Working - Class Virtuoso

Theresa Contreras—artist by Trade, Inspirer by Nature

- Phil Schwartze

Lowrider has long been known for two things: cars and girls. But did you ever stop for a second and ask why there aren’t more women mechanics, fabricators, painters, and the like? It’s a question we asked this issue’s Lowrider Original because we look forward to every chance we get to find ladies who have a hand in creating these two- and four-wheel masterpieces.

Anyone with a lowrider knows that one element can make or break a build: the paint. It’s the first thing people see and it’s what draws you in to admire the more mechanical aspects of the car. If it’s boring, overdone, cliché, or just plain looks like it was done the night before with a brush, your reputation is on the line. There’s no room for shortcuts.

Designer and custom painter Theresa Contreras knows this all too well. Having worked with the likes of Jimmy Shine, and having worked on cars for names such as ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons and race car driver Tanner Foust, it’s safe to say people entrust her with high-dollar projects because they know what she’s capable of.

But while her eye for detail puts her on the same tier as the best in the business, when she speaks about her craft you realize she’s just a down-to-earth girl who loves what she does. We got a chance to hear how she got into the biz, what she thinks it takes to succeed in it, and her determination to convince other car-loving girls to take the plunge and forge their own path.

Tell us about the shop you work at?

Theresa Contreras: LGE-CTS Motorsports, my parents started it in 1982 and my sister and my husband work there also. It’s a 20,000-squarefoot shop. We do custom paintwork as well as collision repair. For the custom side of it, just for something like SEMA alone, we paint 10 to 20 cars a year, and maybe another 10 full custom paint jobs on top of that.