Name: Michael Berenis
Occupation: Tampa Sports Car Examiner (Journalist)
Vehicle: 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX with 70+ modifications
Shifted2u Profile: mberenis
Streetfire.net screen name: "subaru-offroad"
Twitter: michaelberenis
Michael Berenis was raised in the heart of Indiana where he learned the passion for motor sports and modifications. Known throughout high school and college for being the guy with a cool car, Michael started his love for autos at a very young age. All three forms of transportation have been a hobby for Michael for many years; marine, automotive, and aeronautical. Since that time, Michael has owned many vehicles and modified them all. Import, domestic, and exotic have all been under the wrenching of his choice for many years.
After college, Michael opened up an engineering and architecture consultancy named "Berenis Design Solutions" which featured a database of over 1,000 professionals from around the world. Working on projects such as residential, commercial, and military gave him the rounded aspects needed. Developing a special marketing tool, "RTSSE" which stands for real-time statistical search engine, allowed him to catapult his consultancy and web presence to where it is today. Awarded "2008 Who's Who Executive of the Year" for CAD operator services was the first official award of his hard work, rectifying his existence in the business world.
As many people know, the building industry was crashing during these times and eventually it caught up to Berenis Design Solutions as well, regardless of unique marketing and extremely low overhead costs. However, this did not stop him from pushing forward! Michael went back to his old passion of automotive modifications and became involved with the Subaru off road crowd. Starting a blog "subaru-offroad" and documenting all of his modifications, it quickly grew into one of the best sources of Subaru modification information on the internet. With over 200 visitors daily from around the world, another successful website was formed. Beyond information, his blog offers unique services such as WRX port and polish, TGV deletes, intercooler spray kits, auxiliary light brackets, custom interior, and more!
Examiner.com noticed the pattern that was forming and decided to take advantage of Michael's application. Originally applying for "travel examiner", Examiner saw that Michael had an extremely high potential of success as the "Tampa Sports Car Examiner". Michael started writing for the Tampa Bay edition of Examiner in February 2009, and since then has created over 350 sports car related articles with video and photo content. Unlike many writers, Michael is in complete touch with the automotive crowd because he truly is a member with a passion for modifications and the ability to articulate his knowledge into readable content.
With over 6,500 friends on Streetfire.net, 1,200 on Cardomain.com, and nearly 3,000 daily readers, Michael is well known throughout the internet and continues to grow in popularity. His 2002 Impreza WRX recently landed #1 overall for Subaru on Cardomain.com, and #18 overall on Cardomain.com for all vehicles out of nearly 700,000 entries. Beyond modifications, Michael also is creating video content highlighting his adventures in his Subaru. The most popular video yet, "Subaru Impreza WRX swamp and sand fun" brings in about 8,000 views per month. Aside from video content, Michael has also hosted over 300 pictures of his time spent modifying his Subaru, which can be seen here. A cumulative hit count of 151,000 views for both video and photo on Streetfire.net ranks him #41 out of all members, consistently.
Mike in his Soobie
Overall, Michael brings a new unique perspective to the automotive journalist world and will continue to grow as a writer for many years to come. Based on what we've seen so far, his talent for writing and automotive modifications is changing the world by bringing unique content that is easily read, entertaining, and very informative. Working with several small businesses to help with promotion, Michael is not disconnected from the community and continues to flourish in the world of motor sports.
If you think you have what it takes to be the next featured member, show us! Post up videos, photos, make your presence known and you might be the next person to get Shifted!