That Sunday evening in Detroit was a fork in the road.

Andy Leach, founder of CAL Automotive Creations

It all started when I was 14 years old. My dad bought a finished 1934 Chevy. I fell in love with cars from that very moment. A few months later my dad helped me purchase my very first car – a 1937 Ford. My dad purchased a MIG welder, a bead roller, English wheel and a few other tools. From there I destroyed nearly every ‘49-’54 Chevy shoebox in the Midwest. I did not go to school for anything car related I simply set up camp in my parents garage and figured it out. The neighbors always complained it sounded like a mean dentist lived next door with the grinder and cut off wheels constantly going. Our neighbor across the street, Ray Kennedy taught me how to weld and he helped feed this metal work addiction.

I started building a ‘52 Chevy business coupe with my father in the late ‘90s. Full tube chassis, hand made everything. It was a really cool car! My dad and I traveled all over to every big car show. This helped feed ideas for the ‘52 chevy business coupe and my shop I planned to start one day called CAL Creations. (CAL are my initals, my real name is Christopher Andrew Leach). In the meantime, I became good friends with many of the builders I looked up to in the magazines.

In October of 2000. my father lost his battle with cancer. And shortly after I lost all interest in the ‘52 Chevy Coupe. Looking back I can’t believe I stopped on it, but I lost my buddy. We had every major magazine stopping by the house in Papillion, Nebraska checking on progress of the car but I emotionally could not carry on with it anymore.

Next thing I realize, I’m a single father raising a little girl on my own. I found a job as a welder at an assembly line manufacturing plant. I was constantly trying to stay above water. Everyday I would get my daughter to daycare first thing in the mornings, so I could make it to my shift. She was often the first one there at 5:45am & the last one to be picked up right as they were closing. Everyday was a struggle as I knew this was not what I wanted out of life. Then one day in 2010, I opened up Hot Rod Magazine at the grocery store and I was lured back into the industry. I met Ron Cizek who was a local developer in Omaha, and began working on his ‘40 Ford coupe in the garage in my spit-entry house.

My daughter’s and my evening routine would be to pick up dinner from one of my 3 favorite restaurants, go home to eat, watch a little tv together, and then as soon as she went to bed I would go in the garage and work on the ‘40 until I couldn’t keep my eyes open.

Then, the next day the process would start all over again. I was doing what I had to do to survive. Afraid of rejection, I had saved an email to Ron in my drafts folder for months. It had entailed me asking him if it would be possible for me to work on the ‘40 full-time. Then one night after a little liquid courage, I hit send! Literally 30 seconds later, Ron called me. He said, that was the best email he had ever got and asked me to meet him in Bennington at 9am the next morning. So, I called into work and met Ron. He rented a little shop and helped come up with a plan so I could build the ‘40 at a rate that allowed me to pay my expenses.

I quit my job later that day and never looked back! I worked on that car day in and day out. A couple months later Ron stopped by and noticed my passion. He said “Man, you are dedicated to this.” I said “Yes, this is what love to do!” He then helped me start a company and allowed me to build the ‘40 how I wanted. In fact, it was his idea to take the ‘40 to Detroit. This is when Checkered Past was born. Knowing what it took to compete in the Ridler, I ended up cutting into every square inch of metal of the car and hand-crafting everything. Around this time I also hired my first employee, Erik Hanson.

Checkered Past. Bright Future.

Now it’s 2013. We finished Checkered Past and loaded it up in the trailer. We were 2 days behind schedule, I was exhausted, and had only $10 to my name, but off to Detroit we went. I had no Idea where my life was going to go after that weekend. In the awards ceremony I had no idea what was in store. I was so scared I almost had a break down the closer they got to the Ridler award announcement.

The moment they said ‘‘1940,” my mind was in a whirlwind. I honestly don’t remember much after that due to the shock I was in. Monday morning as we started back home, my phone was non-stop ringing. I had no idea how these magazines and companies got my number! It was constant. That Sunday evening in Detroit was a fork in the road for me!

I put nearly 60k miles on the truck and trailer that year showing Checkered Past all over the country. Somehow it had all worked out!

CAL Takes a Leap Forward

THEN THE ABSOLUTE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE HAPPENED IN 2014; I started dating my now wife Annali. I played hard to get until she agreed to go to a car show with me. This humble welder guy she knew as ‘Madysen’s Dad’, her son Skyler’s neighborhood friend, turned out to be a car builder & somewhat charming. In 2015, we got married. She is now the brains of the operation running the business side of CAL and all its marketing, networking, & inventor of the Client Concierge program. She’s also the mother of our 2 children, CEO of our home, cooks me homemade dinners, motivates & encourages me, the one that has taught me balance in life - dragging me away from the shop and onto non-car-related vacations, and so much more. I couldn’t do this without her.

Fast forward to today! Our shop, Cal Automotive Creations, is stacked with builds, has 14 employees immersed in an amazing culture, has every aspect of the build in-house including interior, paint, and CNC Billet parts, and is proudly connected to some of the best car-guy clientele we could ask for!

We love working on and around cars everyday and look forward to the next project that allows us to stretch our wings and flex our talent. We are always gearing up for the next big thing... and love that you will come along with us on this crazy ride!