'Love of cruising' drives Visalia low rider shop to build one-of-a-kind cars
When people think about lowrider culture, Los Angles quickly comes to mind for many; for Visalians and those living in the Valley, South Mooney Boulevard was the spot to cruise during the 80s and 90s.
That was, until cruising was outlawed by the state of California. It's still banned today.
“People loved cruising back in the day,” Steven Burk owner of SNK Autobody & Hydraulics said. “From San Jose to Las Vegas... people would come here to cruise.”
The idea of a small town like Visalia, a city he hadn't heard of until moving here, being an area riders would seek out seemed far-fetched to SNK employee Jay Mackey.
He has been employed by the shop for over 10 years but initially got his start in Sacramento — another lowrider Mecca. Mackey initially laughed at the idea of Mooney being a cruising spot that out-of-towners would visit.
But it was a truth Burk and many others had lived.
“I grew up here and everybody came to shows... on Mooney on Friday, Saturday nights,” Enrique “Jr” Mexicano, another employee at SNK said. “They used to cruise all the time out here.”
A blog post on ‘Lay it Low’ from over 10 years ago confirms Central California was a go-to spot for a handful of individuals.
“The hot spots were Chester (Avenue) in Bakersfield, (South) Mooney (Boulevard) in Visalia and you couldn't forget Blackstone in Fresno,” the July 9, 2012 post reads. “I couldn’t wait till Saturday night to head out to one of those cruise spots.”
San Jose recently became the first city in California to overturn its decades-long cruising ban recently, sparking a new conversation amongst local cruisers: why doesn’t Visalia follow suit?
When lowriding was first outlawed, it was due to violence and gang relations associated with it, Mackey said. Local riders argue things have changed.
The cars being showcased take years to complete and thousands of dollars to customize.
For example, getting a full custom car from Burk will run you anywhere from $50,000 to $400,000 depending on what you want.
"Every car that I've ever done, everything has always been different," Burk said. "I have never duplicated nothing in over 30 years... I've always tried to give everybody a one-off here."
As the shop’s owner and artist, Burk takes a lot of pride in his work, despite being incredibly humble. He loves talking about the cars he’s worked on throughout the years – hell, he’s been painting since he was 8 years old, so there have been more than a few.
"I started in bikes. I painted my first one at about 8 years old," he said. "At 10 years old I got to paint my first car and I've been doing it ever since... So yeah, God, 36 years already."
It’s one of the main reasons he’s considered one of the best painters in the Central Valley and in California. There's a reason he has a two- to three-year waitlist.
Judges across the world agree.
The walls of SNK are framed with all sorts of trophies. Some of them were won by Burk, while others were awarded to his clients, who in turn, gave him the trophy as a sort of thank you.
"I've done everything from hot rods, lowriders and motorcycles," Burk said. "I've got cars I've done everywhere, from Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, LA to the Bay... I've got cars that were sent to Japan."
Burk remembers each of the cars he works on, and of course their owner.
Recently, Burk was awarded Prestigious Painter of the Year by House of Kolor, owned by Valspar. He works with the company each year to provide free lessons to those interested in learning how to paint.
In fact, there’s a lot Burk does for the community quietly behind the scenes.
He has painted hundreds of Redwood High School and Reedley College football helmets this year, as he does every year, for free.
"He's super family-oriented. He always gives back whenever he can," Mexicano said. "I've worked with him for 10 years and... we've probably painted 1,000 football helmets. I don't think he's charged anybody."
Burk also customized Redwood’s on-site golf carts and the Visalia Police Department’s cruiser a few years back. Currently, he is helping out the Farmersville Police and Fire departments with their decals.
As a father of seven, Burk has no real downtime; in fact, the "SNK" in SNK Autobody & Hydraulics employees stands for "Steven 'n Kids."
Each Saturday usually revolves around Pop Warner football or another sporting event; however, things are finally starting to slow down now that his last two children are in high school.
This is the first or second Saturday he has had free in a long, long time.
As the owner of a 78’ Monte Carlo, Burk would love to be able to cruise down South Mooney Boulevard like he used to do so often, many years ago.
"Man, I wish we could have it (cruising) back home," Burk said. “I would like to get everything back together and have cruises like they do in L.A., bring that back here into town... and really allow cruising back in Visalia again.”
Five facts about lowriders
Lowriders are designed to be shown off low and slow, like a “rolling work of art.”
Sandbags and cement used to be put in the trunks of cars to give them more of a lowrider appearance.
Music about lowriding became popular as cruising became hot in Los Angeles in the 80s and 90s. Notable songs include: “Nuthin' But A G Thang” by Dr. Dre featuring Snoop Dogg, “Low Rider” by War, and “Rocket 88” by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats.
Gov. Brown passed a California Vehicle Code in 1957, with enforcement beginning in 1958, that made driving a car with any part lower than the bottom of its wheel rim illegal.
Hydraulics were created to ensure lowriders could meet the legal ride height in front of police.
Lauren Jennings covers education, business and news for the Visalia Times-Delta/Tulare Advance-Register. Follow her on Twitter @lolojennings. Get alerts and keep up on all things Tulare County for as little as $1 a month. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: 'Love of cruising' drives Visalia low rider shop to build one-of-a-kind cars
