The Gas Monkey Garage was the Dallas-based custom auto shop behind the successful reality TV show "Fast N'Loud," aired on Discovery Channel and featuring Richard Rawlings. He and his team would search for decrepit and worn-downwardly classic cars all over the United states, and restore them in the garage. In each episode, the squad, which was composed of bright fabricators and mechanics, worked to a strict borderline to rebuild those rusty, often abandoned old classics into beautifully restored hot rods, and Richard would sell them, frequently earning a huge profit for the store. The TV series premiered back in June 2012, and aired for eight years with its terminal airing in June 2020.

Contents

  • ane The owner of Gas Monkey Garage
  • ii The origins of Gas Monkey Garage
  • 3 The Gas Monkey Garage team
  • four From an machine store, Gas Monkey Garage, to reality-TV serial "Fast N' Loud"
  • 5 Interesting facts and rumors nearly Gas Monkey Garage
    • 5.1 Sold 20 cars before graduating from loftier schoolhouse
    • v.2 Richard took a bullet from a carjacker
    • 5.3 A brief conversation led him to get a police officer
    • 5.4 The real reason why Aaron Kaufman left Gas Monkey Garage
    • 5.5 Fired technician starred in his own reality-TV series
    • 5.vi The TV show needed help from I.T. guys to prepare the motorcar
    • v.7 Richard and Aaron in cord bikinis
    • v.8 Christie Brimberry is a cancer survivor
    • 5.ix Richard came out with an autobiography/automotive handbook
    • five.10 Reality-TV spin-offs
  • 6 What happened to Gas Monkey Garage?
  • 7 Richard Rawlings net worth

The possessor of Gas Monkey Garage

Richard Rawlings was born on 30 March 1969, in Fort Worth, Texas, and had always been a automobile nut ever since his begetter gave him a Volkswagen Protrude pedal toy car when he was a child.

He remembered his father working three jobs but and then he could beget to buy him a new toy car or toy motorcycle. Growing up, he would accompany his father to auto shops, and watch him tinker with the cars in their garage at dwelling. His father's passion for cars rubbed off on him; when he learned to drive at age 14, he bought his first machine, a light-green colored 1974 Mercury Comet. Before he graduated from Eastern Hills High School, he was already driving his third car, a 1977 Bandit Trans Am.

He knew that he had an expensive passion, and to support it he had several jobs including as a police officer, a paramedic, and a firefighter before he was even 21 years old. Richard eventually quit those jobs to ready a garage, but it flopped, as no one in the community trusted him to tinker with their cars. He ventured into the advertising and printing industry, and started his visitor called Lincoln Press which he sold afterwards to pursue a business concern that was related to his original fascination – vintage vehicles.

The origins of Gas Monkey Garage

The thought of launching his auto store was inspired by several machine restoration shows on TV. He realized that each time he watched those shows, his children and wife weren't with him, and and so the marketing side of him kicked in. Richard felt that those Telly shows were losing a clamper of viewers because of too much machismo and bravado on the show. He thought of creating 1 that would non just cater to male viewers, but also to women and kids. He also wanted to restore cars that would be attainable to the regular Joe.

To get to that point, he needed to have his own auto shop, thus the establishment of Gas Monkey Garage in 2002, using the money from the auction of his previous business. The journey to success wasn't easy, as the shop went bankrupt twice before he got everything right. Dorsum then, some people underestimated Richard due to his biker image, along with the series of tattoos on his arms, but no one could blame them as Richard made some poor decisions in promoting his business organisation, but quickly learned from his mistakes and moved on.

He had grown to exist a savvy businessman who knew what he wanted, and how to get things washed past hiring the right people for his garage.

The Gas Monkey Garage team

Richard's Gas Monkey Garage team was initially headed by his master mechanic and main fabricator, Aaron Kaufman, whom he hired later he saw his brilliance at a local garage where Aaron was working at that time. Subsequently restoring and building hot rods for 14 years with the team, he left to pursue his other interests that might take been stifled by his participation in the bear witness.

The current team is comprised of Jason Aker (twin Firebird expert), Mike Coy, Kennan Hons, and Tony Cano (paint and torso tech), Jeremy Cheatham and John Freeman (fabricators), Jon Rodriguez (wiring good), Russell J Holmes (contractor/mechanic), and Chad Isbell (parts good).

Christie Brimberry is the role manager while Richard'south sister, Daphne Kaminski, is head of operations.

Gas Monkey Garage

Some of them have been with the garage since its inception, although through the years Richard had fired other employees who weren't on the aforementioned page with the rest of the coiffure.

From an machine shop, Gas Monkey Garage, to reality-Boob tube series "Fast N' Loud"

Past 2004, Richard felt that his garage with his squad was ready for television. He tried pitching his idea to several Tv set product studios, but but received offers from small networks. He promised himself that he would not fall into the trap of accepting any offering but to be on television, and so go canceled after one flavor. So he worked hard to have his brand known by traveling around the country, participating in trade shows, and winning competitions. In 2008, the bigger Boob tube networks came to talk nigh his thought, merely naught came of it since he didn't want to compromise his original idea on how the testify must be done.

Finally, Discovery Channel ordered 15 episodes for 1 flavour, and the starting time episode of the reality Television receiver show "Fast N' Loud" was aired on 12 June 2012. Viewers were hooked, and the series before long had a loyal following.

Another season was added, as it had become the nigh-watched show on Discovery. It wasn't a surprise to many that the testify became a hit, as it offered a different perspective when information technology comes to reality-TV shows. Instead of including any drama about the personal lives of the people in the prove to pique the interest of the viewers, they focused on the car restoration, and selling the finished product.

Richard was quite proud to say that his evidence was unscripted since they used his ain garage, his own people, and his own cars to be fixed. He's a hands-on leader when it comes to business matters, just he'due south hands-off when it comes to his team's expertise. He spent a lot of time vetting his people and making certain that they were qualified for the job, so he'south confident that they knew what they were doing. His job was to make sure that they encounter their goal on time, and without overspending, and so sell the motorcar to the highest bidder.

To make the bear witness as existent equally possible, the camera crew was on a yearly filming binge.

With a strict borderline to follow, his team couldn't accept a 3-month vacation as other Tv series did. The moment Richard and his crew stepped into the garage, they were being filmed. Everyone had a microphone clipped to them, and there were three cameras around the shop which never stopped rolling, including when Richard went looking for a motorcar to buy. He even installed a live cam in his garage, so all the fans could watch on the garage's official website.

Interesting facts and rumors about Gas Monkey Garage

Richard Rawlings and his garage had enough of fascinating stories that went around social media sites, which wasn't surprising since his reality TV show had been the top favorite amongst male viewers on Discovery Aqueduct. It would be all-time to accept some of it with a grain of salt.

Sold 20 cars earlier graduating from high school

Richard was already obsessed with fixing cars when he was a teenager, and had well-nigh xx cars before matriculating from loftier schoolhouse. He would purchase cars, fixed them up, and sell them for a profit – does that audio familiar!?

https://www.instagram.com/p/CPqtnXhBkCn/

Richard took a bullet from a carjacker

Back when he was still a careless 22 years old, he went driving on a seedy road and attracted the incorrect people. At that place were a couple of guys who went behind him, and were trying to become him to get out of the car. His instinct was to printing the accelerator and he felt a bullet pass through the dorsum of his shoulder downwards to his left arm. They were later the 1965 Ford Mustang Fastback that he was driving that day.

A cursory conversation led him to become a police officeholder

Before he became a police officer at the age of 19, he delivered beer to several restaurants and bars in Dallas. In one case when he made his supply round to a certain restaurant, he met a man sitting on the bar who asked him what he wanted to do with his life. Richard responded that he wanted to be in law enforcement, only no urban center that would give opportunities for someone like him, including putting him through the police force academy. Two weeks afterwards, he was in the law academy, because plainly the man he talked to that night was the mayor of a city in Texas.

The real reason why Aaron Kaufman left Gas Monkey Garage

In an episode of "Fast Due north' Loud" in 2017, an emotional scene unfolded when Aaron announced to anybody that he would be leaving the show, and not just for a vacation. His team and the fans thought at starting time that it was just a example of existence burned out, and that he only wanted a sabbatical, but he said he wouldn't be coming back. Fans were shocked equally Richard and Aaron had seemed the perfect duo in the garage and in the show. Initially, the reason that was given was artistic differences; in a way it was true, equally Aaron wanted to do bigger cars, but for some reason TV producers only wanted to do smaller cars.

However, in March 2018, Discovery Channel announced that Aaron would exist featured in their new reality Telly series called "Shifting Gears." Fans and so realized that he left "Fast Northward' Loud" to be the star of his own prove, but unfortunately the show but lasted for 2 seasons.

Richard fully understood Aaron's reasons, and they are nevertheless friends up to this day.

Fired technician starred in his ain reality-Goggle box series

"Fast N' Loud" fans heaved a sigh of relief when one of the technicians on the testify, Tom Smith, was fired. They couldn't take his weird behavior in everything he did, and even the crew had had plenty of his antics. Surprisingly, his odd and annoying persona was what other Goggle box studios wanted for their own reality TV series and so he was hired over again by Discovery Channel to do "Fired Upward Garage."

The Boob tube show needed assist from I.T. guys to fix the motorcar

There were times when the cars they fixed wouldn't get-go because of problems with the computer system installed in the car. Fans simply get to run across the I.T. guys from Diablosport and HP Tuners for a couple of minutes on Television receiver to help the team, merely in reality, it would accept two days to set the organization. They tried to downplay the help that they needed from the I.T. experts.

Richard and Aaron in string bikinis

Pre-beard Aaron and Richard posed for a promotional photo wearing but eyeglasses and string bikinis. This happened before the "Fast Due north' Loud" era, and they did it simply to badger their rival squad in a contest that they participated in. The proof of their notoriety could yet be institute online, and fifty-fifty if they shuddered at their past activities, they couldn't undo information technology, because what you posted online would stay online.

Christie Brimberry is a cancer survivor

Back in 2018, the garage'southward "zookeeper" equally they fondly chosen their role manager, had chemotherapy to treat her cancer, earlier she underwent surgery to remove a cancerous lymph node. Her voice box was damaged equally it was accidentally cutting when they did the surgery. The good matter is that she's currently cancer-free and still function of the team. Her married man, Darren Brimberry, is a pop celebrity hairstylist who does Richard's pilus.

Richard came out with an autobiography/automotive handbook

"Fast Due north' Loud: Claret, Sweat, and Tears" was published dorsum in May 2015, and he went around the land for a book tour. The book chronicled his journeying from helping his dad earn actress coin by delivering newspapers as a child to eventually selling cars. It was an inspiring volume that also served as an automotive handbook, with Richard giving tips and advice on how to accept intendance of cars.

Reality-Television spin-offs

His business empire started with Gas Monkey Garage, and information technology created Richard's outset reality TV serial. Due to its success, it gave nascency to spin-off serial such as "Misfit Garage," which featured his former employees whom he fired from his garage; "Garage Rehab" featuring struggling garages and helping them stay adrift; and "Fast N' Loud: Demolition Theater," which showed all the epic failures in the automotive industry, including Richard's blench-worthy incidents. He's one of the producers of the shows.

Gas Monkey Garage

What happened to Gas Monkey Garage?

After beingness on Tv for xvi seasons, Richard announced in the podcast "The Joe Rogan Experience," that he's done with the reality TV prove, and the June 2020 episode of "Fast N' Loud" was the last 1. He said that he'd left Discovery Channel and excitedly shared that he'due south a free agent now. People were surprised at the news, since the show was still doing quite well, but he said that he'd already achieved his goal, and sabbatum on elevation of the food chain at the cable aqueduct. He needed a new challenge, and teased the fans to expect some cool things he was preparing for 2021. By and large, fans were disappointed to hear that it ended, but at the aforementioned time excited that Richard would render with a new serial.

While the TV show was canceled, the Gas Monkey Garage continued to restore hot rods for vintage motorcar enthusiasts on Merrell Road, Dallas.

Richard'southward at present great in business, and had expanded the Gas Monkey Garage brand through the years in several countries. He published books, produced tequila and vodka forth with an energy drink, built restaurants, and had a clothing line being sold in Walmart, Target, and Kohl's. Recently, its official YouTube channel uploaded episodes of Richard'due south new podcast called "Monkey Trap."

The swell thing about Gas Monkey Garage was that Richard was the sole proprietor of the business organization, and a difficult worker. He also wouldn't enter into any deals that would use his name to create some other business. Richard said that unless he'south the owner of the business, no one could use his brand. Information technology was his only fashion of protecting what he'd built, and the 1,000 or so people working for him.

Richard Rawlings net worth

According to authoritative sources, Richard has an estimated net worth of over $xx million, some of it he earned from the garage, along with his reality-TV shows, and part of it from successfully expanding his make as described.