Our Team – The Drivers

Brian Brennan – Brian Brennan (former Executive Senior Editor of Hot Rod magazine), brings a lifetime of experience to In The Garage Media, which includes being one of the founders (along with Tom McMullen and Tex Smith) of Street Rodder, Hot Bike, Street Chopper, Chopper Guide magazines, and worked on the staffs of Popular Hot Rodding, Off Road, 1001 Custom & Rod Ideas, and Rod Action (where he worked with other publishing greats Ray Brock, of Hot Rod and Petersen Publishing fame, and Dick Wells, of Hot Rod and SEMA fame). Read Brian’s full bio and see his latest articles here > 

Rob Fortier – Rob Fortier brings 30 years of publishing experience to In The Garage Media, which began as a young Associate Editor for Street Rodder and eventually lead to becoming Editor of Custom Rodder and Classic Trucks, culminating as the last Editor in Chief of Rod & Custom before returning to his roots as the Features/Tech Editor for Street Rodder. Read Rob’s full bio and see his latest articles here > 

Tim Foss – Tim Foss has spent the last 34 years in the automotive aftermarket. In 1990 Tim joined McMullen Publishing with a desire to work in the street rod market and become the publisher of 34 magazine brands, which ultimately lead to becoming the publisher of Hot Rod Magazine. Read Tim’s full bio and see his latest articles here > 

Nick Licata – Nick Licata grew up in Pomona, California, during the ‘70s, a time and place that set the tone for a young So-Cal kid who was impressed by the sound and visuals of the happening muscle car and drag racing scene. It was the soundtrack of the times and it was all-consuming in this teenager’s mind. Photojournalism courses at a local junior college offered him the structure, tools, and knowledge to photograph his favorite subject: the sport of drag racing. Read Nick’s full bio and see his latest articles here > 

Travis Weeks brings 31 years of Automotive Aftermarket media experience to In The Garage Media. In 1991 Travis joined McMullen & Yee Publishing working in both editorial and advertising sales where he first met many of his current team members of In The Garage Media. In 2000 Travis joined Bobit Business Media as Group Publisher and Trade Show Producer of the Automotive Aftermarket Group which included Hot Rod & Restoration magazine and the Hot Rod & Restoration Trade Show…..  Read Travis’ full bio and see his latest articles here > 

The Pit Crew

Wes Allison is a Southern California automotive photographer who has been covering the hot rod scene for the past 30 years. He kicked off his career working a four-year stint as a staff photographer at Petersen Publishing shooting for magazines such as Hot Rod, Car Craft, and Rod & Custom. After going freelance, he has continued to shoot covers and features for a wide variety of magazine titles that virtually includes every major publication at one time or another. Wes also does commercial work for the OE car companies and the automotive aftermarket. When not photographing cars, Wes spends his time chasing surf around the globe. Read Wes’ full bio and see his latest articles here > 

Rodney Bauman – Second person? Third person? What’s that style of narrative where a writer writes about himself as though he’s someone else? Rotten Rodney Bauman wouldn’t know. He hasn’t won many awards for writing. As a builder, however, he’s done fairly well. On that note, let’s talk about his upbringing. Back in the ‘50s a normal kid in Riverside, California might have a swing set, or perhaps a sandbox in the backyard. Not young Rotten. By the time he could toddle he had a 1947 Crosley out there. Growin’ up in the auto dismantling business was his head start. Read Rodney’s full bio and see his latest articles here > 

Gerry Burger – A lifelong hot rodder, Gerry Burger was afflicted with hot rod fever before he was old enough to drive. It was a local hot rodder, drag racer and speed shop owner Bob Zorn and his black channeled 32/3W that first piqued his interest in the early sixties. In 1963, armed with a valid drivers’ license, he began a string of homebuilt hot rods that continues to this day with his latest 1936 Ford Phaeton project. A chance encounter in 1972 with famed hot rodder Tom Medley started him on the path to becoming an automotive photojournalist. Read Gerry’s full bio and see his latest articles here > 

Tommy Lee Byrd – Born and raised in Southeast Tennessee, Tommy Lee Byrd gained a love for cars at an early age, thanks to his father’s lifelong interest in hot rods, drag cars and motorcycles. Following in his father’s footsteps, Tommy Lee was destined for a career of bondo dust and paint fumes. He worked at local body shops during and after his Auto Body and Refinishing education at the Tennessee College of Applied Technology. Read Tommy Lee’s full bio and see his latest articles here > 

Ron Ceridono – Ron Ceridono was born and raised in Northern California. Surrounded by neighborhood hot rodders, sports car racers and custom car enthusiasts he graduated from high school in 1965 right in the middle of the muscle car era; all those influences created a lifelong hot rodder. After serving in the Air Force, teaching high school and junior college auto technology classes, along with building hot rods in his spare time, a career change came about with a job offer from the late Leroi “Tex” Smith. Read Ron’s full bio and see his latest articles here > 

Michael Christensen – Michael Christensen is a motor-minded photographer. Cars are his passion and automotive photography is his art. For over 30 years, Mike has contributed event coverage, feature work, and cover shots for the Goodguys Gazette. His professional work has also been featured in publications such as Street Rodder and Camaro Performers, to name a few. His current ride is a homebuilt 1932 Ford roadster that he finished in 2001. Mike likes to drive ‘em and spends most weekends on club runs with the Bay Area Roadsters, of which he is currently serving as the President… Read Michael’s full bio and see his latest articles here > 

Ron Covell – Ron Covell has participated in the rodding world for over 50 years. He started by building aluminum dragster bodies in the 1960’s, then built a long series of award winning rods – including two cars that won the America’s Most Beautiful Roadster award at the Grand National Roadster Show. Ron has written technical articles for rodding magazines for over 30 years, and has made a popular series of DVDs that cover the fine points of bodywork, metal fabrication, and welding. He has been teaching metalworking classes nationwide for over 25 years, and has developed a line of fine-quality metalworking tools. Ron is very active on YouTube, with 100,000-plus subscribers to date. Read Rons full bio and see his latest articles here >

Grant Cox – Grant Cox has been a freelance photojournalist in the print magazine industry for the past 10 years and is extremely passionate about the custom vehicle scene. He has had the pleasure of meeting some of the coolest, most creative minds in the automotive industry during his time as an automotive photographer. His goal is to deliver stories about the automotive community for all to enjoy. Read Grant’s full bio and see his latest articles here > 

John Drummond – A veteran of motorsports journalism since the late 1980s, John Drummond began his career as a photographer at the long-shuttered Baylands Raceway Park in Fremont, CA. It was there Drummond honed his photojournalism skills enabling him to serve as a contributor to both national and international racing publications. While he covered NHRA Championship Drag Racing for Drag Racing New Zealand, it was his dramatic photo sequence of Eddie Hill’s “Blowover” at the 1989 Winternationals that landed on the cover of Super Stock & Drag Illustrated bringing national acclaim…  Read John’s full bio and see his latest articles here > 

Eric Geisert – Eric Geisert, a self-taught journalist and photographer, grew up in Southern California and began his career by having his automotive-themed articles and photography published in local newspapers. After a three-year stint in the ‘80s at VW Trends magazine (that covered all things Volkswagen), Eric joined Street Rodder magazine in 1991. After 13 years, he was tapped in 2004 to be the editor of Kit Car magazine, a 30-year-old title within the company. Read Eric’s full bio and see his latest articles here > 

John Gilbert – John Gilbert was born in Los Angeles, California, and grew up in the San Gabriel Valley deeply immersed in the SoCal car culture. Throughout grammar and junior high school John was constantly in trouble for drawing flames on his schoolwork, and automobile-related incidents during high school. Read John’s full bio and see his latest articles here > 

Joe Greeves – Joe Greeves says he has the best of both worlds. An active freelance who began his career with his first published article in Truckin’ magazine way back in 1974, Joe was prolific while he was on active duty. After retiring from the Marine Corps with 25 years of service, “Col. Joe” embarked on a second amazing career, continuing to contribute to more than a dozen stateside magazines as well as publications in London and Australia. Read Joe’s full bio and see his latest articles here > 

James Handy – While still in high school and working as a yearbook and sports photographer, Jim went to his first hot rod show in Phoenix, Arizona in 1960. He attended San Jose State University and got to know the street rod guys in the San Jose area; the drive-in’s and the cruise spots. In 1967, he and good friend the late Tom Meyer were asked by the late Jim McLennan to be Track Photographers at Fremont Drag Strip….Read James’ full bio and see his latest articles here > 

Tavis Highlander – Since 2007 Tavis Highlander has worked on countless project vehicles as a full-time aftermarket automotive designer. His first clients included the likes of Steve Strope and Mopar Performance, which helped launch his career while he was still studying industrial design as a college student. Along the way he has forged long-standing relationships with many top-tier builders and had the opportunity to work on high profile projects……Read Tavis’ full bio and see his latest articles here > 

Jeff Huneycutt  – When he isn’t searching Craigslist for additional project cars, he can neither afford or have time for, Jeff Huneycutt specializes in high-performance engine tech for All Chevy Performance magazine and his own YouTube channel, The Horsepower Monster. He is also the author of How to Build Chevy Small-Block Circle Track Racing Engines, and How to Become a Winning Crew Chief. His current project is a 1978 Camaro he picked up on the cheap after realizing everyone wants a fortune for even the crustiest split bumper ’72…Read Jeff’s full bio and see his latest articles here > 

Jesse Kiser – Jesse is inherently curious about the hot rodding world and loves capturing that world in his photography. Over the last 15 years, his career spans from racing NASCAR mini stock to multiple cover stories as a staff editor for Hot Rod magazine. His interests are a fiery concoction of race cars, motorcycles, ugly ’80s cars, and wagons. His more recent projects include a 750hp LS-swapped G-body wagon and a 1967 Impala with air-ride suspension. His dream project is a wide-tire clone of Mark Donohue’s Sunoco Javalin on a stock car chassis. Despite his specific interests, he’s attracted to the passion of enthusiasts in all genres. …Read Jesse’s full bio and see his latest articles here > 

Barry Kluczyk – With nearly 30 years in the business, Barry Kluczyk is a respected automotive writer, editor and photographer. He got his start writing about automobiles while attending Central Michigan University, which led to editorial positions at several publications, including Muscle Car Review, All Chevy and Pontiac Enthusiast. He has also been a longtime contributor to magazines such as Hot Rod, Hemmings Muscle Machines and Corvette, as well as and the previous TEN Publishing titles including Street Rodder, Chevy High Performance, Vette, Classic Trucks, Truckin’ and more; and he has authored four automotive books, including …Read Barry’s full bio and see his latest articles here > 

Scotty Lachenauer -Growing up, my summers were built around my parent’s big American wagon on-hand and our I-80 road trips traveling west from New York City to visit our spread-out family. Highlights of every trip were going to the Springfield Mile, the racetrack at the Illinois State Fairgrounds; known as one of the fastest dirt tracks in the world. There we got to watch Foyt, Andretti and the Unsers battle it out on the clay in their USAC midgets. Read Scotty’s full bio and see his latest articles here > 

Jason Lubken is a Midwest based writer and photographer born and raised in Lincoln, Nebraska. Early on, he got his hands dirty working as a technician for both Ford and Chevy dealerships. Later, after receiving his bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Nebraska, he jumped into the world of automotive storytelling… Read Jason’s full bio and see his latest articles here > 

Steve Magnante – I’m happy to contribute to All Chevy Performance Magazine, Modern Rodding, and Classic Truck Performance when the occasion arises. My background writing for car enthusiast magazines began in 1991 and ran uninterrupted for nearly three decades. The fact remains, there are a lot of readers who still appreciate the tangible aspects of the traditional car magazine… Read Steve’s full bio and see his latest articles here > 

Ryan Manson – Ryan Manson was born and raised in the Central Californian city made famous in the film American Graffiti. But instead of “Where were you in ’62?”, in Modesto in the mid-‘90s, it was more like “What’s there to do in ’92?” After graduating high school in 1997 and following a short jaunt of higher education in San Francisco, he headed to the more car-centric atmosphere of Southern California.  Read Ryan’s full bio and see his latest articles here > 

Jason Matthew – Jason Matthew is a New Jersey based automotive photographer. After attending the Art Institute of Philadelphia as a photography major he started working as a freelance photo assistant to get hands-on experience in. He started out as a portrait and fashion photographer. During his professional photography career his work has been published in major magazines such as Playboy and many fashion and entertainment publications  Read Jason’s full bio and see his latest articles here > 

Jim Mcilvaine – Jim Mcilvaine lives in Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida and if that sounds like a made-up name for a town, just wait until you read the rest of his bio. He started writing for car magazines while playing in the NBA more than 20 years ago. His dad taught him everything he knew about cars from his work as an accountant for Walker Exhaust Systems, which was how to read a balance sheet and income statement for a muffler manufacturer… Read Jim’s full bio and see his latest articles here > 

Josh Mishler – Josh Mishler started out in the hot rod industry during 1999 at age 17 working with Goodguys Rod and Custom Association as a monthly columnist in their publication the Goodguys Gazette.  He continued to write for Goodguys until 2004, while entering into automotive photo journalism at the same time.  In 2005 he took a full time position, with the now defunct Buckaroo Communications, as head photographer for their lineup of hot rod themed magazines.   Read Josh’s full bio and see his latest articles here > 

Dale Moreau – At age 12, Dale had the good fortune to get a ride in a new MG and that experience started him on a road that’s still well-traveled. He’s been involved in photography since he was five, when his father, a commercial photographer, took him on a photo assignment.From there dad took his inquisitive kid into the darkroom to develop what they had photographed. He planted the seed that bloomed into a great passion and leading to a lifelong career. Dale is one of the lucky few who grew up knowing exactly what he wanted to do with his life. Read Dale’s full bio and see his latest articles here > 

Evan Perkins  – A lifelong gearhead and former Editor-in-Chief of HOT ROD magazine, Evan believes the only way to truly master the automotive art is to be hands on–and he has the busted knuckles to prove it. He has spent countless hours behind the wrench, and the wheel, learning and perfecting his hot-rodding hobby. Evan’s interest in cars spans the full gamut, from off-roading, to drag racing, to the twists and turns of the local road course. He is a firm believer that cars were meant to be driven, engines were meant to be built, and rebuilt, and that road trips are always the most enjoyable form of travel.  Read Evan’s full bio and see his latest articles here > 

Randy Pugh – Growing up in a darkroom in the mid-to-late ‘70s, h learned photography by trial and error. Beginning with photographing high school sports and BMX for a small local newspaper, eventually shooting much more freelance as he grew older. He worked for about 15 years at JEGS, ending up as the Creative Director managing the catalog and shot several covers for the JEGS catalog.  Read Randy’s full bio and see his latest articles here > 

Richard Prince – Richard Prince has been involved with the car hobby since childhood. He founded a vintage car restoration business after completing graduate school in 1988 and operated that business until selling it in 1995. He began writing and providing photography to various automotive magazines in 1991 and turned that into a full-time business in 1996. Over the intervening years he has accumulated a wide range of experience photographing vehicles, motorsports, events, facilities, and people for many of the world’s major automobile manufacturers… Read Richards’s full bio and see his latest articles here > 

Gary Rosier -Gary Rosier is a Daytona Beach-based writer and photographer whose auto and airplane features have appeared in eleven publications, including 57 covers, over a
period of about eight years. Originally from the Buffalo, New York area, he arrived in
Florida more than 25 years ago following retirement from supermarket management. The son of a pilot who encouraged him early on to learn the mechanics of planes and cars, it was only natural for him to gravitate toward the many racing and air venues in his new hometown. Read Gary’s full bio and see his latest articles here > 

Todd Ryden – Todd Ryden grew up not too far from Woodward Avenue, surrounded by muscle cars and just about everyone he knew had parents involved in the auto industry. He remembers going to pick up a ’70 SS396 in 1980 which served as a daily driver for the family and a few years later he scored his first car, a ’56 Chevy. A trip through the GM ASAP mechanic program lead to journalism degree and fast forward a couple decades and he’s still wrenching and writing about cars (including that same ’70 Chevelle). Read Todd’s full bio and see his latest articles here > 

Chris Shelton – Deemed generally unemployable by his high-school career counselor, Ms. Kratch, Chris Shelton sought professional refuge in automotive journalism. Under the pretense of a college degree, Chris sweet-talked himself into an internship at what was then world’s preeminent street-rod title. But because the title paid his internship, Chris never told them when it ended (it paid better than his other job, which is shocking if you know publishing rates). Read Chris’s full bio and see his latest articles here > 

Mike Slade – I lived in Montgomery, Alabama where I went to high school while working around motorsports since I was 15 years old. It wasn’t until I picked up my first camera and started taking pics when I was in Vietnam.  After the Army in 1972 I went back home and obtained a press pass to the race at Talladega, where I shot my first race. There I met NASCAR’s chief photographer and was picked up as a stringer to help cover the races at Talladega and Daytona. I spent the next few years shooting the races at Talladega and Daytona and other sanctioned tracks in the Southeast…Read Mike’s full bio and see his latest articles here > 

Jeff Smith – If you’ve read any domestic performance car magazines or online titles for any length of time, you’ve probably run across Jeff Smith’s byline. He’s been writing technical stories for well over four decades. His automotive career started at age 10 working at his grandfather’s Skelly service station in Boone, Iowa. After earning a degree in journalism from Iowa State University, Smith got his start at Car Craft magazine and after five years on staff became the editor. Read Jeff’s full bio and see his latest articles here > 

Matt Stone, freelance journalist, author, broadcaster, former Editor, Motor Trend Classic magazine has been a professional automotive journalist/photographer since 1990. His specialties are history, design, and interview features. He enjoys anything with four wheels, though demonstrates a particular passion for sports, performance, and sports racing cars, and has been a car guy since practically birth, due to a rabid car guy father… Read Matt’s full bio and see his latest articles here > 

Tim Sutton – As I sit back and reminisce about the last year, all I can come up with is that I am “blessed.” The end of 2018 merged into 2019 seamlessly working around the world for Nissan Global. Four continents in a month blending into a small break before meeting back with one of my repeat clients, Nitto Tire. Read Tim’s full bio and see his latest articles here > 

Taylor Kempkes – With many decades of experience in the magazine industry, Taylor Kempkes is passionate about projecting his knowledge at anyone who will listen. Sarcasm aside, an unending appetite for classic vehicles, writing and photography plus almost a decade of magazine work under his belt pushes Taylor to turn out the highest quality content he can. Read Taylor’s full bio and see his latest articles here > 

Chuck Vranas – Chuck Vranas draws inspiration from a lifetime fascination with traditional hot rods and customs every time he picks up one of his cameras. Since he started burning film on wicked cars well-over twenty years ago Chuck has captured the essence of each one’s inner soul. Well known for his dramatic images and East Coast writing style, he has put down thousands of miles over the years crisscrossing the country, hopping the pond to England, and venturing into the great white north of Canada to cover some of the coolest soup-jobs and their unique stories. Read Chuck’s full bio and see his latest articles here >