HispanicBusiness

"Our customer services speaks for itself. I really concentrate and focus on that," he declared "It's about relationships ... I think that's been the difference between Unique Autosports and these other shops--my relationships with people I am not looking for a one-hit wonder."

On the strength of that philosphy and his personality, Mr. Castro's business has earned him not only loyal customers but lasting friendships.

Another barrier was breached when Mr. Castro's work was featured on the MTV show Cribs. Customizations he had done for Busta Rhymes and Fat Joe's cars gave Mr. Castro and Unique Autosports immense exposure. It ultimately turned into a deal for his own television show "Unique Whips," which airs on the SPEED network.

The Unique Autosports name has become ubiquitous in the automotive customizing industry, and Mr. Castro has been a very busy man. Aside from the shop, he has been marketing Unique Autosports clothing through an online apparel store that can be found on uniqueautosports.com and an eBay sales account selling car parts. He has also been recording a new season of his show "Unique Whips Special Edition" under his own production company "Facio Productions," which he named after his grandfather -- a key player to his success and a great role model.

When asked about the show's dynamics, Mr. Castro declared, "We definitely didn't want to bore people with the wood cutting and stuff like that. So we got a little more behind the scenes with the celebrities and the relationships that I have built ... like showing Lebron how to drive his car ... We are getting behind the scenes a little bit more, which is more personable for my audience and fans."

The new program, "Unique Whips Special Edition" premiered November 4, 2008 at 10pm on SPEED Network.

Another significant project is the opening of a second shop, "Unique South," which will cater to the needs of clients in the Miami area.

Work Ethic Makes a Difference

When questioned about other Hispanics in the industry, Mr. Castro said, "there are a lot of others out there in New York doing nice stuff, but many of them just want to be at the top without having to work for it. It's their work ethic that's not correct. You really have to work hard for your time to come".

Mr. Castro had to bypass a number of roadblocks himself when launching the business. Mr. Castro recalls the difficulties of "Being undercapitalized and not having any schooling."

"It's best to go to school; it's been a hard road. It's always hard when you don't have the schooling, but it just means you need to work a lot harder then everyone else." He believes it's that hard work that allowed him to take his shot at the big time when the opportunity presented itself.

"Everything was timing and a blessing from God," he said. "I was in the right place at the right time and already new some of the key people, like Sermon."

It's a blessing he wants to spread. In addition to new business ventures, Mr. Castro makes it a point to involve Unique Autosports with charity car shows, events with boy scouts and cub scouts, and even has plans for a charitable foundation in the future, once the new shop is open and things calm down a little.

Of course, with his meteoric success and ever-growing involvement, he may just have to start that foundation while things are still running full throttle.


Check out the Unique Autosports pages at http://www.myspace.com/officialuniqueautosport and http://www.youtube.com/user/Uniqueautosport.