Jun Imai, Ryu Asada
Background
Jun Imai — Jun Imai is a Design Manager at Hot Wheels, at Mattel. In a 2016 interview, he described leading a team of six designers and taking part in automotive partnerships and licensing, such as the collaboration with Porsche customizer Magnus Walker. He grew up collecting Hot Wheels and, according to the interviewer, brought a strong JDM (Japanese domestic market) influence to the brand's models. The sources consulted do not state his education or year of entry.
Ryu Asada — Ryu Asada was born in Osaka, Japan, and studied physics at the University of Oregon and then automotive design at the Art Center College of Design in California, with a short internship at a Peugeot studio in France. He joined Mattel in 2004, first at Matchbox (about eight years, more than 200 models) and in 2012 moved to Hot Wheels.
He brought the brand many Japanese and enthusiast cars, such as the Honda S2000, Civic Type R, Integra and NSX, Subaru Impreza, Toyota FJ40, Nissan R390 GT1 and Mazda FC RX-7. He died in March 2021, at the age of 42.
