Will Castro discusses 'Unique Academy,' famous clients, including ex-Chiefs All-Pro

USA Today

17 hours ago

This week, Chiefs Wire's Ed Easton Jr. spoke to acclaimed car customizer and TV personality Will Castro about his new show, 'Unique Academy,' and the strong bonds he builds with his students and famous sports clientele.
"They definitely get excited. They know the history. Many of them (students) know the history of 'Unique' we work with: celebrities, sports, athletes, musicians, producers, and actors. So they know that they're working with high-profile clients. Still, I also told them that they're coming here to be able to talk to them and mentor them and give them their side of the story, because they're from the same cloth that they came from," said Castro, "Many of these guys came from underprivileged homes but were talented. We want to be able to give back this to the kids, a skill, a trade, and not even if they don't go into the automotive space, but at least give them accountability, responsibility, provide them with some guidelines, and how to handle life."
Castro, known for his decades of work customizing cars for stars like LeBron James, DJ Khaled, and Super Bowl champion Victor Cruz, brings his signature blend of hustle, heart, and horsepower to this powerful new format, mentoring the next generation. He notably did a special customization years ago for former Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro running back Larry Johnson.
"We just finished Larry Johnson's '66 Lincoln Continental from the Kansas City Chiefs," said Castro in a 2008 interview, "We're doing a lot of old-school for ball players. They're getting into them a lot more. I think what's different about them is they know what they want."
Former New York Jets safety Erik Coleman, a Castro client, shared his thoughts with Easton Jr.
"Will was one of the guys when I got to New York. I was drafted. I remember visiting the facility and seeing this building, which said 'Unique'. It was a Unique Auto Sports," said Coleman, "I asked one of the older guys, I'm like, yo, is that Unique, like the one? And they're like, that's Will Castro. I dropped in there, probably with one of my teammates, and started talking with Will, and immediately started a friendship. It was awesome because he educated you, and you didn't feel like you had to buy a bunch of stuff. He was like, man, whatever you could dream up, we could figure it out for you. So it was, it was really nice."
Acclaimed car customizer and TV personality Will Castro is back with an inspiring new series, Unique Academy, streaming now exclusively on Roku.