If you have been on the internet very long and spend anytime in the forum world then chances are you have seen one of the specialty sites owned by 20 year old Steve Casarez. For the past few years Steve has been trying to build sites dedicated to each 400+ sport class machine on the market.

With the introduction of the Suzuki Z400 Steve was hooked and started z400central.com and from that point forward Steve kept his conglomerate group of sites growing with each new machine.

One surprising thing about the growth of Steve’s sights is that he is west coast based and pretty much maintains a silent presence in the online world.

AEM figured we would shine a little light on Steve, introduce him and provide a little insight into his world.

Name: Steven Casarez
Age: 20
Place you call home: San Diego, CA
 

So you own the Central site group (YFZCentral.com, Z400central.com…) how is that going?
Things are going great with all of the websites! YFZCentral has gained a lot of new members this year and broke the 12,000 member mark. Z400Central has also grown a lot by breaking the 10,000 member mark. The website that has really surprised me in LT-R450Central.com which is doing fantastic for only being a year old! Once the LT-R450 really starts to take off (Even more so than it has), this site will be pumping! With the newest site just launched, www.MyQuadVideos.com, the Central Network is taking a different route that we have never taken before. This site is great because there was a need for a dedicated quad video site. Sure, you can go to YouTube, but there is no organization there for us riders. So far, the site has been doing better than expected!

How long have you been around?
Z400Central was the first website that I started way back in June of 2002. That’s a long time ago! YFZCentral was started in June of 2003. Then we started a Predator 500 website which, well, didn’t do to well and is gone now. We then started LT-R450Central in October of 2005. A little after that, we started an Auction website which, well, much like the Predator site, is dead. We thought that one would have been a huge hit.

How much work is it trying to keep up with segregated sites?
I owe a lot to my team of moderators and admins. Without these guys, the sites wouldn’t be what they are today. They spend a lot of time making sure the forums stay as clean as possible. It is something that one guy can’t do on his own, especially with tens of thousands of members! However, I do a lot of back end work that no one will see, unless the site blows up, ha-ha! In total, I am on all of the sites about 5 hours a day.

You’re a Suzuki man by heart, right? You get to ride much? I’m actually more partial to Yamaha, however, the new LT-R450 sure did spark my interest in Suzuki again! Since I own a YFZ450, I’m going to have to give it the upper edge. No bias here, ha-ha. Sadly, I do not get to ride. In fact, the last time I rode was Halloween weekened in Glamis, in 2005! I go to school in Boston, so riding is a little hard to do right now. What do you do for a living beyond your sites? I’m a full time student in Boston. Between school and the websites, I wouldn’t have time for a job.

Do you have a favorite form of racing or riding?
I will admit that my true passion for racing is Formula 1. No, I am not a Nascar fan (Used to be a huge Jeff Gordan fan back in the days though), although I think Juan Pablo Montoya (Former Formula 1 driver) will be interesting to see! Formula 1 to me is an incredible sport with incredible amounts of technology. For all of you wondering whom my favorite driver is, it was Michael Schumacher. I am excited to see what Massa and Kimi will do next season.

What’s it like living on the West Coast and watching the drama in the East unfold each season?
I still do not know why anyone would want to live back East. It’s to darn cold! So far I’ve been through one blizzard, which was NOT fun! Basically, the West Coast has it all! Especially Southern California! We have the beaches and dunes! What more could you want? Heck, only in Southern California can you go to the beach and surf on Christmas day! Although right now it is actually warmer in Boston than it is in San Diego, go figure! I guess those crazy scientists were true about global warming.

Any future plans that you have setup and can discuss? I have so many ideas for websites, it is insane! I do plan on launching another one in the first quarter of 2007. Like MyQuadVideos.com, this one will address a need. That’s all I’m going to say for now. Favorite rider: Jeremiah Jones! Get well soon buddy! In your CD player: Nothing actually. IPod owner? Yup! I’ve got music from all different types of genre. Mainly techno and dance music for now. Are you a MySpace nut? Surprisingly, no. I never got into it like some of the other people.