Feb 1, 2021

Me, My Square & I: Phillip Aylmer

Here we go, a brand new segment for our new blog! First up is our new segment that we like to call Me, My Square & I, a dedicated segment to getting to know our members and what makes us tick! First up is Phillip Aylmer, the club's founder. Let's see what makes him tick...

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INTRODUCE YOURSELF

My name is Phillip Aylmer,

I’m 24 years old, from Gloucestershire, UK. I am a full-time barman by day and I.T/Quiz Master by night at The Falcon Steakhouse and owner of the Square Society club!

My square in question is a 2006 Nissan Cube Autech Rider

You can find me on Instagram on: @total_philth & @square_society

From what I can remember I’ve always been into cars and I’ve come from a family of petrolheads, I had been into motorsport before I had even passed my test, I use to be out every weekend on the 100cc or 250cc quad up at the family track or farm (and if I wasn't there then I was off at the local dirt track for some competitive racing). That’s my earliest ever memory of driving some sort of 4 wheeled vehicle. My first ever car was a bright orange 2002 Daewoo Matiz which I never got to drive because it fell apart on our driveway (probably a good thing) before I had even passed my test but it gave me the motivation to get on and get it done. Shortly after passing my test, I brought my first proper car which I actually got to drive! It was a Cadbury purple 1996 Ford Fiesta 1.25 Zetec S, I ended up owning that for a year before writing it off whilst on my way home from work, shortly after that I brought a 2002 Ford Focus Chic which I had for a few months before finally buying my first ever square! Whilst I owned my Focus I had always wanted to be different and so I started looking for different and oddly shaped cars and that’s when the Nissan Cube came into my mind, I can remember seeing a Cube at the first-ever car show that I attended, which was Japfest at Silverstone. My first ever square was a 2003 Nissan Cube SX, the most basic and standard cube you could probably get, it was this square that really got me into modifying cars.

What I loved so much about it was how easy it was to take everything apart and how easy it was to assemble the whole thing, it was like driving round in a Lego car! I ended up owning my Cube for 4 years which was made up of 1 year of driving and then it was written-off, I couldn't bare with scrapping it so it ended up living on my driveway for 3 years and it sort of became my shed for bits and bobs (in those 4 years of owning it, I ended up moving like 3 times). Obviously whilst this cube was off the road I ended up owning a tiny ‘06 Suzuki Swift before moving onto another Cube! I now own a Pearl White 2006 Nissan Cube Autech Rider, a Cube that I had always wanted since discovering them.

Club-wise, I’m apart of many clubs but never really found a club that I thoroughly enjoyed, one of the reasons why I created Square Society! But to mention a few that I do enjoy are: Toyota bB Owners Club, Secret Car Society, Sunnyside, Nissan Ultimate Show Group, Driven Life and obviously, the one and only Square Society.

WHAT SQUARE DO YOU OWN?

I own a 1.5ltr 2006 Nissan Cube Autech Rider, currently running at bog-standard 109bhp with a few tasteful modifications made. I haven’t really settled on a name for my square but the one name that I do reference to the Cube is Phoenix, this is down to the fact the car has been rebuilt a fair few times, so like a phoenix from the ashes, it will rise again. As I’m typing this I’m trying to widdle down a good, positive story about my Cube but the only stories I can think of is about how I’ve had the gearbox rebuilt twice in two years, how it had been written off almost two years after owning it as well as having a wheel come off whilst driving and then being in a collision an exact week after the wheel coming off. Yeah, so not many good stories to tell lol, actually! I do have a good story! Without owning this Cube, then I probably wouldn’t have come up with the idea of Square Society and it’s the fact that if I didn’t have this Cube then I wouldn’t have made so many new friends since purchasing it and starting Square Society.

WHAT MADE YOU CHOODSE YOUR SQUARE?

Well, one way of putting it is that I don’t like to be normal, I never liked the idea of having something that someone can go out and buy. To me, a car is a statement, it’s something that reflects your personality and taste. Like I mentioned above my first ever sighting of a Cube was at Japfest back in 2015 and since then I had always wanted one, chatting to owners and getting to know the cars in and out helped me make my mind upon the fact that I needed a Cube in my life. I needed a Cube in my life that much that I ended up owning two of them!

WHAT MODS HAVE YOU DONE TO YOUR SQUARE?

Engine

Custom 3 piece horn with different DB ratings
Imported front racing strut bar from BRAND

Suspension

I know for a fact that my Cube has been lowered but that was even before it had arrived in the UK.

Gearbox

A full rebuild in 2018 & 2019, now running on a brand new custom CVT gearbox

Wheels

Autech 15” Alloys, resprayed in a stealth black with maximum rainbow flake

Interior:

All door cars upgraded to 6.5” Alpine Coaxial Speakers
3200w Black Death Vibe Sub enclosure
Hand built custom boot build (to replace the Vibe enclosure)
Fake floor built into the boot
Custom VIP table made for the front passenger, attached to the glovebox
Glovebox and Dashboard resprayed
Door cards are currently wrapped in a skull and spider-themed netting.
Mood lighting installed in the front and rear of footwells
Seasonal Halloween themed decorations
Double-Din Sony WX-900BT (Best stereo I’ve ever owned, the bass is insane!)
Rider branded lights in the footwell

Bodywork/Exterior

All windows behind the B pillar wrapped in privacy tint
6000K Xenon Bulbs for the headlights
Dark-smoked side indicators
Imported custom made grille, wrapped in 3m Intergalactic Black
Custom made rear lights with sequencers & show mode (TBI)
Custom made headlights with sequencers, DRLs, and show mode (TBI)
Nissan Bonnet Emblem sprayed in Stealth Black
Nissan Badges on the rear also sprayed in Stealth Black
Thule roof rack and fitting kit
Terzo Japanese Imported roof box, fitted.
Square Society branded sun visor in 3M intergalactic black.
A lot of comedy stickers

ANY FUTURE PLANS/MODS FOR YOUR SQUARE?

Yes, quite a lot. I’ve currently got a few mods in the works whilst currently being on the furlough train, I’ve currently got custom lights to install as well as finish of painting the interior as well as finish of making a few custom pieces for the Cube. Future plan wise I would love to get Hydro, spinners, complete respray/wrap and white walls for the cube, they’re the ultimate future plans!

WHAT ARE YOUR TOP 3 SONGS TO LISTEN TO IN YOUR SQUARE?

Evil Woman by Electric House Orchestra
Blue Monday by New Order
You Really Got Me by The Kinks

IF MONEY WAS NO OBJECT, THEN WHAT WOULD YOUR TOP 5 DREAM CARS BE?

My ultimate top 5 dream cars would be:

1961 Lincoln Continental
1973 Jensen Interceptor
2018 Liberty Walk Suzuki Jimny
2020 Touring Superleggera Aero 3
2020 Mansory Bentley Flying Spur

ANY HONOURABLE MENTIONS OR SHOUTOUTS?

I wouldn't even know where to start! My first mention is to thank all the clubs, influencers and businesses that are in the Square Squad for helping myself to build Square Society. I would also like to thank Clarendon Press that have done some printing for the club and we'll be back very soon for more! I'd also like to thank Des & the Too Fast Too Filling Café for allowing us to host our Breakfast & Boxes at their beloved café, if you haven't been to Andover yet then you're missing out on one hell of a breakfast!

Personal preference-wise, I'd like to personally thank Paul Bond at Lacock garage for his expert mechanical skills, I've known Paul & Lezane for what feels like forever, I met Paul & Lezane before I had even started Square Society, and without Paul I probably wouldn't have a mechanically working cube right now! I'd also like to thank Emily from the Toyota bB Owners Club, without Emily we wouldn't of found the Too Fast Too Filling Café in Andover! And a big thanks to Dan Bell at NissanCube.co.uk for always having parts for when I need them, because let's face it, we all know my track record with Cubes! And my last and final thanks is to Chris Wills. Chris Wills is the ultimate go-to guy for any electrical questions or even if you need some stuff imported over from Japan! Chris is one hell of a talented man and has made some special one-off pieces for me in the past (and present!) and his service is second to none!

That's pretty much everyone that I'd like to thank, I have dropped a list below of a few names/companies that have helped me over the years in regards to either the club or my square!

Other Honourable Mentions:

Jay Wraps - For supplying our latest club stickers

Mark Lazenby - For originally supplying/wrapping my squares

PT Transport & Recovery - Helping transport my cube up and down the country

My boss Andrew Starling for constantly ripping the sh*t out of my cube, but let's face it. Your French bipper has spent more time off the road than my cube has in its lifetime.

A big thank you to Phillip Aylmer for writing out their blog feature, if you or your business is interested in being featured then give us a message on our Facebook page or Instagram page and we'll send you the info on what you'll need to be featured. We have an organised queuing system that allows us to monitor when you're post will be up.