2026 SEMA PRO Cup Challenge Preview: Meet the Six Builders

Transcript from the approved preview film.

00:00:08 Hey, welcome to our SEMA 2026 Pro Cup Challenge Builders Interview,

00:00:13 and today first we've got Chuck Graf with Auto Sunroof and Leather, and

00:00:18 the ambassador, Jessica Crossman.

00:00:19 Hey, guys, thanks for being here.

00:00:21 Hello.

00:00:21 Yeah, you're welcome.

00:00:23 Awesome, and we wanna hear a little bit about this, 2026 Jeep Gladiator Sport,

00:00:28 and, Chuck, a little bit about why you decided to use this for your build.

00:00:32 what inspired you to do it?

00:00:34 And then we'll ask some more questions after that, too.

00:00:36 Well, we picked the '26 Gladiator because, Jeep Gladiator and Wranglers are

00:00:41 really the number one, optional vehicle to add accessories to in the country.

00:00:46 So it's something that's really, popular and easy to build.

00:00:50 We wanted to make it something that all the other builders can replicate, and,

00:00:54 it's nothing easier than working on Jeeps.

00:00:56 And Chuck, you, won what, two years ago?

00:00:59 Yeah, I think it was two years ago.

00:01:00 2023.

00:01:02 2023, okay.

00:01:03 what did you learn from that that you were able to bring to this one?

00:01:08 Or what did you change?

00:01:10 when we did the last one, we did the Subaru, we wanted to make it marketable.

00:01:13 We kind of had, the Rough Rider edition, so it was, people with

00:01:16 dogs, and we kept the price down, and I learned a little from both.

00:01:20 One, it was nice to keep the price down and keep it within, it was affordable.

00:01:25 So this build, we are under the budget.

00:01:28 I didn't really go by the budget of the Pro Cup Challenge.

00:01:31 I went by the budget of what my dealers can spend.

00:01:33 I need them to be able to sell it.

00:01:35 So if I spend too much, it's gonna sit out on a lot, and that's not the whole

00:01:38 idea of what we're trying to do so you're under budget on the Gladiator.

00:01:43 and you came up with a package.

00:01:44 what's the package called?

00:01:46 Well, it's called the Pro Series.

00:01:48 Okay.

00:01:49 Fitting Pro Cup Challenge.

00:01:50 We built it.

00:01:51 I wanted my guys in the shop to, add what they could.

00:01:54 This really one is about them more than about me.

00:01:57 I want the whole team to be part of it.

00:02:00 when I said, "We're gonna build a car for Pro Cup Challenge,"

00:02:02 what are we gonna call it?

00:02:03 Pro Series is what came to everybody's mind.

00:02:05 So it's a Pro Series.

00:02:07 That's awesome.

00:02:07 Jessica, so you've been an ambassador before.

00:02:12 Yes, I have.

00:02:12 What did you do different this time, knowing that you had a past winner,

00:02:16 Chuck had already kinda done it before?

00:02:19 You know, what was- Yeah … what was your role?

00:02:21 That poor girl.

00:02:23 She, Chuck put her through- No, I think that the ambassador

00:02:26 program has been great.

00:02:27 Obviously loved doing it last year, and easy going into it this year.

00:02:30 For our role for the ambassador is just to make sure that the builders are on their

00:02:34 timelines, that they have their build sheets in, that their photos are done.

00:02:39 this alleviates some pressure off of Denise, who's our,

00:02:42 council and network director.

00:02:43 So I don't think that I did anything different other than still staying on

00:02:50 their back to make sure things got done, things were done in a timely fashion.

00:02:55 I just didn't wanna be late to the game.

00:02:56 Putting up with a lot of nonsense.

00:02:58 Say it again?

00:02:58 you had to put up with a lot of nonsense.

00:03:00 Lot of nonsense coming from Chuck.

00:03:02 Yeah.

00:03:02 But it's, like, fun to see how their brains work.

00:03:05 Like, so Joe last year, how he did everything, and then how Chuck's doing it.

00:03:11 The one thing that I liked about both of their messaging was it had

00:03:15 to be, even though that's the Pro Cup Challenge, and I get that, but

00:03:19 marketable back into every region.

00:03:22 Everybody's doing it.

00:03:24 It's not crazy colors.

00:03:26 It's not, an eyesore.

00:03:28 it's his build and everything that he's put on it is 100% sellable even

00:03:33 for me in the Boston market Cool.

00:03:36 Well, the one other question I had is was it…

00:03:39 I mean, a Jeep's pretty easy to get parts for, but did you struggle with

00:03:42 any of the manufacturers getting parts, or did everything go pretty smooth?

00:03:46 Everything went pretty well.

00:03:48 manufacturers were very willing to work with me.

00:03:51 I am proud to say that most of the stuff, I will say everything in this was donated.

00:03:58 I didn't have to struggle to get anything.

00:04:00 everybody worked really well.

00:04:02 it all went really well.

00:04:03 The last thing I had to worry about was poor Neil from Seat Belt Planet.

00:04:07 I waited till the last minute to decide to do seat belts, if you're

00:04:10 looking over my shoulder, you can kinda see a hint of his project.

00:04:13 this podcast from inside the build 'cause it's the most

00:04:15 comfortable place in the shop.

00:04:17 Absolutely.

00:04:18 Getting the 26th Gladiator, absolutely.

00:04:20 Looks good.

00:04:21 Excited to see it.

00:04:21 Love the plug.

00:04:22 Yeah.

00:04:23 Yes.

00:04:24 I have a question, Chuck.

00:04:25 What was it like working with your team in the shop?

00:04:27 Did it build, did it help with morale?

00:04:29 Was it challenging?

00:04:30 Was it easy?

00:04:31 What was that like?

00:04:32 It was easy.

00:04:33 I mean, they've done it before.

00:04:34 and I bring my staff to the SEMA show every year.

00:04:38 So they get to see other people's builds, they get to see what it's

00:04:41 like, and they get excited about it.

00:04:42 they're ready to go.

00:04:43 We would leave today if if they were allowed to.

00:04:45 That's fantastic.

00:04:45 That's awesome.

00:04:46 Well, I don't know how you're gonna over updo the dog car.

00:04:52 I mean, that was awesome.

00:04:53 We've done that already.

00:04:55 Yeah.

00:04:55 I know.

00:04:55 So now I'm is this gonna be- I'm not- … a cat gladiator?

00:04:58 Is it gonna be- I- … a rabbit gladiator?

00:05:00 I mean, what animal did you work into this one?

00:05:03 It's nothing.

00:05:04 Oh, okay.

00:05:04 there's no animal in it.

00:05:06 It is a gladiator Oh, okay.

00:05:08 It is, it is…

00:05:09 So I am excited about this for more than one reason.

00:05:12 There's products that are on this vehicle that are available to everybody

00:05:16 that's nobody's ever seen before.

00:05:19 I will say that.

00:05:20 I can say positively nobody's ever seen before.

00:05:23 Good.

00:05:24 it is going to help grow our all of our restylers that it's changing the

00:05:29 way restylers are gonna do business.

00:05:31 Great … you kinda answered this, but if you were to summarize why you think

00:05:35 you guys should win, what would you say?

00:05:37 What would be your, your reason, your pitch for why you

00:05:40 guys should be the winners?

00:05:42 it's really the whole embodiment of the Pro Cup Challenge.

00:05:45 We built it on the whole part of being marketable, profitable, sellable,

00:05:50 and that every restyler can do.

00:05:52 We don't need a fancy spray booth.

00:05:55 we don't need any, expertise in anything.

00:05:58 we don't even have a lift in our shop.

00:06:01 It just shows that you don't have to be a big, giant shop to build

00:06:04 something that can and will win.

00:06:07 I love it.

00:06:07 That's good.

00:06:07 I want other restylers who see this, that are small shops that

00:06:10 think, "I can't compete with these big guys," to see that you could

00:06:13 easily compete with the big guys.

00:06:15 it's all about having the passion to do it, and you could figure it out.

00:06:18 I don't know, Josh.

00:06:19 That's one of the best answers I've heard on that question.

00:06:21 I know.

00:06:21 I mean, I'm like, dang, he just said, "Hey, Dino, I'm coming for you."

00:06:27 I love it.

00:06:28 Oh, I'm not scared.

00:06:29 Yeah.

00:06:30 I told you, I'm sitting, the seats I'm in are the most comfortable Jeep

00:06:33 seats that you've ever been in you could s- I hope everybody said something.

00:06:38 There's products on here that, like I said, haven't been seen, and I'm really

00:06:42 hoping it just helps other restylers.

00:06:44 It helps…

00:06:45 I've been doing this now 40 years, and now I actually feel like I'm gonna be

00:06:49 giving something back to the restylers.

00:06:52 Good.

00:06:52 Love it.

00:06:52 even if we don't win a trophy, we still won.

00:06:55 Yeah.

00:06:57 And I got Jessica as my ambassador.

00:06:59 That's what Chuck always brings in.

00:07:00 So- I always appreciate Chuck for his, his willingness to help the industry.

00:07:02 It's why he does Pro Cup Challenge, and he, that attitude, it helped, with his

00:07:06 last build, and I'm sure it'll help with this one, so we're excited to see it.

00:07:09 Good job, Jessica, making sure that Chuck made all the deadlines.

00:07:13 Mm-hmm.

00:07:13 But Chuck, he's a proven winner, so he didn't need too much help, so you

00:07:17 kinda got on easy street, which is nice.

00:07:19 I did.

00:07:19 Jessica, you- I really did.

00:07:21 Why do you think I paired myself with him?

00:07:22 No.

00:07:23 Yeah.

00:07:24 [unclear]?

00:07:24 You better, you better be wearing your party shoes out there.

00:07:28 Yeah.

00:07:29 Party time.

00:07:30 Wait, did, did he just say- Awesome … did you guys just hear that?

00:07:33 He said if he won, he's gonna buy us all a drink, all of

00:07:35 us on this podcast right now.

00:07:36 That's required.

00:07:37 That's what he said.

00:07:38 I was actually thinking a party bus, but that's a whole other story.

00:07:41 If you take the winnings, if you get the winnings, will you put it on black or red?

00:07:45 It's gonna go on red, and with the winnings, we're gonna have a party bus.

00:07:49 Oh, okay.

00:07:50 Remember, last time we won in '23, there was no cash prize.

00:07:54 I know.

00:07:55 Right?

00:07:55 So this time, I'm gonna put it all on red, and if we win, we double it, and

00:07:59 if we double it, we get a party bus.

00:08:02 Nice.

00:08:02 There you go.

00:08:03 Awesome.

00:08:03 and for everybody, watching or listening, don't forget there is the fan favorite

00:08:07 voting, so it's not just about the judges.

00:08:09 So don't forget, Chuck Graf, Auto Sunroof and Leather, and

00:08:12 their 2026 Jeep Gladiator.

00:08:14 Cool.

00:08:15 Yes.

00:08:15 any last words, Chuck?

00:08:17 I'll see you at SEMA.

00:08:19 Right on.

00:08:19 Love it.

00:08:21 All right, guys, good job.

00:08:22 Awesome.

00:08:22 Thank you.

00:08:23 Awesome.

00:08:23 See this Gladiator.

00:08:24 See you soon.

00:08:26 Thank you.

00:08:27 Bye bye, guys.

00:08:27 All right.

00:08:27 Thank you.

00:08:28 Bye.

00:08:28 Peace.

00:08:29 Bye bye.

00:08:46 All right, welcome everybody.

00:08:48 This is, SEMA 2026- Can't wait … Pro Cup Challenge Builders interview.

00:08:52 Today we have Chelsea Allen from Crush Customs, and the

00:08:55 ambassador, Dylan Braschler.

00:08:57 Chelsea, thanks for being with us and, Dylan- Absolutely … say hi to everybody.

00:09:01 How's it going?

00:09:02 Wow.

00:09:02 Great.

00:09:02 So we've got a 2026 Kia K5, GT line, I believe.

00:09:07 Is that correct?

00:09:08 That is correct.

00:09:09 Awesome.

00:09:10 What, inspired you to choose this vehicle for the Pro Cup Challenge?

00:09:14 Well, I wanted to go so far right, but I decided to go with the K5

00:09:20 because we've already had so much success with this car and it's so

00:09:24 hot right now, that I was like, "I can't miss an opportunity to do this,"

00:09:30 because it's already tried and true.

00:09:33 it's already sold on lots of showroom floors, and so, we started this whole,

00:09:38 pink wave when it came to, pink interiors.

00:09:41 So I just thought it was, apropos that we do pink.

00:09:45 And, Am I the only woman, female-owned shop in the Challenge or no?

00:09:51 Am I?

00:09:51 yeah.

00:09:52 I think you are.

00:09:52 Yeah, you are.

00:09:53 Yeah.

00:09:53 You are.

00:09:54 Yeah.

00:09:54 So you're gonna crush it.

00:09:55 I love it.

00:09:56 I'm gonna crush it.

00:09:56 It's all about pink power this year.

00:09:59 So we've had- And, yeah … we've had so much success with the K5, K5

00:10:03 in particular, pink interiors and pink accessories, and I think we

00:10:07 really made a splash and alerted the industry as to what these ladies want.

00:10:13 And you know how we are, girls, we want what we want, and I think

00:10:17 it did s- just such a great job in representing, how women are spending

00:10:21 their money and what they want.

00:10:22 Yeah.

00:10:22 So I wanted to show that, and I wanted to give everyone just some

00:10:26 inspiration to take back with them.

00:10:28 So we decided not only to, make a beautiful car, but it's more than a car.

00:10:33 It's actually, this car represents cause marketing, And what we've done in our

00:10:39 market with the, this huge pink wave that we created, is we said, "Well,

00:10:43 how can we make this make a difference?

00:10:46 How can we take this idea, bring revenue into our dealers, at

00:10:51 the same time give them an opportunity to involve their community?"

00:10:54 And that's what we did with, Pink on Purpose, which is an initiative that

00:10:58 we're doing with our dealerships, where we partnered with Susan G.

00:11:02 Komen, Breast Cancer Awareness Foundation, the Georgia chapter is

00:11:06 partnering with us, We're partnering with area dealers, so they've allotted

00:11:11 and earmarked a certain amount of money that will go towards Susan G.

00:11:15 Komen for every pink themed vehicle.

00:11:18 Mm.

00:11:19 So this isn't just about the Pro Cup Challenge as far as who made

00:11:24 the most duplicatable car, who made the coolest car, but for us, it's

00:11:29 more of a statement of how we as restylers can involve our community,

00:11:34 sh- teach these guys how to make some revenue and make it a good cause.

00:11:38 So it, represents more than a car.

00:11:40 It's actually a concept.

00:11:42 Absolutely.

00:11:42 listen, just whenever you have a cause, then it becomes

00:11:45 that third win or fourth win.

00:11:47 So the customer wins, the restyler wins, the dealership wins.

00:11:51 Now, charity wins.

00:11:53 And so whether…

00:11:54 And they can use that money, Race for the Cure raises a lot

00:11:57 of money, all those things.

00:11:58 Komen does so many awesome things with pink.

00:12:00 Yeah.

00:12:01 And Jesse, we, need to start with one thing.

00:12:04 Let's make it very clear to all of our content, all the people out there, you-

00:12:09 this pink thing has gone nationwide, gone crazy, but it was due to Chelsea

00:12:14 who posted on Facebook I would've never put a pink interior in a car.

00:12:19 A dealer would've never let me do it until- Yeah … Chelsea did a

00:12:24 Kia with pink leather, and then all of a sudden everybody says

00:12:28 it's the most popular thing that…

00:12:30 We don't have real salespeople out there.

00:12:31 All they are is followers.

00:12:34 And, even though some markets have done better than others, but

00:12:38 that is a trendsetter right there.

00:12:39 So to have her in the Pro Cup Challenge now, and to bring on not only what she's,

00:12:44 the, what the trend she started, but then now double downing on it with, with the

00:12:48 cause and some of the theme that we'll talk about, I'm just excited to have you.

00:12:52 So well done.

00:12:53 Thank you on behalf- Thank you … of the industry.

00:12:56 Thank you.

00:12:56 Aw, that means so much, Josh.

00:12:58 Yeah.

00:12:59 really coming from you.

00:13:00 Yeah.

00:13:00 SEMA Man of the Year, that's a big deal.

00:13:02 coming from you, that's huge.

00:13:05 And yeah, it's been such a joy.

00:13:08 a- when I started talking about this program, we started talking about

00:13:12 doing this about three months ago.

00:13:14 And, you come in dealerships and you give them ideas and they, nod their head and a

00:13:20 lot of times just, that's the end of it.

00:13:22 or maybe you have to track them down and beg them to, get involved.

00:13:25 But everybody I spoke to about this program was so eager and excited to

00:13:31 be a part of it because one in every four are affected by this disease.

00:13:38 So everybody…

00:13:40 And, Susan G.

00:13:41 Komen, actually, they said, "You called at a perfect time.

00:13:43 We've been trying to figure out how to get more men involved," because

00:13:46 there are even more men that are being diagnosed with breast cancer these days.

00:13:50 So- They absolutely loved it.

00:13:53 They're talking about maybe even doing it nationally.

00:13:56 Mm-hmm.

00:13:56 And it's funny you mention Race, you mentioned Race For The Cure f- Josh,

00:13:59 because we did a Pink on Purpose K5, and this past Saturday, it just

00:14:06 led the race as the pace car- Ooh

00:14:09 for the Race For The Cure.

00:14:10 And we did a pink wrap, pink interior, the whole nine.

00:14:15 We decided not to d- go with the pink wrap on this build because

00:14:19 we did wanna make it duplicatable.

00:14:21 I know, a pink exterior's not for everybody, so we ended

00:14:24 up doing a matte black, wrap.

00:14:26 We did a stealth, PPF from XPEL.

00:14:31 It's, still just such a stunner.

00:14:34 But, yeah, we're just having a lot of fun with it.

00:14:37 Because the pink thing went so crazy, now my dealers are actually listening to me.

00:14:41 So I walk in with crazy ideas, they're like, "Yeah, let's try it."

00:14:45 Let's try it.

00:14:45 And they love this idea.

00:14:47 the thing is with us as restylers, a lot of times you have to make it easy on them.

00:14:52 Yeah.

00:14:52 So if you just present an idea and it's already packaged up and

00:14:56 all they have to do is stroke a check, then they're all for it.

00:14:59 Yeah.

00:14:59 So that's what we've really tried to do, is make it all

00:15:01 comprehensive in this initiative.

00:15:03 Yeah.

00:15:04 Dylan, let me ask you, so, you obviously have not been in the Pro

00:15:08 Cup Challenge, and I think this is your first year as an ambassador.

00:15:11 You're on the select committee now, so congratulations on that.

00:15:14 Thank you.

00:15:15 obviously working with a rock star like Chelsea is fun.

00:15:18 What did you learn out of this whole experience?

00:15:21 Yeah, when it got announced that I was working with

00:15:23 Chelsea, I was jumping for joy.

00:15:25 right when she, when- once that whole pink- Fanatic went

00:15:29 national, I actually gave her a call just to say I'm a huge fan.

00:15:33 And she said, "I'm actually at lunch, but we can talk later."

00:15:35 I was like, "Okay, that's fine."

00:15:37 So then I called her office to let her know I was a huge fan.

00:15:39 Cute.

00:15:39 And just going back and forth with them was great.

00:15:42 but as far as lear- things I've learned, yes, this is my first time being an

00:15:45 ambassador, so I was nervous to just jump in and figure out what to do.

00:15:50 But, Chelsea actually made it pretty easy.

00:15:53 she was, reached out to me first actually, Cool … after I let her know I was

00:15:56 an ambassador, just to ask for some advice on certain things, and what she

00:16:01 should do and what she shouldn't do.

00:16:02 and obviously I'm gonna give her my two cents in it.

00:16:05 Mm-hmm … and I even told her to let her know, I was like, "Hey," I was

00:16:07 like, "This is, you guys created this.

00:16:10 so just do it to the full extent.

00:16:12 Don't, don't hold back."

00:16:13 I was like, "This is your guys' creation, your guys' trend."

00:16:16 I was like, "So it doesn't matter what you guys are gonna do, it's, a,

00:16:19 it's gonna be a winner due to that."

00:16:21 So she just took that and rode with it.

00:16:24 Awesome.

00:16:24 How was it working- Great advice … how was it working with

00:16:27 the manufacturers and the dealership?

00:16:29 Tell us a little bit of inside baseball on that stuff me or Dylan?

00:16:33 well, Dylan, did you…

00:16:34 You really didn't have to do much of that, right?

00:16:36 so no, it was great.

00:16:37 Of course, I will tell you, because I've done the Pro Cup Challenge

00:16:40 before, and it was pretty new then, I think maybe was the second year,

00:16:45 I think, Josh- Yeah at that point.

00:16:47 We had to go around and beg people – Yeah, yeah

00:16:51 and inform them and educate them.

00:16:53 Now they know the value.

00:16:55 Now they're calling.

00:16:56 poor Bill North.

00:16:57 it…

00:16:57 Unfortunately I have a sunroof in my car already, and I couldn't use one

00:17:00 of his roofs, but everybody was so supportive, calling, "What can we do?

00:17:06 How can we help?"

00:17:07 And, giving their support, and that was really, I'd say, a huge

00:17:11 difference in competing this year versus, the time before.

00:17:16 Also, having Dylan was incredible.

00:17:19 having Dylan and also being that Dylan does this every day, I definitely leaned

00:17:24 on him for advice on just what he would do and what an outside perspective,

00:17:30 eh, and he did so great, and he was…

00:17:33 I wouldn't have even remembered that this interview was

00:17:35 today if he didn't remind me.

00:17:37 He did a really good job.

00:17:38 Congrats to you guys.

00:17:39 Josh, whoever's idea that was incredible, 'cause you're dealing with so much, and

00:17:44 it doesn't matter how much time you prep for this, you think you got it all figured

00:17:47 out, and something's bound to go wrong.

00:17:50 Totally.

00:17:50 we were down to the wire once again, and we thought we had it

00:17:53 all planned out, but having someone there to gently remind you of the

00:17:57 deadlines and things, that was great.

00:17:59 that was a really nice touch this year, so thank you.

00:18:02 Good.

00:18:03 We are super excited to see it.

00:18:06 Ooh, Jesse.

00:18:08 Ooh.

00:18:08 Look at that.

00:18:08 Ah.

00:18:09 with the pink ribbon from Susan- Yeah … G Komen with Wonder Woman.

00:18:13 Yeah.

00:18:13 Look at that.

00:18:14 Oh.

00:18:14 do you want a full tour?

00:18:15 I can give it to you.

00:18:16 Oh, look at that.

00:18:17 Looks good.

00:18:18 Look at that.

00:18:18 So this is, okay, this was- Ooh, Seatbelt Planet this was, we were gonna

00:18:22 go with a gradient wrap first, right?

00:18:27 'cause that's, a big thing now.

00:18:28 But, it would've been printed film, and it would've been, it would've

00:18:32 taken me off of my budget.

00:18:33 So, that was another reason why we decided not to do gradient, but we

00:18:37 did gradient weave on the inside.

00:18:40 So this is all- Ooh … this is all my design.

00:18:42 Mine and Bernard at Alea worked together on this, but these are,

00:18:49 it's, basket woven, and it's got these little pink grommets.

00:18:52 Of course, we're known for our interiors, so we're gonna go all out on that.

00:18:55 And then we took the same- Ooh … weave pattern on the steering wheel.

00:18:59 Mm.

00:19:00 Wow We did perforations on the door panels, which is

00:19:04 something we haven't done before.

00:19:05 Again, just, you know- That's awesome … something out of

00:19:08 the box, coming out of the box.

00:19:09 And then, oh, Luxwood, let me show you this little detail, 'cause

00:19:12 Luxwood was amazing to work with, and I plan on doing a lot with them.

00:19:16 but this is our Pink on Purpose wheel cap.

00:19:20 Oh, yeah.

00:19:20 Nice.

00:19:21 And then Pink on Purpose- Ooh … the pop line.

00:19:24 And here.

00:19:26 Oh, yeah, the door sills.

00:19:28 Pink on Purpose, I love it.

00:19:30 POP, pop line.

00:19:32 Beautiful.

00:19:33 Oh, my goodness

00:19:35 Well done.

00:19:36 Look at that thing.

00:19:37 It's pretty good.

00:19:38 Dylan, would you drive that?

00:19:39 H*** yeah.

00:19:40 Oh, yeah.

00:19:41 I'd drive it.

00:19:42 I would drive it.

00:19:42 Yeah.

00:19:43 I've thought about it, actually.

00:19:44 I'm like, "I should be the spokesperson."

00:19:46 What I love about that, Chelsea, is it's not just for girls.

00:19:48 Yeah.

00:19:49 if…

00:19:50 'Cause we have family members who have, cancer, so I would drive

00:19:53 that just in support of them.

00:19:55 Exactly.

00:19:56 Exactly.

00:19:57 Oh, that's great.

00:19:58 Yeah.

00:19:58 Well, kudos to you guys.

00:20:00 Awesome job.

00:20:01 We're excited to see how it works out.

00:20:03 and, if you guys win, you can buy us a beer.

00:20:06 I will.

00:20:07 I'll buy the, a whole round on everybody.

00:20:10 Yes.

00:20:11 All right.

00:20:11 You know?

00:20:12 Love it.

00:20:13 I love it.

00:20:13 Okay.

00:20:13 I'm excited.

00:20:15 Yeah.

00:20:15 I'm excited.

00:20:16 All right, guys.

00:20:16 Josh is gonna have to drink his sorrows once he loses.

00:20:18 He's definitely gotta drink his sorrows.

00:20:20 All right.

00:20:21 Awesome job.

00:20:22 Thank you.

00:20:22 Thanks, you guys.

00:20:23 Thank you.

00:20:23 Remember, everybody- Can't wait to see it … if you're doing the vote, if you're, if

00:20:26 you're gonna be voting, Chelsea Allen, Crush Customs- Yes … and 2026 Kia K5.

00:20:33 Please.

00:20:33 Yes.

00:20:33 Hope you guys do really well.

00:20:35 Yep.

00:20:35 Girl power.

00:20:36 Yeah.

00:20:37 See you guys later.

00:20:37 See you guys later.

00:20:38 Thank you.

00:20:38 Bye.

00:20:39 Bye.

00:20:57 So hey, welcome to our SEMA 2026 PCC Builders Interview.

00:21:01 Now, we've got Tom Waitzman from DPS Automotive, and his SEMA Pro

00:21:07 Ambassador, Colby McLaughlin.

00:21:09 How you guys doing?

00:21:10 Good.

00:21:11 Great.

00:21:11 Excited.

00:21:12 All right, great.

00:21:14 And you've got a, what is it, a 2026, Ineos, Grenadier, right?

00:21:18 Something like that.

00:21:19 I do, yeah.

00:21:19 Exactly like that.

00:21:20 Yeah.

00:21:21 Tell me, tell us why you chose that vehicle to enter

00:21:24 into the Pro Cup Challenge.

00:21:26 I wanted something different.

00:21:28 and I wanted something that, I didn't think anyone else was gonna bring, even

00:21:31 though it's really a popular car and it's the, I know everyone, every restyler

00:21:35 I talk to is working on a ton of them.

00:21:38 But in the grand scheme of things, it's a very small percentage of vehicle sales.

00:21:42 And it's, I didn't think there was gonna be a ton of 'em.

00:21:45 And I thought that it was a good vehicle that can really show you can take a

00:21:50 vehicle and totally change what maybe the vision was when they produced

00:21:56 these vehicles, because I really took it from one category and put it

00:22:00 in a completely different category.

00:22:02 And, that's something that I think only restylers can do.

00:22:06 I see.

00:22:06 Very cool.

00:22:07 Ineos.

00:22:07 I was excited to see it too.

00:22:09 I'm sure it's got some cool stuff on it.

00:22:11 So who came up with the concept, did you and the team, or did you have it,

00:22:15 or did you just let Muse do everything?

00:22:17 I was just gonna say, can I be honest about it?

00:22:19 Yeah.

00:22:20 not Muse, because this was before I got introduced to Muse.

00:22:24 Oh, okay.

00:22:25 But- Gotcha … but I knew that I wanted to make a luxury edition.

00:22:28 I had an idea, but I 100% went into ChatGPT and I'm like, "What do

00:22:33 you think about a luxury edition?"

00:22:35 This and that, and ChatGPT spit out a bunch of different things.

00:22:38 I'm not giving it all the credit, because I gave it a lot of input, but

00:22:42 I definitely use AI to my advantage, and Joshua knows that all too well,

00:22:47 'cause I never stop talking about it.

00:22:49 but yeah, I used it for a lot.

00:22:51 I used it for renderings, I used it for, sourcing- Different

00:22:56 products to save me time from trying to find some of this stuff.

00:22:59 I used it for a lot.

00:23:01 In fact, Sivan said that you built a new room at your house

00:23:05 just to keep different AI bots.

00:23:07 Is that true?

00:23:08 no, I'm kicking everybody out of the house.

00:23:10 oh, you're just kicking- Brody's gone.

00:23:12 I'm building a new room for them.

00:23:14 Oh.

00:23:15 Oh, gotcha.

00:23:15 Yeah, got it.

00:23:16 Okay, awesome.

00:23:18 Colby, let me ask you: you were ambassador this year.

00:23:21 how, what did you learn from this experience working with a

00:23:24 restyler to actually do a build?

00:23:25 Because obviously you're on the manufacturing side, so

00:23:27 you don't really do builds.

00:23:29 What did you learn from this process?

00:23:31 anything that you, advice you would give to other restylers?

00:23:34 Yeah.

00:23:35 One thing I really hats off to Tom and his team on are some, it's not just

00:23:40 the vehicle too, it's the presentation, it's the culture you're selling.

00:23:44 And Tom and his team get very creative, even just outside of the

00:23:48 build, how they set up the vehicle to really get people to understand

00:23:52 that whole vision of that luxury, segment that he's, he put together.

00:23:56 So I think that's really cool.

00:23:58 I think, the, being able to sell a culture instead of just, anybody can

00:24:02 put wheels and tires on a vehicle, anybody can slap some vinyl on something.

00:24:05 But to create a whole package that connects with people, I think is

00:24:09 where it really set restylers apart.

00:24:12 Awesome.

00:24:12 So what'd you name it?

00:24:14 it is the, INEOS, Bespoke Edition by DPS.

00:24:18 Bespoke.

00:24:19 Bespoke.

00:24:19 Nice.

00:24:20 Bespoke.

00:24:21 Bespoke.

00:24:22 Like customization.

00:24:23 Mm.

00:24:23 Love it.

00:24:24 What was it like working with the, manufacturers, Tom?

00:24:27 I was really surprised and some of them I don't think are even

00:24:31 members of SEMA and will be, because I made a huge point about that.

00:24:35 don't just do this for me, but do this to be part of SEMA and to be part

00:24:40 of, the ecosystem of what, SEMA is.

00:24:43 And I was surprised.

00:24:44 they all were amazing and happy to just be involved in it, and not

00:24:48 from even a selfish point of view.

00:24:51 not one of them were like, "Yeah, I'll do it if you post me- … on social media."

00:24:56 If…

00:24:56 none of them said that.

00:24:57 They're all like, what do you need?

00:24:59 We want to support you."

00:25:00 So I was…

00:25:02 They were all great.

00:25:03 Great.

00:25:04 And how about the dealership?

00:25:05 The dealership was super excited.

00:25:08 the dealership's gonna come out to the show.

00:25:09 The one- the manager from the store is gonna come out to the show.

00:25:12 Nice.

00:25:13 they…

00:25:13 And they were the one thing about INEOS dealerships, and Josh will attest to

00:25:17 this and anybody else, is that these guys are all about customizing their vehicles.

00:25:22 more than any brand I've ever seen.

00:25:23 similar to, back in the Scion days where, their whole

00:25:26 culture was, about customizing.

00:25:27 even though INEOS as a manufacturer, I know that, is as big into

00:25:33 it as, the actual dealerships.

00:25:35 But they know that they have really this blank slate, like

00:25:40 this solid foundation and frame and everything, but it just needs

00:25:45 something 'cause it's a $90,000 truck.

00:25:47 It's not a cheap truck.

00:25:48 the dealership was amazing, and they were already an amazing customer.

00:25:51 This is not a new relationship, but it definitely helped our

00:25:56 relationship, and it definitely…

00:25:57 I'm excited for them to come to the booth and see the car, and I

00:26:01 think that's gonna strengthen the relationship even more Any challenges

00:26:05 you ran into with install or getting product on time or anything like that?

00:26:10 Yeah, a lot of challenges and just time.

00:26:12 this thing is very consuming, especially if you wanna win, and

00:26:17 I like to win, I don't like to lose.

00:26:19 I'm against some, some big competitors, and I don't know what they're doing.

00:26:23 So for me, I have a lot of pressure on myself to just do one above.

00:26:28 I only want…

00:26:28 I've been, this is my third time.

00:26:30 The first time I won.

00:26:31 The second time I'm hurt that I lost.

00:26:34 And so now going into the third time, I'm like, all right, this is…

00:26:38 we're winning this thing.

00:26:39 if I'm doing it, we're winning, and I know that's not gonna be easy.

00:26:43 So just the time, just everything that I thought, it just, it becomes very

00:26:48 consuming, but I'm so happy with what the end result is, and I'm so proud.

00:26:53 And more importantly, every technician that walks next to it at

00:26:57 my shop are, like, just blown away.

00:27:00 they have so much pride in their faces when they see what we did and

00:27:04 when they see our name on this thing.

00:27:08 it's…

00:27:08 The value right there for me is enough.

00:27:11 But I, but I- Yeah, I was just gonna- Yeah

00:27:12 I was just gonna ask you what the what it was like in the shop, and the

00:27:15 camaraderie and is there a benefit also for the business internally?

00:27:20 Yeah.

00:27:21 I like to think all my guys always take pride in what they do.

00:27:23 I have an amazing team, and that's why we are who we are.

00:27:26 It's got nothing to do with me.

00:27:28 it's mostly AI and my team.

00:27:30 That's really what, that's really what makes DPS so great.

00:27:34 I like to think the camaraderie is always there, and these guys are

00:27:37 always proud of what they're doing.

00:27:39 But as a technician or a salesperson or an owner or anybody, and I've said

00:27:45 this a million times in the past, getting to the World Series is SEMA, So

00:27:50 for, for us to be there, I think that puts us at a different level, and that

00:27:57 plays into how everybody feels about the the company that they're a part of.

00:28:01 So it's huge.

00:28:03 Yeah.

00:28:03 Well said.

00:28:04 was there any part that you hadn't done in the past that was, like, new for you guys?

00:28:08 Yeah.

00:28:08 'Cause, you've done 100%.

00:28:09 What, so you can give us a teaser 'cause they're not gonna see this till SEMA.

00:28:12 what was a thing that you guys had to push the boundary a little bit for you guys?

00:28:15 we did custom badges, which is new to me and it's not new to a lot of other guys.

00:28:19 So a lot of other guys have come up with custom badges and

00:28:22 worked with vendors to do that.

00:28:24 What I don't think anyone's done though is replace the OEM badges with these

00:28:30 custom badges, and I think that's where we stepped up a little bit.

00:28:34 And, so that was new to me.

00:28:37 the, there's some accessories that you'll see when you get there that

00:28:40 are part of it that was also new to me that's totally outside of what we

00:28:44 did or what we would normally do, and certainly nothing that we've ever done.

00:28:49 But I tried to look at this like if I was going in to buy this

00:28:52 vehicle, even knowing what I know today, what would blow me away?

00:28:57 what would I walk in and be like, "I gotta have that because

00:29:01 I want what nobody else has"?

00:29:02 And so that's, that…

00:29:04 so some of the things that I did, I think that we achieved that.

00:29:08 would that be Trim Illusion door handles?

00:29:10 Yeah.

00:29:11 You're just blown away by?

00:29:13 No, I'm the…

00:29:14 The, I, Josh, I told you earlier, we just brought it back into the

00:29:18 shop yesterday and I was talking to a customer looking the other way,

00:29:21 and then the car pulled into the shop and I looked back at it and I'm like,

00:29:24 " Man, that is a good-looking truck."

00:29:27 that thing really looks cool.

00:29:28 I may want it.

00:29:29 I don't know.

00:29:30 After the show I may wanna buy it.

00:29:32 Whoa, whoa, Okay.

00:29:33 On, so right here, it's recorded.

00:29:36 Are you gonna trade in the Escalade V for an INEOS?

00:29:43 I don't know.

00:29:43 it's a good looking car.

00:29:45 it's a good-looking truck.

00:29:47 I'll talk to Savan.

00:29:48 It is…

00:29:49 She doesn't care.

00:29:49 She don't care.

00:29:51 Maybe, she'd prefer it so she doesn't hear me from a block

00:29:53 away pulling up to the shop.

00:29:55 she'd probably prefer it.

00:29:56 Colby, what are you excited to see this year at Pro Cup Challenge?

00:29:59 yeah, I think from a high level, obviously we get a sneak peek, but, as trends evolve

00:30:05 bringing in some of these other vehicles.

00:30:07 We have some restylers that are coming back, but they're doing builds that

00:30:10 I would say are completely different than what they've done before, which

00:30:13 I also think is kind of the beauty of our business is trends change,

00:30:16 and so what they're pitching changes.

00:30:18 So excited to see everybody's cars out there.

00:30:21 I think we have a really, as Tom was alluding to, we have a very competitive

00:30:25 group this year, which I think always brings a little more excitement because,

00:30:29 people are all bringing their A-game.

00:30:30 Yeah … yeah, I'm excited.

00:30:31 And what kind of ambassador fee did you, percentage did you negotiate?

00:30:36 Like I said this before Tom even got on, this was…

00:30:39 I wouldn't have signed up to be an ambassador if it wasn't for Tom,

00:30:42 'cause I know he's got all of his stuff together, so it made it way easier.

00:30:45 So low.

00:30:46 Maybe zero.

00:30:47 I think it was one set of door handles and one set of mirror caps.

00:30:51 Oh, that's…

00:30:52 There you go.

00:30:53 I only got 25% from Dino because- But that, he made 14- … I was negotiating

00:30:57 with him and Nick and not Prosser, so.

00:30:59 That he made 14 cents [unclear] for that.

00:31:02 Yeah.

00:31:02 Awesome.

00:31:03 listen, I'm super excited.

00:31:04 we got three past winners.

00:31:08 Three of the six are past winners.

00:31:10 So I'm excited.

00:31:11 You're one, Chuck.

00:31:13 Dino, of course.

00:31:14 but the other guys, we've seen some of their stuff.

00:31:16 it's gonna be…

00:31:17 It looks pretty good.

00:31:18 As, as long as I- Pretty good … as, long as I beat Dino, I don't care.

00:31:22 Anyone else can win.

00:31:23 Just, it just can't be Dino.

00:31:25 Yeah.

00:31:25 I hear you.

00:31:26 I hear you.

00:31:26 he's the champ right now, so.

00:31:27 I, that's why he can't win.

00:31:29 Yeah.

00:31:30 All right.

00:31:31 Awesome.

00:31:32 Jesse- All right … thank you for getting this together, and

00:31:34 we will see you boys in Vegas.

00:31:36 Yeah.

00:31:36 Nice.

00:31:36 See you at SEMA, guys.

00:31:37 Thank you, Tom.

00:31:38 Thanks, gents.

00:31:39 Thank you.

00:31:57 Here we are, SEMA 2026 Pro Cup Challenge Builders Interview.

00:32:02 Jeramy Sibley, Ben Griego, and Paul Melendez from Pickup Outfitters

00:32:06 of Waco, along with their SEMA Pro Cup ambassador, Jonathan Barber.

00:32:10 and you guys did a 2026 Ford F-150 XLT 4×4, correct?

00:32:16 That's correct.

00:32:17 Yeah.

00:32:18 And why did you choose to go with that, the F-150 for the Pro Cup Challenge?

00:32:22 Well, so we wanted to do a truck.

00:32:26 being Pickup Outfitters kind of just feels natural.

00:32:29 and We had several different, options available.

00:32:32 We've kind of dealt with the local dealers here, but we were really focused in on

00:32:36 finding out, It was kind of honestly led by the dealerships in our area.

00:32:41 we were looking for a good partner.

00:32:44 we didn't want this to just be we're gonna do whatever we want and try to fit it

00:32:47 into our, market and into, making it work.

00:32:52 we wanted something that was going to have that, strong partnership from the get-go.

00:32:57 And so, we were really happy when, Stanley Ford McGregor jumped all

00:33:02 over it, and, they were super pumped up, right from the get-go.

00:33:06 So, we really liked the, package.

00:33:08 This particular one, we wanted something that was kind of

00:33:11 blacked out, to begin with.

00:33:13 we didn't wanna have to deal with a bunch of chrome to beat.

00:33:15 We wanted to have, kind of a starting point that allowed us to have that

00:33:20 room to expand and do what we wanted to with the rest of the build.

00:33:24 Yeah, and I'll tack onto that.

00:33:25 as Ben mentioned, Stanley Ford, out of McGregor has been a great partner to us.

00:33:30 And when we approached this build, it…

00:33:33 We really wanted it to be something not that we necessarily wanted,

00:33:37 although I'll tell you I absolutely love it and I wanna own it myself.

00:33:40 I want five of them.

00:33:42 we wanted something that had mass appeal, right?

00:33:45 And so, that was a huge consideration when we went into

00:33:48 it, and the reason we selected Ford and an F-150, it's versatile.

00:33:53 A lot of people can use it for whatever they wanna use it for.

00:33:57 and then it was all about making it something that everybody could

00:34:01 use for just about anything.

00:34:04 Yeah.

00:34:04 Not necessarily what we wanted.

00:34:06 Yeah, I mean, listen, it's the number one selling vehicle, right?

00:34:08 Yep.

00:34:08 So you can't go wrong with the F-150.

00:34:10 So I know this is the, first time you guys have been in the competition,

00:34:14 Jeramy, you and the team here.

00:34:16 What was, what was this whole process like?

00:34:18 Obviously, it was a little stressful at times, but what do you think overall

00:34:22 you've learned from this experience?

00:34:24 Yeah, I'll take that one.

00:34:25 So actually, I just bought this business back in March, and the

00:34:29 business itself has been in the Pro Cup Challenge several years ago.

00:34:32 so this was my first experience in that.

00:34:35 These guys have been there before.

00:34:37 and a couple of things.

00:34:38 One- It was really rewarding for me to be able to see these two step up

00:34:44 into leadership roles and coordinate the efforts across the team.

00:34:48 so many people involved in this build, from front of office

00:34:52 support to back in the back.

00:34:54 several guys putting time and effort into the truck.

00:34:57 And just seeing the team come together, for the build under their leadership

00:35:02 and coordination was truly amazing.

00:35:05 And the other thing that I think is really cool about this build, and I'm

00:35:07 excited about, is since March, we've added new capabilities to our business.

00:35:13 and we were able to display those capabilities in this build, and

00:35:17 that was really cool too, to, for that

00:35:19 to

00:35:20 be a part of this.

00:35:21 Paul.

00:35:21 Oh, that's awesome.

00:35:22 Paul, what are, what were some of those things, those new

00:35:24 things you guys incorporated?

00:35:25 'Cause you were there with Jay before, but now, what are some of those…

00:35:28 So what are some of those new things you guys incorporated into this build?

00:35:31 We had to adapt on the spray 'cause we had to expand our bay to fit the vehicle

00:35:35 in there, do the bottom like we did.

00:35:37 that was one of the things, so now we can fit bigger vehicles

00:35:40 and spray whole vehicles now.

00:35:42 Wow.

00:35:42 and then, yeah, it was fun.

00:35:43 Tint.

00:35:44 Tint, yeah, we added tint, so we do tint now.

00:35:47 Vinyl graphics.

00:35:48 Vinyl graphics.

00:35:48 We did, the roof and the hood.

00:35:50 Oh.

00:35:51 So, yeah.

00:35:51 It's gonna look good.

00:35:52 Look good.

00:35:53 Yep.

00:35:53 I like that.

00:35:54 Something I noticed right away was rather than have all of your budget go to maybe

00:35:58 one or two big things, you did a…

00:35:59 You guys have a lot, a lot of line items, so there's a lot of smaller

00:36:03 detail things that you guys did.

00:36:06 Yeah.

00:36:06 Yeah.

00:36:07 That's one thing that was a challenge.

00:36:09 I think when you think of SEMA and the opportunity to display a vehicle in

00:36:13 front of so many people, the tendency is to wanna keep adding more and more

00:36:17 and more and more and more and more.

00:36:19 But the constraints that we're operating under here, in this competition,

00:36:23 you really have to be mindful of what it is you're putting on the

00:36:26 truck and how it all comes together.

00:36:28 and I think…

00:36:29 Honestly, I think the guys nailed it.

00:36:31 I think it has rugged versatility.

00:36:34 It's clean.

00:36:36 It's something that someone can use for anything they wanna do in their time.

00:36:41 That's great.

00:36:42 that is,

00:36:42 so- Well, if I can, if I could jump in- Go ahead … for a second too.

00:36:45 Kinda since we're talking about the amount of different things that are

00:36:48 on it, one of the appealing things that I believe that when you see the

00:36:52 addendum at the dealership, when you look at it, and I don't remember the

00:36:55 exact number of line items, but when you've got 15 to 20 different lines of

00:37:00 different things that were customized in some way or personalized in some

00:37:04 way, from a consumer standpoint, man, I'm getting all of this for this value.

00:37:09 And you look at some of the others, and Not picking on anybody else,

00:37:12 but to do a full leather interior and a full vehicle wrap, wheels and tires,

00:37:16 you could get up to that budget really quick, where that's four or five things

00:37:21 on an addendum and it's expensive.

00:37:23 and at least with this one, it's a lot of little very strategic, customized

00:37:28 items that make the build very appealing, I think, to the mass markets.

00:37:34 That's awesome.

00:37:34 So Jonathan, just, piggybacking on that, obviously you've been an ambassador

00:37:38 before last year and everything like that.

00:37:39 What did you learn going into this year, especially with these guys who

00:37:43 had some experience but were also…

00:37:45 what did you, take from this year, that you kinda helped them out with, and

00:37:49 also you might take into next year?

00:37:51 So I'd say, a couple things, and the first thing is communication.

00:37:54 these guys were very receptive, reached out a bunch of times, I reached out

00:37:57 to them a lot of communication back and forth as far as what do you think

00:38:00 about this, suggestions on that, we're looking to maybe go this direction.

00:38:04 they really did lean, I wouldn't say a lot on me, but they leaned on me for

00:38:08 what I think my opinion would be from both the Pro Cup Challenge as well as a

00:38:13 consumer all the way down to a restyler.

00:38:15 So being able to encompass all of those things I think was very important because

00:38:19 ultimately it wasn't them running rogue, doing their own thing and hoping that

00:38:23 it's good, they really wanted to find out from multiple different sides of,

00:38:28 of the industry, is this going to work?

00:38:30 And I think that was a big, big pat on the back to these guys for, for doing that.

00:38:35 That's awesome.

00:38:35 I'd like to tag onto that.

00:38:36 Jo- working with Jonathan has been fantastic.

00:38:39 I really love the way that we could reach out and get his opinion.

00:38:42 He had great ideas.

00:38:43 He kept, us on track in the vision that we had, without getting too far

00:38:48 off, and just been a huge resource.

00:38:50 It's been, very, very helpful to con- to reach out to Jonathan and him

00:38:53 to be so receptive and so helpful.

00:38:55 So thank you, Jonathan.

00:38:56 Absolutely.

00:38:57 Well, he's, he's like a normal…

00:38:59 He's just like your everyday barber.

00:39:00 You just sit in the chair and say, "Make it happen."

00:39:03 And you just trust him.

00:39:04 So that's what he's there for, so well done.

00:39:07 Yeah.

00:39:07 Well, we're excited to meet you guys and talk to you about all this at SEMA.

00:39:11 We're excited- Yeah … to be there too.

00:39:13 We're excited to show off the truck.

00:39:15 We're excited for everyone to see it, learn more about it, the journey to

00:39:18 get here, and what the truck is all about.

00:39:21 Yeah.

00:39:22 That's great.

00:39:22 Well, shout out to your,

00:39:23 Again, tell us who the dealer was that, worked with you.

00:39:26 We'll definitely help them out.

00:39:27 Stanley Ford in McGregor.

00:39:29 Awesome group.

00:39:30 Thank you, Stanley Ford, and all the work you did.

00:39:34 We will be there and we'll see you guys in Vegas.

00:39:37 See you there.

00:39:38 Thanks, y'all.

00:39:39 Appreciate it.

00:39:56 SEMA 2026 Pro Cup Challenge Builders interview.

00:40:00 We've got Dino Perfetti, and also Nick Stanley here, from Automotive Concepts.

00:40:06 We're really excited, and their ambassador happens to be Josh Poulson, my co-host.

00:40:10 Nice.

00:40:10 Yeah.

00:40:11 And, they're entering a 2027 Toyota Land Cruiser, 1958 trim model there.

00:40:18 Hey, guys.

00:40:18 Welcome.

00:40:19 Tell us why you chose that vehicle for the Pro Cup Challenge.

00:40:22 Thank you, Jesse.

00:40:23 Josh, way to go.

00:40:24 Way to, keep us on track.

00:40:26 keep our build, flowing, and, we chose a Toyota Land Cruiser just

00:40:31 because of the theme we came up with.

00:40:32 It just lent itself so well, and it's just a very popular vehicle right

00:40:37 now in the SUV market, of course.

00:40:39 A little difficult to get our hands on.

00:40:42 our dealer had to trade a black one that they happened to have, for the

00:40:46 white we wanted, and they had to go to Kansas City to get it, but,… we've

00:40:48 had to have the white, and you'll see why once you see our vehicle, so.

00:40:52 That's a good relationship right there, Jesse, when you can say, when you tell

00:40:55 your dealer, "No, I really need a white one," so they go to Kansas City just

00:40:59 for you to take this thing to Vance.

00:41:01 Geez,

00:41:02 that is a good relationship.

00:41:02 I gotta tell you, they believe in us.

00:41:04 With this dealer, this Toyota dealer, they're our biggest dealer

00:41:08 in our market, for us anyway.

00:41:10 they do so well with these high-end builds, and they're just

00:41:13 so great at working with us to market them, and they're always

00:41:17 willing to try something new and different ' cause they trust us, so.

00:41:21 Yeah, we've been working a lot with, their team over there, and Daryl, our

00:41:25 account manager, on creating really unique build packages, and they're

00:41:28 just flying off the shelf over there.

00:41:29 They're doing amazing with it.

00:41:31 What was it like working with the manufacturers?

00:41:33 You guys have quite a list here that you're, that you worked with.

00:41:35 Yeah.

00:41:36 I gotta tell you, they're, these SEMA member companies, are so

00:41:40 supportive of this endeavor.

00:41:42 this is our s- we've been blessed.

00:41:44 This is our sixth year competing, and we are as excited as we are from the first

00:41:49 year, we just put so much passion into it.

00:41:52 our team is ready and waiting.

00:41:55 everyone has great ideas, so we share ideas.

00:41:58 Yeah, so the vendors have definitely contributed.

00:42:02 They're eager to work with us.

00:42:03 They're excited to see our design and happy to be a part of the build.

00:42:07 yeah, we have some really cool, partnerships that we're working right

00:42:10 now, and once they saw our vision and all the renderings we've done

00:42:14 and the creative ideas that we've pitched, they've really stepped up

00:42:18 and, up to the plate to help us produce these ideas that we're envisioning.

00:42:23 So I think everybody's gonna be blown away when they see the,

00:42:26 little details that we've added throughout this whole build this year.

00:42:28 They actually came up with some new processes within their company just

00:42:32 to accomplish what we're looking for.

00:42:34 And they just nailed it.

00:42:35 Special shout-out- Wow … to Luxwood is one of the key partners

00:42:38 we're talking about there.

00:42:39 and we'll talk a little bit more about that.

00:42:41 But Jesse, that's the clout you have when you are the defending champs, okay?

00:42:46 You're the defending champs, and at six o’clock at night, you're

00:42:48 like, "Listen, I know you say you can't do it, but can you do it?"

00:42:52 And they're like, "All right, let's get back to you," and it's

00:42:54 hard to tell Dino and Nick no.

00:42:56 You know what I mean?

00:42:56 Yeah.

00:42:56 Yeah.

00:42:57 This 30-piece Luxwood kit, I'm gonna let Nick explain the process

00:43:00 'cause he was heavily involved with getting us to this point.

00:43:03 Yeah, so about six months ago, I was watching Facebook Reels.

00:43:07 I'm always monitoring everything going on in the aftermarket and just also

00:43:12 pulling things from outside the industry.

00:43:13 So that was the case here.

00:43:14 I saw a Facebook Reel showcasing a 3D epoxy, UV printer.

00:43:21 And so basically what this printer does, it's a flatbed printer, and it

00:43:24 doesn't stack, like a normal 3D printer.

00:43:27 It can print in multiple layers, but it's curing it on a flatbed.

00:43:30 So you can print on any substrate, whether it's plastic or vinyl or wood or

00:43:35 whatever it is, you can print directly to it, and with that UV inhibitor, you…

00:43:40 Or not inhibitor, but you, a UV curing method, you can kind of stack all

00:43:45 the layers of epoxy, and it creates this depth or a texture to whatever

00:43:49 you're producing based on your design.

00:43:51 There's these turquoise gems that are a part of it, and it just looks and

00:43:56 feels, you walk right up to 'em, touch it, like, wow, is this really a gem?

00:43:59 I mean, they make this out of a piece of rock?

00:44:01 It's just crazy.

00:44:02 Yeah, and the other area we used it, so we used it for the turquoise to make it look

00:44:06 like a rounded, polished stone accent.

00:44:09 But then we also used it to create a tooled leather look, like you'd

00:44:12 see on a western saddle or boots or a handbag or something like that.

00:44:16 we've taken those, western kind of tooling, designs and recreated interior

00:44:22 components that look like that, as well as exterior, two exterior badges

00:44:25 that go on the side of the vehicle.

00:44:27 Tell us the theme name of this, how you guys came up with that.

00:44:31 it's called the Bozeman Edition, and Nick'll explain why we chose that name.

00:44:34 Yeah, so, this is one opportunity where we get to showcase what we can do.

00:44:39 We wanted to bring a creative side to it and kind of expand

00:44:43 on what we've done in the past.

00:44:44 And this year I thought it'd be really cool to do a female-oriented build, right?

00:44:49 And so it could go both ways.

00:44:51 It's kind of a unisex build obviously, but, the main intent was to create

00:44:54 something that hasn't really been done in the Pro Cup Challenge.

00:44:57 And so, I see what my wife is interested in, I'm sure Dino sees the same.

00:45:02 and you kinda watch trends outside the industry and, there's a big western push

00:45:06 right now and you see these southwest

00:45:07 textiles being used in homes and, handbags being made out

00:45:12 of saddle leathers with fringe.

00:45:14 And fringe is big right now.

00:45:15 And, leather coats with fringe and stuff.

00:45:17 So, if you keep your pulse on it, you really start to identify these trends.

00:45:20 And this year I think, going something western was gonna be the move.

00:45:24 And so that's what we chose.

00:45:26 and so there we had to pick a brand or a kind of a name for it.

00:45:29 Yeah.

00:45:30 And we went with, Bozeman, Montana just because their strong

00:45:33 culture in the western aesthetic.

00:45:35 I remember the Monday morning Nick came to work me, he said, "Hey, I was

00:45:38 at the art festival this week, and you're not gonna believe what I saw."

00:45:41 I'm like, "Well, okay, I'm, can't be too excited about that, but let's hear it."

00:45:45 And he started showing me these pictures of these handbags and purses and things

00:45:50 made out of this saddle material, and all the fringe and the gems.

00:45:54 I'm like, "Wow, that's cool.

00:45:55 Nick, what are you thinking?"

00:45:56 That's where it all started from.

00:45:57 you know what's crazy?

00:45:58 And- I was literally in Sedona last week on vacation, and

00:46:02 my wife bought more of that stuff-

00:46:06 Really?

00:46:06 And she's really a fashionista, right?

00:46:08 the latest and- That's awesome … I think she has, sh- it's…

00:46:12 Now I'm scared, because now I'm gonna end up buying this later.

00:46:15 That's crazy.

00:46:15 Yeah.

00:46:16 Yeah.

00:46:16 Awesome.

00:46:16 we hoping to show something different this year.

00:46:18 Well- That's what it's all about, is pulling these outside influences into our

00:46:22 industry, and creating something unique that hopefully people haven't seen before.

00:46:26 And that's, what we're hoping to do

00:46:28 And we built it so you can even reproduce it, Josh.

00:46:30 Yes.

00:46:31 Yes.

00:46:32 It's gotta be, it's gotta be easy.

00:46:33 It's gotta be dumbed down.

00:46:35 That's great.

00:46:36 what was some of the challenges you had that you ran into?

00:46:39 Obviously these things aren't s- aren't easy.

00:46:41 I know the challenge of getting the vehicle, and then having to knock it out.

00:46:44 What were any of the other challenges?

00:46:45 just the design time it took to turn this idea, into an actual product that

00:46:51 we could use somewhere in the vehicle.

00:46:53 it's, time-consuming.

00:46:54 I mean, you're gonna see this tooled, belt buckle badging is something

00:46:59 over and above the Luxwood product that we're putting on.

00:47:02 and it just, some of these companies don't move as quickly

00:47:05 as we'd like 'em to, right?

00:47:07 So you gotta go through the design stage, and you're sharing files back and

00:47:11 forth, and yeah, it all took time, but it all pulled together at the bitter end.

00:47:15 Yeah.

00:47:15 And going back to what he's saying, working multiple vendors and different

00:47:18 processes and different materials, you have to balance all the colors,

00:47:22 make sure everything matches when you start, when parts start

00:47:26 arriving, and that was really tricky.

00:47:28 we had to shop around for different Southwestern style, materials

00:47:33 to be used on the interior, so, we ordered samples in of that.

00:47:37 Like Dino said, the design of the interior and exterior badging,

00:47:40 there's over 30 pieces that we sent to Luxwood to have produced.

00:47:44 And going, creating those 30 designs with all the tooled leather

00:47:48 marks, was very time intensive.

00:47:50 Although, I have to say that AI came in clutch there.

00:47:53 It helped me envision what these might look like and turn them

00:47:56 into production-ready files.

00:47:58 and then, just working with all the vendors, make sure things arrive on

00:48:02 time, especially when the vehicle itself, was very hard to get our hands on.

00:48:06 Land Cruisers are selling very fast.

00:48:09 Supply and demand.

00:48:10 Yeah.

00:48:10 So getting that vehicle and getting everything in is,

00:48:13 was the biggest challenge.

00:48:14 then our collaboration with companies like Katzkin, I mean, it just, they just

00:48:17 knocked it out of the park with us again.

00:48:19 they're so open and willing and ready to listen to our ideas, and they respond.

00:48:25 So, they've been an excellent vendor for us.

00:48:28 That's awesome.

00:48:28 That's great.

00:48:29 Yeah.

00:48:29 Well, you guys are the defending champs.

00:48:30 it's hard, I mean, you guys raised the bar last year quite, lofty.

00:48:34 Yeah.

00:48:34 So to be able to do it again, and I, and after- Yeah … seeing it, Nick,

00:48:38 ah, man, you guys, I think you did it.

00:48:40 So, and I even- Yeah … got to see it in person.

00:48:42 I'm so excited to touch it and feel it in person.

00:48:44 Yeah, you really have to.

00:48:46 I'm so excited.

00:48:46 Hey, that F-150 last year, I gotta tell you, the results from that show,

00:48:51 when a consumer, first of all, came to the show on Friday and said, "I

00:48:55 need that truck in my driveway in Chattanooga, Tennessee," was exciting.

00:48:59 But then to build eight more after that, and the gross profit it allowed our dealer

00:49:04 to make on this, these trucks was amazing.

00:49:07 That's the

00:49:07 story.

00:49:07 So, I mean-

00:49:08 That's what this is all about,

00:49:09 right?

00:49:09 It is.

00:49:10 Yeah.

00:49:10 It

00:49:10 is.

00:49:10 And I,

00:49:10 and I believe there is two to three other restylers who used

00:49:13 that design across their companies as well in their locations.

00:49:18 That's what it's all about.

00:49:19 Yeah.

00:49:20 That's why we started it so many years ago, Dino.

00:49:22 Yeah.

00:49:22 Good for you, man.

00:49:23 Our next in- I like those odds … our next interview, our next interview-

00:49:27 Facts … is with one of those restylers that sold one of those

00:49:29 black F-150s that you guys did.

00:49:30 Oh, good.

00:49:31 Yep, yep.

00:49:32 Good

00:49:32 deal.

00:49:32 Yeah, restyler aftermarket specialist down in Florida.

00:49:35 Gosh.

00:49:35 Oh, awesome.

00:49:36 Yeah.

00:49:36 We love, we love working with those guys.

00:49:37 We talk to them quite a bit back and forth.

00:49:39 So great to collaborate with- Yeah … businesses just like

00:49:42 ours around the country, so.

00:50:01 Okay, here we are.

00:50:02 SEMA 2026 Pro Cup Challenge Builders interview.

00:50:05 I've got Josh Ullrich and Steve Davis with Restylers Aftermarket Specialists.

00:50:11 Hey, guys.

00:50:11 Thanks for being here.

00:50:12 What's going on?

00:50:13 Hey, Jesse.

00:50:14 Thanks for having us, man.

00:50:15 Great.

00:50:15 It's awesome.

00:50:15 And so you guys are entering a 2026 Ford Maverick XL, correct?

00:50:21 Yes.

00:50:22 Awesome.

00:50:22 Now, why did you guys decide to choose that vehicle for the Pro Cup challenge?

00:50:27 Honestly, we looked at everything, or I looked at everything that had been

00:50:30 built previously at Pro Cup challenges, and it was all full size trucks or small

00:50:36 crossover vehicles, SUVs, stuff like that.

00:50:40 We wanted to do something a little bit different that kinda catches people's eye.

00:50:44 And also with gas prices the way they are right now, we figured a

00:50:47 hybrid would be a good way to go, and something that was very fuel

00:50:50 economical and not super popular.

00:50:53 Maybe we could build it up to make it popular and help drive some Ford sales.

00:50:57 We get people excited about a Maverick, with the gas prices and- Yeah diff-

00:51:01 show them different things that can be done with it to personalize it

00:51:05 and, make it fun to drive for them.

00:51:07 Yeah.

00:51:07 Well, we do so much stuff on Mavericks because they are b- I

00:51:11 think it surprised Ford how- Yeah

00:51:13 popular that vehicle is, and I love the fact that you can do a lot to it.

00:51:18 so tell us kind of what you came up with and what you…

00:51:21 Was there any challenges that you faced as you were kind of in the middle of it?

00:51:25 So yeah, we wanted to go with something similar to that Black Label Build, because

00:51:30 that was super popular and still is.

00:51:32 it's a popular trend right now, those lowered full-sized trucks and everything.

00:51:36 So we wanted to go that direction, but not to that extreme.

00:51:40 Yeah … we wanted to make it, we didn't wanna go breaking the bank on it.

00:51:43 it's still a, it's still a Ford Maverick at the end of the day.

00:51:45 It's gotta be affordable.

00:51:46 we kinda went that direction with lowering it and giving it

00:51:49 a, in a more aggressive stance.

00:51:50 We did go with kind of a radical wheel.

00:51:53 we went with a Rotiform wheel, which is not something you

00:51:56 typically see on a truck.

00:51:57 that's kind of a Japanese look, that you see on a lot of import cars and

00:52:01 everything, so that's a little different.

00:52:03 And then, Josh actually came up with the whole theme for it being a

00:52:07 coastal edition with us being on the Gulf Coast, which is beautiful here.

00:52:10 Jesse, you know that.

00:52:11 You've seen it.

00:52:12 but and then, and, but also be able to carry it over to any other coast,

00:52:15 whether it be the Atlantic Coast or, the Pacific Coast, whatever, you know?

00:52:18 We kinda kept that theme to where it would go nationwide.

00:52:22 And ultimately- That's it we wanted this thing to be built everywhere.

00:52:24 it came out a lot better than I thought it would.

00:52:26 it's a pretty cool vehicle.

00:52:27 And, we now, can we announce the name, I guess?

00:52:30 Yeah, go ahead.

00:52:30 Coastal Edition.

00:52:31 Yeah.

00:52:32 Coastal Edition.

00:52:33 yeah.

00:52:33 Love it.

00:52:34 and what dealer did you work with, and how was that?

00:52:36 How did that go?

00:52:37 we, originally, we reached out to Gary Smith Ford.

00:52:39 Jesse, you're familiar with them.

00:52:41 and, we had to pivot at the last minute 'cause they didn't wanna build a Maverick.

00:52:44 They didn't have the confidence that the Maverick was a good idea.

00:52:47 So I pivoted and went with Step One Ford, which is our local

00:52:50 Ford dealer up in Crestview.

00:52:51 We do a lot of business with them in our, at our Crestview location,

00:52:55 and they were thrilled about it.

00:52:56 I showed them the rendering we came up with, and they really

00:52:59 thought it'd be a great idea.

00:53:01 So th- and they actually wanted us to build some of the other

00:53:03 Pro Cup builds that have won.

00:53:04 they want us to build one of the Black Label trucks for them.

00:53:07 So- Awesome.

00:53:08 Yeah, not every dealership's gonna be on the cutting edge of the future

00:53:13 and wanting to go with it, right?

00:53:15 Yeah.

00:53:16 Yeah, there was a lot of them that were really nervous about the whole idea.

00:53:19 And then it- But this one- Yeah, with this build here, sorry, we created a new

00:53:23 relationship with another Ford dealer.

00:53:25 it's not- There you go … not one we were doing a whole bunch with, and

00:53:28 now they're excited to jump on board with us and start doing a lot more.

00:53:33 I think that's the spirit of the Pro Cup challenge though really, isn't it?

00:53:36 Totally.

00:53:36 Yeah, totally.

00:53:36 and then the, and then all the other…

00:53:38 There'll be a fear of loss after you're successful and you're selling

00:53:40 these, then they're all gonna want one, too, and you'll say, "Hey, you

00:53:43 could've been in the ch- the Pro Cup."

00:53:45 Right.

00:53:45 Yeah.

00:53:46 No, you, I would say every dealer that I have done a Pro Cup car with has turned

00:53:51 into just a long-term relationship that's just, "Hey, do you remember

00:53:54 when we did this or when we did that?"

00:53:56 And your, the problem you're gonna run into is next year, if you do

00:53:59 it again, they're gonna be like, "Hey, are you gonna use us again?"

00:54:01 And you might do something different.

00:54:03 Yeah.

00:54:03 So it's a…

00:54:03 But no, that's awesome.

00:54:04 that's exactly what this whole thing is about, is help dealers

00:54:07 and help other restylers.

00:54:08 So let me ask you this question.

00:54:10 Is a lot of what you guys did, is it, is it- Reproducible by other restylers,

00:54:15 or did you guys have to do- Yeah

00:54:16 a lot of custom stuff?

00:54:18 100% reproducible.

00:54:20 Yeah.

00:54:20 And I think everything I'd say 90% of what we did, 95%, other restylers can do.

00:54:25 we did add some paint touches to the wheels, which not

00:54:29 everybody, every restyler can do.

00:54:31 But, you could leave that off if you needed to.

00:54:33 That's actually vinyl.

00:54:34 It's not paint.

00:54:35 It can be done at any place that does wraps.

00:54:36 Oh, okay.

00:54:37 Any place that does wraps can do…

00:54:38 Yeah, it's 90%.

00:54:39 The only thing that c- that was one-off custom we did is the

00:54:43 XLs do not come with fog lights.

00:54:46 so we did get partnered up with Diode Dynamics, and we threw

00:54:48 a set of fog lights in there.

00:54:50 So make it, take it from the XL to the XLT version, if you will, it helped

00:54:55 to enhance the look of the truck.

00:54:56 Everything else is vinyl.

00:54:58 of course, Katzkin Leather.

00:55:00 Josh, Katzkin got us hooked up with a nice kit that kinda went with our theme.

00:55:04 Nice … our Rhino tech here was very, and thought it'd be an idea, a good

00:55:08 idea to top coat the Rhino lining to- Great … to highlight water,

00:55:10 to kinda, make that appeal.

00:55:13 and we can carry that color, whether it's the color we used on

00:55:16 this truck, or if we pivot on the color to a different color, we can

00:55:19 incorporate it in any, any Maverick.

00:55:20 It doesn't matter what color the truck is.

00:55:22 Yeah.

00:55:23 How were the o- how was everybody when it come to working with the manufacturers?

00:55:27 Good experience?

00:55:27 And then even the team internally, what was the morale behind it, and

00:55:31 how did everybody feel it turned out?

00:55:33 the manufacturers were awesome.

00:55:34 Super supportive.

00:55:35 I can't say enough about everyone.

00:55:37 I wish I could list them all right now, but I know we've got

00:55:39 limited time, but they were all just thrilled to be a part of it.

00:55:43 and the team here, super stoked.

00:55:45 Most of the guys that I have here are guys that were here for our first

00:55:49 ever SEMA Pro Cup build, and they were a little butt hurt that we

00:55:51 didn't win, 'cause we put a lot of, we put a lot of effort into that one.

00:55:55 so this one was, let's get, let's think outside the box.

00:55:57 Let's all brainstorm and come up with something that's gonna wow everybody,

00:56:01 and hopefully we win this time, so.

00:56:03 we've listed all the manufacturers on a surfboard.

00:56:06 Yeah.

00:56:06 So wrap- Ooh … wrap that.

00:56:08 Cool.

00:56:08 Yeah, that'll look, that, highlights everybody that,

00:56:10 helped us out on the build.

00:56:11 Yep.

00:56:12 Yeah.

00:56:12 Which, I'm pretty excited for them to see that.

00:56:14 So that'll be one of your props then, right?

00:56:16 Yes.

00:56:17 Yes.

00:56:17 Awesome.

00:56:18 Is it, now, is it one you own?

00:56:21 Yeah.

00:56:21 it's your surfboard job.

00:56:22 It's yours Well, it's mine now.

00:56:23 It belonged to one of my technicians, but after we got it all done, I told

00:56:26 him I wanted it to hang in my wall here, hang on my, hang in the office.

00:56:29 So you're just gonna have to buy a new surfboard, poor guy.

00:56:31 That's awesome.

00:56:33 you guys, I'm sure you put a lot of design and hard work and everything

00:56:36 into it, so that, I'm, like, super excited to get a coastal edition.

00:56:39 We need a little bit of that, Jesse.

00:56:40 Yeah.

00:56:40 We need a little water, a little summer.

00:56:42 I know.

00:56:43 Yeah.

00:56:43 Love that.

00:56:44 Just gonna make me wanna come back to Florida.

00:56:46 Excited for y'all to see it.

00:56:47 I'm excited to see it.

00:56:48 I haven't even seen it in person, so.

00:56:49 Yeah.

00:56:50 Yeah.

00:56:50 Yeah.

00:56:50 No, this is great.

00:56:51 That's great.

00:56:52 any, let, give another shout-out to the dealer who, helped you guys out.

00:56:56 Step One you said?

00:56:57 Yeah, Step One Ford of Crestview, Florida.

00:56:59 Okay.

00:57:00 Awesome.

00:57:00 Well, thank you to Step One Ford- That's, they're a small part- … for trusting in

00:57:02 us … of the whole Step One family.

00:57:04 They've got multiple dealerships- Yeah … in the area, multiple manufacturers, so.

00:57:08 Yep.

00:57:09 Yeah.

00:57:09 we do this again, we might still partner with Step One, but go

00:57:11 with a different manufacturer and build something different.

00:57:14 Yep, yep.

00:57:15 And a shout-out to all three of you, if any of you listening have

00:57:18 not watched the first episode of Restyling America, you gotta get it.

00:57:23 Jesse heads down- Oh, yeah … to Destin, sees Josh's shop.

00:57:26 Steve does a tremendous job pointing out, talking to some customers.

00:57:30 And I'm, I told Jesse, I was blown away by it.

00:57:33 I was like, this is, we can…

00:57:34 Wow, I'm surprised.

00:57:36 I knew, I have trusted Jesse.

00:57:37 I work with him a lot.

00:57:39 But he really, him and his team really blew me away, and you

00:57:41 guys did a fantastic job on that.

00:57:43 Yeah, thank you.

00:57:44 Yeah.

00:57:44 it's really fun to watch.

00:57:45 Yeah, thank you.

00:57:45 you're sitting there watching and you're waiting to see, all right, what's next?

00:57:47 What's gonna be the next thing they show us?

00:57:49 So it's pretty cool.

00:57:50 Yeah.

00:57:50 it's just tough that there was so much we couldn't get into it.

00:57:53 you gotta edit.

00:57:53 So much is on the cutting room floor, as they say.

00:57:56 There's a ton of great content we can use for other things, too,

00:57:58 but it was a great experience.

00:57:59 We loved it.

00:58:00 Yeah.

00:58:01 So we will see you boys in Vegas, and hope it goes well.

00:58:05 All right, guys.

00:58:07 Be good.

00:58:07 All right.

00:58:07 Thank you.

00:58:07 All right.

00:58:08 Thanks, guys.

00:58:08 See you soon.

00:58:09 Bye-bye.