A while back, a customer asked, "What is the story with these JDM badges? What do they mean, where do they come from?"

To which I responded, "It all started a long time ago in a place far far away. Like many neat things, the Wakaba badge originated in Japan, the Land of the Rising Sun. New drivers were required to don this badge on their car to warn other drivers that they were new to the road



Soon, import enthusiasts in other countries began to use this badge as a sign that they were a JDM [Japanese Domestic Market] enthusiast, which means they are particularly interested in the auto parts and car culture of Japan. Then someone started making Filipino badges that gathered a small following



When I discovered these, I wanted the maker of Filipino badges to make a badge for my country, and others were requesting their own country too. The seller never responded, and one day I decided to go and try to get one made myself. After succeeding, I decided to provide this service to all nationalities to fund a lip kit for my car. And thus, Custom JDM Badges was born.



Two years later, with the introduction of the shield shape and Premium Driver ID badges targeted at all auto enthusiasts, not just the import scene, Custom JDM Badges was renamed to Badges FTW! This can stand for Badges For The Win! Badges For The Window! or Badges For The World!