I have always had a fascination for cars. I have owned GTOs, Mustangs, Corvettes, Grand Nationals, and Firebirds which I had always fixed up and added unique things to.
My love for cars, the desire to have them unique, and not having the money to do that, led me into the autobody field.
At 18, I purchased my first Lamborghini Countach Replica. I brought home a bunch of fiberglass pieces, locked myself, along with a few friends in the garage. A few months later, out came a finished car. Building a replica, you need to fabricate everything. I quickly became intrigued with designing and building custom fabrications.
I opened a replica Lamborghini business along with Rick Greco, D&R Replicars. We have been featured on multiple Kit Car magazine covers. I had become known for building high-end turnkey replicas with custom unique finishing touches.
A few years later, along with my wife Carrie, we began Kirban Customs. Our main business was automotive repair. But we always had some unique project in the works.
Carrie's love of boating led us to purchase our first boat, a 288 Sunsation Mid Cabin. My friend John Barnes and I painted graphics and tweaked the interior. The desire for a bigger boat, twin motors and a wallet that we didn't have, led us to purchase an older outdated boat. A 1996 Cigarette Cafe Racer.
Over the first winter we completely gutted the entire boat and sanded down all the paint. I designed all new dash and interior pieces, making the interior custom and modern. Along with John Barnes, we painted the new graphics. The pictures of this restoration are in our photo gallery under 1996 Cigarette Cafe Racer Restoration.
Being on the water, enjoying our boat, we have met great people in the boating community. This, along with our personal, drivable billboard (Our Boat), has opened up a new market for us. I love taking on projects that when finished, have a whole new appearance and better functionality.