Theresa Contreras was born into an automotive loving family whose life mission is to provide quality custom work, actively giving back to the community and work hard to play hard. Those formative years brought out the fearless soul in her; behind the wheel or handlebars of most anything with a motor, and the belief she can achieve anything she dreams of.  

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             Life as a machinist, graphic designer, custom painter, as well as a godly wife and mother, proves her upbringing to be extremely influential. By combining her Cal Poly Fine Art Education, hands on auto body shop experience from her family business, and lover of all things motorsports; she has risen to the top of her game by harnessing her life experiences and showcasing these abilities in the vehicles she builds and drives.  

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            Not only has her custom paint work has graced the SEMA show floor and cover of stories on top magazines numerous times, she has been seen in action on TV, and she continues to collaborate on massive projects with some of the best of the best in the industry.  Names like Chip Foose, Tanner Foust, Sung Kang, WD-40, TEN- The Enthusiast Network, Ford Motor Company, KIA Motors America, and BMW are only a few of the industry leaders that she has collaborated on projects with.  In 2012 as the first female team leader, she took her dad and crew from work to take part in the TV show Car Warriors on the SPEED Channel, where her team won the 1970 Chevy C10 truck that was modified against a competing team.  Later in 2016, Rockin’ Roadsters debuted on the Discovery Channel where she painted a lowrider styled El Camino for famed musician Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top.  She is always searching for new challenges where she can grow and share her love and knowledge of project builds.  

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             Theresa found a true passion for life in not only inspiring others by her builds she’s working on, but being dedicated to getting more women and students involved in the automotive industry by working on projects with them side by side. In 2011, she became part of a committee to help get students interested in the automotive field called AXC, the Alex Xydias & Pete Chapouris Center for Automotive Arts. Later in 2012 she was part of the first all-female team to build a vehicle for SEMA in which she headed the paint and body part of the build, painting the car as well.  In 2013, she took part in a 1932 Roadster build that was later auctioned off for AXC at Barrett-Jackson, live on TV.  

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             2013 continued to lead her to be part of an all-female bike build featured on All Girls Garage on Velocity with Jessi Combs.  In 2014, Jessi asked her to be her co-driver in the Ultra 4 Off Road racing series, where they won their class, and then went on to compete in King of the Hammers in 2015. Following these series of achievements as a team and having the same goal to inspire others, led the 2 driven women to co-create Real Deal, which is all about empowering more women to get into the automotive and industrial industry working by with their hands.   

             This motivational vigor resonates with all who are exposed to her beautiful drive for success in all she does. 

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BIO written by Jessi Combs 2014 (1980-2019)  - MY BEST FRIEND & BUSINESS PARTNER 

 

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PEOPLE I'VE WORKED WITH  

TANNER FOUST HOST OF TV SHOW “TOP GEAR”  & RACE CAR DRIVER 

JESSI COMBS TV HOST, AUTOMOTIVE FABRICATOR, RACE CAR DRIVER 

CHIP FOOSE TV HOST, AUTOMOTIVE FABRICATOR, AWARD WINNING DESIGNER 

BRAD FANSHAW AUTOMOTIVE FABRICATOR, INDUSTRIAL DESIGNER 

MICHAEL ANTHONY BASS PLAYER OF “VAN HALEN” & “CHICKENFOOT” 

SUNG KANG ACTOR OF THE FAST & FURIOUS MOVIE SERIES 

JIMMY SHINE TV HOST, HOT ROD BUILDER & FABRICATOR 

WD-40 SPECIALTY LUBRICANT COMPANY 

HELLWIG PRODUCTS SPECIALTY EQUIPMENT MARKET ASSOCIATION 

MICKEY THOMPSON OFF ROAD 

MAD INDUSTRIES CAR CUSTOMIZER

STEET SCENE EQUIPMENT AUTOMOTIVE RESTYLING COMPANY 

TROY LEE DESIGN HELMET & APPAREL GEAR 

TRUCKIN MAGAZINE MAGAZINE 

FORD MOTOR COMPANY CAR COMPANY 

KIA MOTORS AMERICA CAR COMPANY 

LUKE BRYANT COUNTRY MUSIC SINGER 

TEXACO GAS COMPANY 

BMW MOTORCYCLE COMPANY 

JAY LENO SPECIALTY EQUIPMENT MARKET ASSOCIATION 

OMAZE SPECIALTY EQUIPMENT MARKET ASSOCIATION 

PROGRESSIVE INSURANCE SPECIALTY EQUIPMENT MARKET ASSOCIATION 

PPG INDUSTRIES SPECIALTY EQUIPMENT MARKET ASSOCIATION 

BALLAST POINT SPECIALTY EQUIPMENT MARKET ASSOCIATION 

 

SHOWS I’VE DONE 

AMAZON PRIME AUTOREVOLUTION  2019

DISCOVERY CHANNEL ROCKIN ROADSTERS  FEBRUARY 2016 

VELOCITY CHANNEL BARRETT-JACKSON LIVE AUCTIONJANUARY 2016 

LIFE IN THE FOUST LANE YOUTUBE.COM/ROCKSTARNOVEMBER 2012 

SPEED CHANNEL CAR WARRIORS APRIL 2012 

TRUCK STOP SPEED CHANNEL APRIL 2005  

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YOUTUBE & PODCAST VIDEOS ON NEXT PAGE UNDER MEDIA