Have you ever watched “Pimp My Ride”, “Street Customs”, or “Inside West Coast Customs”? If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all, as these three are all about the same custom business, West Coast Customs, though of course a few things have changed over the years. With more recognition comes taste and style without the need for gizmos and gadgets to catch the eye.
“West Coast Customs” is the current iteration of the TV show, presiding over other mechanically minded-shows with its own space on Velocity, after a move from Fox Sports Network. After so much exposure to the public in this capacity, WCC is widely recognized as the best known custom car shop in the United States.
WCC boasts several high-profile clients such as Shaquille O’Neal, Trisha Paytas, “Evil” Jared Hasselhoff, Red 5 Studios and the Expendables films, WCC has gone from an entrepreneurial pipe dream to million-dollar franchise in under a quarter of a century.
Located in various cities in California (there have been several moves as the company needed more and more space — they are currently located in Burbank), WCC prides itself on providing its services to upscale clientele no matter the request.
The Expendables franchise recruited WCC to build three custom trucks, starting with 1995 Ford F-100s, one of which was given to Sylvester Stallone. A few years later, WCC was tasked with combining car bodies for a vehicle in Mad Max: Fury Road, which has now become one of the most iconic parts of the film (the vehicles used were a Ford Maverick and a Ford Ranger).
Other customers require more detail work, such as Trisha Paytas, who asked for Swarovski crystals to adorn the steering wheel and headrests of her Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon. Other details requested included customized floor mats and a custom paint job. Kylie Jenner’s custom Ferrari 488 Spider required more subtle changes, such as the tinted windows and white gloss paint, which made it a stand-out among her siblings’ vehicles. Shaquille O’Neal, The Weeknd, Justin Bieber, Jay Leno, and Sean Combs have also been WCC customers.
Along with providing custom vehicles to the stars and the film industry, WCC also works with globally recognized brands, mostly technology companies like Microsoft, Virgin, and Nintendo, who purchase these vehicles for advertising purposes. Recently, WCC paired up with Jack Daniels to create a
While there have been some bumps along the road for WCC, including criticisms of their employment practices, all the press has managed to grow WCC’s business. Its image as one of the top custom car shops in the world has rarely wavered, and with its branching out into franchise territory in the United Arab Emirates (Dubai) and China (Shanghai), WCC seems to be looking into becoming a worldwide name.
With a headquarters covering 60,000 square feet (it is considered the flagship of the company), a TV show, lifestyle gear, tours, and an academy (offering seminars and hands-on experience with the team to a few hundred mechanics a year), and attendance at prestigious auto shows, West Coast Customs is sprawling, just like the city it came from.
