In 1959, if you asked most boys what they wanted to be when they grew up. They would probably have given you some pretty standard answers-a doctor, a fireman, a singer like Elvis. If you'd asked the same question of a 12-year-old Herb Martinez, he might not have had time to talk with you. You see, he was already running his own pinstriping and custom paint business.

Livermore, California is the home of Herb Martinez Pinstriping and Signs, a showcase for the owner's many decorative talents-skills he learned like artists of the Renaissance, during a long apprenticeship with some of the best customizers and pinstripers in Northern and Southern California. During his upbringing in Oakland, California, Herb showed an early affinity for art in school, earning the acclaim of teachers and schoolmates for his drawing and painting. But when at the age of 12, a neighbor showed him how to hold a pinstriping brush, the wheels of destiny were set in motion. Herb discovered he had an innate talent and affection for pinstriping.

Through his teenage years, Martinez put his considerable energy into entrepreneurial pursuits, doing pin striping and custom painting in his parents garage, beginning his first work at the Oakland Roadster Show in 1961 ("Imagine", he says, " some 14 -year-old coming up to you at a show and asking to pinstripe your car!"), and even making forays into the repair, building, and decoration of surfboards. It was also during this time he took to hanging around the shops of Tommy 'the Greek' and 'St. John' Morton seeking to learn the knowledge and skills of the masters of the craft. After high school, Herb continued to hone his skills by working in body shops as an apprentice painter, and in 1971 began his first "real" business -- Color Machine Body and Paint, a custom paint and body shop where his skills were expanded to include custom body work and custom painting on motorcycles and race cars.

Since 1978, Herb has devoted his talents exclusively to pinstriping. Thanks to the efforts of major mentor Cary Greenwood, Herb was able to finally retire from auto painting. In 1982, lettering and signs were added to the menu of decorative arts when he enrolled at Los Angeles Trade Technical College for the sign graphics course. Although the course was never finished, the skills he acquired helped round out his expertise. Herb has followed all the latest trends and applied each one to his customer's vehicles. Simple or baroque work on stock, vintage, and exotic modes of transportation is his hallmark.

Herb has also invested time and money into roadwork with Goodguys Rod & Custom Association and NSRA. Touring over the entire nation during the summer from 1988 to 1993, he sharpened his skills even further, and picked up many other styles and methods of pinstriping and graphics along the way. His photo albums bulge with photos of striping from many other artists besides himself, and from many parts of the country.

Thanks to the tours, he now has one of the most complete collections of pictures of styles of all types of pinstriping known to exist. This is a tremendous help to an undecided customer. Sometimes working day and night, Herbs booth area at the shows is always busy. Thanks to a friend and fellow SEMA member, Oliver Schlimmer, Herb found himself working in Germany by 1997. His "Euro-Tours" are still a part of his schedule to this day. He plans on continuing to do shows in the U.S. and Europe until he can't travel anymore.

Martinez's talents extend far beyond decorative custom work. He has written, photographed, and been the model in technical articles for numerous magazines including AutoArt, Autographics, and the new book by Craig Fraser on advanced pinstriping techniques called Pinstriping Masters. He has been interviewed for Street Rodder, Drive, and Autographics, as well as many other smaller publications and articles on his work. His pinstriping has been featured on a multitude of vehicles in every major automotive publication in America, Europe, Japan, and Australia.

Thanks to an association with custom car builder Eddie Paul, Herb has contributed his talents to vehicles, props, and sets in such movies as the "Best of Times" with Kurt Russell and Robin Williams, the "Ice Pirates", and Rad Studios. 20th Century Fox, Lions Gate, Universal, and MGM have all been his and Eddie's clients. Eddie and Herb also did the first "How to Pinstripe Basics" video in 1983, and have just recently released an updated version in Digital Video "Circle Scan 4D." Since 1990, building project and promotional vehicles as seen at the SEMA Show has also been a specialty. Sponsors like Goodyear, Mooneyes, Colorado Custom, DuPont, PPG, and JTR Publishing have contributed parts and expertise to his cars and trucks.

Herb has traveled the USA and the globe showing off his expertise to a wide variety of people and cultures. From 1988 to 1993 he traveled the American hot rod and custom car outdoor show circuit purveying his talents for Goodguys, NSRA, and numerous smaller promoters and club gatherings. Thanks to a major break in 1997 from a German national named Oliver Schlimmer, he crossed the Atlantic and started his striping tour in central Europe, mostly around Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. Thanks to Shige Suganuma and Larry "Speedo" Henley, he showed his talents and products across the Pacific at the Mooneyes Rod & Custom show in Yokohama, Japan in 2001.

In 2002, his "Better Late than Never" Tour took him back to Germany and Switzerland for the sixth time. This trip was to establish himself with the crowds at the Essen Motor Show. This is the biggest tuner show in Europe. For ten days he worked the show at the SEMA, Mattig, and Pentastar booths, striping their cars and parts in front of hundreds of viewers at a time. This is the first time that he had worked on European vehicles in Germany. Before this he had only worked on American cars and trucks.

The overview of 2003 has proved to be another banner year of accomplishments. The longest, largest European tour yet took place. Euro Tour 2003 had 9 stops in France, Switzerland, and Germany. The tour was completed at the end of the year by his appearance at the Mooneyes Rod & Custom Show in Yokohama, Japan. Herbs new video debuted this year, incorporating both basic and advanced techniques for the first time. Herb’s longtime partnership with Eddie Paul has spawned 3 videos on pinstriping so far, and will probably continue with other subjects in the future. Airbrush Art Magazine finally released the first “Pinstriping Masters” book in May. The book shows 30 different stripers, including Herb, purveying their craft, and demonstrating many techniques. By 2004, the 25th anniversary year of Herb Martinez Pinstriping & Signs, Monster Garage had picked up the same chapter from Masters and published it in their book “How To Custom Paint Damn Near Anything”.

Things have seemed to calm down a bit by 2004. No tours were scheduled. The company had even stopped working at Goodguys shows locally. Only the small shows were being done and the NSRA Golden State Nationals in Sacramento. Then a friend, Ron Covel of “Professor Hammer” fame got Herb a trip to the NSRA-UK Super Nationals in July of 2005 to be their American Guest and give seminars on pinstriping to the folks attending the show. This was followed in November by the acquisition of a book deal from KP Publishing of Wisconsin at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. With the help of his friend Eddie Paul, who recommended him for the job, Herb finished the manuscript in November 2005. Also, author Tim Phelps, picked Herb to have a chapter in the upcoming book “Up In Flames” to be published by Motor Books International in 2006

Things are looking great for 2007 as his book has been published and there will be plenty of book signings to attend. Thanks to the wonderful sponsorship of 1Shot paints and the gracious presentation of Chrom & Flammen Magazine of Herten, Germany, the Euro Tours are on the calendar throughout 2007, and who knows what will happen after that. Check the schedule for the latest appearances.

Like the Brotherhood of the Brush says, Keep It Wet.