Categories: Auto Industry & Race Car Drivers | Celebrity Speakers | Entrepreneurship & SME
Travels from Los Angeles, California, USA
Chip Foose is a famous car designer and transformer, founder of Foose Design shop and a star of the Discovery Channel hit "Overhaulin."
In a relatively short career, Chip Foose has created a legacy of designs and accomplishments that are well beyond his years. 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 OEM’s. Foose’s professional experience also includes work at Stehrenberger Design as an automotive designer, creating illustrations and conceptual models; Baker Sportronics, as chief designer and fabricator of electric vehicles used in the NFL and MLB; and of course, working with his father, designing and building street rods, customs, studio vehicles and show cars for films such as Blade Runner, RoboCop, and Gone in 60 Seconds.
In 1990 Chip Foose started a professional relationship with Boyd Coddington and Hot Rods by Boyd, which three years later became a full time position and eventually culminated in Foose becoming President. Chip, who is widely acclaimed for fostering the “Boyd Look”, was responsible for many internationally known vehicles such as: Roadstar, Sportstar, Boydster I and II, and Boyd Air to name a few. Chip Foose’s venture with Boyd ended in 1998, after which he and his wife 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, automobile manufacturers and television and film producers.
In November of 1997, Chip Foose was inducted into the Hot Rod Hall of Fame, which made him the youngest member ever inducted at the age of 31. In 1998, he was also 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 “Shockwave”. In 2000 Chip won the AMBR again with Chuck Svatos’ “0032”. Overall, Chip has been involved with eight different AMBR winners, the last in 2014.
In 2000, Chip Foose signed a licensing agreement with MHT Luxury Alloys, allowing him to start the production of Foose Wheels. In 2002, Chip won the coveted “Ridler” Award at the 50th Anniversary Show of the Detroit Autorama with Bob and Wes Rydell’s 35 Chevy Master, otherwise known as the “Grandmaster”. He was inducted into the Darryl Starbird Rod & Custom Car Museum Hall of Fame. In 2003 Foose was honored once again with an induction into the Grand National Roadster Show Hall of Fame, and he then received a second “Ridler” award at the Detroit Autorama for his work on Ron Whiteside’s 1934 Mercury Monarch Stallion.
Throughout the course of Chip Foose’s career he has been honored to receive the Good Guys Street Rod of the Year Award eight times. Most recently he captured the award in 2010 with the “Magnatude”, a 1932 Custom Muroc Roadster.
In 2004 Chip Foose started a television series called “Overhaulin'”, in which owners were tricked while having their prized vehicle restored by Chip and his team in a week’s time. With an original run of 5 seasons, the series made nearly 90 automotive dreams come true.
2005 opened with Chip Foose being inducted into the San Francisco Rod and Custom Motorcycle Hall of Fame. He also received his 3rd “Ridler” Award for “Impression”, a Foose designed and fabricated 1936 Ford based roadster owned by Ken Reister. Also that year, Chip was honored to be personally selected by John Lasseter of Pixar to contribute paint schemes and graphic treatments to certain characters from the hit movie “Cars”.
In 2009, Chip Foose made a return to television, serving as a guest judge on the Discovery Channel’s “Ultimate Car Build-Off”. From 2010 to 2011 he also hosted the documentary series “American Icon: The Hot Rod” on Discovery’s HD Theater.
In 2016, Chip Foose celebrated his 30th year in the design business, highlighted by a showcase at the Petersen Automotive Museum to celebrate the milestone and his induction into the prestigious SEMA Hall of Fame.
