Ian Roussel is Full Custom Garage’s only permanent cast member, which allows the show to have a pared back, DIY appeal.
Most car restoration and customization shows that you see on television these days have giant shops filled with every kind of automotive niche expert that you can imagine.
But MAVTV’s Full Custom Garage has stood out as one of the few shows which takes custom building back to its basics.
All about the Full Custom Garage leading man Ian Roussel
This show, which first started airing in 2014, is hosted by the so-called “master metal man,” Ian Roussel, who works to customize a variety of classic cars, muscle cars, hot rods, motorcycles and, of course, his most-favorite Volkswagen Beetles, in every episode.
Although Roussel will be the first to admit that he is not an expert in everything custom-build, he has been in the automotive industry for years.
This show is really meant to showcase not only his passion for car customization and intricate metal work, but also his passion for and commitment to DIY-restoring.
Unsurprisingly, Roussel’s raw and pared back approach is exactly what has made the show so popular with gearheads around the world.
Moreover, Roussel still maintains that the ultimate goal of the show is to help “car people making the coolest cars that [they] can possibly make.”
Other people that you may have seen on Full Custom Garage
While Roussel is usually the center of attention in most of the Full Custom Garage episodes, there are a few less familiar faces that you may see throughout the show.
This includes, of course, all of the owners who commission Roussel’s renowned customization skills for their own cars, but also some of his family members and fellow automotive enthusiasts who occasionally drop by his shop.
Some of the people who you may have seen in episodes of Full Custom Garage in the past, include:
| Name | Role |
| Jamie Roussel | Ian’s wife and business partner |
| Victor Cacho | Fabricator |
| Tommy Flores | Fabricator |
| Bill Ferrell | Fabricator |
| Gene Winfield | Paint expert |
| Skratch | Paint expert |
Of course, Roussel’s beloved dog, Shop Inspector, can also always be seen making the rounds in his shop and has really become one of the fan-favorites in the Full Custom Garage shop cast.
How Ian Roussel got into car customization
It is sometimes difficult to imagine that master car builders like Roussel have ever been ignorant and inexperienced at-home mechanics like most other gearheads, but this is exactly how Full Custom Garage’s leading man got started on his car customization journey.
In fact, Roussel admitted in an EMPI Insider interview from 2020 that he started out initially practicing his skills on his family’s old Volkswagen Beetle which he “pop-riveted together with a bunch of galvanized tin.”
He then really doubled down and went to welding school to get all of the basics of metalworking down.
After all that, Roussel still believes that the best way to get into his line of work is “to get out there and try something” even if you do end up “mess[ing] it up”
Is Full Custom Garage real?
Many of the car restoration and customization shows that are on the air today are frequently accused of being fabricated for the camera.
And while it may seem near-impossible for Roussel to have pulled off dozens of builds on Full Custom Garage all on his own over the years, he has confirmed that “almost all” of what fans love about the show is, in fact, as real as it gets.
Although Roussel did admit during the EMPI Insider interview that some of what you see on the show is “set up so that it makes for good TV,” all of the projects which he is approached to do on the show are all real commissions by real-life clients.
Has Full Custom Garage been renewed for another season?
The most recent, eighth season of Full Custom Garage finished airing in December 2022, and although this would usually mean that fans should be expecting the next season of the show to start airing before the end of 2023, this does not seem to be the case.
This eighth season sadly only comprised five episodes and with no news on an official renewal as of yet, it seems like Full Custom Garage may have come to an end.
But until Roussel or the network officially confirm Full Custom Garage’s renewal, fans will simply have to wait and see.
If you would like to see more of Roussel’s work in the meantime, the Full Custom Ian YouTube channel showcases some of the projects that Roussel has been working on in his spare time.
