Tucked into the small Oregon coastal town of Tillamook, our friend Jarett Juarez labors away in his shop nestled in the shadows of the massive Tillamook Air Museum. Jarett is a bit of a renaissance man for these current times—a surfer, photographer, spear fisherman, and restorer of some of the most iconic vehicles in the Pacific Northwest Coast: Volkswagen Vans. 

We met Jarett in the small gravel parking lot outside his shop called Left Lane Customs, where he showed us up the loading ramp to a big garage door. As he lifted the door open and the light cracked in, we were greeted by a massive car lift suspending his latest VW project high in the air. The walls were lined with magazine-worthy surf photos, the rack from a massive elk, a neatly arranged arsenal of spear guns, and walls lined with tools and colorful surfboards of all shapes and sizes. 

As we toured his shop—hearing stories and asking dozens of questions about photos, ongoing projects, and "what's-that-thing-do's"—it quickly became clear that there’s not much you could throw at Jarett that he couldn't deal with or teach himself how to fix. We cracked a few beers with him and sat down to hear his story—what unfolded was one of a local-born Oregon Coast legend, from motocross to professional photography, surfing, and running a full time auto-restoration business. He's as humble as his company's roots—where he claims stumbling into the auto-mechanic world was basically an accident, after his photography business slowed down. 

 

His grit, humility, and love for the outdoors and all things adventure made us instant friends. Follow along as we get to know Jarett and hear more about his passions, projects, and how an injury led him to pick up a camera. We can’t wait to get back out there and spend more time with him, but until then, check out the video up top.