Christina Owns Her Ridges by creating the crazy custom wraps for cars
Written by SOURCE on December 21, 2022
Is there a process for you in terms of customization? You said you saw it in your head and it came out exactly how you saw it. So what’s the process from you seeing it in your head to making it happen?
When you see it in your head, you have to be able to just literally explode your diagram and nitpick every single little piece that’s going to make it just how you pictured it. Whether it’s chrome delete, changing the wheels, or small things like a tint. Sometimes, you have a picture in your head and it just doesn’t turn out how you pictured it. You just have to keep picking pieces and adding things or removing things until it really turns out the way you pictured it or at least close to it.
So I think the process isn’t really steps, it’s just kind of all over the place. Whether it’s something you’re working on in the roof of the car, the sides, the wheels, the wrap, or the headlights. I think it’s just working from all different angles, and working until you’ve finally reached what you envisioned in your head.
That sounds like a lot. How do you keep it all organized?
I always make lists. I have a small notebook actually, and I also use my phone notes. I always make sure I write down everything I want to do so I don’t forget it. And sometimes I don’t get to certain parts and I decide it’s fine without it. Sometimes I create a certain budget for myself. So that’s why I’ll start picking pieces to cut from the list because I know it won’t make a big difference.
There are a lot of games and softwares where you can search for the car and modify it. It might not have all the parts you want, but you could get a general idea by changing the color of the car. Or just go on Google Images and search up the specific vehicle and find pink wrap, and just try to use those images to visualize your version of it. I think it comes with practice too. After you do a couple of cars, you get the hang of it. You could probably just find any car and envision what it would look like just with practice.
What’s the longest you’ve spent on a certain car? And then building off of that, is a car ever truly done, or is it a constant process?
The longest I’ve ever spent on a vehicle was two years. It was one of my first project cars, the one I bought while I was in college. It took longer because I had to manage my money, and I couldn’t just purchase everything all at once and put it together. Also because of work and school, I didn’t have as much time, so I had to just pace myself.
I like to say that a vehicle can be marked off as done, but I do get the general conversation when people say that a build is not really done and that you’re always adding to it. And it’s true, your personality changes as you grow with your car. And your opinions change about parts over time, so you change them, and you just keep going. I get both sides of the story.
It sounds like you took a pretty big risk when you used your scholarship money to buy your first car. It’s awesome that you did it because look at where you are. What inspired that risk and how did you manage it?
I pretty much had a full ride to the university that I was going to, but you can also apply for more scholarships throughout the year. There are always small ones that you can apply for here and there. So I was always in the academic’s office asking for and applying to new ones. Of course, I didn’t get every single one of them, but I would get a good amount. And of course, for birthdays and Christmas, I was asking for car parts. So that’s how I managed the money part of things.
But it was a big risk because I could have spent that money, obviously, elsewhere. After I saw the car culture side of things, I was like, “I’m not going to sit here and wait until I graduate to build a car. I want to try this out now. And if I fail now, I’m still in college. Whatever, I’m still getting a degree.” So by doing that and by posting online, it was just perfect timing. Of course, I had to maintain my grades.
That’s really interesting. It’s great advice for anybody who’s a little bit younger and trying to get into it. And especially for younger girls, it shows that it’s possible that you can literally do it at any point in your life. How old were you when you did it?
I was just turning 18, actually.
That’s awesome that you can be 18, buy a car, and start working on it while you’re in school. That’s a lot of initiative and it shows that anybody can do it.
One-hundred percent, I agree. I think that’s why I also try to talk about that more because we can really just bring out the message that you should be taking advantage of bigger institutions, and not in a bad way, of course. There are so many helpful organizations, scholarships, and companies that want to help, and you just have to have the initiative, and create an opportunity for yourself where there isn’t one already. And I think that’s what makes people stand out more, rather than just following a general path and not searching for opportunity.
That’s huge advice. Because you’re not necessarily taking advantage of them, but you’re taking advantage of the things that they offer that they don’t always talk about.
Exactly. And I think whatever your passion is, it doesn’t have to be cars, it could be motorcycles, makeup, fashion, or even engineering, you can create an opportunity. It doesn’t have to be an institution, it doesn’t have to be a university. It could be high school, it could be at your job, it could be at a non-profit organization, or a company that you follow and know. They have a lot of different opportunities out there, you just have to do the research. And everything’s online, so it’s super easy. And don’t be afraid of them saying no and turning you down because there are a bunch of other open doors out there, you just have to find them.
Yeah, that’s great advice. So obviously, you’re extremely driven and motivated, and clearly, you have a vision for what’s going on, but at the same time, you’re taking opportunities as they come. Do you have any plans for after graduation?
So that’s a question my mom always asks me because it’s hard for her. She’s foreign and I’m a first-generation college student. It’s hard for her to wrap her head around social media and how everything works nowadays, with marketing and stuff like that. So she’s always asking what jobs I’m thinking about after I graduate. And I don’t know, I’m just taking things as they come. After a couple more semesters, I’m done. I’ll just figure it out and see what opportunities are out there, or just create one for myself.
So it’s really hard trying to get her to understand, but I have a huge goals list that I want to reach even before I graduate. And then I have another list that I want to accomplish after I graduate. I want to work with other companies, I really do want to use my engineering degree, and also, obviously, the social media platforms I have. It would be great to work together with companies and build or develop something. So hopefully that’s in the works after I graduate.
That kind of seems like the next logical step in terms of your platform and stuff like that. If you’re in a traditional career, there’s a path set up, and you know exactly what’s next. But there’s not necessarily a plan for you. It’s your path and you’re making it every day.
One-hundred percent. Owning Your Ridges is being able to, even if there’s just a closed path or the path takes a turn, you optimize that. You take advantage of what’s available and keep going. So I think even just going back to just Owning Your Ridges and the whole Ruffles campaign, I’m so thrilled to be a part of it because it really describes my story, and I think it’s really important for people to also be inspired by it. When there’s a situation that comes into your hands, Own Your Ridges and take advantage of the opportunity, and create something good out of it instead of focusing on the bad.
It goes way beyond the car community too. Having Ruffles highlight the car community is beyond words for me. I think it’s so cool because I feel like the car community doesn’t get talked about enough. Whether it’s creative ideas, ideas for car customization, or through social media and being able to provide advice online, Ruffles is helping to spread awareness and make it more accessible. So it all ties in together.
