The Evolution of A90 Shop: How a Covid Hobby Became a Global Success

As I write this post, more than 3 years have passed since we launched our A90 Shop. A shop, which started out as a hobby during the Covid pandemic, quickly developed into the MKV A90 Supra leader it is today.

Let me go back to how it all began…

In 2020, I was working in ultrasound-guided medical device sales.  This job made a lot of sense given my work experience and background. I had spent a lot of time in the ultrasound field, (specifically Pediatrics at Stanford University Children's Hospital), I had an interest in special procedures and a background in sales and marketing – so this career field seemed like a perfect fit for me. However, like many people, I wasn’t passionate about the work or the company I was working with at the time. When the second wave of Covid hit that October and restrictions on elective procedures increased – work slowed down and so did my income. I had just purchased a 2020 Toyota Supra in May - I had to start looking for new options to supplement my income until things returned to normal.

The A90 Supra market was new, but limited. I had been out of the tuner scene for a long time. I grew up playing with cars in the late 90s and early 2000s, but much had changed with brands and trends since then. I had spent months publicly hating on the 2020 Toyota Supras: “How could Toyota use BMW to bring back the iconic Supra?! Why would they do this?!” When someone bragged about their new Supra purchase, I joined in with the others online in scoffing as we said, “Nice BMW!”

As someone who grew up as the biggest SW20 Toyota MR2 Turbo fanatic – this felt blasphemous to me! I was always a huge fan of the Toyota 3SGTE and 2JZGTE engines because they were so capable and responsive to modifications, but once I began to research the B58, I saw that this engine was similar in terms to responsiveness to tuning and modifying. I also learned that the 3SGTE and 2ZJTE were also not independently developed by Toyota either. We went from saying, “Nice BMW!” to “Downpipe and Tune!”. The A90 Supra culture was born and I had found a cure to Covid Boredom. Between the lockdowns and losing my beloved Boxer, Otto, to cancer - I had finally found somewhere tow focus my energy and a new passion began to grow.

But what fueled our A90 Shop’s rapid growth?

A Focus on Quality Parts.

A lot of our, now competition, were online selling parts based solely on markup and profitability. They were only doing partnerships with people they had worked with in the past. After speaking with people, who came from many different platforms to join the MK5 A90 Toyota Supra community (both Japanese and European), I realized none of us were impressed with anything going on in Supra community.

I wanted to offer more to the community. I wanted to be different. I wanted to focus on quality parts. I wanted to ignore influences from the past. Because I was new, IT WORKED.

A Focus on Community.

I believed in community, unbiased opinions, and a moral code that was lacking in the car community. Car culture is loaded with biased opinions, forum trolls and Facebook groups controlled by toxic admins with personal agendas. It is a never-ending who has the biggest "turbo" contest. I wanted to stand apart from that culture. I wanted to focus on the average guy, the average consumer, the average enthusiast who just loves their car because it makes them happy. I wanted to build the MK5 Supra Community into something I, myself, craved.

A Focus on New & Quality Brands.

One incredible thing about Toyota & BMW collaborating to make the new Supra was the amount of after-market support that emerged. Both Japanese and German after-market manufacturers and brands rushed to support the widely anticipated MKV Supra. There is classic JDM like HKS all the way to Dinan who is synonymous with BMW performance. Such a wide array of brands added their input, products and support to the MKV A90 community. New brands emerged. The Taiwanese market for BMW parts emerged. I didn't even know what FI Exhaust was when I started, and now we are their largest distributor in the world; as a Supra store! The ride has been wild! Because we focused on partnering with brands who had integrity, a strong dedication to customer support and a focus on quality engineering - we quickly rose to the top. A90 Shop focuses on these types of brands and wholesale partners to efficiently serve its customer base and community within the Toyota Supra world.

So, what does the future hold?

A90 Shop has presented a lot of new opportunities for my team and myself. We love the roles we have in the shop and in the Supra community and always strive to find new ways to innovate with both service, parts and performance offerings for the MKV Supra. What started as one person in a home office is now a full team based in Las Vegas, Nevada. We are focused on continuing to grow, on developing new parts and brand relationships and on solidifying ourselves as THE name everyone thinks of when it comes to the MKV A90 Toyota Supra.

We are forever grateful to all of those who do and have done business with us. We wouldn't be here without your support!

Will McClurg

A90 Shop Owner