Episode #157 - Social Influence & one Glassy Cat - w/ Tatted Cat

Episode Notes: 

Follow the journey from the garage to the glitz of social media with Daniella D Johnson, affectionately known to her Instagram followers as Tatted Cat. This week, she sits down with me to share her humble story of transformation from a HD truck painter to a custom paint shop maven and Social Media celebrity. Her tales of vibrant paint work, the influence of her father's legacy, and the behind-the-scenes grind of content creation reveal the true colors of a life dedicated to artistry on the automotive canvas.

As we peel back the layers of online influence, Daniella opens up about the challenges and triumphs of sharing her craft with the world. We dig into the nitty-gritty of producing video content that authentically represents her work, balancing the demands of a corporate environment with the raw transparency needed for digital storytelling. Daniella's experience highlights the evolving nature of social media and its role in shaping careers, as she reflects on how honesty and consistency in her posts have paved the way for her digital portfolio to shine.

Hold tight as we gear up with Daniella for a high-octane discussion of her most impressive projects to date, including a Hellcat that stole the spotlight at SEMA and her upcoming custom paint masterclass events. With a humble spirit and killer skills, she continues to inspire and chart a course for future artists. So, buckle up and prepare to get revved up by one of the custom car scene's most influential figures—a woman whose journey is as dynamic as the paint schemes she creates.

Guest Info: Daniella D. Johnson (Tatted Cat) – FB -https://www.facebook.com/DJohnson916

IG -https://tattedcatcustoms.com/

Website: https://tattedcatcustoms.com/  Tatted Cat Customs,1943 Belgrade Ave. Charleston, SC  29407

Sign Up for Pinstriping Class:  https://mrozdesigns.com/product/south-carolina-pinstriping-class/

Transcript

Rick: 0:00

She's an extremely talented artist that has pursued her passion and her dream from a heavy-duty truck painter to now custom paint shop owner and social media star. Daniela D Johnson, also known as Tatted Cat on Instagram, has been leaving her unique artistic imprint on everything from custom baseball bats to tricked-out bikes and custom painted performance cars. Her daily posting on Instagram of beautiful glassed-out paint jobs on everyday collision work has helped grow her following, even drawing national attention from some major manufacturers, which landed her a spot in the Cigola booth at SEMA the last two years, this past year showcasing a show-stopping Dodge Hellcat that turned the heads of even the most well-known custom car icons.

Rick: 0:51

Welcome to the MindWrench podcast with your host, rick Selover, where minor adjustments produce major improvements in mindset, personal growth and success. This is the place to be every Monday, where we make small improvements and take positive actions in our business and personal lives that will make a major impact in our success. Next level growth and quality of life.

Rick: 1:20

Hey, what's up everybody. Welcome to the MindWrench podcast. I'm your host, rick Selover. Thanks so much for stopping in. If you're a returning listener and haven't done so already, please take a minute and click the follow or subscribe button, and then rate and review the show. When you rate and review the show, the algorithms for Apple, spotify, google podcasts, iheart radio, amazon music and all the other platforms will see that it's valuable and show it to more people that have never seen it before, and hopefully it can help them too. I would really, really really appreciate your help, sharing this word with your friends and family as well, and if you're a brand new listener, welcome. I hope you find something of value here that helps you in your personal or professional life as well. Please make sure to click the subscribe or follow button so you never miss another episode. I'm so excited to be able to share my special guest with all of you this week's episode.

Rick: 2:09

She's an extremely talented artist that has pursued her passion and her dream from a heavy duty truck painter to now custom paint shop owner and social media star. Daniella D Johnson, also known as Tatted Cat on Instagram, has been leaving her unique artistic imprint on everything from custom baseball bats to tricked out bikes and custom painted performance cars. Her daily posting on Instagram of beautiful glassed out paint jobs on everyday collision work has helped grow her following, even drawing national attention from some major manufacturers, which landed her a spot in the Cigola booth at SEMA the last two years this past year showcasing a show stopping Dodge Hellcat that turned the heads of even the most well known custom car icons. Let's get to the interview to hear more with Daniella D Johnson, or more commonly known as Tatted Cat. Hey, welcome back to the MineRage podcast. I'm your host, brixel Over. Thanks so much for stopping in and spending a few minutes with me today.

Rick: 3:08

Today I got a great guest. I've been dying to get on the show and ran into her again at SEMA this year, so our last year. She's a phenomenal painter, she's an Instagram social media influencer and she's done some really special work and I thought she'd be a great subject to talk with today on the show. So, without any further ado, daniella D Johnson, otherwise known as Tatted Cat on Instagram, has been doing some really awesome work in videotaping and showing a lot of spraying videos and she's gained a lot of. She's got over 60,000 followers now and it's really led to some cool things. So, anyways, with all that, let's get to the interview. So, daniella, welcome to the show.

Daniella: 3:54

Thank you. Thank you for having me. I'm glad that we could finally get together and do this.

Rick: 3:59

Absolutely. It's crazy trying to organize anything during SEMA week because everybody's so busy and so nuts and I figured I'd let it calm down a little bit and then we'll get a chance to talk. Thanks for making the time. I appreciate it Just real quick if you can give everybody just a little background on, kind of how you came to the spot that you're at right now. Obviously you started somewhere along your journey as a paint tech in a shop, but kind of take us through how you got interested in painting to begin with and then what led to where you're at now.

Daniella: 4:33

So actually, it's literally in my blood. My dad had a sign shop whenever I was growing up, as well as a custom shop, so I was always in the shop, always interested. So, yeah, I got my start because that's what my dad did. That's what my dad still does and, yeah, he's the reason I'm doing what I'm doing.

Rick: 4:58

He didn't try to talk you out of it, so that's a good thing, right.

Daniella: 5:02

Well, I mean, he kind of did a little bit, but there was no talking me out of it. I knew what I wanted to do before, hey, probably whenever I was 10, I knew what I wanted to do. Yeah, that my mind was set and my path was clear, which is rare for anybody to know what they're going to do and want to do, you know, even in their early 20s.

Rick: 5:25

True, Most people have to stumble through a couple of decades before they figure out really what their passion is or what their purpose is. Right, oh yeah, you found yours early, which is great too, which gives you a lot more room to grow and expand and do different things down the road too. So did you work with your dad as a helper or sweeping up or something like that?

Daniella: 5:47

So, yeah, I was always in my dad's shop, but I really kind of got my start in 93 is whenever I started my professional career and I still worked with my dad. But we worked for a big truck shop and heavy equipment and you know my dad painted big trucks and I just ported at the shop Most people don't know the term porter. I cleaned up around the shop and I did that for a very long time until, you know, they allowed me to play around with painting stuff and ended up painting this trailer three or four times and by the time I got it right, the owner of that shop, you know, asked me if you know, I felt like I was ready to go on my own. So I've worked with my dad for many, many years and it was all heavy equipment, big rigs.

Rick: 6:44

Right, so it was my first job outside of that at a regular like a collision shop.

Daniella: 6:51

So I did big trucks for about 10 years and. Decided that I've had enough of spraying these big old monsters and Decided to get into collision and finally found a place that would allow me to do it. You know, my resume wasn't for some reason back then. I don't know if it's still the same now, but truck painters don't get the respect that they deserve. People understand what it takes to do those trucks. You know, I've seen amazing automotive painters come in and run for the hills because so overwhelming.

Daniella: 7:31

But I thought a lot of ladders, a lot of barrels, oh, Lot of ladders, a lot of climbing, yeah, so a lot of the 12 foot, 12 foot ladders and trying to do it all over, and I got so used to doing it. Though whenever I did get into the collision paint my car was nothing, but it was, it was a bit different. And yes, so 10 years 2003, I guess around that time is whenever I got into collisions and I wasn't even I was a prepper slash, you know, backup painter at that point, right, so I wasn't a head painter at all.

Rick: 8:11

So what was the first shot? That you end up actually being the painter.

Daniella: 8:15

That was actually a small family on shop in Warner Robbins, georgia, randy's automotive, randy's collision, something like that. That was the first place that really Gave me a chance, because they did have a head painter but they were so busy they needed a secondary painter. So that's whenever I got my chance and stepped up and proved you know that I could do it. Yeah, that just led to better opportunities and you know, better shots, better money and stuff like that and me honing my craft.

Rick: 8:51

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Rick: 9:00

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Rick: 10:19

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Rick: 10:55

I see a lot of it out there.

Rick: 10:56

It's like a couple people started doing it, then a whole bunch of people started posting spraying videos, which I think they're really cool, because most painters that's what they're going for they want to lay down a nice glassy finish, have it pretty much dirt-free, have it look like it looks when you get, when you do that on video. But what made you decided you want to start doing that?

Daniella: 11:18

So really I used Instagram Because I was doing softball bats. At that time this was five, five years, almost six years ago. I was doing softball bats and I wanted to create a digital portfolio and I thought Instagram was a cool place to do that.

Daniella: 11:38

Yeah well, the more I've seen Instagram, I've seen other painters post in these videos that they're working stuff, and I was like, okay, I bet I can do that. And at that time I was shy of the camera, I didn't want to talk to the camera, I didn't will look at a camera and nothing right. So everything that I did was just and, plus, I was learning how to create videos as well. So everything was, like you said, just recording my finished product and, you know, maybe a video of me spraying here and there and just just for fun. Yeah, one thing led to another and for some reason, people were liking what I was doing. I got better at it and started creating more entertaining videos and you know, you can see the evolution of Whenever I started to today. It is crazy.

Rick: 12:30

Yeah, no, they look very professional and you can tell that there's a lot of editing done and there's a lot of setup and lighting and all the things are perfect for for a nice video. So congrats on that. You do a really good job with it.

Daniella: 12:42

Thank you.

Rick: 12:43

Thank you.

Daniella: 12:43

Yeah, it's. It's not easy. A lot of people don't realize what goes into editing and Creating videos. I mean it's a whole, a whole separate job. You know, some of my downtime, even though I work 12 to 15 hours a day, is creating the videos and stuff for people to enjoy. So yeah, it's not easy work.

Rick: 13:07

I understand it's not easy work that's for kids to do, you know, and I mean kids by 18, 19, 20 year olds that are in college studying that kind of stuff, are better at that. Well, one thing that I've cause.

Daniella: 13:20

A couple of people had reached out to me and was talking to you know, wanting to edit videos and create videos for me. My problem is my artistic mind. I have a certain look and feel that I want for my videos, just like my paint jobs, so it's hard for me to release that to somebody.

Rick: 13:38

Yeah.

Rick: 13:38

You know, Well, they're not gonna think about the same way you do, so you can't implant that into somebody's head so they know what your vision is. So totally understand that. When you first started doing these videos, did you have cause? You were in a body shop and you're the painter there. Were you getting any? I guess was there any pushback from leadership, shop managers or shop owners? You know, hey, you know what are you doing. You seem to be in there a long time in the booth. You know, come on, we gotta get jobs through here. You know why are you videotaping, or has it been? This is really cool. I like what you're doing. Or is it just like they're not even paying attention and you're just doing what you're doing and you keep going with your day. What's that been?

Daniella: 14:21

like. So I didn't get a whole lot of pushback. I did have, you know, like corporate sending an email saying to make sure that you know nobody's tags or personal information. You know nothing. The only thing that they really wanted and I'm not gonna mention them because they asked me is they didn't want their name involved in the videos, right so. But everybody knew where I work, but they just didn't want that stuff. They said we don't care if you do what you're doing, but yeah, we just don't want this in this. So, yeah, not a whole lot of pushback.

Rick: 14:59

Well, that's good. Obviously that helps you being more comfortable and getting more effective with the effects you're trying to make, and that's good. But I was always curious about that. I've seen a couple of influencers out there and I think back to my painting days and if I would have tried to do that in one of the booths you know, I probably would have had my boss on my rear end go, what are you doing? Get that thing done so we can get the next one in here.

Rick: 15:25

But it was a different era back then too.

Daniella: 15:27

Yeah, I think. Nowadays, though, shops are starting to see the benefit of it. So, you know, I think more people are pushed to do it and not pulled away from creating.

Rick: 15:41

So Right, yeah, there is some upside to the shops right To have that kind of exposure.

Daniella: 15:47

So oh yeah.

Rick: 15:48

Yeah, that's Superstar social media influencers. Yeah, yeah, they work for me. Yeah, that's my shop. So that's the kind of work we do, because I tell you, look at those finishes, and I think any shop would want to see paint work like that coming out of their shop, right?

Daniella: 16:03

Yeah, that was another thing with social media that I kind of have a problem with is videos and pictures are really deceiving whenever it comes to paint jobs and stuff. So I really tried to highlight the differences in the finishes and you know, stuff like that, just so people realize. Not everything that's coming out of the booth is flick, is glass. It just doesn't work that way, right? So, yeah, I really take a lot of pride in what I do and making sure that whatever I present is 100% truceful, you know, and transparent.

Rick: 16:39

So Right, Well, that's cool. So you're the growth in your social media campaign. So obviously you started this because you wanted to build an electronic portfolio or a digital portfolio, which is totally the right way to go if you're doing any kind of artistic work at all, like the bats and I did see you down at the Finish Master Pin Master event and got to see some of those bowling pins down there and some of the baseball bats like you had and it's a really cool work into those things.

Daniella: 17:09

Thank you.

Rick: 17:10

Yeah, how is the social media? How's the follower growth been? You know, from the time you started posting those videos for the first, maybe a couple, three, four months to like, fast forward to now.

Daniella: 17:26

So it's funny because I really wasn't focused and on trying to build a following. You know, I still don't focus on building a following. I figured you know if someone is going to follow me, they're going to follow me. But it was funny because a lot of my followers came from. They were like, ok, is she really doing this work or is she presenting somebody else's work? And the more my videos evolved to where I was in front of the camera doing the work and all this stuff, people were like, ok, she's legit. So it just started snowballing after that and you know, yeah, it was a crazy, crazy, crazy build. It was something I wasn't expecting. I didn't know anybody cared about what I did. I'd been doing it for almost 25 years at that point.

Rick: 18:20

Well, that's the thing about social media, daniel, is it? It brings the whole world in, so it you know, things can explode overnight, you know, depending on how you're doing so it's crazy, but it's good.

Rick: 18:32

if you learn how to harness that and use it to your benefit and get a message out or whatever it is You're doing, it's really a cool platform. For some of us it's just more of an annoyance, anything else trying to deal with it, but it's part of today's life, so well the reason I enjoy it so much is because I was.

Daniella: 18:52

I was really studying other people's videos and most of them were tutorials on how to do things, and you know People showing products and you know all that, things like that. Yeah, so I Decided that I wanted to stick to my personality and just create videos that were entertaining. You know, if people learn from my videos, that's great. I look to inspire more than I look to teach, so that's kind of the path that I decided to take and it really helped Me and my videos stand out from the rest of them right.

Rick: 19:28

I'm sure, and I'm sure it has inspired some other painters too. I don't know if anybody's reached out to you or not, but I'm sure just by the videos that you posted and the work that you're doing, it's probably motivated, inspired some others to go. You know I need to step my game up and maybe I'll start posting some of those too.

Daniella: 19:44

So it's, it's pretty amazing. I do get a lot of messages you know daily and For me to inspire like I've been inspired my whole career is just it's. It's unreal and just makes me so happy that I can do that.

Rick: 20:03

Yeah, awesome. This is probably a dumb question, but I wanted to ask it anyways. Being an ex painter, I gotta imagine doing those almost on a daily basis and being conscious of what you're doing and what you're presenting probably made you a phenomenal painter more than you would have guessed. Right, I mean your your skills had to have drastically improved Just from yeah, I mean cars to doing this, because you're practicing it every day on a camera, right?

Daniella: 20:33

Well, I kind of I had kind of fell into social media at the perfect time. I was 25 years into my career, I was still honing my skills, but I'd gotten to a point where I was a lead painter and Could hold my own in any paint shop. So it really helped me and yeah. So now you know I'm doing these videos. I want to make sure it makes me wants. It made me want to be consistent. I want to consistently show the same work day in, day out.

Rick: 21:08

You know, like I said, being in this business a long time, like I have been, and I've dealt with a lot of painters and I Get what your point is.

Rick: 21:16

When you get to a certain level and you are the lead painter and you've been doing it for a number of years, you kind of level off and you go I'm not really upping my game anymore, I'm just gonna get the next five cars done today and I'm gonna have that check and I'm gonna go home, I'm gonna do the things that I'm passionate about and I'm gonna come back and I'm gonna do the same thing tomorrow. Right, so your skill doesn't grow. So you've put yourself in a spot where it had to grow, has to get better, because now you you know, and it's it's unfortunate that painters will do that, but they'll hit that level and I'm comfortable and that's it. But when you step it up and you're you know you're Tapping is better, your cleanliness is better, your safety protection that you're wearing and you're using Pro stat you know guns all the time and things like that and stepping up your gun game, like using segoalism, it does make a difference.

Daniella: 22:07

It's, it really does.

Rick: 22:08

Hopefully that inspires other painters. You know what I'm not done yet. I can get better right.

Daniella: 22:14

Yeah, so that's kind of how I was. I was kind of stagnant and what I was doing. And Then, as I started creating these videos, that you know that that passion for what I was doing kind of came back you know more than what it was and that helped me ride out, you know, another four years or so Until I got to the point where I felt like I was just a machine in a factory. You know, right, spray one, let it go, spray one, let it go. And I knew I had to go to the next level Because I'd gotten to that point. Again.

Rick: 22:49

You know where I was, just like autopilot right, since you've become what we'll call the social media influencer, right, has it taken your life in some directions? You had no idea it would take you, or did you kind of see how this was gonna go?

Daniella: 23:08

No, absolutely not. Yeah, social media, it, it. It really started becoming something special whenever I had a couple of companies reach out to me, but the main one was my main sponsor, segola, whenever they reached out to me and said, hey, we want to send you these guns to demo, and I was using soda at that time. I've been using soda ever since the 2000 RP came out.

Daniella: 23:41

Yeah and I. I talked to him for a little bit and just told him say, tell me, why should I try these? And I did, and it's been fantastic and ever since I've been with Segola, my career is just skyrocketed. You know, and we we really help each other and I think we've helped each other grow over the years that we've been together. So, yeah, it's, it's, it's Come a lot longer, further than I ever imagined it would.

Rick: 24:10

Yeah, very cool, very cool fact it led to. Well, you have, you don't work for anybody else now, do you?

Daniella: 24:17

Not since January of this year.

Rick: 24:20

January this year. Tell us, tell us what you did in January.

Daniella: 24:24

I Got blessed enough to go with Segola to SEMA in 2022 and I was still doing the collision painting, but I knew I wanted to take the leap to custom and and I Was able to talk to a few people and learn a lot at that SEMA that year and I got a push from a good friend of mine. Now, and as soon as I got back from SEMA, I put in my month notice not a two week notice, but a month notice and and yeah, I took the leap from collision production to opening my own custom shop. So awesome.

Rick: 25:06

Yeah, it's pretty amazing Scary, very scary yeah you leave a good pain job with benefits and all that fun stuff To do your own thing. That's a huge jump, it's a big risk, it's scary as hell.

Daniella: 25:25

Well, I was told. I was told, you know, you can always go back and he was right. I could always go back, so I had to take this chance and do what I absolutely love to do.

Rick: 25:37

That is a cool thing about painting. Even it, even at my stage in my career If I just decided you know I don't want any responsibilities for anything, I'm just go back and paint, I could pick up a gun and pick up right where I left off, and that's, it's a skill to have in the, in the, in the back right, just to know that it's there.

Daniella: 25:55

Oh yeah.

Rick: 25:56

So you open up your own shop, do you have a team in there? Is it just you doing the work?

Daniella: 26:01

You have a couple employees, or so All of this year has just been me. I've had a couple people come in and help me out with things, because I just can't do everything by myself, even though I'd love to.

Daniella: 26:14

But I can't so, but this upcoming year I do have a gentleman that I'm bringing in that's doing all my detail work you know, wet sand, polish and plus give me a hand around the shop and stuff. But up to this point it's just been mostly me and it's been very stressful yeah well, I'm sure it is.

Rick: 26:37

You're not only doing the work, you're making the, the checks out, paying the bills, checking in parts. You know all that stuff that that comes.

Daniella: 26:45

I have so gotta wear so many different hats.

Rick: 26:47

Yeah, but you know what, if you would have never done it, you'd still be it. Or somebody else's collision shop paint their cars, thinking I wonder what would happen if right. So it's good thing you made the, made the jump and jumped in and I think You're probably gonna land. Okay, from what I've seen and what I've been hearing, I know we ran into each other at SEMA again and it was so, so much fun there, so cool, so many things to see always a blast.

Rick: 27:20

Yeah, and you were. You were fortunate enough to have a project you were working on actually at Segola in their booth. So how did that transpire with the Hellcat?

Daniella: 27:32

so Whenever I first opened my shop and I had a couple of people that had followed me and you know I was bluffing up to have work.

Daniella: 27:43

Whenever I opened the doors and the Hellcat was one of those projects and and the gentleman had pretty much just bought the car it was a 2022 with less than a thousand miles on it Broaded Pimmie said do whatever you want, this is just the color that I would like to use.

Daniella: 28:02

So this was before I knew it was gonna go to SEMA, worked on it for a little bit. So Gola had reached out to me and said hey, we want to take something to SEMA and I had a couple of projects in the in the shop and they're like what about this one? I'm like, no, that's not gonna make it. They're like what about the Hellcat? So I talked to the owner, told him what they wanted and he was down for it. So at that time, oh my god, just all the stress in the world was put on my shoulders because I'm thinking to present my work on the biggest platform in the world, you know, sema yeah and, yeah, I knew what I had to present, so I put it in another gear and you know, dude to this day, what I consider my absolute best work I've ever done.

Rick: 28:53

I Would agree. I took a really good look at that was at SEMA, and that thing was just gorgeous from top to bottom, side to side, front here. It just so much detail went into that and I saw a lot of your videos along the way when you're posting some things that you're doing with the wheels and Some of the pinstriping and some of the inlays and things that you did, and it was just. I've seen a lot of custom work and I thought it was just phenomenal the job that you did. So I got imagine that was, though that had to be very stressful once you knew okay, that's going to the stage, that's going to the big stage.

Rick: 29:31

Oh yeah any flaws in that thing. Someone's going to see it and they're going to point it out, right?

Daniella: 29:37

Well, I mean, you know, you just got to think the caliber of people that are at this show. They're the best in the world.

Daniella: 29:44

Yeah they don't get no better and you know to try to impress them people, yeah, you better, you better bring something you know that stands out and For, somehow, from my brain to that car, I did it. I've done a bunch of different works and this one is probably the one that I can honestly say I Can look at it and I wouldn't. I wouldn't change nothing of it, nothing. You know, most time I can look at something, go, I would have done this or I would have done that this car I would, I wouldn't change anything. So I don't know what happened, I don't know where it came from, but but I did so, yeah.

Rick: 30:28

Well, that owner had to be pretty jazzed about that too, right Cuz now he still is.

Daniella: 30:33

He is in love with that car.

Rick: 30:35

Yeah.

Daniella: 30:36

Sleeps in it every night now.

Rick: 30:39

Trust me, every car show he goes to for the next five years. Yeah, this was in SEMA. This was in the second booth here.

Daniella: 30:44

I got videos right so oh yeah, yeah, since we've been back in Charleston and people have seen it, I mean it's. It's been just as an amazing response as it was SEMA.

Rick: 30:57

Very cool. So, although SEMA was nuts and, like you said, it's the who's who of Of the automotive world, whether it's custom or it's collision, it doesn't matter. Anybody and everybody who's anybody is there, which makes it so much fun because you never know who you're gonna run into. And I mean I ran into a ton of people. I did not expect to see whether it was people I worked with in the past or you know the leaders and in the industry. I met so many cool people Just from going to that event last year, just like it was my first year going, and I said, oh, I gotta do this every year. This is, this is way too good to miss, right?

Rick: 31:34

I really so I'm sure you ran into some very cool people while you were there, right, because there was a lot of attention at that booth. It's a, so Gola does a great job Getting their stuff out there. That booth was beautiful. They get a lot of excitement around there and you had a lot of celebrities swinging through and checking out what you're doing.

Daniella: 31:56

There's a few.

Rick: 31:58

Any surprises and who crossed your pathway over there?

Daniella: 32:02

so the one person that I was anticipating that I was looking forward to the most, which is somebody that I've admired, you know, through the years and Met, met him at SEMA 2022. He's kind of the one that really gave me the push to jump into a custom, and that's mr Ryan Evans, and he had come by the booth and his response to the car and Just I knew he was gonna be truthful with me, but his response was just Mind-blowing, like I felt like I was dreaming. Honestly, I got kind of emotional at the same time.

Daniella: 32:45

Yeah a lot of emotions this year.

Rick: 32:48

Oh, I bet, I bet.

Daniella: 32:50

But uh, yeah, he had come by and several others that come by. Shorty came by and, Of course, 20 might came by. Gooch from Gooch customs came by you know just a lot of Amazing people came by and just the response was was mind-blowing.

Rick: 33:08

You also had a I'd say an industry icon that everybody knows had something special for you, didn't he?

Daniella: 33:18

So, you gotta tell that story believe it or not, this happened within 20 minutes of Ryan coming over and me and him talking. So I tell people, if I wrote this story on paper and you read it, it would read like fiction. Yeah, because Brian had come over. I had an emotional conversation with him and just my mind was already blown at that point. And Then who comes rolling at? Mr Gene Winfield. Though I'm standing there, I'm talking to somebody about the car and I hear this voice go cat. And it was Jean. And I turn around like oh hey, jean, and I'd gotten lucky enough to meeting at the SEMA previous to this one. And Just out of nowhere he goes hey, I want to paint with you. And I was like what do you mean? You want to paint with me? And he said I want to put on a class with you at your shop. And they're like is that something you would be interested in? I'm like what do you mean? Just tell me when yeah.

Daniella: 34:38

The crazy thing is Jean puts on his metal workshops. You know a lot he does. He does that a lot. This is actually his first paint class that we're gonna be doing. Crazy as it sounds. He said he was inspired by my car at SEMA that he wanted to do that with me.

Rick: 35:00

Okay.

Daniella: 35:01

I mean you want to talk about a compliment from just somebody who's who's forgotten more than I'll ever know.

Rick: 35:11

God that doesn't get any better than that, that's just crazy.

Daniella: 35:16

So yeah, I mean it's on paper now. February 10th and 11th, we'll be doing it here at my shop in Charleston.

Rick: 35:23

So that class full yet.

Daniella: 35:27

I haven't checked, but I think it's last I checked it was like half full.

Rick: 35:32

Okay, yeah, they're still. It'll be full before the Christmas gets here, I'm sure of it.

Daniella: 35:36

So I'm sure it will to. I get messages from people all the time asking me about it, so yeah it's gonna be. It's gonna be a good time. I've never led a class like this. It's gonna be a beginner's class to a custom painting, so, yeah, I'm just gonna kind of focus on the stuff that I want to do as Well, as we're gonna have a couple other artists there that'll be named later. So, I'm, I'm super, super excited for it. I mean, jean Winfield, come on now.

Rick: 36:09

He is so cool. I've run across to him a couple times in Detroit at the Autorama, which is a huge event in Detroit, and he's really down this. The basement is always where the rat rods are and the old in the old customs and that's usually where he hangs out. You know it because he does a lot of metal work. He teaches some metal classes there. So this is kind of cool that he wanted to do a painting class and he chose you to do it with.

Daniella: 36:35

Well, see, I know the kind of builds that he's done over the years, and for him to be inspired by the hell cat Was interesting to me because it just didn't seem like his, his style of automotive art, I guess. But I Did. This one does embody the 72 Challenger with the stripes and you know just just the whole vibe and feel of it with my twist, you know, with the modern twist, so, but still I couldn't believe it. I still can't believe it.

Rick: 37:07

Yeah, that is so cool. I'm so happy for you that's. That is such a neat experience and I saw the video and I could see the shock in your face.

Daniella: 37:21

They were video and I was like, you know, I didn't really think anything of it at first, but I go back and I watch the video. I'm like, oh my god, I look like it's that's dork.

Rick: 37:30

No, no, you didn't look like a door. We all look like dorks to ourselves sometimes, but not in real life. So Well, that was. That's an excellent story and, like I said, it was a great event. I'm glad I got a chance to run into you down there. I'm sure there's huge things coming up for you in the future, so I'm quite certain We'll be hearing a lot more from tatted cat in the future. I'll. Before I let you go, though, I did want to ask you something. I try to ask my guest this set, because I think sharing this helps so many others in different ways. But what's the most valuable lesson You've learned today in this industry?

Daniella: 38:13

So the one thing I've learned is Do not be afraid to fail. I've learned that I'm I'm pretty much. You can only fail if you give up. Just just keep, keep at it, keep going. I mean, yeah, there are gonna be ups and downs. I still have ups and downs. I mean it just comes with the territory, but you, you can't be afraid to fail.

Rick: 38:42

Great lesson. I think you're absolutely right. You can't, you're, you're absolutely spot on. The only time you fail is when you stop trying Exactly. So I know a lot of people do give up way too early and you don't need to. Don't let your, don't, let your head talk you out of it, right?

Daniella: 39:00

So I mean, you really as funny as it's gonna sound, is you can't take what we do that serious, if that makes sense. Yeah, I have fun with what I do, you know. Yeah, whenever it comes to the business side, I got to be more serious, but whenever it comes to the actual work, I have a blast. The only thing I really worry about is staying consistent.

Rick: 39:25

Mm-hmm.

Daniella: 39:26

Consistency is, should be everybody's goal. It shouldn't be perfection, because that's such thing. Consistency, consistency.

Rick: 39:38

I couldn't agree more. It's a great, great mouth to live by, so Awesome. Well, it's been great catching up with you. Glad we got a chance to talk since. See, absolutely, I will make sure give me the all the information I need. I want to put that class information In the show notes so everybody has a chance. It didn't see it, or maybe they don't get on Instagram that they get that opportunity to see that where that class is, when it is, how much it is, and maybe they'll fill that class up a week after they see my podcast, who knows? So the.

Daniella: 40:10

The first video that we did was more of a teaser, so we will be posting a couple more videos here soon, so people will. People will be able to find that on my Instagram, as well as my face Facebook business page and also on Gene Winfield's page. Yeah, we'll be posting that again soon.

Rick: 40:31

Awesome, well, good deal. I'll make sure I put all that information in the show notes for all of you out there that want to reach out. Connect with Daniela. Just look for tatted cat on Instagram. Thanks again for spending time with us here. I Appreciate it and the audience. I appreciate you guys Tuning in and checking this out till next time. What's your say? Glassy, my friends a glassy my friends. I love that slogan, that's cool.

Daniella: 41:00

Thank you.

Rick: 41:01

All right, we'll take care of Daniela Well, I hope you enjoyed my chat with the cat this week, one of my favorite social media stars, tatted cat. She's such a talented, humble young lady, a pleasure to talk to and definitely on her way to a very bright future. Be sure to follow her on Instagram. Also, if you've ever had a desire to learn how to pinstripe like the pros, daniela will be hosting a custom pinstriping class at her shop on April 20th in Charleston, south Carolina, with Dr Oz designs. I'll leave a link for that class and links to connect with her as well in the show notes. Thanks again for tuning in. I really appreciate your support and I hope you have a great week. I can always be reached at wwwricksellovercom, where you can find all my social media links podcast episodes, blog posts and much more.