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FOREWORD by Lonny Speer of Count’s Kustoms

You wouldn’t be wrong to say I’ve got paint in my blood.

In my family, painting is more than just a profession. My father and older brother were both painters, and following in their footsteps was an easy choice for me. I’m even training my son to be a painter, which makes it three generations of painters in my family.

Although I don’t carry a fancy title (I’m a painter; just a painter), I can say for certain that I know a thing or two about custom work on cars. I worked for 15 years in collision repair before spending the last 6 at Count’s Kustoms.

As a longtime painter of vehicles, I can tell you that there’s no feeling quite like the one you get when you’re looking at the final product. All the hard work—tearing the car down and sandblasting it, bodywork and fabrication, and all the way to painting and buffing—is all worth it in the end. Seeing the customer react to the end result is easily the most gratifying part of what we do.

If you’re hoping to experience that feeling for yourself, then you bought the right book.

I first met this book’s author through my coworker and fellow VW enthusiast, Shannon Aikau. Sometimes when you meet a fellow painter, things just click; although it doesn’t usually happen so fast for me, when I met Spook, the two of us had an instant connection. I’d even call him a brother, which isn’t a distinction I’d give to just anyone. Maybe we both have the same paint in our blood.

A book is only as good as the mind that makes it, and Spook is absolutely the best man for the job. I know his background, and I know the work he does. But even if I didn’t, he would still have my trust. He has the kind of passion you only ever see in real leaders, and those are the guys who put out the best builds. With Spook, it comes down to a feeling you get from the way he carries himself and the way he talks about his shop and his team. My belief in Spook, and in the wisdom that he has to offer, is why I was so honored that he asked me to write this foreword.

As a painter with more than two decades of experience in the field, you can take my word for it: “If you read this book, you’re learning from one of the best.”

—Lonny Speer Count’s Kustoms