No Mom, It'll Stay Stock…

“I realized you only have this one life. Why not break some rules?”

- Phil Gordon

In the Great White North of Ottawa, Ontario, a young Phil Cholette promised his grandmother if she gave him a truck as an early inheritance present, it would remain stock. His mother and father both joined in and made Cholette promise not to tinker with the truck, based on his reputation. Cholette owns a metal-fabricating company called Philbuilt where he uses various cutting machines to make custom-truck parts, as well as keychains, trophies, and projects for a variety of clients. The creative nature of Cholette led to both his parents asking him to guarantee he would leave the truck stock.

The ’02 Chevy S10 truck was meant to be reliable college transportation, but his custom streak was too hard to resist, and he broke his promise a short time later. The Chevy was lowered, with minor body modifications to hide what he was doing. Two thousand and nine was a hard year for Cholette. The grandmother who had gifted him the truck passed away, as well as his other grandmother and his aunt. “It was then I looked at things a little differently,” he says. “I realized you only have this one life and why not break some rules?”