In 1990 my Tia was in the market for a radio. She took me with her to the Good Guys in Ventura to scope out the selection there. We did our searching, she found one that she could afford then went to ring it up. The sales dude grabs the installation kit, the wire harness and tells her about her installation. All was good until he told her the price of the installation, “You want how much to put it in?” I jumped in quickly and told her I could do it. I had never done it before, but I had been reading Lowrider after Lowrider, Car Audio after Car Audio, and any other magazine I could get my hands on back then. When I went to do the install I had a pair of needle nose pliers, 2 screwdrivers, a small crescent wrench and a determination to figure this thing out. This was the beginning. Over the next 2 years I was installing anything I could for anyone that would let me. Then I was on the road myself with my first car. Once that happened I installed my first alarm, my first custom enclosures, and my first full custom system, all that within a few months of getting a car. My first car had 3 different alarm systems and 13 different stereo system configurations. At the same time I started looking into a car club and wouldn’t you know it, the president was the manager at Custom Car Sounds in Ventura and Oxnard. Manny Aguilera only helped feed my thirst for knowledge. I spent every minute I could at the shop, at his house, and with the members watching and learning. He even hooked me up with my first job in the automotive environment working for Hanko Hernandez. I made quite a few life long friends in the first year of having a car and installing anything with wires.
After going off to college I worked at a few shops, ran a few shops, and met a lot more people. I started doing “side work” on a quest to hone my skills more than for the money it brought. After years of installing I made to the manufacturer side. I worked in sales, in R&D, technical support and finally in Product development. I loved building alarms and remote starts for Viper. Out of everything I’ve ever done that was my favorite. Traveling to China, Taiwan and India to keep projects on track, working day and night with the suppliers…… but all the while I was building cars in my garage.
In 1998 I decided I was going to look for a connection to Lifestyle Car Club and on a tip made a call to Lowrider Magazine. The person I spoke with was very interested in my current job and my skills. To make a long story short, I began to freelance for Lowrider Magazine. My first Article appeared in the December 2002 issue and I was consistent through April 2008. I held the title Freelance Audio Editor at one point. I have done a few articles since then, but I didn’t seem to get credit for them. Either cause I didn’t want it, or it wasn’t given to me. It was difficult for a while cause I was writing the articles and some of my other side projects were featured in the magazine. Sometimes cover, sometimes center fold, sometimes the credit went to me, other times it didn’t. Corporate America sucks. Any way, this month’s issue is March 2012 and I’m back on the cover again.
Kulture Design 