Ryan Friedlinghaus

West Coast Customs is an automobile repair shop focusing on the customization of vehicles. It was started by co-founders Ryan Friedlinghaus and Quinton Dodson in 1994. According to Friedlinghaus, he began the business with a $5000 loan from his grandfather, but other sources claim that he raised the seed money for the business while working at his father's liquor store. Owing to the patronage of celebrities such as Shaquille O'Neal and Sean Combs, along with appearances in the reality television

Pimp My Ride is a TV show produced by MTV. Each episode consists of taking one car in poor condition and restoring it, as well as customizing it. The original American version was hosted by rapper Xzibit. Recently, MTV2 has begun airing episodes from Pimp My Ride UK hosted by DJ Tim Westwood, which features cars being customised in the UK, and Pimp My Ride International, featuring cars in central Europe, hosted by hip hop artists Fat Joe and Lil' Jon, as well as the related CMT series Trick My Truck.