From a very early age Chris had a passion and drive for the design and concept of the automobile. He filled his room with bins upon bins of models, toys, and coloring books — anything that had even the slightest resemblance of a car. While collecting, Chris began doodling sketches of the cars he saw in his mind's eye. Ultimately, he decided that the designing and sculpting of these phantom cars was much more fun than collecting alone. In his teens his drawings developed along with his talent, and he decided after high school he would attend Columbus College of Art. He continued to hone his skills, until one day he had a fateful meeting with Troy Trepainer at the Hot Rod Power Festival in Norwalk, Ohio. Troy told him about a school in Pasadena, Calif., that Chris might be interested in attending, with such prestigious alumni as Chip Foose. It was then he packed up his bags and waved goodbye to his sleepy town in Ohio.

After graduation in 2000 from Art Center, Chris was tossed into the mainstream of auto reproduction and design in California. He wanted to design state-of-the-art street rods and muscle cars, so he set out to find a shop that did so. Research brought him to Barry's Speed Shop, then located in Placentia. Barry was already knee-deep in building an AMBR contender, but was in need of an interior design that would fit the sleek car. Chris proved that his education from Art Center was well worth the money when he designed the interior for the 2001 "America's Most Beautiful Roadster" winner, dubbed "Impact."

Since Impact's win, Chris has designed and sculpted many AMBR contenders and customer's cars alike under the guidance of Barry's Speed Shop. All of these cars have gone on to win various trophies, titles, and awards.