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BIOGRAPHIES

Ryan Friedlinghaus is CEO and owner of West Coast Customs (WCC), a world-renowned company that builds creative and innovative custom vehicles that stretch the imagination. In 1993 Ryan’s grandfather, Edward Cifranic, loaned him $5,000, and WCC was born as a modest car customization shop in Orange County, California, which then quickly grew into a larger enterprise. In 2004 WCC gained celebrity status when the MTV show Pimp my Ride aired, and WCC became the exclusive builder of all the vehicles for the original episodes for seasons 1-4.

Ryan then turned his attention to expanding WCC globally, franchising shops in diverse locations such as Mexico, Germany, Malaysia, Russia, and Japan.

Following this global expansion, Ryan launched a new TV show that demonstrated that WCC was in fact a creator of automotive art, not simply a custom car shop. The result was Street Customs and Street Customs Berlin, which rose to the top of the ratings on the TLC network. He then took his TV career to the next level as the producer and creator of Inside West Coast Customs, initially airing on the Discovery channel and then on the new network, Velocity. In 2013 Inside West Coast Customs moved to the Fox Sports Network.

Ryan’s life story epitomizes the tattoo across his fingers, “self made”. He is living proof that with ambition, drive, and heart you can still capture the American dream.

William L. Galvery, Jr. was for many years Professor of Welding Technology and Welding Department coordinator at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, California. He graduated from California State University, Long Beach with a Bachelor of Vocational Engineering degree, has more than 30 years of industrial welding experience, and is an American Welding Society (AWS) Certified Welding Inspector and a Certified Welding Educator. In 2003 the AWS presented him with its prestigious national teaching award, the Howard E. Adkins Memorial Instructor Award, and for the second time he was chosen AWS District 21 Educator of the Year. In the same year he was also presented with an Excellence in Education Award by the University of Texas, Austin. Bill has also served as an officer for the AWS Long Beach/Orange County Section.