Steve Labofish is an exciting young artist and owner of Cool Kustom. He does painting, old school pin striping, and also creates his own original artwork. He has an eclectic background which only seems to fuel his exceptional talents.

Steve was born and raised in Silver Spring, Maryland. His love for custom Hot Rods started at a very young age. "Back when my Pop was younger, he and his friends built and street raced their own hot rods. I remember my pop and i working on his Camaro. He would let me help him change the oil, do brake jobs - whatever. I basically handed him tools and turned a wrench here or there while he explained how to do things."

Steve's love for hot rods and all things greaser not only come from his father, but from his mother as well. He attributes his love for speed and his firery temper to his Mom. "I remember my Pop telling me about when his friends saw my Mom drag racing his '69 Dodge Dart Swinger 340 four speed. She was flying down New Hampshire Ave. blowing the doors off an old Corvette!" She had a local reputation as a speed demon and in 1969, Curtis Chevrolet asked her to drive their entry in the Powder Puff Series.

With a love for cars and natural artistic ability, Steve pursued a job at Paintmasters as a bodyman's apprentice. There Steve was able to work on his first car, a 1971 Chevelle. He did the bodywork, primed the car, and street raced on the weekends.

After working at the paint shop for a couple of years, Steve left Paintmasters to get his hands dirty at a gas station where he was a mechanic's apprentice. Steve also worked at motorcycle shop so he could get discounts on parts for his sport bike. During this time he also went to college for a degree in Criminal Justice.

While in college, he began to focus more on creating art. One thing led to another and Steve fell in love with the art of tattoo, and has been tattooing professionally since 1996. During these years he has worked hard refining his artistic skill, developing unique sensibility, and sense of drama and vitality in his composition and imagery. He bought an airbrush and began to paint.

Soon his love for hot rods, speed, and custom bikes influenced his direction, and ignited the desire to decorate these machines. He studied Von Dutch, Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, Craig Fraser, and other artists, bought brushes and began to experiment with pin striping as well as purchasing the necessary tools and equipment to do full on custom paint. In 2002, Steve began painting and pin striping professionally, and in 2004 started his own business.

One of Steve's strengths is his varied background. He brings a fresh eye, and exciting new ideas and influences to the art of custom automotive paint. He will paint anything from toilet lids to trash cans, baseball bats to motorcycles. His original paintings are for sale, or you can commission him to create your own personal masterpiece. Whatever you choose, Steve will use his artist's eye, and greaser's heart to bring your ideas to life.