THE BLACKHAT RUNNER

Evan Walsh's Big, Bad Media Rig

- JOHN MATA JR.

You've seen the amazing photos Evan Walsh of Blackhat Studios has captured over the years. We've published his work on our pages many times before, but while you were drooling over his exciting still images, have you ever wondered how he reaches the vantage points he shoots from? Most of the time, Evan's photo locations are not easily accessible in a regular passenger car. Chances are high that he followed his 4WD subjects to these remote destinations in his own killer ride-a 2006 Toyota 4Runner that he has built into an absolute long-travel beast over the course of 4 years. What else would you expect a hardcore off-road photographer to mob to the 'office' in?

When's the last time you saw a 4Runner hauling ass through the desert? Not very often that's right. That's exactly why Evan figured he would dump some time (and money) into turning his reliable, all-purpose 2WD SUV into an adventure rig capable of keeping up with high exposure trucks on their journey to reaching the print media limelight. While there wasn't a whole lot of repair work needed for the factory equipped V8 since Evan kept up with a commendable maintenance routine, the simple addition of a K&N air intake would be enough to keep him satisfied for the moment. What he ultimately chose to focus on was significantly modifying the 4Runner's factory suspension system to give it the ability to venture far beyond the dirt parking lots he once felt limited to.

Even though Evan is quite handy with a camera and has a deep knowledge of off-road suspension, he recognized his own limitations right from the start of his 4Runner project.