West Coast Customs

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West Coast Customs Inc
Type Private Company
Founded 1993
Headquarters Corona, California, U.S.
Products Automotive Modifications
Website http://www.westcoastcustoms.com

West Coast Customs is a car customizing company started in 1993 by Ryan Friedlinghaus on a loan from his grandfather, Edward Cifranic. It was originally located in Orange County, California, then moved to Los Angeles, and now its current location is in Corona, California.

West Coast Customs has franchises in Berlin, Mexico, Malaysia, Dubai, Russia and Japan. New shops are planned in Canada and Australia. In the opening sequence of Inside West Coast Customs, Ryan shows a globe with numerous shops he plans to build.

The company has expanded into the automotive industry with a new catalog of body kits and wheels. Together with the Japanese franchise, it also has opened a workshop called West Coast Customs Coach, in which coaches are also modified.

West Coast Customs gained celebrity status as being the original site for the MTV show Pimp My Ride, hosted by rapper Xzibit. It also appears in numerous locations in the video game L.A. Rush.

West Coast Customs currently have another reality show on TLC and Discovery Channel called Street Customs (Custom My Ride, as it is called in the UK). The show, produced by Pilgrim Films & Television, features some of the original cast from Pimp My Ride, including Ishmael ("Ish") and Big Dane.

Their newest series Inside West Coast Customs premiered on January 2011 on Discovery HD Theater, now called Velocity. The second season began on February 12, 2012, and included numerous celebrity clients such as will.i.am, Sylvester Stallone, Mark Wahlberg and Justin Bieber.[1] The third and final season of the show premiered at February 10, and the season finale aired March 10.

West Coast Customs began building custom Ford Mustang Cobras in collaboration with Carroll Shelby, the originator of Shelby branded custom street and race cars including the famous Shelby Cobra. On a recent showing of Street Customs, Ryan Friedlinghaus and his team built the first of these Cobras and invited Shelby to see the finished product, surprising him by presenting the car to him as a gift.

Cast and crew

The following include those that have appeared on the TV show Street Customs.[2]

  • Ryan Friedlinghaus – Founder and CEO
  • Amy – President
  • Micky – Accounting
  • Alex – Sales Manager-no longer with company now running Anderson consulting company
  • Big Dane- FOO(friends of owner)
  • Tito – Public Relations-no longer with company
  • Jeff – Vehicle Design
  • Meagan – Ryan's Wife
  • 'Mad' Mike – Administrative Assistant (a regular on Pimp My Ride)-no longer with company, has been working at Galpin Auto Sports (GAS) since 2006
  • Kenny – Floor Manager
  • Darren – Audio and Electronics-no longer with company now owns Boost motorsports
  • Keylee – Jeff's Dog
  • Ryan – lighting and interior customization
  • Carlos – Wood Fabrication
  • Ishmael "Ish" – Interiors
  • James and 2shae – Graphic Design
  • Negro – Head Body Shop
  • Marcos – Body Shop
  • George – Paint-no longer with company now employed as by Tesla automotive
  • Rafa &&' Vitor- paint- no longer with company.
  • Joan – Paint
  • Brian – Head Metal Fabrication-no longer with company now owns Jendro's customs
  • Danny – Fabrication-no longer with company now works for Jendro's customs
  • Mosko – Fabrication
  • Jose – Fabrication
  • Bernt - Fabricator (Previously worked for Boyd Coddington)-no longer with company now employed by 401k customs
  • Will – Fabrication-no longer with company now employed by Penhall fabrication
  • Rory – Parts Manager-no long with company now employed by Callaway Cars
  • David 'Greaser' – Wheels and tires-no longer with company
  • Hunter – Fabrication Apprentice
  • Pedro – Custodial Services
  • Gera – Baller
  • Mohammed 'Ali' - Fabrication
  • Arshad 'Safrulla' - IT
  • Chris - Fabrication

Film crew:

  • Adam ' Mad Money' Means – Director,
  • Patrick 'Green Street' Dupree – Camera,
  • David 'The Contender' McAbee – Coordinator,
  • John 'to cool for school' Lakin – Audio,
  • Kyle 'Karl' Scanlon – Asst. Camera,

A new season is slated to begin in December 2013.

References

  1. ↑ "Inside West Coast Customs" returns to Velocity
  2. ↑ Meet The Team

External links

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