You may know Chip Foose from the popular reality TV show Overhaulin'. This guy has been around the automotive industry since he was just seven years old. Over the years, he's managed to have an extremely successful career as an American TV personality, businessman, automotive designer, and fabricator.
He was the youngest person to achieve the honor of being inducted into the Hot Rod Hall of Fame in 1997. Foose also owns his own hot rod shop called Foose Design where they can absolutely transform your old muscle car into a custom car worthy of the SEMA show. Talented is an understatement when talking about Chip. He's won countless awards and, without a doubt, knows what he's doing.
Background and Achievements
Chip Foose was born in Santa Barbara, California on October 13, 1963. When he was seven, he started working on cars at his father's company called Project Design. In 1990, He graduated from the Art Center College of Design. He went on to land jobs with Sterenberger Design and Boyd Coddington. Eventually, he ended up as the president of the company Hot Rods by Boyd. While Foose was working for Coddington, he designed the Boydster I and Boydster II hot rods.
Unfortunately, the company went bankrupt in 1998. After this happened, he and his wife Lynne, finally decided to open up their own shop in Huntington Beach, California called Foose Design, Inc. His first car that he rebuilt was the Boydster II for Chuck Svatos, as the 0032 roadster, which won the Americas Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR) trophy.
Foose gained more exposure in 2003 as a result of the TLC documentary, which featured his 2002 Ford Thunderbird, nicknamed the Speedbird. In 2004, Overhaulin' debuted, featuring Foose as the main star. The show originally ran until 2008, but was also revived by Velocity in 2012. That iteration of the show ran until 2015. From 2019-2020, Motor Trend ran a ninth season of Overhaulin'.
Around 2005, Foose decided to partner up with Unique Performance out of Dallas, Texas. During the Specialty Equipment Market Association show (SEMA), Chip showed off a 1969 Foose-designed Chevy Camaro convertible, which produced a 300 limited car run with the help of Unique Performance. The press releases that followed announced UP would also be handling the marketing of Foose's other custom car lines, such as Foose's 2006 Ford Mustang Stallion and the "Hemisfear," also known as the Foose Coupe.
Foose even went on to design a custom paint scheme for Jeff Gordon! Eventually, by 2007, Chip Foose cut ties with Unique Performance, and he took legal action against them for alleged illegal activities. Nevertheless, Foose kept pushing forward and kept doing what he loved to do.
I would need a whole book to explain everything this man has accomplished in his lifetime so far, but check out some more awards that he has attained over the years. If that doesn't show you how talented this guy is, I don't know what will.
- Ridler Award (2002, 2003, 2005 and 2015)
- Most Beautiful Roadster Award (1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2006, and 2014)
- The Goodguys Street Rod of the Year Award (1990, 1991, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001 and 2010)
- Diecast Hall of Fame Inductee (2009)
- Best Hot Rod at the Bilsport Performance Show (2011)
- Best Custom Car - 1954 Chevrolet "Cool Air" NACE Expo (2014)
Chip Foose's Net Worth
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Foose is estimated to have a net worth of $18.5 million. Based on all he has achieved, I think it's safe to say he's living a pretty comfortable life. The guy has made some seriously badass cars over the years. Not only is he a classic car guy, but he's also a businessman.
He's very smart with his investments and has managed to make a good chunk of change in the process. Chip Foose really is a true automotive entrepreneur. You can check out more of Foose's work by visiting chipfoose.com.
This post was originally published on April 15, 2020.
