#14 Taxi Driver sets feet in motion

I got a lot of great comments on my article of the Riseman. Of course, thank you very much for your support. If you like my little G-Shock stories, don't hesitate to leave a little feedback in form of a comment. Of course I can't always go on the road for a G-Shock or combine it with music. Friday evening I was thinking which G I would do next. As I had no idea, I just looked in my boxes upstairs and pulled out my Taxi Driver. I couldn't help it, but I immediately thought about this video. It's a sad story about a very special taxi. Maybe I should hunt down such a shirt. It would match my Taxi Driver very nice.



In January 2001 I obtained my first "Taxi Driver", the DW-6900H-9. It was before I discovered international auction websites. I bought mine from the Dutch singer and actress Charlotte Coppola.
I was very happy with my newest acquisition. I couldn't resist to strap it on my 6 month old son Bram and took a photo. It was very tricky, because he couldn't sit right then.
Charlotte melted when she saw this picture. Since we were both musicians at that time (I'm a lazy musician now), we corresponded some around that time.
Not much later I discovered eBay Germany. At that time a real Mecca for G-Shock hunting. You could find this model by dozens and they went often for very cheap prices to a new owner. In no time I had a second.
I was not the only one who liked this watch. My brother Paul was looking at this watch also with very interested eyes. So I gave away my first to my brother, keeping the second for myself.
Later I managed to get a new one and also a new red version (Red Zone) . I think if you look for one good enough, you will still find one for a nice price in Germany, though after 8 years hunting, I notice they become more scarce now. No wonder, it is a 1995 release.
When released, the G-Shock brand was just launched on the European market (October 1994). It seems there was a huge demand yellow watches. Also the DW-6630B-9 has been sold in huge numbers. Casio gave names for the G-Shock models (they actually recently stopped doing this). This one is called Taxi Driver.



I think the guy responsible for giving names to G-Shock models must have been a fan of the TV show Taxi. I was a fan of the show also, and also loved the music ("Angela" by Bob James, features on the album "Touchdown", which is somewhere in my record collection)
It might be possible the DW-6900H was originally only produced for the Japanese market. While overseas models show ILLUMINATOR and WATER-200M-RESIST in the dial, this model shows FOX FIRE and WATER-20 BAR- RESIST.
On the straps there are some tattoo like prints. One is of a spider web, the other a skull and bones on a cross.
The watch was designed for "Slashers", and sometimes also nicknamed Slasher (Japan). With Slasher Casio means board riders, like Snowboarders and skateboarders. "The soul foot in motion"appears to be US slang used by "Slashers. I always thought it was some kind of Engrish for runners.
A nice detail on this watch is the black resin buckle. It's made of a very hard kind of polyurethane. It is very comfortable on the wrist, because it feels warm. The combination with the black strap keeper makes a nice sharp contrast to the "Positive Yellow"straps and bezel.
I noticed there is one drawback with the resin buckle. Once a model with a resin buckle was sent to me in a paper envelope. Though the buckles are very strong and hard, mine didn't survive the stamp machine. When opening the envelope, the buckle crumbled out of the envelope in many pieces.
The DW-6900 is always been my favorite basic model. I still remember when I saw my first DW-6900. It was worn by a barman in Antwerp somewhere Autumn 2000. I had a little talk with that guy and I immediately knew for sure I had to get myself one too.
It doesn't not only look nice, this DW-6900 wears very comfortable. As far as I know all European DW-6900H models released in 1995 have the Japan M stamp. In 2005 there was a re-release of this model, which actually looked exactly the same. Only the back differs. The re-release is made in Malaysia.
One of the coolest things of the DW-6900 in general is the EL Backlight. It is very bright (it probably also consumes quite some battery energy). The face of the DW-6900 is probably best known from the movie Mission Impossible II. Ethan Hunt wears a heavily modded DW-6900, which appears full screen a few times in the movie.