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Brian Darnall
Brian Darnall
01:06

Brian Darnall

Hoonigan

Long Beach, CA USA

"I like the challenge...I like to have to work hard to get something."

Career Roadmap

Brian's work combines: Action Sports, Engineering, and Problem Solving

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Day In The Life

Shop Manager

I am a designer, builder, and fabricator of anything automotive.

My Day to Day

As a shop manager, I build out and maintain the facility, open accounts, negotiate terms, maintain relationships for shop supplies, welding equipment, and automotive parts. I also oversee the shipping and receiving of all vehicles and oversee all aspects of the car's lifecycle here. I work closely with cast and crew on Hoonigans YouTube show "Daily Transmission" overseeing prep and safety before and during on screen stunts.

Life & Career Milestones

My path in life took a while to figure out

  • 1.

    Currently manages the Hoonigan Industries shop in Long Beach, which boasts a roster ranging from world champion drifters to Baja 1000 winners.

  • 2.

    Growing up his father fixed cars, so they always had a project going on in their garage.

  • 3.

    He started out in the auto body field doing mainly custom work.

  • 4.

    Briefly left the auto industry and did work in heating and air conditioning.

  • 5.

    His boss let him rent out half of the warehouse where he worked and fix cars there in his spare time.

  • 6.

    During this time, he had the freedom and flexibility to pursue projects that he wanted to do because he didn’t have a boss—opened up the doors for him to enter the off-road and racing scene.

  • 7.

    Says that fixing cars has always been a hobby for him, but he never thought it would become his career—it took a long time for him to realize that he could make a living doing what he loved.

  • 8.

    His favorite part of his job is the challenge; says you have to keep challenging yourself if you want to get anywhere.

Defining Moments

How I responded to discouragement

  • THE NOISE

    Messages from Myself:

    I've never done that before, I don't know what to do.

  • How I responded:

    I learned early on that anything to do with automotive and mechanical work is difficult and will challenge you in every way. Sometimes I have to step back and look at the whole in order to figure out how to tackle each challenge. I make mistakes, but being more methodical helped in the long run.