Behind the Wheel

Surfing and hot rodding converge in the South Bay with custom surfboard builder Tyler Hatzikian. Enter the modern day version of the Southern California spirit, born by the breath of sea water, and by the headlights of roaring racing engines; Tyler Hatzikian of Tyler Surfboards embodies the youth that time has forgotten in Southern California. Tyler has become the master of many lost arts.

Heath Pinter's BMX career has paralleled his love of building and cruising custom cars. Heath had dabbled in building newer trucks as tie ins with his BMX sponsors but always had his eyes on the early classics including classic trucks, motorcycles and now period correct hot rods.

Joe Yezzi and his love for square body trucks are based on childhood memories.

Jay LaRossa has built trucks, hot rods and now after battling cancer, builds his own style of motorcycles. The bike builds kept flowing in and the fame from magazines, shows and television put Jay at the forefront of the revival of Cafe Racer bikes. A second bout with cancer clicked in Jay's head and he basically said 'screw it' and decided to build bikes how he wanted to see them done.

Maybe it's their history of vast farmland and proximity to hot rodding origins, but the Central Valley of California has always been home to custom trucks. See how a mobile glass installer has gone from mini trucks to classic trucks and Cadillacs. All with a crunch before SEMA time. With SEMA time fast approaching another local shop preps a brand new Tahoe to be displayed at the show.

Born a competitor; Paul Lee of McLeod Racing was a wrestler, martial artist, competitive skydiver, investment banker and champion nitro funny car drag racer. That competitive edge has transferred into success with clutch and transmission manufacturer McLeod Racing. The rush of a 10,000 horsepower funny car as Paul leaves the line is a childhood dream come true.