West Coast Customs
 | |
| Private company | |
| Founded | 1993 |
| Headquarters | Burbank, California, U.S. |
| Products | Automotive Modifications |
| Revenue | $9.5 million |
Number of employees | Approx. 40 |
| Website | http://www.westcoastcustoms.com |
West Coast Customs was founded in 1993 by Ryan Friedlinghaus. Starting out with a $5000 loan from his grandpa, after a series of succesful t.v. shows, it became a world famous custom car company. It featured in seasons 1-4 of MTV's Pimp My Ride. It has facilities now open in Dubai, Mexico, Germany, Malaysia, Russia, China and Japan. The West Coast Customs flagship 60,000 square foot facility, is headquartered in Burbank, CA.
History
West Coast Customs was founded in 1993 by Ryan Friedlinghaus. West Coast Customs, Inc. filed articles of incorporation in the State of California on October 20, 2000 and is headquartered at 2101 W. Empire Ave, Burbank, California. It was originally located in Orange County, California, then moved to Los Angeles, and now its current location is in Burbank, California.
On July 9, 2014, West Coast Customs announced that a new headquarters would be built at 2101 West Empire Avenue, in the city of Burbank.
In July 2012, Joseph Scalisi, Location Based Technologies Inc. Co-President and Chief Development Officer and stockholder, entered into a Subscription Agreement with West Coast Customs ("WCC") to acquire an approximate 1.5% ownership of WCC. LBT is under a Manufacturing and Trademark License Agreement with WCC for co-branding of the PocketFinder products.[1]
In addition to its car building operations, West Coast Customs has a full line of die-cast cars, apparel and other merchandise. The company also has its own television show on Fox Sports 2 called "West Coast Customs". Produced by K.O.C. Productions. Prior shows were "Street Customs" on TLC, "Inside West Coast Customs" on Velocity, and "Pimp My Ride" on MTV.
West Coast Customs has franchises in Berlin, Mexico, Malaysia, Dubai, China, and Japan. New shops are planned in Canada and Australia. 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 was 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 was featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto 5 as Los Santos Customs. West Coast Customs have also had reality shows 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 in January 2011 on Discovery HD Theater, now called Velocity. The second season began on February 12, 2012.[2] The third and final season of the show premiered on February 10, 2014 and the season finale aired on 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 and 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.[3]
- Ryan Friedlinghaus, Chief Executive Officer:
- Chris G. Cooley, CFO
- Lil Ryan, Son To CEO
- Big Dane – FOO (Friend of Owner)
- Musa Tjahjono– Vehicle Design
- Oliver Nowlin– Creative Design
- Meagan Friedlinghaus – Ryan's Wife
- Kenny W. – Wood Fabrication
Film crew:
- Adam ' Mad Money' Means – Director,
- Patrick 'Green Street' Dupree – Camera,
- David 'The Contender' McAbee – Coordinator,
- John 'Too-Cool-for-School' Lakin – Audio,
- Kyle 'Karl' Scanlon – Asst. Camera,
Kara Stephens-Producer and Director
Kristoffer May-Director of Photography
Michael Weinstein-Sound Mixer
West Coast Customs, Inc. Trademarks
WRENCH West Coast Customs, Inc.
RHAUS West Coast Customs, Inc.
WRENCH