotten an email or phone call. I am extremely nervous because I have paid my full total. 😩

 

^Don't be nervous, you'll get your parts. In my experience, Sean always comes through. Takes a while, but it happens.

 

Alright, so a year and a half later Sean still hasn't called me or attempted to contact me in any way. And now more worrying is his number is disconnected. At this point I just want to get my car back, and pray all the parts I left in your care are still there.

Sean, you have my number, it hasn't changed. I would greatly appreciate you contacting me so I don't have to make a 10 hour trip without knowing what to expect. If anybody else can help get me in touch with Sean, that would be appreciated as well.

 

If you get ahold of him let me know i still have to grab a few things from him.

 

I've been emailing Sean for about 5 months and no response. Yes, his number is disconnected, but I'm trying to remain calm. If someone can put me in touch with him that would be great. I'm heading to Indianapolis from Hawaii in 3 weeks but I'm more than willing to take a side trip to Illinois while I'm there.

 

I thought I heard Sean is not at Aspec any longer. Maybe I'm wrong?

 

It's my understanding that Sean *was* a-spec, and yes, he seems to have disappeared. The website went down a week ago. I've tried reaching him through multiple channels, but at this point I assume that I'll never see my money again. I'll gladly sue him personally if I can locate him, however. Feel free to inbox me.

 

Just wondering if anyone has heard from Sean from Aspec. He was tight with this community and now he is mia.

 

So I really should have updated this thread last year, but I was really busy moving from Hawaii to California and let it drop. This post is months late, but I'm going to do it now. Last September, shortly after my rage-y post here (sorry; was frustrated) I found myself heading to Indianapolis to visit my girlfriend, and realized that I was only a few hours away from Schaumburg, Illinois. I decided to chance it and booked an AirBnB in the suburbs outside of Chicago. I rented a car, and with pretty much nothing to go on, went looking for Sean.

I found him on the first day.

And I took him out to lunch. We had the best macaroni and cheese. I am not shitting you guys.

Initially I was surprised, because someone had sent me a picture of "Sean", and it turned out that whoever that was in the picture, it wasn't him. I was expecting a really tall dude that looked kind of like Rubens Barrichello. Yeah, not him. Sean turned out to look like the guitarist in the punk band I had in college. Ok, that was kind of awesome. Everyone I messaged on here that knows him had said that he really was a nice guy. Well, he was more than that. He turned out to be incredibly cool.

Before I traveled to Illinois, I recognized that working from frustration would never be productive, so I made a promise to myself that I would show up and just find out how the heck he was doing as a person. To quote Jade Empire, I needed to follow the way of the open palm, not the clenched fist.

I won't go in to the specifics of what we talked about over lunch because some of it was personal, but I can share that Sean explained that he was bogged down with a number of planning and permitting issues pertaining to opening up a smaller operation, and that most of what he had was either in storage or turned over to the shop that took over his old business. What struck me though, was the recognition that he was struggling with something that I was also experiencing myself: profound burnout.

Burnout is something that I had recently become extremely well acquainted with. I had recently sold my share of the business I had founded to my partners, and was intending to take a short break from work before launching into something new that I was more interested in. I think I had been burnt out for years and didn't quite realize it until I stopped working and had a chance to slow down and breathe. I stopped moving from crisis-to-crisis, and my planned 3 month break became 6 months, which eventually became 20 months. I wasn't hurting for money, but the fire was gone. I had gone six and a half years without a vacation, averaging about 70 hours a week, and when it came time to energize again I found that I just couldn't. I eventually got it together and started a new business, but here's the thing: when I had lunch with Sean, he looked like he was in exactly the same place I was. Probably worse. I could see it all over him. It was a huge struggle for him just to be outside the house and hanging out with me.

Now my business wasn't automotive like A-Spec, but it was similar to Sean's in that we were both pretty much the only irreplaceable asset under our respective roofs. (My former partners tanked my old business less than a year after I left despite being solidly in the black when I departed.) If not managed correctly, it's a tough position to be in, and it starts to weigh heavily on you. Sean and I had both been lynchpins for our businesses for years without a break, and once we had that break it was like you just go into shutdown mode. It was a profound moment for me, because I knew exactly what he was going through, and oddly enough, it helped me get better.

I can only speak for myself, but after meeting him for lunch, I only mildly give a **** about my turbo system now. In fact, I'm prepared to just let it go if I have to. Apparently it's partially finished but he lacks the facilities to fabricate the rest of it like the downpipe return for the wastegate. Now that I'm settled in California, I could easily take the unfinished pieces to my Hawaiian friend Alex Pfeiffer and finish the fab at his shop, so I offered to pay Sean for whatever was done and take the rest, but he wasn't too receptive of that. I don't think Sean is the kind of guy that just gives away partially completed products. He has pride, and I think he lives really close to his work. In a strange way, I understand that. Actually, as an artist, I totally understand that.



So here's my (biased) take on things, gleaned from an admittedly short time hanging out with Sean:

- Despite our meeting, I'm no closer to having a turbo kit than I was before, but it turns out, I think I wanted answers more than than I wanted either a turbo kit or money. I got that. I may have to settle for closure.
- Sean seems paralyzed by a combination of depression and anxiety. He puts on a brave face, but he's going through some **** right now and I decided not to add to it.
- Sean is definitely not broke, but he's kind of in limbo in terms of money. It seems he shut down A-Spec for more than financial reasons.
- I believe Sean has good intentions, but I don't believe he can be pressured into delivering. That's just not how depression works.
- Yes, depression is real. Fight me.
- I do have a way to call him, but he hasn't picked up or responded since September. Again, he's going through some **** right now. No, I am NOT giving his number out. To anyone. For any reason. Sorry.
- I'm not your messenger to Sean either. Please don't ask. You'll have better results with a messenger owl.
- I just built a second engine on a stand. I'm ready to go, but I have no turbo. If Sean is still in recovery mode, I'm just going to pick up another turbo system and not make a big thing about it. It'll balance out someday, somehow.
- Lastly, I really do think I'll hear from Sean again, but not until he's ready. That probably goes for everyone.



And that's my story. Mahalo, and aloha kākou.

 

Damn i amI feel shitty. I did get my turbo kit from Sean and I was very impressed. I put a lot of pressure on him in a difficult time in his life by making sure I got my turbo before he closed down shop. I recently went through something similar. PTSD is no joke and I went through depression and social anxiety. It almost cost me my family. I knew what I was going through but could not take control of it. I stayed locked up in my room and had trouble with sleeping and eating just to name a few things. I am now on a low dosage of anti depressant and stable. My car is running well and I am happy. Wish there was something I could do to help Sean and wish he would p.m me when he was up to it to straighten somethings out. Sean I am here when you want to talk. If you read this you are in my prayers.

 

Hyperrest thank you for the update. Sean was a very well respected person in this community. At one time very involved with many rx7 members and was very informative. I pray that he pulls out of this mess. I thought he was given me the run around and now that I know different I wish I could help

 

Slightly off topic - but what ever happened to Steve O'Brian? He was the other half of A-Spec in the early days.

 

Not to put Aspec down, but he also had a slew of life horror stories when I purchased my kit from him in 2013 that took almost 8 months to receive. Everyone has issues in life, if he can't provide good customer service then he shouldn't be accepting anyone's money.

 

Pretty sure Sean bought him out to take full control of the company shortly after they moved to their final location.

 

Depression Is real thing and I purchased my kit in 2015. It took about a year but he did deliver. I personally have struggled with depression and everyday I am getting better. I have nothing to complain about in my life but some how this thing snuck up on me. It is the hardest battle in have ever fought. I agree that his customer service went to ish but he does seem like a good guy with some strong issues. As far as being in business I am sure he was trying to not only fight the demons with in but also trying to make a living. Believe it or not one way to battle depression is to stay busy. Either way Sean if you are reading any of this I am praying for you.

 

Wow still no info on Aspec. Just had him on my mind today. Hope he is ok. Has anyone heard if he is ok