WHITE RUSSIAN

Mixed, in Memory of Alex Rubinshteyn

- JOHN MATA JR.

VERY FEW OF US HAVE HAD THE PLEASURE OF BECOMING CARETAKERS OF A LOVED ONE’S MOST PRIZED POSSESSION AFTER THEIR PASSING. Some individuals are bequeathed belongings that they may or may not be connected to, but in the case of Jorge Casillas, he has ended up with a good friend’s heavily customized Dodge Ram after he lost his battle with cancer. Jorge met his pal Alex Rubinshteyn, a.k.a. Sasha, a.k.a. The Russian, way back when he was fresh out of high school and apprenticing at Iaccino Fabrication & Customs—a staple shop in the SoCal custom truck scene. Even though losing Alex was one of the toughest things Jorge has gone through, hanging on to Alex’s truck and continuing to make progress with it in his memory has been very therapeutic and rewarding.

Now, Jorge isn’t exactly new to custom trucks, so when he found himself holding the keys to Alex’s Dodge, he knew exactly what to do with it. As an apprentice at IF Customs in his early 20s, Jorge was given a crash course in custom fabrication from owner Cary Iaccino. He was given a ton of invaluable information and hands-on experience, which eventually led to Jorge being assigned to actual paid customer work at the shop when he was good enough.

“IF Customs was such a great escape for me back then,” Jorge says. “I was in a tough spot back when I was younger, but I was given a great opportunity to learn new skills at the shop that have really shaped my life for the better. I was also lucky to meet some great guys who wouldn’t ever think twice to teach me something new. And you’d better believe they also made sure I kept at it until I was able to pull off whatever we were working on the right way.”