I grew up loving all things mechanical and being around old cars has always got me excited. After getting my bachelors in Business, I decided to change course and attend Hot Rod Institute. It was one of my best decisions as I found a passion for metal shaping and the passion continues to grow. I started at CHRA in 2020 and it has been an honor to work beside so many talented people.

I bought a 1923 T bucket project when I was 16, went to Mcpherson college for automotive restoration while 18. I started working in custom and restoration shops rite out of college. I spent 5 years at a mopar muscle car shop and tried out a few smaller European and hot rod shops before finding real quality work here at CHRA. I have taken various metalworking classes since college to hone my metalworking skills and started here in 2018.

Background in heavy duty rock trenching and the development of the equipment used in the market today. I love all cars. My favorite cars are the cars in the thirties because of the curves and elegance. Add horsepower and away you go.

Have loved all things mechanical from a young age. I bought my first car, a '54 Chevy, when I was 12 with money I had earned. Worked for a mechanic and a race car fabricator in junior high and high school. Attended Wyo-Tech for Auto-body, Street Rod, Chassis Fab, Business degree. Worked for a small restoration shop before beginning at Pinkees Rod Shop where I learned a lot about building High End cars. Harold contacted me and I gave CHRA a try and together we have built the shop to what it is currently. We have now built several award winning cars with some of the most talented people in the Industry.

Alex started working at his grandfathers auto repair shop at 10 years old and learned to drive the shop truck at 11. He bought his first car at 14 and built it up to have something when he turned 16. Always loved shop classes and found machining to be something he really enjoyed. Attended Wyotech and completed Automotive -Street Rod and Chassis fab courses. Began at CHRA in 2013.

I was born into hot rods. My Grandpa & Great Uncle ran top gas slingshots in the late 50's/early 60's. Graduated from Wyotech in 2005. Worked at Kikin Street rods for a year and a half, then Cimtex Rods for a little over a year. After a 2 year stint in a family business, went to Austin Speed Shop for almost 3 years during the "Jesse James' Outlaw Garage" era. Also attended ACC for mechanical engineering during that time. Worked at Pinkees Rod Shop for a little over 2 years, then back to Austin Speed for 8 months. Co-owner at Royal-T Racing for a little over a year.

36 years experience doing trim and upholstery. 2 years of teaching at a Trim school. 5 years at CHRA. First high end car Jay did was called Loaded A 29 Roadster pickup at Pinkees Rod Shop. Since then Jay has done several high end cars here at CHRA; including the 39 Olds Riddler winner.

Started as a shop cleaner/technician when I was 15 years old. Started doing metal fabrication shortly thereafter. I slowly moved my way into the body shop where I learned how to do paint and body work. I learned most of my paint skills from a painter named Heath Henderson. I worked along side Heath for the majority of the time while I was at Cimtex Rods out of Jarrell, TX. I learned most of my body work skills from a guy named Will Trammell. I worked at Cimtex Rods for a little over 6 years. I managed to get a job at CHRA, where I currently work to this date!

Started working at a Ford dealership right out of high school in the body shop. Lance was an apprentice doing body and paint work for the used car department. This eventually led to a position as a painter. Following this Lance has worked for different restoration and hot rod shops before coming here to CHRA where he has continued doing great body and paint work

I have been working in hot rod industry since 2008. I started my hot rod career at a different high end shop sweeping floors and worked my way into different departments over time. My career took me here to CHRA doing fabrication, paint/body work, and assembly.

Loved autos from a young age. Attended design school in Detroit. Worked for GM for several years as a designer. Went on to attend Wyo-Tech and teach at Wyo-Tech. Christian went on to work for the best names in the business- Pinkees Rod Shop -Cotati speed shop -Foose Design -Walden Speed shop finally himself at Dotson Design and contracts for us here at CHRA.

Started spinning wrenches with his Father and Uncle in his home garage. With over 25 years of experience we turn to Dean for all troubling electrical problems and tricky diagnosis needs. Various experience in the automotive field that helps with these Hot Rods that are always presenting challenges. Dean is ASE certified and has an extensive amount of specialty tools and knowledge to go along with them.

Aside from my dad having one of a million "Old Blue" Chevy trucks when I was 4 and a few Chevelle's after, I myself have always appreciated the aesthetics and quality of a well built vehicle. I had worked for 3M over 10yrs and had owned a small business for a few years after that. I was tired of not pursuing anything in the custom car industry. At 32 I moved to Houston to work for a friend of a friend's one man shop. I learned what I could from there while leaning more towards metal fabrication. I had found CHRA in 2014 and felt their level of work catered more to what I wanted to do. After an over extended stay in Houston I moved back to my home town in 2015 and began working for CHRA. I feel the mentality of the crew, the level of experience, and final product is the best I've known.

Justin started off his welding career in his mid 20s after a failed amateur boxing career in San Antonio, Tx. He became proficient at TIG welding and machining for Bell engineering building turbo kits. He relocated to Austin to work for Calvo Motorsports fabricating turbo kits for high horsepower twin turbo vipers from the 1200-3000 hp range. He later followed his interest in sheet metal work learning how to shape metal as well as metal finish while working for a small shop before joining the Andice team.

My name is Mathew Torres, I am from San Antonio, Tx. I got started in the industry when I was 20 years old. I went to St. Phillips college to learn the collision trade. After a semester I felt confident in what I had learned and decided to apply for a body tech helper position at Caliber Collision. After over a year there I had picked up the trade very quickly along with the business practices, like repair estimation and the overall logistics of the trade. I decided to open my own body shop. After 5 years of mostly office work, working with customers to keep the business running, I decided my passion was still out in the field, hands on with the cars. This is when a huge opportunity presented itself to work with a group of quality custom car builders, Kindig It Design. My wife and I packed up our things and left for Salt Lake City, Utah for 2 years. I was the in house painter there and did some bodywork to keep things moving. But after a short amount of time, I realized there is no place like home, TEXAS! My wife and I, along with our new baby daughter headed back home. And now I am very grateful to have found such a high quality shop like CHRA right here at home in Texas. I get to really focus on what I love to do here. Building custom cars and really perfecting my craft as a body technician to the fullest.

I am a 6th generation mechanic on my dads side. I grew up around cars. My Dads shop L'Heureux Automotive in El Paso, Tx was my second home. From there I started drag racing and building LS engines and took a job working with rock crawlers. After that I took a job in the Diesel Industry out in West Tx, and then ended back in the Austin area working in the Hot Rod Industry.

Started my trade as a sign painter in 1987, Adelaide, south Australia. Over the next 20 years taught myself to custom paint, pinstriping, airbrushing, vehicle graphics, etc. In 2007 I moved to America full time and worked for a custom paint shop in Virginia. In 2010 I moved to Texas and started my own custom paint business called Gasoline Art for 11 years before starting full time here at CHRA.

At 15 I bought my first car, a 1967 Mustang coupe. I went through 3 engines and a lot of blood sweat and tears. I kept it through High School and into the Air Force. With a lot of moving around in the Air Force I took a break from classic cars. My dad who was watching after the Mustang, sold it. My last duty assignment I got a house and internet and got back into classics and purchased an Opel GT. Self taught, I have bought and sold many classic cars, finding my way to American made with V8s. I started a shop with a friend, Bryan Doty, and worked there with him. Bryan introduced me to a lot of people, including the fine folks here at CHRA. My Experience includes everything from welding and fabrication,to mechanical, electrical,plumbing, and suspension.