Northridge4x4 - REMOVED AS A VENDOR

JK LYF

New member
Yes. That happens every day. Brands like your idea, then produce it themselves. Or they give the project you've been working on for 6mos to another agency, etc. Any creative field is hyper competitive and requires you to roll with the punches.

You can't copyright a video format. That being said, Their videos are embarrassingly similar to wayalife's. But we all know it and called NR out on it. The internet usually takes care of itself. What are the sayings? Imitation flattery and "Creativity is all about hiding your sources."

But coming from an equally tught knot land cruiser forum and not having found my "jeep forum" home yet, this thread represents the two parts about the wayalife community that leave a bad taste in my mouth.

1. Some members tend to be very rude and aggressive out of the gate. That happens on every forum. But it seems to happen in every thread here. It's very rare on places like expedition portal.

2. Eddie seems to find drama. Whether it's North Ridge or AEV or TF. Since he has that relationship with NR, he probably could have called them out privately and they'd have been embarrassed enough to stop. Maybe he did and this was the result. But it does seem a little dramatic.

Again, it does not "happen everyday" WITHIN the structure of a privately owned forum. That's the point. This is a privately owned forum wherein the owner has the right to operate it as he sees fit.
 

piginajeep

The Original Smartass
Yes. That happens every day. Brands like your idea, then produce it themselves. Or they give the project you've been working on for 6mos to another agency, etc. Any creative field is hyper competitive and requires you to roll with the punches.

You can't copyright a video format. That being said, Their videos are embarrassingly similar to wayalife's. But we all know it and called NR out on it. The internet usually takes care of itself. What are the sayings? Imitation flattery and "Creativity is all about hiding your sources."

But coming from an equally tught knot land cruiser forum and not having found my "jeep forum" home yet, this thread represents the two parts about the wayalife community that leave a bad taste in my mouth.

1. Some members tend to be very rude and aggressive out of the gate. That happens on every forum. But it seems to happen in every thread here. It's very rare on places like expedition portal.

2. Eddie seems to find drama. Whether it's North Ridge or AEV or TF. Since he has that relationship with NR, he probably could have called them out privately and they'd have been embarrassed enough to stop. Maybe he did and this was the result. But it does seem a little dramatic.

Lol, he's not afraid to call a spade a spade. The only reason other forum admins don't is for the money/free parts etc and they don't have the balls.

Dramatic? Lol, get the fuck outta here with that none sense
 

Mtnfvr

New member
I gotta say I've read through these comments and my first thoughts was what a bunch of whiners. I happened across NR4x4's this morning and thought nothing of it. That being said I have never seen Eddie's videos. Out of curiosity I went to YouTube and checked out some of Eddie's videos. I can see the similarities. I get it now. That is the advantage of running your own business. You get to work with who you want. In Eddie's position I'd probably do the same.
 

Sharkey

Word Ninja
Blah...blah...blah.

But coming from an equally tught knot land cruiser forum and not having found my "jeep forum" home yet, this thread represents the two parts about the wayalife community that leave a bad taste in my mouth.

Blah...blah...blah

You clearly don't get it. Honestly, if you haven't found your "Jeep forum" home yet, I am very confident that you won't find it here.

I'm also very confident that the bad taste in your mouth comes from a much different source.
 

GregMort13

Caught the Bug
You clearly don't get it. Honestly, if you haven't found your "Jeep forum" home yet, I am very confident that you won't find it here.

I'm also very confident that the bad taste in your mouth comes from a much different source.

Im glad someone said it.
 

WJCO

Meme King
Eddie simply stated that NR4x4 would no longer be a vender on the forum, due to the videos, AS WELL AS, the direction their business is going. If I were a bettin man, I'd say the video was simply the last straw in something that has been a long time coming.

Running a business myself, I would have to agree with this ^. There is probably a ton more to this thing.

1. Some members tend to be very rude and aggressive out of the gate. That happens on every forum. But it seems to happen in every thread here. It's very rare on places like expedition portal.

This is a great group of guys with good humor. The only agressiveness out of the gate from what I see is when someone reads and agrees to the rules and then posts something completely contrary. It's the moderator's jobs to call that stuff out. At the same time, if you can't deal with the initial 'hazing' due to thin skin, then you probably won't last here. I got my ass handed to me on the first day, and I'm still here loving this forum. :beer:
 

10frank9

Web Wheeler
Some of these responses are lame. Can any one of you seriously say that wasn't a blatant copy of Eddies films?

Like Sharkey said NR4x4 forgot they were once a small shop that wasn't well known. They let the almighty dollar cloud their judgement and are now DIRECTLY competing with Wayalife films.

Maybe we should start selling Jeep parts and go advertise on their Facebook group? :thinking:
 

Skid_Kid

New member
Some of these responses are lame. Can any one of you seriously say that wasn't a blatant copy of Eddies films?

Like Sharkey said NR4x4 forgot they were once a small shop that wasn't well known. They let the almighty dollar cloud their judgement and are now DIRECTLY competing with Wayalife films.

Maybe we should start selling Jeep parts and go advertise on their Facebook group? :thinking:

My responses are always lame.... So I am on point!
 

GregMort13

Caught the Bug
Northridge4x4

Case and point.

Case and point what? That we have morals here? That we feel that NR4X4 piggybacking off of eddie is wrong and you feel they did nothing wrong? As previously stated, this is a private forum. Eddie has allowed the vendors to have input and try to help customers with their products that as we all know 9 times out of 10 come with shitty directions. Share our experiences in which to buy and which to steer clear of. These are the priceless values in which this forum was created for. We could sit here and argue all day, but when it comes down to it, NR4X4 crossed a line that if i had to guess they've been approaching for a while now. We come off as assholes sometimes because people so rudely click "I Agree" and go straight to the classifieds. If someone gets hounded on one of their threads, they deserved it for being so inconsiderate to a contract they agreed to. If you get your feelings hurt here, my guess is your stay will be short lived. Don't let the door hit you in the ass.
 

JAGS

Hooked
Northridge4x4

Thanks to some shitty hotel wifi, I was only able watch about 1:45 of the vid in question this morning. Then had to hit the road. Reading Eddies first post, it's fairly easy to see what happened.

Copying creative marketing approach is VASTLY different than copying someone's creative license. Video producers are all encouraged to have there own style. If someone copied George Lucas, would that be marketing. Hell no and there is no difference here.

I'm also going to go out on a limb here and say N4x4 had no prior conversations with Eddie about the videos nor them posting here. That was stepping over the line! Eddie and Cindy are some of the nicest people I've met, but they also are firm believers in respect. Beyond what happened in the videos, that disrespect means my biz goes elsewhere.
 

Trail JK

Active Member
In lieu of Northridge4x4's recent posts promoting the videos they make and the direction in which they have chosen to take their business, I have decided to end our working relationship with them. Please note that this has absolutely nothing to do with advertising fees and if anything, I have initiated a refund for the remaining balance of their annual commitment. Fortunately, I am at a place in my life where I can choose with whom I do business and for a variety of reasons, I am choosing to no longer do business with Northridge4x4. Needless to say, you will no longer be seeing them here on WAYALIFE.

Sorry Eddie, it must suck getting disappointed by a business that you've helped let alone people who were friends.

Yes. That happens every day. Brands like your idea, then produce it themselves. Or they give the project you've been working on for 6mos to another agency, etc. Any creative field is hyper competitive and requires you to roll with the punches.

You can't copyright a video format. That being said, Their videos are embarrassingly similar to wayalife's. But we all know it and called NR out on it. The internet usually takes care of itself. What are the sayings? Imitation flattery and "Creativity is all about hiding your sources."

But coming from an equally tught knot land cruiser forum and not having found my "jeep forum" home yet, this thread represents the two parts about the wayalife community that leave a bad taste in my mouth.

1. Some members tend to be very rude and aggressive out of the gate. That happens on every forum. But it seems to happen in every thread here. It's very rare on places like expedition portal.

2. Eddie seems to find drama. Whether it's North Ridge or AEV or TF. Since he has that relationship with NR, he probably could have called them out privately and they'd have been embarrassed enough to stop. Maybe he did and this was the result. But it does seem a little dramatic.

You got it all figured out don't you Winkle... oh wait, no you don't.

To help you avoid any further bad taste we're likely not the group for you. Thanks for the valuable input though.
 

Tree Frog

Member
Maybe I have been drinking a little too much tonight but WTF am I missing here?

Why would a 4X4 parts and repair shop even try to get involved in the video creation business?
I have watched their videos and they are NOT a marketing tool for them. Other than a conveniently placed Northridge logo now and then.
Why not try to sell the parts they carry? Why not show how brand so and so is the shit?
Yes we all know they are a sponsor of the JKX.

No I really do understand why you Eddie and Cindy would be pissed and feel ripped off.
The video posted at the start of the day was about as close to an exact copy of the style of a Wayalife film as could possibly be produced.
Thought the same thing about the "Bucket List" film as well.
Not all videos on YouTube look like or feel like this.

So did Northridge really do the video work, edit the video then post it up? Or was this done by some other group and Northridge just sponsored it? :hmm: So why?

Too bad a style cant be copyrighted.
 

werks

Member
Being a newb to the site and the type of person that until I can contribute positively to technical conversations tends to do more reading than posting I can say that I have watched every one of Eddie's video's. Watching those and through them getting my first exposure to what the Jeep wayalife is all about largely contributed to my decision to buy my first Jeep a few months ago. So to say that the Wayalife video's have had an impact on my life would be an understatement! I took a look at the Northridge video in question and the first I thought that I had was "man Eddie sure does sound different in this video" lol. Then it took me all of 30-45 seconds to figure out that it was a blatant rip off of the Wayalife video format and narration style! A few minutes later I turned it off as frankly the video sucks. They can try to replicate Eddie's style but at the end of the day this stuff is an art and Eddie and Cindy have imho perfected it!
 

OJK12

New member
Northridge4x4

I support eddies decision, let's be honest here they have been more about pushing products on here a lot lately and most were products we all decided were just money making schemes and added no real value and people heave not been happy with a lot of the products they received being so much of it was damaged or missing parts then they start to copy Eddie and Cindy's hard work? Yeah Id drop them too, and really it doesn't matter what we think and he does not have to explain anything to us as his decisions are his to make alone.
 
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Kriegjk

New member
I hope the two companies can work it out. Northridge has a reputation for making things right. With Mel in the video it seems like there is more to this story.

My integrity will not burn Northridge at the stake. To many years of exceeding my expectations and positive influence in the industry. At the same time I support Wayalife's right to run his company as he sees fit and protect his business. In a small industry toes often get stepped on especially by friends within that industry. Happens all the time in mine and is usually not intentional. In some cases it leads to an opportunity that wouldn't have been recognized if the incident didn't happen.

I'll probably get crucified for this but I am hoping for a resolution. I hope they are communicating behind the scene while we post our opinions. Just another perspective....
 
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