Kustom Painter Shayna Guy Joins Netflix's Resurrected Rides
By Jeff Alexander
Building on the success of Pimp My Ride, Netflix is premiering its new moto culture and build challenge program, Resurrected Rides. Built on the premise of assembling a talented team of artists and mechanics to enhance daily drivers for individuals relying on their vehicles to continue making positive changes within their respective jobs, the producers sought dedicated builders and painters for their newest, ambitious endeavors. Kustom artist Shayna Guy of 13th Street Customs recently completed the demanding application and production process and truly believes she can elevate kustom kulture by giving viewers unique insight into the creative process.
Photo by Bri White / Troll Co. Clothing
"The whole thing has been so surreal! The process started back in 2022 when I was contacted by a third-party company online. They stated a casting company was looking for applicants to be featured on a new show about cars. It was all very vague and they were not able to mention Netflix or even the full premise of the show! I was very apprehensive but I went for it and eventually, I received a call from an LA production company telling me I had made it and if I was available for filming. The show was being made by the same producers from Pimp My Ride, but this show didn't even have a final name yet," laughed Guy.
Guy is quick to state her surreal opportunity came at a difficult time in her kustom art career. She initially launched 13th Street Customs in Pennsylvania, dedicating herself to the demanding world of slinging paint for discerning customers. Pushed by her mother to attend college, Guy immediately determined a rigid, disciplined environment was not for her.
"Nothing really stuck with me but my mom was able to enroll me in collision repair and I'm still grateful for that experience. I learned welding and repair, which was important to understand another part of vehicles that wasn't just designing and painting. I was still working on painting at the time," reflected Guy.
Word of mouth quickly spread and Guy never wanted to turn away clients but sadly learned an art-based business requires the same knowledge and acumen for the financial side if an owner wants to earn consistent success.
"After my experiences with school and jobs, my goal became to work for myself and produce the best work I was capable of. However, I did not have a business plan or knowledge on how to organize it properly. I never wanted to turn people down but I eventually got overwhelmed with jobs. I admit I should have handled things better and been more accountable, but I am proud to say I worked to complete jobs, issue refunds and learned to communicate better. I did lose everything and had to start over and I'm still working on resolutions but I learned a lot," shared Guy.
Shayna ultimately moved to California and relaunched 13th Street Customs in 2022, an arduous process but being surrounded by the 'birthplace of kustom kulture' she drew inspiration and a newfound ambition to not only challenge herself creatively but to be strong enough to ask for help to finally reconcile the business side of running her shop.
"Being so immersed in California kustom kulture reminds me of how deep the passion runs out here. I see generations of families so involved and the build quality and paint techniques are unreal! The kustom community is very dedicated and they're events daily out here. You also get a lot of lowrider subculture out here and growing up, I was really drawn to those kinds of paint designs. I learned to ask for help and got the business side handled much better," said Guy.
Working to elevate her talents within the competitive West Coast markets, Guy still believes in the value of trial and error, something that caused a bit of a clash on the set of Resurrected Rides. Many moto culture shows feature seemingly unrealistic deadlines and Guy stated Resurrected Rides was no exception, but she was determined to present an honest depiction of slinging kustom paint.
"I still believe that you can always learn so much more from mistakes and working through it all to correct them and create something awesome; I still see value in failure. It was a hectic experience on set because some of the producers may not have realized how involved the process is for painting custom designs. On social media, we see all these reels with finished designs but so few share the trial and error and what it takes to bring a project to completion," said Guy.
She added, "On the show, I was nervous at first because you are at the mercy of editors and it was an adjustment to having a team of people film you while working. Some of the paint they wanted me to use I had limited or no experience with but I worked to show them and viewers all the details that go into painting. I remember working like three days straight on just one job!"
Reality programs dedicated to moto culture and restoration continue earning mainstream success, turning on a new generation to the dedication and tenacity required to restore classic vehicles, design, and test vehicles for the track, and even the oft-overlooked business demands. However, Guy was quick to state that show creators may not understand the meticulous steps involved with design and paint.
"Producers may not understand the nuances of paint jobs, because the prep work is the bulk of the labor. They overlook flash times and how different paints have different cure times. You really cannot fake painting and some stuff that happened was pretty gnarly! When interiors were being detailed some Armor All got into the air and carried over to the paint, causing a chemical reaction! And I also got gnarly food poisoning on the first episode, in the original cut you can see me walking off-set." she laughed.
Asked what paint designs and processes remain challenging, Guy quickly stated "Anything using kandy paint because you simply cannot go back and fix mistakes. For some really involved jobs, you can be doing like 30 coats, and too much paint applied can cause buildup, peeling, and even cracking. You have to understand how easy it is to spend thousands of dollars just on materials for a job because there are buffing compounds and the time that goes into carefully wet sanding."
Photo by Bri White / Troll Co. Clothing
Guy remains enthusiastic about the premiere of Resurrected Rides not only because it remains a unique, life-impacting experience, but the show's additional premise reminds her of altruism's power and her previous volunteering experiences.
Photo by Bri White / Troll Co. Clothing
"Though this is not the main focus of the show by any means, each vehicle's owner does have a backstory of how their jobs help communities. We work on their vehicles to make them more reliable, personalized, and cooler. They're not full kustom restorations but I work to add my style to them. Helping people is something I have always been exposed to because my mom served as the CEO of a nonprofit that trained dogs to help people who struggled with mobility and other developmental challenges. I was always helping with some volunteer work so the positive aspect of the show is great. I can't wait to see people's reactions and to check out all our hard work," concluded Guy.
Resurrected Rides premiers this July via Netflix.
Tudom article: Netflix.com - Resurrected Rides
Instagram: @13thStreetCustoms
...
