
Chip Foose's Story In a relatively short career, Chip Foose has created a legacy of designs and
accomplishments that are well beyond his years. Chip was born and raised in
Santa Barbara California and automobiles were definitely in his blood. Chip's
first job was working for his father's company where Chip specialized in
project design. By age twelve, Chip already had five years experience under his
belt, and had also painted his first car; a Porsche 356.Early on, a chance meeting from Alex Tremulus, the designer of the "Tucker",
was actually Chip's motivation to attend Art Center, where he majored in
automotive product design and graduated in 1990 with honors. Chip's career profile is staggering; in 1986 he was Staff Designer/ Fabricator
for the Asha Corporation, eventually becoming director of design in 1989. Chip
was responsible for conceptualizing new proprietary ideas and fabrication of
prototypes for the O.E.M.'s Other work has included: Stehrenberger Design as an automotive designer,
creating colored illustrations and conceptual models, Baker Sportronics, as
chief designer and fabricator of both models and prototypes of electric
vehicles to be used in the NFL and NBL, and of course, going to work with his
father and Project Design, designing and building street rods, customs, studio
vehicles and show cars for films such as Blade Runner, Robo Cop, and Gone in 60
Seconds, which featured "Eleanor". November 1990 brought about the beginning of a relationship with Boyd
Coddington and Hot Rods by Boyd, becoming a full time position in 1993, which
lead to Managing Director where Chip eventually became the President of Hot
Rods by Boyd. Chip, who is widely acclaimed for his "Boyd Look" design and
creative skills, was responsible for many internationally known vehicles such
as: Roadster, Sportstar, Boydster I and II, and Boyd Air to name a few. Chip's venture with Boyd however, ended in 1998. At this time Chip and his wife
Lynne started their Huntington Beach, California based company Foose Design, an
automotive and product design Development Company. His company specializes in
illustration, graphics, ideation model making, surfacing and complete
construction of automobiles and automotive related products. These products are
available to private individuals, television, film and the automobile
manufacturers. In November of 1997, Chip was inducted into the Hot Rod Hall of Fame at
Peterson Publishing's 50th anniversary held at the Specialty Equipment Market
Association (SEMA) trade show in Las Vegas, Nevada. This induction made history
for Chip, being the youngest member ever inducted into the Hot Rod Hall of Fame
at the age of 31. In 1998, Chip was honored at the SMRA banquet and was the first recipient of
the Good Guys Trendsetter Award, once again creating another historic moment in
the Hot Rod industry. In 1999, Chip won the prestigious AMBR (America's Most Beautiful Roadster)
Award at the 50th Anniversary of the Grand National Roadster Show with Fred
Warren's "Shock Wave". Similarly, in 2000 Chip won the AMBR again with Chuck
Svatos' "0032". Overall, Chip has been involved with six different AMBR
winners, including the 1995 winner the "Smoothster", the 1996 winner
"Boydster", the 2001 winner "Impact" (designed by Chip and finished by Barry
White), and the 2003 winner "Boydster II' (designed by Chip and finished by
Bobby Alloway). The new millennium also meant new endeavors for Chip. In January of 2000 Chip
signed a licensing agreement with MHT Luxury Alloys, allowing Chip to start the
production of Foose Wheels. The Millennium was proving to be quite prosperous. Chip won the coveted 2002
"Ridler" Award at the 50th Anniversary Show of the Detroit Autorama with Bob
and Wes Rydell's 35 Chevy Master, otherwise known as the "Grand Master". The
year of 2002 was very exciting for Chip as he was inducted into the Darryl
Starbird Rod & Custom Car Museum Hall of Fame. The end of the year closed with
a bang for Chip and his highly acclaimed staff at Foose Design when the
Discovery Channel filmed a documentary, which aired repetitively on the TLC
network in March of 2003. The documentary featured several of Chip's award
winning vehicles, but the show's focus was to give the viewers a chance to
witness Chip's visionary talents come to life with a re-design of the 2002
Thunderbird. The redesigned Thunderbird otherwise known as the "Speedbird"
received another award for Chip, as it made its debut at the 2002 SEMA show in
Las Vegas, where Chip was presented the "Best of Show" award from Ford Motor
Company. The year 2003 was equally exciting for Chip. He was honored once again with an
induction into the Grand National Roadster Show Hall of Fame. This year was
filled with enthusiasm, especially when Chip received a second "Ridler" award
at the Detroit Autorama, which featured Ron Whitesides 34' Mercury Stallion.
2003 came to its pinnacle when Chip embarked upon a new venture, designing
clothing and accessories featuring many of his award winning cars. Throughout the course of Chip's career he has been honored to receive the Good
Guys Street Rod of the Year Award seven times, and his cars include: 1990 a 32
two door sedan, 1991 a 29 two door sedan and 40 delivery for Dick Mattiolli,
1995 a three window coupe for Bud Simes, 1997 a 39 Chevy Coupe built by Troy
Trepanior of "Rad Ride by Troy" named the "Predator", 1999 a 54 belvedere also
built by troy at "Rad Rides by Troy" named the "Sniper", and last but not
least, in 2001 Chip received the Good Guys Street Rod of the Year Award
featuring the "Grand Master". 2004 proved to be as exhilarating as the past years, Chip has started a
television series called "Overhaulin", which began airing on the TLC network
late April of 2004, please check your local programming for details. 2005 opened with Chip being inducted into the San Francisco Rod and Custom
Motorcycle Hall of Fame. Chip currently serves as the Vice Chairman of theProgeria Research Foundation, California Chapter. |