Richard Rawlings
Richard Rawlings, a native of Fort Worth, Texas, followed in his dad’s footsteps and developed a passion for cars at an early age, building cars and attending car shows with him. The earliest photograph of Richard, aside from his infant years, is of him sitting in a Volkswagen Beetle pedal car. His dad sometimes would work three jobs so he could afford to have his one toy — a car or motorcycle he could call his own. Richard bought his first car when he was 14 years old: a green ’74 mercury comet. By his senior year in high school he was already on his third car, a ’77 Bandit Trans Am. Richard says he has always worked so he could buy cars and his passion for them is one he’s worth shedding not only sweat for, but blood. He took a bullet in the early ’90s as he fought off a carjacker who was trying to steal his 1965 Ford Mustang 2+2 Fastback.
Richard has held several jobs to feed his car habit: he was a firefighter, police officer and paramedic all before he was 21 years old. He eventually left those jobs to start his own business, building a printing and advertising company from the ground up. He later sold it so he could fund his next venture, Gas Monkey Garage — a world-renowned hot rod shop that has produced and shipped cars around the world.
A veteran of transcontinental road rallies, Richard has competed in the Gumball 3000 and the Bullrun. He is the current world record holder in the Cannonball Run and was even recognized by Jay Leno for this achievement, having broken a record that stood since 1979. He covered the 2,811 miles from New York to Los Angeles in 31 hours and 59 minutes with an average speed of 87.6 miles per hour, an achievement he has immortalized on his arm in ink.
Richard says: “bottom line, if we’re gonna have fun, it better have a motor!
Check him out on Instagram @ RRRawlings
Jason Aker
Jason, who drives a 2015 Ford F150, brings 25 years’ worth of knowledge to the table.
Jason’s dream build was a ’66 Mustang Shelby GT350 that has won many awards. His favorite Gas Monkey build is the 2005 Ford GT.
When Richard needed a restoration expert for twin Firebirds, he called on Jason to join the team; he’s been with Gas Monkey ever since.
On his downtime, Jason loves to garden! He finds it to be good stress relief from the shop. He also enjoys doing Shelby restorations and serving as judge in competitions on the weekends.
Check him out on Instagram @ GMGJason
Mike Coy
You’re more likely to see Mike riding around town on two wheels instead of four on his KTM 1290 Super Duke motorcycle.
Mike started working on cars in 1992. After Richard brought him in to help paint two Pontiac Firebirds, he never left.
His favorite Gas Monkey Garage build is the ’49 Chevy 3100 truck.
Check him out on Instagram @ MikeCoy1
Jeremy Cheatham
Fabricator Jeremy Cheatham started working on cars in 1998 in his hometown of Fort Worth, Texas.
A truck guy from birth, Jeremy can be spotted around town in his ’94 Chevy SS.
What’s his dream build you ask? In his own words: “Any old truck. Yeehaw!” His favorite Gas Monkey build was the ’49 Chevy 3100 pickup truck.
Jeremy now spends his days as one of the lead fabricators on the Gas Monkey builds.
Check him out on Instagram @ GMGJeremy
Tony Cano
Tony started working on cars when he was 18 years old, and he plays a key role in getting the GMG cars finished on Richard’s tight deadlines.
Tony’s daily driver is a ’97 Chevy S10 that’s bagged and bodied. His dream build is a ’55 Chevy C10 and his favorite Gas Monkey build was the Ferrari GT40.
Now that Keenan has joined Tony and Mike in the paint and body department, this trio gets into a lot of mayhem.
Check him out on Instagram @ GMGTonyC
Kennan Hons
Keenan was one of the earliest paint and body techs to have joined Gas Monkey Garage.
After many years and many builds, he took a break from Gas Monkey, but he’s returned to the team for one singular reason: AC in the shop.
Check him out on Instagram @ KennanHons
Josh Freeman
Originally from Orange County, CA, Josh came to Dallas to expand his career as a part of the Gas Monkey fabrication team.
A capable builder in his own right, Josh found that the hardest part of joining the GMG crew was working in Richard’s short timeframes to finish cars.
Fun fact: Josh is TERRIFIED of spiders!
Check him out on Instagram @ Lolometalsmith
Jon Rodriguez
Originally from Orlando, FL, Jon is Gas Monkey Garage’s wiring expert. Among other things, this means that the hardest part of his job is relearning the older vehicles he has to work on.
Check him out on Instagram @ NyInstaller2
Russell J Holmes
The “muscle” behind Garage Rehab’s renovations, Russell is a construction expert with more than twenty years of experience. He’s seen and dealt with just about any problem a contractor could encounter.
Russell recently joined the Gas Monkey Garage team as Richard’s “Fixer.” He quickly found himself branching out from his usual project manager duties at Garage Rehab, and he’s always ready to pitch in to help (he DOES know a thing or two about turning wrenches, after all).
Russell has also found himself travelling with Richard around the country to seek out those rare barn finds.
In the past, Richard owned his own construction business and has run crews of more than 100. Having also worked as a mechanic for years, Russell is very familiar with auto garages, and he knows first-hand what works and what doesn’t.
As a car enthusiast, he’s has helped many friends build custom garages on their properties.
Fun fact about Russell: He’s afraid of heights!
Check him out on Instagram @ RussellJHolmes
Chad Isbell
Hailing from Fort Worth, TX, Chad has been in the car business for 12 years. He currently serves as Gas Monkey Garage’s parts guy.
The hardest part of his job is finding extremely hard-to-find or discounted parts on a super-short deadline.
Fun fact about Chad: He’s really into ’80s and ’90s cartoons!
Check him out on Instagram @ GMGChad
Chris aka “Mater”
Chris, better known as “Tow-Truck Chris”. Check him out on Instagram @ GMGMater
Daphne Kaminski
Hailing from Fort Worth, TX, Daphne is Richard’s older sister. She handles the day-to-day operations at the shop along with the financials, which includes keeping a rein on Richard’s spending!
Daphne is also a world class dog whisperer, which helps when Fifi, Richard’s pooch, is at the shop.
Check her out on Instagram @ GMGDaphne
Tony Taylor
Hailing from Dallas, TX, Tony has been with Gas Monkey Garage for 8 years. However, his relationship with Richard goes back 17 years!
Tony plays an important role in helping source and sell Richard’s cars.
Check him out on Instagram @ GMGTony_
Christie Brimberry
Christie never thought she’d use the term “zookeeper”. Check her out on Instagram @ GMGChristie