Real Name - Rupak Dhakate Online Name - SLZ Roadstar erstwhile Ark-X Stylizer Date of Birth - 16th November 1990 Location - Mumbai, India Profession - HR (Human Resources) Professional
SOME GENERAL QUESTIONS PEOPLE HAVE ABOUT ME : 1. Why didn't I use my real name 'Rupak' to release these creations? There are lakhs of forums on the internet for anything and everything and if you are a member of any, you will notice that mostly no one registers by their real name. Mostly everyone creates their own alias or identity. Hence I created one for myself by the name 'SLZ' by registering on famous NFS Forum like NFSCars.net. On ND4SPDWorld.com (discontinued) and NFSAddons.com (formerly nfsg.net), I registered by the name of 'Roadstar'. For example, in WWE, you recognise the players by their ring names like Undertaker, Kane, Big Show, Edge, etc. instead of their real name is. Same works here. People recognise me by my online alias 'SLZ' rather than 'Rupak'. This explains why my email address, Instagram id and my other ids are having 'SLZ' along with 'Rupak' in the name.
2. What is 'SLZ' and why I choosed this name? SLZ is short form of Stylizer which means to add a particular style. I first read about the word 'Stylize' somewhere and I liked it. I thought why can't I use it to add style on my cars? I wanted to be star of the roads of NFS hence registered as 'Roadstar' on NFSAddons and added it in my NFSCars name too. Hence the name 'SLZ Roadstar'. I always use 'SLZ' or 'Ark-X SLZ' (if SLZ is not available) or similar names to register everywhere or any new forums. If ever you come across a member by those names on any forum or anywhere, you can come to know its me.
3. What I named this website as 'Roadstarz'? The same reason as above why I choosed the name 'Roadstar'. I term all the cars and other vehicles which I released as stars of the roads of NFS. Hence I call them Roadstarz.
4. What made me come into vehicle editing/converting hobby? You can read about that in the 'History' section.
5. Do I earn anything out of this vehicle modding? No. Not only me but even the other car modders also do not earn anything. We do car modding out of our hobby or interest in our spare time and share our creations with everyone. Neither Electronic Arts (producer of NFS games) neither the respective car brands pay us anything.
6. Which is my most favorite NFS series? Undoubtedly it is NFS:MW as you can see I released more than 100 vehicles for it. My second favorite is NFS:Rivals followed by old time classic NFS:HP2.
7. Which is my most favorite car? Saleen S7 is my most favorite car. It was love at first sight. Its one of the beautiful looking cars ever made which also delivers exceptional performance. Few of my other personal favorites are Nissan Skyline R34, McLaren F1, Ferraris - 355 F1, 512TR, F40, F50, 360, 458 Italia, Acuras - RSX, NSX, Integra, Mitsubishis - Lancer Evolutions (all of them), Eclipse, Lamborghinis - Murcielago, Gallardo, Huracan, Aventador, etc to name a few.
8. Do I still convert vehicles for NFS games? No. The last vehicle which I released was Rockport Transport Double Decker bus on June 1 2013, 7 years before I release this website. I was a dedication to myself as I love buses so had to complete it anyhow before I stop.
9. Why did I stop? It takes lot of time, concentration, motivation and enthusiasm to focus and work on completing the cars. As your age increases, responsibilities increase and you stop getting time which makes you loose enthusiasm. Hence, its far more easy to focus on it while in college as you can balance your time for study and hobby accordingly rather than when you are on job.
10. Will I be converting any more vehicles to NFS? No. I still have few 3d models taking a space of my hard disk, some partially finished which I wished one day I should have completed before stopping. However, I won't be resuming car conversions again neither would be active on NFSCars or any other NFS websites anymore. Moreover, I don't even play NFS games any more.
11. Apart from NFS and BUSSID, have I released vehicle, mods, hacks or liveries for any other game? No. Had desire to learn for Test Drive Unlimited but didn't get time.
12. Apart from NFS, which other racing games have I played and enjoyed? I am a big fan of open world games. I played and enjoyed Test Drive Unlimited series a lot, even more than NFS. Apart from that, I liked GTA San Andreas, GTA 3, Midnight Club series, etc. Had desire to play Forza but I don't own XBOX neither I own a strong system to handle it.
13. Which games do I play currently? Racing games don't excite my anymore. I like playing tactical shooter games preferably open world games and currently in the process of completing Arma 3. Recently completed playing Arma 2 : Combined Operations, Battlefield series, Tom Clancy's : Ghost Recon Wildlands, Just Cause 3 and 4, Far Cry 3, 2 and 1, Crysis series, Wolfenstien series, Call of Duty series, Medal of Honor series, etc
14. What are my other hobbies and interests? a. I am a big foodie. I love food and trying out new dishes. I have strong taste buds. I am good at judging food. Wherever I go and eat, I take photos and do keen observation and basis the same post detailed and honest reviews on Zomato. Just like how this webpage is dedicated to my cars, I will be starting a same for my food journey too pretty soon. b. Apart from this, I am involved in social causes like improvement of public transport of Mumbai city buses by highlighting issues and suggesting measures and improvements. c. I also like collecting scale models of cars of all sizes. I will take good pics of each of them and will make a new section and upload those there very soon. d. I am also a good photographer. I like taking pics of transport, food, scenery and ofcourse people!
This is some brief information about me.
Want to know more about me? Please visit the Contact Me section and get in touch with me. I would love to connect.