THE WORLD CHANGED ANYWAY

Chapter 3: The Fast Lane to Customization

By the age of fifteen, I had acquired both a car and a willingness to go wherever it might carry me, which is a dangerous combination in a young man and an excellent one in a businessman.

I took to visiting paint and body shops, the kind that specialized in turning ordinary automobiles into something loud enough to be noticed from a distance and admired up close. Southern California in those days was full of such places, each one convinced it was improving the automobile and perhaps the world along with it.

I would walk in and offer to demonstrate my skills by pin striping their toolboxes for free. This was an arrangement that suited everyone. The shop lost nothing, I gained a surface to prove my hand, and the toolbox came out of it looking far more important than its contents.

Now, a man may say he is not interested in decoration, but let him see his own property improved at no cost and he will reconsider his principles in a hurry.

Before long, when a customer asked for lettering or pin striping, my name would come up. I had managed to position myself as both inexpensive and available, which are two qualities that will carry a young fellow further than reputation, at least in the beginning.

It was a lively time to be doing that kind of work. The custom car scene was in full stride, and names like Von Dutch and Ed Roth were spoken with a kind of respect usually reserved for preachers and outlaws. I paid attention, learned what I could, and tried to keep my lines straight enough that no one would ask too many questions about my age.

Looking back, I see that I was not just painting lines on metal. I was learning how to get in the door, how to make myself useful once inside, and how to leave behind something that would speak for me after I was gone.

It is a simple method, but it has a way of working when more complicated ones fail.