Giving It Our All: The Journey of Building The Customized Ride

The past two years have been a wild, challenging, and deeply rewarding ride. Building The Customized Ride from the ground up has been a test of faith, resilience, and pure grit. It’s not been easy—far from it—but every hard-earned lesson, every small victory, and even the hardest moments have shaped this dream into something extraordinary.

The Hard Road to the Dream

When you believe in something with all your heart, you’ll do whatever it takes to make it happen. For us, that has meant stepping out of comfort zones and diving into the unknown. To keep this dream alive, we’ve taken on side hustles—delivering food late into the evenings, participating in mock juries (yes, those exist!), and anything else that could keep gas in the tank, literally and figuratively.

We’ve poured every ounce of energy—and every dollar from our savings—into The Customized Ride. Some nights, after delivering food or managing tasks, we’d sit in the quiet and ask ourselves if we were crazy to keep going. The exhaustion is real. The doubts sneak in. But that same quiet is where the belief in our dream whispers louder.

The hardest part of this journey is the financial side. The brand doesn’t yet generate enough to support itself, let alone sustain us. That uncertainty is terrifying. We don’t know if all this hard work, all the sacrifices, will pay off in the end. But here’s what we do know: we have faith. Faith that it will become what it needs to be. Faith that, even if the outcome looks different than we imagined, the journey will still have been worth it.

The Moments That Keep Us Going

It hasn’t been all struggle. This journey has given us incredible moments that remind us why we started.

I’ll never forget a car show we attended in a small town. We didn’t expect much, maybe a few photos and some casual conversations. Instead, we were welcomed by a passionate community, people who spoke about their cars like they were family. One man shared how his custom car was built as a tribute to his father, weaving in memories of long road trips and hours spent tinkering in the garage together.

That’s when it hit me—in the car community, the size of the show doesn’t matter. Passion does. The love for these machines, the stories they hold, and the creativity poured into them are what make every gathering special. It’s not about the glitz or the crowds; it’s about the connection and the shared admiration for what these vehicles represent.

And then there’s the community we’ve built online. We’ve grown to over 350,000 followers and amassed more than 150 million video views across seven platforms. Those numbers represent more than views—they represent connections. They’re a reminder that what started as a simple dream is now a source of inspiration for hundreds of thousands of people.

5 Lessons We’ve Learned While Building a Dream

Sacrifice Fuels the Dream
Pursuing your dream is expensive—not just financially but emotionally and mentally. You’ll be stretched in ways you didn’t think possible. But it’s in those moments of stretching that you discover your true capacity for resilience. Sacrifice hurts, but it also builds.
Embrace the Unknown
There’s no perfect roadmap for chasing a dream, and that’s okay. Sometimes you just have to take the next step, even if the path ahead is unclear. Mock juries, food deliveries, unconventional gigs—none of it was part of the original plan, but all of it became part of the story.
Celebrate the Little Wins
Early on, we learned to savor every small success. Each new follower, every video that went viral, each connection made—it all adds up. The journey is a marathon, not a sprint, and the little wins keep you fueled for the long haul.
Community is the Key
No dream is achieved in isolation. The people we’ve met at shows, the followers who engage with our content, and the fellow dreamers we’ve encountered along the way have been a lifeline. Surrounding yourself with a community of passionate people makes the hard days easier and the good days even sweeter.
Faith Is Your Foundation
When the numbers don’t add up and the doubts creep in, faith keeps you moving forward. Faith in the dream, in the process, and in the belief that your efforts are leading somewhere meaningful. It’s not easy, but it’s what sustains us in the scariest moments.

A Journey Worth Taking

This journey has changed us in ways we never anticipated. It’s forced us to confront our limits, to rise above fear, and to trust that the sacrifices we’ve made have meaning. We’ve learned that the beauty of a dream isn’t just in achieving it—it’s in the growth, the lessons, and the memories created along the way.

If you’re standing on the edge of a dream, unsure whether to take the leap, let us tell you this: jump. Yes, you’ll face challenges. Yes, there will be moments of doubt. But the journey is worth it. Even if you stumble, even if the destination looks different than you imagined, the process will shape you into someone stronger, wiser, and more determined.

Keep Driving Forward

To everyone out there chasing a dream: don’t hold back. Let yourself believe in the impossible. Embrace the messy, unpredictable, and beautiful road ahead. Whether you’re building a brand, writing a book, or starting a family, the dream isn’t just about the destination—it’s about the transformation that happens along the way.

So here’s our promise: we’ll keep driving forward, trusting that this journey will lead us where we’re meant to go. We hope you’ll do the same. Together, we can show the world that no dream is too big, no challenge is too great, and no journey is ever wasted.