146 | Brandon McCoy: Turning Passion for Custom Paint into a Thriving Career

This is becoming undone. The way I was raised, like I said, small town. You know, my grandpa, my dad, they raised me. I know the tattoos and all that stuff doesn't look like small country boy, but they raised me as a man I feel like. A handshake is all you ever need. And once you move from that small town to the big city, the handshake doesn't necessarily mean anything to some of these people, when it means everything to me. Nothing leaves my shop unless I'm proud of it. Nothing leaves my booth unless I'm proud of it. Period. There's no other way around it. So when I have something out there running around, it's I'm proud of it. You know what I mean? As an artist, something art, it's impossible for art to be perfect. If it's perfect, it's not art. It's as simple as that. You know, I get it all the time, my pen's dropping. Oh man, that's a perfectly matched on each side. No, I did not. I may have came close. It's never, ever, ever, ever perfect. Because what I deal with, I consider myself, I am absolutely obsessed. Like obsessed with custom paint. So there's nothing out there that if you thought of it, I've probably thought of it. If you've seen it on the internet, I've probably seen it. You know, if you've seen a paint job, I've probably already broken it down in my head. 50 times before you've shared it to me on Facebook. That's how obsessed I am with it. So I consider myself a professional, you know, in the paint scene. And with that mindset, I kind of expect my customers to respect that a little bit and be like, I want your opinion. What do you think? Thumper, animal, boy, Gooch Customs. I'm undone. Hey friend, I'm glad you're here. Welcome to yet another episode of Becoming Undone, the podcast for those who dare bravely, risk mightily, and grow relentlessly. Toby Brooks, speaker, author, professor, and performance scientist. I spent much the last two decades working as an athletic trainer and a strength coach in the professional, collegiate, and high school sports settings. And over the years, I've grown more and more fascinated with what sets high achievers apart, and how failures that can stink in the moment can end up being exactly the push we needed to propel us on our paths to success. Each week on Becoming Undone, I invite new guests to examine how high achievers can transform from falling apart to falling into place. I'd like to emphasize that this show is entirely separate from my role of Baylor University, but it's my attempt to apply what I've learned and what I'm learning and to share with others about the mindsets of high achievers. Hey y'all, we are back for 2026 in a brand new place with brand new studio, but with the same old purpose. To bring you the stories and the strategies to help motivate you and inspire you to name what you have left undone and then go after it with all you have. Over the Christmas break, I missed you, but I wasn't just sitting still, relaxed on the couch. First, the trip to Florida to visit my parents, followed by a trip to Southern Illinois to visit some family, then Lubbock to celebrate with the kids. Then, after all that, we had to move from our rent house nearby Huid to our new place in Martin Hall on the Baylor campus. I was recently picked to be what's called a faculty and residence for one of the residents hall to be you. This one home to 262 Baylor freshmen guys. After a year of empty nesting with our kids still in Lubbock, we are excited to be able to serve in a new way here in Waco, but that said there are some changes for sure. First off, our apartment is about 100 yards from Texas's I-35, one of the busiest stretches of interstate in the country. On top of that, we are in a residence hall that's home to hundreds of Baylor undergrads. All that to say, you may actually hear some evidence of the move in the audio file. I do my best to give you a top shelf first class experience when you listen to the show, but at the end of the day, I'm just a dude working 9-day to bring you these stories from where I'm at. So don't hate if you hear what we'll call some audible organic authenticity in the background, but enough about me. Let's get into it. Today's guest is someone who proves that you don't have to crash to find clarity, but sometimes stepping away from comfort. That's the boldest move you can make. Brandon McCoy, better known in some circles behind his highly respected custom graphics, art, and pen-striping studio's name, Gucci Customs, didn't ever really plan on being a full-time artist. What started as an after hours escape turned into a nationwide reputation for custom paintwork that's as fearless as it is unforgettable. From many truck shows to viral videos from pen-striping and a rin and garage to building one of a kind pieces for clients coast to coast, Brandon's journey has been anything but typical. In this conversation, we'll talk about creative freedom, standing out in a sea of sameness, and how learning to trust your own style can be the real turning point. And yes, there are painted toilets involved. Trust me, you want to stick around here that story. I hope you'll enjoy my conversation with Brandon McCoy in episode 146. Let's get into it. Greetings, welcome back, becoming a does podcast for those of their bravely risk-modeling, grow relentlessly. I'm your host, Toby Brooks, and each week we bring you a high achiever who's managed to go from falling apart to falling into place. And this week's guest, we were talking a little bit before the show, Brandon McCoy, by his own acknowledgement, he hasn't had a lot of failure, but man, he has grown so much. She probably seen him in social media circles. Brandon, thanks for joining me tonight. Thanks for having me, man. So this one's been a long time coming. I've been hassling you for a better part of two months now. I saw a year, I think you have a silver, old-body style, Chevy video that really blew up. There's been a number of others. But your graphic artist based out of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, so I usually just started to be beginning. What do you want to be growing up and why? I get that question a lot. I'll be honest, I don't know. I've been doing this for so long. I feel like once I reached an age to where I got to thinking about maybe what I wanted to do when I was older. It's always been sort of automotive-related a little bit. I still haven't grown up. I'll just say that. I'm still a big kid and an old man's body. For as long as I can remember, I've always been gravitated towards the art and paint jobs on cars. I remember being in middle school and going to the local library and looking at a mini truck magazine, low-router magazine. I remember looking at all the paint jobs, just gravitating towards that. I was always able to look at those paint jobs and break them down. It looks like they covered this area, painted here, maybe. I just didn't know how to paint. I didn't physically know how to paint. I feel like maybe that is when I was like, well maybe after I'm done with school, I'll learn how to paint cars and how to properly spray with paint guns. This and that, maybe the artwork stuff will kind of follow. I've always been an artist. I was always at kid in class that doodled and got in trouble for drawing in class. That was always me and classed up kids. Yeah, well, it's obviously served you well and I've had several artists, athletes, type performers from all different walks of life. In the arts in particular, it's not a clear cut path. You could pursue it in college. There are some ways that you could train to be an artist, but let's face it. DaVinci didn't go to college. The best artists are typically self-taught. They're influenced by a lot of different people. They usually had to figure out a path because it's kind of hard to pay the bills when it's first starting out. Talk me through a little bit about how artwork became profession for you and maybe how you navigated that difficult transition from a job that pays the bills to really pursuing your passion. I'll be completely honest. I never started doing art with the intentions of being an artist or I want to do this for a living one day. It was never ever like that. My art was always, it was like my escape. I'd come home from my job and I would sit down, throw the headphones in, practice pinstripping, practice the airbrush. It was always like a therapeutic and escape. I never approached it as I'm going to do this for a living one day. It wasn't really like that. I did go to college, I played football in college and I needed a major so I was like, well I'm good at drawing. I'll do an art major. I did actually do all the art stuff in college. I didn't learn a thing because it does a trainers laid over to what I'm doing. I remember in college we were drawing the typical naked models and stuff doing all that. I was the worst kid in the class because that's not my thing. That part really didn't translate over. I do feel like a lot of us artists are more wired and a little different than most people. My mind and my thought process is a lot different. I feel like then I guess you're not artistic person maybe. I've always liked to carve my own path and I've always been that way. I approached that way with, I'm like that with everything. I always had a regular job. I did go to college, text school to learn how to paint cars. I did do that. Once I learned how to paint cars, I'd work at body shops and do restoration stuff. You're basic bodywork type stuff. I always did the artwork on the side. Long story short it just got to the point where I was making more money on the side than I was going to my job. It got to the point where like, man I could go work this 40 hour work week or I could stay home in one day and make 40 hours worth of work in a day doing my art. Once I reached that point, I told my boss I worked at this restoration shop and do a local home. I told my boss I was like, man this is my six months notice. I'm not going to give you two weeks, I'm not going to do that to you six months. Six months from now, if it's still like this, I'm out. He's like, I respect that. The story is a bit of a departure from what I've tended to look for and guests for the show. Because unlike a lot of my past interviews, thankfully Brandon hasn't had his world crashed down around it. Well there's absolutely no doubt that he's worked relentlessly to get to where he is today. He hasn't had to do it in the face of crushing adversity and that's a great thing. But at the same time his story is still one that I know people need to hear. Because even though he doesn't tell of a past that broke him, he does tell of a journey that required incredible patience, grit, tenacity and hard work. I think the same thing could be said for most creatives and entrepreneurs. Maybe a story can help explain it a little bit. I've been working on my book for the better part of six years now often on and I've been doing this show for three. I love both of those pursuits and honestly there is nothing that makes me feel more connected to my purpose than sharing what I've learned, whether that's through writing or speaking or teaching or presenting or podcasting, whatever it is to help inspire others to reach their maximum. Thankfully for me my day job is pretty much directly connected to that purpose. The work I do at Baylor is closely aligned with my desire, but I've had seasons where what I was doing to pay the bills was probably actually pulling me away from that purpose. But it's still my bills to pay, so I had to make ends meet. That's what it dawned on me that for so many people the life that we want is being held ransom by the life that we've accepted. The pay that we earn from the thing that we're willing to do for money is in a way kind of holding us captive from going all in on the thing we want or need to do. And if we aren't making much honestly it's not that hard to step out in faith and eventually replace what we'll call obligation pay. With what we could earn if we were able to follow our heart 100%. However as we grow and get promoted and hopefully get raises we also start to spend more. We get mortgages and we have to buy diapers eventually there's other expenses like college tuition and savings accounts. The more we spend the more we've become dependent on that bigger salary and the ransom for our freedom grows ever higher. For Brandon he didn't just wake up one morning and quit his job with blind faith that everything would be okay. There are some people to do that and that's cool. But Brandon was more strategic than that. Tempting as it may sound to some of us some days more than others, Brandon had an exit stretch. He'd calculated his ransom amount and he knew what he was making at the restoration shop and he knew what he'd need to make in order to do his own thing. It worked. By the time he exited business was good and growing but he still wasn't even close to being done yet. Six months later it was I was even more busy my job my day job was even more of a pain to go to so I was like you know what I'm going to try to branch out. I'm going to try to be an artist and I'm going to try to do this and that has been this will be my 10th year as a full time artist. That's great. It's great to be able to turn passion into something that can help you pay the bills. When we were chatting before the show and maybe even a little bit yesterday we talked through a little bit about how you started off in the show circuit and maybe you went to a couple and we're doing some live stuff and now that's become really central to what you do. And you also mentioned that social media has really helped you blow up. Gooch customs you're everywhere Instagram, Facebook, TikTok all the regular sources. Talk me through a little bit about how social media has contributed to your growth as an artist and as dare I say an influencer. Social media is a weird thing. I'm not the kind of at the beginning of it. I will say this. If social media wasn't the way it is now I don't I truly don't feel like I would be where I'm at because we're so connected now. It's so so easy to someone in Australia to see your work and so easy for someone across the United States to see your work and maybe ship you something to paint. When that wasn't around you know is all word of mouth and you have to rely on you know local car shows this and that and I'll be completely honest. I get local work but I don't get a lot of it. Most of mine is traveling. People send me stuff, commission me stuff or I'll go to car shows all over the country, set up, pinstripe, sell my art, you know market. That is where I've kind of built my following. Now we'll say it didn't happen overnight. I went out there and I hit the road and I feel like I definitely earned it. But definitely didn't start start like that. I'm a mini trucker at heart. I've always been into mini trucks from a super small town up in Kansas. Mini trucks are not a thing there. It's just it was me and that was it. And I remember looking at all the mini truck magazines and I would see the I would see where all the local or all the upcoming shows were. And the closest show to me was in like Springfield Missouri which was about three hours. So I saved up like all my money. I got a hotel room for like the first time ever by myself, you know, and being somebody's went to this little mini truck show and I took my truck and. And that is where it all kind of started. I went there and it's hard to explain unless you've been in the mini truck scene but. The mini truck seems very. It's big but it's also tight knit like if a new dude shows up with like a truck no one's seeing. It stands out everybody's like who's you know Chevy is that who's that guy because everybody's so used to seeing everybody well I was that guy. I showed up my truck and it was like all I went to the painting body school and in that school they let you work on your own vehicle so I can't be painted some stuff in some interior small tweed interior. You know well I show up in this car show and I'm the new guy well immediately everybody's like who are you who are you you know and asking me about my truck and I met some guys. It's so weird to think about it because I was putting these people like these are dudes I've seen in magazine throw my friends now but like at the time these were like oh my god that's so and so now they're just like. They're just mini truck guys you know that I just see magazines you know. You know I got to hang out with some of those guys that talking to women and one of them put on a car show this show called S.O.L. and they had it in Joplin Missouri and he invited me to set up as a pin stripper because he found out I pinstriped. And I couldn't wrap my mind around how you really think people are going to like pay me the stranger to strike their car and he's like I really do you know. So again I go out and I set up at this show don't have any money like I'm a broke college kid I promise you the canopy that I used to set up. I didn't even have enough money for that so like I bought it with the intentions of using it and taking it back and get my money back at Walmart you know because I did I wasn't prepared. So I set up at the show and I was charging like 10 bucks to do a who's I didn't know what to charge and I dude I made like 300 bucks doesn't sound like much but it's 10 bucks a who I was busy you know. And I just couldn't believe that people you know wanted to done and so I did that show and I was like man that was that was pretty cool got me some beer money for the weekend I pay for my trip you know. And then this how it works you know you go there and there might be a guy that's at the show that's a show for another show he sees me. Hey man I've seen you that's well you when you set up my show. And that first year I did like two or three shows and then the following year I did those same shows and I think I maybe added added one. And then I just kept doing that over the years and years and now I do like 15 to 20 shows a year all over the country not just local you know all over the country just word of mouth and then you know get on social media post and pictures and then. Like I said the mini truck scenes a pretty tight knit group you kind of become you need some pins dropping all good he's got you he's the guy kind of how it works you know right right well behind me I'll see if I can do that that award. This is from the 1996 style and concept sport truck nationals nice is an OBS guy back in the day and I heard style concepts in a long time I know right like aim industries and and what was the one traders all those magazine companies but style concepts out of show in Owensboro Kentucky and and I'd actually left early I was like man screw that I had my subs go and actually blew the back window seal out and rain was going like I'm going home and a buddy of mine he's like hey I got your award like I saw him the next day I'm what award. They give a top 25 it's like one of the highlights of my life and I wasn't even there for man I like definitely a tightly knit community well when I look at your work I know that every artist has. Every artist has a different process and every artist has different influences and I've heard you say multiple times like when you are at your best the customer gives you some guidelines but then just kind of let you go when you when you're staring at a blank canvas. Talk me through kind of how it goes from just scuffed clear code to finish product in your mind. Okay that's tough it's hard to explain that I teach a lot of classes a custom paying classes I'm a firm believer I could teach you how to pinstripe you give me a full day I could teach you how to pinstripe I cannot teach you what goes up in my mind I really can't I can I kind of walk you through. But that's like the that's like that's like going to an athlete be like hey man how are you athletic right. You're just you just kind of are you know. It depends on the day every day is different a lot of energy drinks a lot of tool on the radio I don't know I never had a problem with that obviously every project a little bit different I'm really good with communicating with my customers I get a feel for the style they're going for so I can do all different kinds of styles the first process doesn't start with the vehicle starts with the person. I'll get a good judgment off of a person like you for example you're talking about the style concepts 17 inch billets billet tweet and tears stuff like that I know what area you come from. I know like what the paint jobs look like then I know what you probably things cool what you don't so right out the gate I'm I'm noticing little things like that and I log that and as I'm that that's a driving force for when I start my paint jobs. But I'll be honest I it all comes so naturally. And I don't want to say it's never going to happen and I know a lot of artists get like artist block I've never really had I never really deal with that because. I don't know man I when I start taping stuff it just kind of comes to me and most of my customers are super cool and they're like give me creative freedom. I'm not afraid to try different stuff in the moment. I'm very very anti cookie cutter type stuff was a lot of cookie cutter paint jobs out there and I don't ever want to be one of those guys I want everyone my paint jobs to be. Better than the last or maybe like try something a little funky that's risky it's going to pay off it might not pay off I feel like having that mentality going into it kind of having some balls. Kind of helps me a little bit maybe and for the most part it's it pays off every now and then you know I might go back and I really don't like that spot I'm going to go back and fix that. But it's a hard one to it's a hard one to explain it just kind of comes to me. I mean I'm real big in music the music the big thing anytime you see me working like on a paint job I always have some headphones in if I don't have headphones in I got a Bluetooth blast and some you know some music and. You know you get in a good rhythm and good got your jams going you just start you have to start to have a good time you know you get the head ball a little bit and that's when the magic happens. Absolutely we were talking a little bit before the show again we're talking with a graphic artist brain of a koi who's customs you said you didn't really have like a rock bottom moment but there wasn't an occurrence in your progression that really kind of. Set you on the path that you're on today and you're working and as the side job became bigger you eventually got kind of redirected yeah so tell us a little bit about that we won't call it a rock bottom moment but that transition and how it pointed you in the direction you're in currently even today. Well now that we've talked about it now and I thought a little more I can think of a few more so I'm just going to kind of start from like the we'll start it kind of from the beginning yeah. Again from a super small town Kansas thousand people no one knows anything about paying know if it knows if that anything about airbrush that's not my client I'm just from that town. So one I ended up I ended up randomly moving to Florida moved down to Florida just didn't know a single person not anybody. I did have a job I had like I payed this like a 35 Chevy to and I paid like five green for so I had like five thousand dollars my pocket most money I've ever had my life couldn't believe I'm moving to Florida see guys so I literally like that week I moved. Go down to Florida I get this job this restoration shop down there off Craigslist and I kind of win them over with my art and they hire me on for like the. I'm going to be like the pretty much the bottom of the barrel shop guy but you're going to be the artist in the in the in the shop. And he gave me a cause in his hiring me he's like you got to bring in custom paint jobs so it's like okay whatever well I've been there for a couple months and I you know I don't know anybody at all down there and so I'm not going to be able to bring all these custom paint jobs in overnight you know and he started to get a little. Aggravated maybe a little bit with me because I wasn't you know bringing stuff in which I was like dude I don't I don't know anybody on it takes it takes time. So long story short I end up getting fired ends up firing me and so then that really lit a fire on me like I was like I'm going to show this guy you know I'm you don't do that and. So I end up staying down there for a couple of months I just I could not find a job could not find work so I have to move back home and I remember moving back home and I remember there are some of my friends and I heard people small town you know people talk. I hear the chatter all you know he I knew he wasn't going to last very long down there blah blah blah blah you know that just I'm just you're just you're turning the fire on me. So I always had that in the back of my head um fast forward to go into the car shows stuff start to take off a little bit for me. I got another job the last job I had before I ended one full time work for that guy for like four or five years stuff started popping for me a little bit became self employed. I got an apartment and you know I couldn't. Once I went full time I was like man money's tight like I this is scary I'm an artist you know so there's no way I could afford a shop so I was like well what I'm going to do I'm going to bring in a garage apartment and I'm just going to spray out of that apartment garage I'm just going to be doing here brushing small stuff I'm not ever going to be doing big stuff you know. You know how that goes you know we start doing that the next thing you know me I need I really need to clear this motorcycle take I'm just going to clear but I'm going to wait to late tonight to clear it right. I'll be honest I started running a freaking shop out of my apartment garage single big garage like a detached garage is kind of out by itself and I mean I'll be honest the apartment you'll they knew what I was doing they just really didn't care they just kind of turned the blind eye well I work there this garage for like five years I was paying all kind of five I pay my full car in there like piece by piece. Now that apartment garage in five years it went five years before I ever got a complaint and I was out there one night it was like one or two in the morning super late and I have my door cracked open I seen this guy walk by he's kind of like in there looking you know. Next day I got a complaint my manager call me she's like hey we had a guy complain in he's seen you in there painting last night which in my defense I wasn't clear coding I was just there brushing very minimal over spray and he was worried that I was going to get over spray on his truck which his truck was like 50. Anybody that knows anything about airbrushing no there's no way that's ever going to translate over but anyway not the point I should have been there. So she's like we can't let you paint there anymore you got to figure something out. I love the way Brandon recounts this season of his path from employee to entrepreneur and how his humble beginnings paved the way for the artist he's known as today after making the jump into full time art he finds himself in that tough in between phase where massive growth and tons of high paying customers. Would require a big cash outlay and would probably be much easier with a big spacious and expensive shop. However without the cash delay out he had to keep expenses as low as possible so he uses what he has and he continues to build his business around his reputation as the go to guy for graphics and pinstripping. Until one night with some nosy neighbor narks on him for painting out of his single bay apartment garage where he'd been conducting business for five years. Whoever you are if you happen upon this episode let me just say nobody likes a snitch so honestly I hope you have the day you deserve sir and at the same time thank you because that one reality triggered the next season in Brandon's growth as a renowned artist. He was ready to step up to the next level and this tattletail neighbor actually help forces hand for his next move. Gucci's customs wouldn't just be a hungry talented artist doing its best to make it in a forbidden garage space. It would be a legitimate enterprise that eventually would reach millions through the power of the internet and eventually one killer toilet but more on that one in a minute. So I was like I will now you know I got my five years worth it's time to you know take the next step let's get a shop. Make it legit you have me a works by designated work area at my shop and to be completely honest I should have done that a long time ago because the second I have I got my shop. I just I don't know I just did stuff took off more area more room I could bring vehicles in my shop just just a game changer a total game changer was scary absolutely you know more money I'm overhead a month but I've had this shop now for I think five years in my fifth year here so I'm glad I'm glad I'm glad I'll board turn me in because I would probably still spray that little part of the garage. Well I think certainly there are things that we wouldn't have chosen but a lot of times they're the redirection that we need and I think that definitely counts as that the title in the theme of the show is is becoming unknown going from falling apart and things not being as we would choose to being unfinished having a goal or a big dream that we're working toward as an artist have you ever had maybe think of an example of the thing that I'm not going to be a part of something that didn't go according to plan is there a project or or the job that you had that didn't go as according to plan but it's still ended up being really meaningful important and influential in you and your journey as an artist. Honestly man nothing really that sticks out I mean I've had a few nightmare customers that kind of. Maybe open my eyes a little bit that people are genuine people are out to get you to use you a little bit of how I'm dealt with that you know I had a customer one time that was like that and. I learned my lesson from that I feel like to this day you're never going to convince me I was in the wrong time wasn't I but it the when it was all resolved. He kind of ended up apologizing not found some stuff out you know that kind of make sense but I guess from that moment on I kind of open my eyes like maybe not be as. Trusting I feel I'm pretty good with reading people but maybe I have my guard up a little bit more because there are people out there that'll try to use you or you know get it you know get one up on you type of the thing example the shop owner. That fire you down in Florida. You know once I started kind of popping on social media little bit. He he ended up reaching back out and he tried to like you know man I'll bring you back on all this because he's seen. He wasn't willing to invest the time of me then but once I did all the legwork he was ready to go back in you know what I mean so maybe that learning that people on his genuine because the way I was raised like I said small town. You know my grandfather my dad they raised me. You know I know the tattoos and all that stuff doesn't look like small country boy but they raise me as a when I feel like a handshake is all you ever need and. Once you move to that small town to the big city the handshake doesn't necessarily mean anything to some of these people when it means everything to me so maybe maybe you know learning that understanding that but as far as getting into a car something and I'm not. Nothing leaves my shop unless I'm proud of it nothing leaves my booth unless I'm proud of it period there's no. There's no other way around it so when I have something up there run around it's I'm proud of it you know what I mean so I don't ever have any like regrets about it or any second guessing it's once it's out there it's out there so I feel like you have that mindset it's it'll pay off in the long run top right that. I love how you say that you say you're proud of it you didn't say perfect a lot of times in the show the theme of perfectionism comes up and how. For high achiever that can drive you to do great things but it can also eat you alive talk to me a little bit about perfectionism and then you know in the car show world whether it's ridler or. Take your pick of whatever the high profile car show is it's a world about result and being perfect for graphic artists can be a lonely space sometimes so where do you draw the line between. Done and undone how do you know when something is something you're proud of so. As an artist something art it's impossible for art to be perfect if it's perfect it's not art it's a simple that you know I get all the time I pinstripping all men perfectly match on the side not did not I may have came close it's never ever ever perfect and also perfect is that's in the holder like something that I think is perfect is absolutely spot on the next guy might absolutely hate it that that looks terrible that's not you know but to me it's perfect. Proud I just pray something I'm proud of like I said I'm going to pay anything unless I'm proud of it if I get a customer that. The whole customers always write that's much bullshit that I don't that that that don't work with me anybody that knows you that's got stuff painted. Is you bring me your ideas. Tread lightly because I'm going to give you my opinion and if I don't think it looks I'm just going to tell you I'm just going to straight up tell you like I'm not going to be a jerk but I'm going to be honest with you and you can either respect it and take it my professional advice. Or you can go to the next guy they'll cater to your every needs and then you go to a car show and everybody's talking shit about how ugly it is you know what I mean I would rather break your heart right up front like hey man that. At 8th away we need to go that's my personal opinion and if you if me and you can't see I don't I'm not your artist because what I deal with I consider must I am absolutely obsessed like obsessed with custom paint so. There's nothing out there that. If you thought of it I'll probably thought of it if you've seen it on the internet I've probably seen it you know if you've seen a paint job I'll probably already broken it down in my head. Fifty times before you hear to do me on Facebook that's how obsessed I am with it so I consider myself a professional you know in the paint scene and. With that mindset I kind of expect my customers. To respect that a little bit and be like I want your opinion what do you think. If I don't get that then we're just not going to see eye to eye throughout the project and it's going to be a pain and I'm not going to be interested because I'm not going to have my heart in it I'm going to be painting something I'm not proud of. I want to I want to have that feeling. When I leave the shop at night and go home I can't sleep at night because I'm so excited about waking up to work. On your project yeah if I don't have that feeling it shows in the artwork you know what I mean right so. So the perfect thing that's a tough one because I've never had a part I'm never even can close to having a perfect paint job maybe. You know I think it's cool but there's always something wrong with them I'm just really really good at tricking people's eyes. Getting away from the stage that's what makes it good. Yeah absolutely well you're famous and your social media for saying if panel stick to it you'll put a custom paint job on it you've painted anything from. Kitchen aid mixers to toilets I know you're famous for any truck inspired toys tell me how a pinstriper goes from. Do and hoods at a car show to be an ask to do things like that that are a little off the wall. So. I mean believe it or not a lot of people they see me as a pinstriper first and the custom painter second is actually the exact opposite of that I. I painted first. Did graphics first. The graphics needed a pinstriped outline. So I didn't know anybody that pinstriped I couldn't afford anybody that pinstriped so guess what I'm going to learn how to pinstripe. So I actually did the graphics of first the you know paint jobs first and is the pinstripe came later because I was trying to be all in house. The pinstriping though is that's where people get confused they see me set up a car shows pinstriping because I can do that at a car show I can't paint your car in a car show I can't airbrush a car to car show but I can pinstripe it in a car show. So a lot of these people for the longest time they thought I was just a pinstriper when. This whole time I'll be like slinging paint jobs like I'll I can paint that no problem well you can you can do that yeah do not paint that easily. So when I started doing doing getting my social media when I started getting my paint jobs out there people started to understand oh he does both because a lot of guys they'll do one of the other they'll either pinstripe. I can't paint or they'll paint can't pinstripe I want to be all well won't stop shop so. The translation never it was just always there I feel like I've always been like 50 50 half the time on pinstriping half the time on painting. The toilets was kind of a random thing I'll be completely honest I can't even take full credit for the for the first one I did because my buddy kind of came up with the idea I had thought about painting a toilet before but how all those came about I went out to a I went out to see him about five years ago my first time to go to see him. Super excited. You know I get out to see him as the bad the bad is the bad you know all the painters are going to be there everybody that's anybody is going to be a seamless all excited about seeing some of these painters stuff in person. And so I get there. And the first thing that I noticed is there was some of the baddest painters in the world there beautiful paint jobs but nothing stood out to me because they all painted the same thing. A skateboard a motorcycle a helmet a mini hood same things so it was very easy to walk by some stuff. That was a banging paint job but it's just like some skateboard cool whatever look at the next one so I told myself I was like I next year when I come out here I need to paint something that's like going to get someone's attention from like 50 feet away. And then that's going to bring him in then they're going to look at the paint job so then I was like well what are we going to paint. Well my buddy Eric he has a shock kind of really close to my shop he's tough by your all time to really get friends. We're here me and him at the shop one day and we were talking about it he's like dude you need to do a toilet you need to paint your toilet he called it a glitter shitter and he's like I'm going to go buy one. He's like I'm going to buy one he's like I've been wanting to kind of learn the stuff to he's like I go buy one and well I want you to walk me through how to paint. So I was like I'll be going to do one for a while I've done some toilet seats but never a full toilet. So he goes and gets his toilet breaks up the shop and we figured out a prep in everything and you know he leaves to go do whatever and I'm stuck here all day staring this toilet so I get excited. And it's like I'm going to start taping this thing so I start taping in so these crazy colors on it and I because I know what Eric likes he likes bright loud he's looks like I am. So I start blowing some of these colors on it and I'm like dude this thing is this thing is sick so I call him I hate you ain't getting your toilet back I was like I'm keeping this I was like I'll buy you another one I go but I'm keeping this I was like I'm taking this to see. And he's like that's fine so hey I ended up doing it I ended up paying this crazy toilet. For myself realistically so there was no limitations I go crazy on this thing I'm not trying to please anybody except myself so I went wild on this toilet. You know we don't always know what will make an impact and what won't but it's hard to argue Eric and Brandon's logic here in a sea of killer artwork on run of the middle applications like skateboards and mini hoods and all the rest the idea was simple paint something memorable something that leaves an impression something no one hadn't really seen before. But just because it was simple doesn't mean it wasn't absolutely genius especially equipment manufacturers association or C. Matrage show is held annually in Las Vegas where over 160,000 attendees and 2400 plus exiders to send on the Las Vegas Convention Center. The scale is massive I've had friends tell me that they've walked more than 10 miles in a day at the show and didn't see it all. So with the idea of making a splash. Brandon shoots a killer 90's mini truck inspired paint job on a standard porcelain toilet. He shoots a simple 27 second Instagram reel once it's on the floor in Vegas. Today that video has over 54,000 likes. Another toilet video from a later project has over 269,000 views on Facebook and another one has over 60,000. A simple idea absolutely but sometimes it's those simplest ideas that matter most. Man I take that thing out to SEMA and it just it got so much attention out there. I knew it was getting attention because I posted a video of it and it went viral. And I knew it was getting a real attention whenever people were walking up and being like oh my god we found it. We found it. Like they were literally like SEMA is the bad all these crazy car they're looking for a toilet. So I knew I was on to something so I did I did it. I did that and then it went viral and then I had you know people obviously how much to paint one and I ended up selling it at SEMA. And then the commission's kind of started coming in for toilets and I'm working on I just finished up number 14 and I have four in line right now to do. Four more yeah yeah it's cool. Yeah they're cool because they're I take that back. I have another one that's out there but I can't talk about it because it's good it's I can't talk about it yet. But stay tuned for that one it's going to be really cool it's going to be it's going to be real. Yeah it's it's it's for a TV show I'll just say that it's going to be really cool. I can't talk about that though but that's cool. Yeah that's cool. Well probably one of the more high profile and you can correct me if I'm wrong but definitely in in my interaction with your work and then looking at what you do that the indicator OBS truck is top shelf and it just so happen like three or four of those filters even a duly that came out all kind of around the same time but the one you were involved in was in my opinion the wildest the coolest and you mentioned in our prepping up that there's really a cool story behind that truck so tell me through a little bit about how you got involved in that project and what it meant to you. So that truck was built by a shop down in Meridian Mississippi twin states hot road shop. Anybody knows anything about twin states those got those guys build some super nice stuff and they have an eye they have a perfect eye for like 90s nostalgia sport trucks like there are the guys and I didn't really know on the owners Justin and Eli the brothers I'd seen them at some car shows you know we were to the same car shows I'd seen them but I never really like you didn't really hang out with them or anything. And customer a customer took took them the truck and they were wanting to build it and they're wanting to have the the ultimate indie paste truck is what they were going for because you need to see a lot of guys they'll build the any trucks and it's the same we bought the same ones over and over and over again the total decal kit on it they're all cool whatever seen them before they want to do a little different they want to do a little bit of a twist so they get a hold of me because they see me paint many truck stuff and they're like hey they're like we want you. To come down like we're going to have this truck ready we want we want to put your version of what the indie killer like if you would have worked for like. Kaby in 1993 in the graphic design department what paint job you would put on it and I was like are you sure about test and they're like yes they're like full artistic freedom we like your stuff we want your spin on it's the required to look at the same old trucks you know so I was like dude I don't know what it blows my mind that no one thought about this idea before because it's a cool idea so it's like absolutely let's do this well. So started out they are building an indie truck you know the indie paste truck. Build any truck. We get down there and we're like they're working on it first off I show up this thing is like without the paint job this truck still ridiculous the it's a macula like the metal work they did on this thing the attention to detail is just next level if you're an OBS guy you already know if you've seen the Indiculars just absolutely next level. What the time they were kind of like there's another there's another indie truck getting built at the same time they're kind of going to debut around the same time they're kind of compete in shops a little bit like some friendly fire type thing. And the other shop ended up debut in their truck first LST and it gave a chance for the twin state guys to get eyes on it which in my opinion was kind of a mistake is you get eyes on it like I now we see what we got to work with we were going to go above and gone. Well anyway they comes to find out the truck the indie killer it used to be used to be the maintenance truck at the dirt track in Taladega motor speedway like the maintenance truck so they're all thinking they're like everybody does the indie truck. Taladega never had a truck there's never a Taladega paste truck or whatever their plan was to debut this truck at battle and Bama which was at Taladega motor speedway. This isn't an indie truck this is a Taladega truck. So that's why they call that truck the indie killer yeah but because they're trying to kind of go there. Immediately this is how I like I get me earlier I was talking about against the grain that's how I am and that's what they were going for against the green type of the stuff because immediately they're going to be making a lot of the purest mad because we're switching the graphics up you know because we're not we're not standard graphics were tossing those up. So what was cool about that truck is it was the dirt track truck maintenance truck. It's completely rebuilt and then gets debut is like it's like a coming hauling type of thing it's debut at battle and Bama at Taladega with this brand new makeover you know of the of the of the Taladega truck that's why if you look originally on the doors. We had painted the you know has like the has the instead of the little indie car it's got an OBS kind of lean back with some you know the same flames and stuff coming off it instead Taladega truck underneath it. But it ended up it was a little much we ended up getting rid of that and just happened the OBS on there with all the graphics on the meat and stuff but that truck that truck is. That truck is so cool like it is the attention to detail in that thing it is just unreal and those guys down there at twin states we were so like we were finishing each other sentences that's how on board we were with each other you know what I mean it was it was phenomenal experience and I built a good relationship with those guys and we got some stuff in the works coming up I'm going to be going back down there here pretty pretty soon to do another one and. Eli I'm calling you out Eli's exact words were we're going to top the indicator so it's Eli's personal truck too so I believe he'll do it yeah well incredible bills no doubt and the thing I love about it is like you said it it definitely has that 90 slair and that's your wheelhouse I mean if anybody follows you on social they know your fits are all classic Nike air speakers and and starter jackets and I mean that that was that error and that color scheme is right in your wheelhouse as well but it's like it's like it's like that a Cal concepts yeah yeah I'm actually going to Cal concepts this weekend opinion truck that's I'm going to California that's a lot of even else but a Cal concepts in the truck super cool yeah 90s man that's my childhood that's my now I'm a child but again we're joined by Brandon McCoy from whose customs of artist and kind of social media extraordinary think a little bit about how you've grown over the years if you could go back to the version of yourself that first picked up a pinstripe or an airbrush or you know first started down this path what words of wisdom would you give him patience be very patient don't I'd probably want to told myself not to dial myself as much maybe actually I don't know if I would have done that or not because everything to this point works maybe don't dial yourself as much I'm pretty hard on myself at first you know well that I feel like you kind of need to be that way a little bit you need to be your biggest critic and maybe at first back to the whole being from such a small town you know a certain type of a person lives in a small town like that no offense my whole family looks there but they're wired a little different they don't need much top of a thing so when you're getting advice from people like that like man you know no one's going to pay for that stuff that's your pinstripe is too expensive you kind of start to believe that a little bit you know and you kind of let that get to your head so when you get out in the real world and you know maybe go to a big car show or a place where there's some real money you're kind of trigger shy about your pricing or your you know your trigger shy about you know should I be charging this much and then you realize that those people back home just really don't know what they're looking at they're just not cultured in the heart scene so maybe that maybe you know don't be as hard on yourself and don't listen to your friends and family but also don't listen to your friends and family sometimes because that can be that can be a little mixture of both like I always tell people like my students when I teach classes I always tell them don't listen don't listen to compliment your grandma gives you you're always going to be a little branded in your grandma's eyes you can't do no wrong you know what I mean you you know you're the sweetest thing ever your work is amazing that is the going one ear out the other thank you granny I appreciate it but take take advice and criticism from people that know and are educated on what they're looking at right you know if a guy that's been pinstriving for 20 years walk to be like do that does on you just did that is nice take that to heart log that and find out why that guy maybe thinks that's nice pick his brain a little bit it's easy for your friends and family to you up a little bit you know yeah right I grew up in small town rural southern Illinois and the voices I heard back then where you get yourself a good job and good jobs were at the prison because they had good benefits instead of pay or teaching jobs those are like acceptable professions anything other than that like your craze why would you pursue a career where you don't get a regular paycheck my daughter was a vocal performance major and she said her first day in class she sat down and the professor said congratulations you've all won the argument and they're like what do you mean well you've all probably had to convince or argue with your parents to pursue a career as an artist so congratulations on winning and pursuing your passion so right life of a starving artist yeah you're an overnight sensation that's 10 15 years in the making now yeah it's a same thing in my hometown it's oilfield or just like ranch farm pretty much you don't strap work boots on in the morning come on filthy you're not doing nothing that's one of that that kind of a mindset definitely now I will say this my family was very supportive they've always been very supportive of me but it is funny I can distinctly remember my my grandma she's like 84 now but this is probably I don't know probably five years ago and I've been pinstripping for this will be my 20 21 years you know I've been going to car shows for probably the 13 years now or something and about five years ago my grandma was like her my nicknames do baby she calls me do baby she's like do baby she's like do you have a make any money going to these car shows and I'm like grainy like bless you're of you're so clueless you don't even know I'm just I've just been out here just not being able to pay my bills for the past you know 15 years I know I don't make any money at all and she just she just can't you couldn't wrap her mind around it and then my dad brought her to a car show one time wasn't even it it wasn't even anything crazy it was like some local car show she just could not believe that people were walking up and they knew my name this bastard just could not wrap who not wrap her mind but that these strangers knew who I was and I was like you know yeah I'll put the time in up and out here you know hitting the road you know I work out there this and that well now she's got Facebook so she sees it all the other also she's all about the Facebook she's figuring out Facebook so she sees all these people you know commenting and liking my stuff right yeah every time baby he's kind of a big deal granny do baby is kind of a boonio that's funny well couple just two left the first one I ask of all my guests if we were to watch a montage of your life what music would you pick to play in the background and what man you asked me this healing day and I've been fat I've been thinking probably I mean there's there's a couple songs that come to mind one of the songs is a song by social distortion winners and losers where you come from I've been realized the price is too much to play when I lose us it's not one of my favorite songs but I feel like I can relate to that song because it's kind of a song about you know you have choices throughout your life you're gonna be a winner you're gonna be a loser you keep going on that path type of a thing but to be completely honest a song that I listen to I'd say five times a day and it no matter how bad of a mood I'm in it will always like make me feel good sold a squeeze by Red Hot Chili Pimper's I don't even know I don't know why but the second that song comes on I'm just like all right today's about to be a good day and I feel like I feel like my my life up to this point has been very I've been very fortunate I'm a very happy funny guy so I feel like that be a good background because that's a good this is a good upbeat song I really like that song that watches any of my other videos on my social media besides my painting type so I've noticed how kind of goofy I am I'm you can't take me serious with anything so I've always been the kind of the class clown guy so that that that song to me kind of fits me pretty good yeah well the theme of the show is becoming undone so we go from falling apart to falling into place having something left undone what for Brandon McCoy is left to do what's undone yeah that's a tough one too I'm never full there's always some there's always something left I'm never fully satisfied but with that being said I'm a very very simplistic person I I'm not one of these guys that I don't need the big house I don't need you know the brand new car the little things in life make me the happiest so I'm very very very very easy to please and I've always said as long as I can wake up and do whatever I want to do and not have to answer to anybody and not have a Monday I'm doing something right so as long as I can continue to do that I'm not ever gonna get selfish I'm not ever gonna get greedy obviously there's some you know some accomplishments I'd like to achieve you know I want 20 years from now when people look back be like man he was a you know he was an amazing painter he was even a more amazing person man I really want to teach as many upencumbers as I can you know whether in the future it translates into more teaching classes or you know giving advice to certain you know paint things or whatever I'm all about that maybe maybe it'll gravitate towards that but my my thing is and I'm with this with everybody I know it's like to be young and hungry and like dream about kind of doing what I'm doing I want everybody to have that feeling so I just want everybody to I want everybody to win and if I can help a little bit with helping the next cat come up and you know maybe push him to the sake the next step or you know maybe that's why he ever seen me the car so when I see anybody interested watching me I always bring him in like hey you know this is why I'm doing this if you're are you at all interested in pinstripe come back and give it a try you know anybody that knows he knows I'm all about that and uh you know I really like to I really like to do that and I really like to teach and oh no as long as I can like you said as long as I can wake up happy and uh not have a real job I'm okay I'm okay with it absolutely I will give you your flowers one of the things that that I love about your social is you'll share the tricks of the trade you're not trying to to hoard that knowledge to yourself a lot of people and there's no shortage of ego in the auto scene and the custom car scene and so I love the humility and I love the fact that you're always willing to to help that person has a question I mean you you answered a thousand emails and messages for me so I really do appreciate that what if it's weird it's weird to me think about get that all the time someone will be like a lot of times I'll get a message you know it might be a Facebook message and they'll they'll still they'll always start out I know you're probably never going to respond to this or even see this and that's just like I don't I don't it's just baffling to me that like there are truly people out there that won't respond or won't look I just don't understand that because it doesn't so you know I'll respond back to them oh my god you actually were so I'm too dumb just a pain guy man what's up what are we painting on today right you know and I just don't I it's weird I don't know if it's just because I was raised a certain way or I don't I don't know it's strange to me that that I get that you know I mean don't change me I'll never do my mom raised me better than that's yeah for sure how can people follow your work drop those socials there I'll be sure to drop them in the show notes and descriptions but where can people follow with the work that you're doing so I post a lot of my stuff on a TikTok Instagram my Instagram is Gucci underscore customs I think my TikTok is just huge customs and I'm not I'll be completely honest I don't even know what my Facebook is something on there I have a business page on Facebook but I never ever post on there my personal pages just brand them a court but usually I'm I'm a relaptive on a on TikTok and Instagram and I do a lot of you know try to do a lot of tutorial stuff a lot of paint stuff and then every now and then I'll throw a funny video up anybody knows everybody that falls he knows I'll do some storytelling every now and then so we keep it real around here I'll just say that absolutely well Brandon thank you so much for joining me it's been a real treat I really do appreciate your time thanks for coming on the show I appreciate you have me on this has been fun Brandon McCoy, Huge Customs, I'm undone Brandon McCoy's story reminds us that becoming undone doesn't always mean everything has to fall apart sometimes it just means letting go of the safe and predictable to make room for what's possible his journey from a small town kid with a sketchbook to a highly sought-after artist with a coast to coast following it wasn't built on perfection it was built on persistence on pride and on the courage to go against the grain in a world obsessed with clean lies and perfect results Brandon chooses a different path one that's bold raw and unmistakably his maybe that's the real message here that our work doesn't have to be flawless to be meaningful it just has to be hours I'm thankful to Brandon for dropping in and I hope you enjoyed our conversation for more info in today's episode be sure to check it out on the web simply go to undonepodcast.com backslash ep146 to see the notes links and images related to today's guest Brandon McCoy the usual quick updates about the show even though we've been off for a couple weeks due to the move and all we've still managed to hang tough in the top 10 on apple for both education and self-improvement currently sitting at number 10 in the world as always thanks for your lessons and your support they mean everything and I've been pouring my everything into these episodes for years now so I'm thrilled that at least from the looks of it you're still digging it so once again my deepest thanks to you my goal for 2026 is to get back in that top five within the education category and maybe hit the top 100 and all shows across the board around the world with your help we can do it if you'd be so kind to share the show with a friend that you think might enjoy it maybe leave a comment or a review that would be most appreciated if you're still listening I'd also like to invite you to check out my new mobile app available at scienceofthecomeback.com just all one long word scienceofthecomeback.com it's perfect if you're ready to grow but you're not sure where to start I have built it from the ground up as an exclusive tool to help you get laser focused on your goals and then pursue them each and every day I myself use a daily and it's helping me so I know it can help you too again that's scienceofthecomeback.com check it out and subscribe coming up on the show I've got a solo shot coming up next week on resilience and persistence that I think you'll like so be sure to check that one out also I'm working on a new whole person development series where we'll focus in with experts in mental physical spiritual and social growth there'll be plenty more where that came from in the coming weeks so stay tuned this and more coming up on becoming undone becoming undone is an iterop creative production written and produced by me Toby Brooks tell a friend about the show follow along on Facebook Instagram linked in at 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