Breaking barriers: How Tamiya creates communities through racing

MAKATI, Philippines — Tamiya racing might be something nostalgic for most Filipinos nowadays. But for a big score of hobbyists in the Philippines, it has always been a constant.

Since Tamiya’s expansion in the Philippines in 1994, Mini 4-wheel drive (4WD) racing continues to flourish with an ever-expanding audience.

Ferdie Kahn, one of the pioneers in expanding Tamiya in the country, attributes this consistent popularity with the interactions with others involved.

“It’s a big social activity, so I think most of it is being able to work with others,” Kahn said in a press conference for the Tamiya Mini 4WD Asia Challenge held in Manila.

“That’s a trait that we want to see… people interacting with each other and sharing [a] community,” he added.

Apart from the community itself, Tamiya President Shunsaku Tamiya also sees the hobby as a way of improving communication — especially within a family.

“[The] Mini 4WD is playing an important role in improving communication in the family… I’m very happy to see that the father and son, father and daughter or even the mothers are involved… they are talking to each other and having good fun,” Tamiya said in Japanese.

Tamiya races both here and abroad have seen a fair share of racers across different ages and genders and the Japanese executive sees this as a step in breaking down barriers across the globe.

“Nowadays, the world is getting [sic] borderless,” Tamiya said.