The "stuff" of history is people- their experiences, their points of view, the things they make and why they make them. Pinstriper History is an oral history project that focuses on the movers and shakers of kustom kulture- the pinstripers.

In reality, Pinstriper History has already existed for a long time: in the stories shared at car shows, over beers in the garage, in truck cabs, and on racetracks. For decades (centuries, even), pinstripers and enthusiasts of the craft have passed along the history of the techniques, antics, personalities, and works through oral histories and visual culture. This project is not claiming to do anything "radically new", it is simply an effort to begin recording and making available the stories pinstripers pass along .

This project is guided by Cassie Tanks, the daughter of San Diego pinstriper Mark Lueck and a digital public historian and archivist. Tanks spent her childhood helping mask paint jobs (poorly, but her dad never would have said so to her), using discarded pounce patterns as coloring sheets, and submitting school art projects with hidden flying eyeballs. Instead of picking favorite colors based upon packs of crayons, Tanks flipped through 1 Shot Paint chip books (the accent color of this site is 1 Shot Magenta, her favorite color then and now).

Staying true to the kulture, this project is not affiliated with any official institutions- no universities or corporations are involved. Contributors to this project retain full ownership and rights over their stories,