Tailored for success

Dressed in a heather grey t-shirt, beanie and jeans, you would never guess from Kevin Schetne’s laidback appearance that he is a self-made business man.

Schetne, 22, is a senior marketing major at Cal State Long Beach. Like most students, he balances work while going to school. Unlike so many others, Schetne runs his own business.

Schetne’s fledgling business, Tailored Supply, creates unique, handcrafted products ranging from roses fashioned of stainless steel and galvanized metal to completely refurbished cars and custom motorcycles. His innovative prototypes have drawn attention over social media, with more than 3,200 followers on Instagram.

At 22 years young, Schetne’s experience in the automotive culture is built on years of passion and practice. However, despite growing up along his crafty father and brother, Schetne had no real interest in the subject.

“I don’t know at what point I realized I started to like it. It just kind of happened,” Schetne said.

It all began after he turned 16. Schetne invested $8,000 into his first car, a 2003 Infiniti G35.

“That’s what got me into cars, and deciding to do things with them,” Schetne said. “I had zero interest in school. The car is what kept me aligned. It was a learning experience, and I saw results.”

Although he had no previous experience with engines other than the basics from the dirt bikes he rode growing up, he created a website called G35mods.com by the time he was 17. On the website, he conducted do-it-yourself tutorials on basic changes and modifications, documenting his progress along the way.

However, just as all good things come to an end, Schetne said he had complications with his first investment, as he received multiple tickets for the car’s limo-tinted and matte black exterior. These are just a few examples of the DIY modifications that didn’t follow the rules.

“It wasn’t that I was speeding or reckless,” Schetne said. “I live in Huntington Beach and the cops are very strict about the rules, so it became a hassle. I knew I had to do something drastic again.”

In an attempt to evade thousands of dollars in fix-it tickets, Schetne indeed did something drastic. He cut the car into pieces.

Once again stepping outside of his boundaries, within two weeks he dismantled the car in his garage, selling every piece and bolt through the connections he made online. With the large amount of profits he made from selling the parts, Schetne swore his next project would be a car not susceptible to as many tickets.

Referring back to his roots, he went back to what his family enjoyed doing: building things from scratch.

Though his family had been more into American muscle cars, Schetne chose a different route.
“I went for this little, old Euro baby car,” he said of his 1974 BMW 2002.

Schetne describes his journey with the BMW 2002 as a fun process, finding joy in transforming and creating something that was completely different from what was right in front of him.

Within three years, Schetne broadened the basic knowledge passed on to him from his dad, to a skill set that now includes electronics, body work, and welding, just to name a few.

After making adjustments to the wheels, building his own fenders and painting the exterior, among other modifications, Schetne documented his work through stanceworks.com, a site dedicated to the current hype for cars and perfected customization.

Overnight, the “little baby car” went viral. Due in part to Stance Works, Schetne credits the car culture and community as the gateway to his budding success.

“Everything that I did were things that people said they wanted to do to their car, but couldn’t,” he said. “I love being able to give back to the people who helped me get into it.”
Since his BMW 2002 is still a project in the works, Schetne relies on his custom built 250 Honda Rebel Bobber to get to and from classes.

Utilizing the expansive following he gained from his work on both the G35 and BMW, Tailored Supply began to take shape in January in ways that were not only automotive.

During Valentine’s Day, Schetne sold a perfected concept from 2012, a metal rose he created for his own mother on Mother’s Day.

After perfecting his welding skills, and constantly thinking of ways to improve the design, Schetne began to sell detailed roses fashioned out of scrap metal. After a year and a half of work, he offered the prototype online for sale. Tailored Supply’s metal roses were a hit.

Still in the startup stage, Schetne said he hopes to finalize the legal aspects of the business, building up the brand, and purchasing a warehouse by the time he graduates.

With the semester in full swing and graduation on the horizon this spring, Schetne has his hands full, to say the least. In between classes and Tailored Supply, Schetne can be caught fulfilling Amazon orders for Rock On Distribution, managing social media for SurfDogz.com, running his other website Skate-Supply.com, and not to mention day-trading. On top of it all, he was also nominated for Student of the Year by marketing professor Farhana Siddiqi.

“I don’t sleep a lot,” Schetne said. “I fit in as much as I can in each day. It’s been years of work, but because I enjoy it, it’s a lot less strenuous.”

He said there are no glass ceilings when it comes to his business.

“What’s going to stop me?” he said. “I really don’t think there’s anything that’s going to stop me currently, unless I really screw something up.”

For more information on Tailored Supply, visit www.tailoredsupply.com.