Customer Spotlight: Nick Felix

In today's customer spotlight, we are featuring Nick Felix. Nick is an area manager for a paint manufacturing company, Dunn Edwards Paints, and is an amazing amateur photographer who takes some impressive shots of his 2018 JL Wrangler dubbed "Dirty Gertie." 

We love how Nick affectionately refers to his Jeep as Dirty Gertie, and after looking at his photos, it's easy to see how he fell in love.

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JEEP?

"Gertie is actually my first Jeep and to be honest, a Wrangler was never even on my radar before getting her. In January 2019, I was on my way to look for a new Ford Mustang when I saw a JL for the first time and immediately knew that I wanted that as my next vehicle."

WHY JEEP?

"After seeing a JL for the first time, I was immediately excited for all the adventures I could have in a vehicle with its capabilities. Before I even purchased Gertie, I was already on Google searching trails and landmarks in the San Diego area that I wanted to explore. In short, I had a feeling the Jeep would open up a whole new world of experiences that almost no other vehicle could."

Nick has a 4 year old Golden Retriever / Australian Shepherd mix named Friday that goes with him in the Jeep on some adventures. While she’s not always a fan of long drives, she definitely has a blast when they get to the destination!

JEEP SPECS AND MODIFICATIONS

Gertie started life as a bare bones 2018 Sport model but received a plethora of upgrades to make it an even more capable machine:

• Rubicon Dana 44 axles
• 37" Nitto Trail Grapplers
• 3.5" Metalcloak lift
• Steer Smarts steering components
• Adams 1350 Driveshafts
• Fabtech fender flares
• KC Pro6 cowl lights
• LOD front bumper

...and a bunch of other small additions to improve performance and comfort. 

His favorite? Of course his Bulletpoint Mounting Solutions Driver and Passenger side Dual Ball Mounts equipped with a Universal Phone Holder, Tablet Holder and Handheld Radio Holder.

• Driver Side Jeep Wrangler JL / Gladiator Dual Ball Mount
• Passenger Side Jeep Wrangler JL / Gladiator Dual Ball Mount

ANY FUTURE MODIFICATIONS?

"This year, I will be hopefully bumping up to a 4" lift, adding a Yukon chromoly rear axle shaft, as well as RCVs on the front axle, all in preparation to hopefully run 40" tires!

Additionally, I am working to make my rig more car-camping friendly with a GooseGear rear seat delete and platform."

We think his dog Friday is going to love this!

BULLETPOINT MOUNTING SOLUTIONS SETUP AND WHY DID YOU CHOOSE US?

"When I hit my first trail in the Jeep, I immediately realized how much of a pain it was to balance keeping my eyes on the trail while holding my phone in my hand and trying to navigate correctly.

As soon as I got home from that trail run, I was doing all the research I could on the perfect phone mount. After reading a ton of reviews and watching hours of YouTube videos, I knew Bulletpoint was the right fit for me based on its ability to secure a phone even when the Jeep is bouncing around on rough terrain as well as the overall look of the mounts.

When I was adding the phone mount to my shopping cart, I figured why stop there and ended up getting the dual mounts, one for each side of the dash.

Over the years, my combination of mounted accessories has changed, ranging from GoPros to iPads, and most recently, my HAM radio."

"Having the versatility to quickly add any of the needed accessories to the available mounting locations and being able to adjust them to the perfect angle for ultimate functionality has been my favorite part.

I love the attention to detail on the carbon fiber finish and the overall build quality of the Bulletpoint products.

What has always stood out to my about Bulletpoint however, has been their customer service and engagement with Jeepers on social media. They are always more than happy to answer any questions I may have and do everything they can to make shopping with them painless."

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE JEEP COMMUNITY?

It's no surprise what Nick likes the most about the Jeep community. He told us, "I know a lot of people will agree that the Jeep community is more than just a group of people with similar interests, it’s a family. Never before have I seen a more inclusive community that is willing to help out a complete stranger with mechanical issues, offer advice from previous experiences, or just in general, offer support in any way possible. The Jeep community has brought some of my closest friends into my life and I am eternally grateful for that."

ANY UPCOMING EVENTS YOU'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO?

Nick is always on the lookout for events that pop up both local and long distance but plans on attending King of the Hammers, Easter Jeep Safari, Offroad Expo Flagstaff, Pismo Beach Jeep Fest, Jeep Jamboree Big Bear, and hopefully Jeep Jamboree Rubicon.

PHOTOGRAPHY

We mentioned Nick is an amazing amateur photographer so we asked him a few questions about photography and what got him into it.

Like so many other people, he was getting pretty bored during all of the Covid lockdowns and was looking for a new hobby to kill some time. Sure enough, he was scrolling through Instagram and saw a photo of a Jeep that completely blew him away because of the quality and composition. He knew that he wanted to be able to produce a similar image so he picked up a cheap DSLR in July of 2020 and has been addicted to it ever since.

Nick is currently shooting with a Sony a7iii and has a combination of Sony Prime and Zoom lenses. His favorite lens and the one he uses to take most of the photos on his Instagram is the Sony 85mm f1.8 prime lens.

WHAT IS YOUR DREAM PHOTOSHOOT?

While he obviously loves off-road vehicles, he said he still has a soft spot for muscle cars. He told us, "I’d have to say my dream photoshoot would be a 1968 Ford Mustang GT Fastback at the Bonneville Salt Flats."

That does sound dreamy! 

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST MEMORABLE SHOOT TO DATE?

"While I’ve had a ton of amazing memories packed into this last year, my favorite was the first time that me and my two best Jeep friends Joe (@Joe_jlu) and Jose (@mambaflex_jlu) shot together.

We met up in Lucerne Valley and immediately hit it off, feeding off each other’s energy and passion. At the time, we were all still brand new to photography, and we had a blast all day figuring it all out on the fly and solidifying a friendship that has continued to grow stronger til this day."

We think this is another one of those Jeep Community moments he talked about earlier!

FOLLOW NICK ON THE 'GRAM

If you want to see more of Dirty Gertie and Nick's awesome photography, give Nick a follow on IG: @dirtygertie_jlu