(WSVN) – A South Florida family is revving up reality TV. 7’s Heather Walker takes us behind the cameras in this 7 Spotlight.
Whether you see them cruising down the highway, or showing up on a celebrity’s social media, these custom cars stand out.
And they’re all made by one South Florida family.
Joe Ghattas, Owner of Apocalypse Manufacturing: “I’m Joe Ghattas, owner of Apocalypse Manufacturing, where we build the baddest trucks on the planet.”
Joe Ghattas started the company 13 years ago in Fort Lauderdale. It began as a hobby, then took off, so he brought on his wife Ashley and the rest of her family.
Ashley Ghattas: “Joe builds the trucks, and my family sells them.”
Joe Ghattas: “This is just a dream come true. I couldn’t tell you how happy I am coming to work every day, doing what we do. And how big it’s gotten, it’s wild, it just blows my mind every day.”
Everything here is big — from the cars…
Joe Ghattas: “This is our gladiator Spartan. This is one of our signature builds.”
…to the operation that creates them.
Joe Ghattas: “The secret sauce, right? That’s our [six-wheel] axle.”
The company has grown to more than 100 employees across four locations. Between their two brands — SoFlo Customs and Apocalypse Manufacturing — the company turns out about 115 trucks a month.
The price tag? Anywhere from $60,000 all the way up to half a million dollars for this stretched G-Wagen.
Joe Ghattas: “These guys right here, they pull each part out, we wrap it, we stitch it al by hand.”
Heather Walker: “This is couture.”
Joe Ghattas: “Yeah, I like that word.”
Every inch of every car is customized.
Joe Ghattas: “If you look at the car, and you can’t recognize what it started as, that’s an Apocalypse.”
Heather Walker: “That’s it.”
Joe Ghattas: “That’s it.”
And that might be the reason celebrities go crazy for them.
Jerry Eisenband, Chief Marketing Officer, Apocalypse Manufacturing: “This place doesn’t have a shortage of celebrities.”
Like Drake.
Joe Ghattas: “Drake wanted a very custom interior; he wanted a zebra pattern style. Shaquille O’Neal, who you will see on the show, celebrities and athletes love it, like Luka Dončić. He appeared Monday night, Mavericks playoff game, in one of our Apocalypse HellFires, and everyone just lost their minds.”
They don’t just look cool — they’re just as much fun to drive.
Joe Ghattas: “I think, when you look at my trucks, they’re very South Florida. We’ve got the wider tire, because we’ve got the mud, we’ve got the Everglades, we’ve got the crazier fenders, we’ve got the wilder Miami colors.”
This South Florida family’s passion for custom cars has now driven them onto the small screen — starring in the new reality show “Truck Dynasty.”
Heather Walker: “What’s your biggest lesson that you’ve learned?”
Joe Ghattas: “You’re never going to fire your family, that’s step one, so just learn how to get better with each other every day.”
The other lesson he’s learned: If you build it, they will come.
Heather Walker, 7 News.
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