New Beginnings
Test, test… is this thing really on again? It feels strange and familiar at the same time to be writing here after so long. If you’ve followed Tief & Breit over the years, welcome back — genuinely. And if you’re new, I’m glad you’re here. I’m Bastien, and cars have shaped my life for as long as I’ve been able to form thoughts.
When I started this site in 2011, it wasn’t meant to become anything big. It was just a place to share the photos I took at shows, a small corner of the internet where I could capture the atmosphere, the people, the builds, the late-night garage sessions and early-morning show roll-ins. Somehow, that simple idea grew into fifteen years of stories, friendships and moments I never expected to experience.
Earlier this year, it all seemed to come undone. The old site collapsed in a brutal webspace crash — gone in an instant. The stories and photos were still safe on my drives, but the home they lived in was destroyed. And in that moment, it felt like a chapter of my life had ended without warning.
I won’t lie: the thought of walking away crossed my mind. A few years ago I had already burned myself out on car things. I stepped away from the modified scene, shut myself off and spent a few quiet years only visiting the occasional vintage car show. There was simply too much drama, too much noise, too much chasing attention and likes. The scene I once loved felt less like a community and more like a performance, and the authenticity that drew me in all those years ago seemed to fade a little more every season. During that time, my friend Mathias kept the site alive, waiting for the moment I might want it back. And then one day, when Mathias dragged me with him to the ‘Letzte Ausfahrt’ meet in Chemnitz, something clicked. Surrounded by cars, friends, stories and laughter, I felt that familiar spark again. The one I thought I’d lost.
When I got home after that weekend, I took the site back into my own hands. At first I didn’t redesign anything or try to launch some dramatic comeback. I simply kept it running, posted whenever the mood struck and let it move at its own pace. It wasn’t loud or ambitious; more like keeping a small fire alive, knowing that one day I would want it to burn brighter again. Even in that quiet, half-asleep phase, Tief & Breit still felt like home.
So when the site died, I realised something important. You don’t mourn a project unless it still matters deeply to you.
For months I believed long-form content no longer had a place. Everywhere I looked, blogs were disappearing and creators were shaping their work around fast, disposable formats. Instagram, Reels, YouTube — that was where the noise was. I tried that path myself, and while it was fun, it never felt right. I missed the slower pace, the space to breathe, the ability to tell a story rather than chase an algorithm.
When I had the opportunity to work more closely with Performance VW Magazine over the past year, everything started to make sense again. Writing show features, putting stories into shape and pairing them with photos that actually get the space they deserve reminded me why I fell in love with this whole world in the first place. It showed me that long-form storytelling still has value, and that Tief & Breit was never meant to be a side project I occasionally dust off. It’s something I want to actively build again. With intent, with purpose and with the passion that started it all.
So here we are. A fresh start, a clean slate, a renewed sense of purpose. New platform, new chapter, same passion.
Tief & Breit is back — and honestly, it feels like rewinding the clock to the early 2010s. Back when we’d shoot cars until our batteries died, hang around in parking lots for hours, chase golden hour light and talk nonsense about wheels, stance and future plans. No algorithms, no stress, no expectations. Just passion. Just stories. Just the scene. If you’re still here after all these years, you’re the real ones.