Richard Rawlings (born March 30, 1969) is an American entrepreneur and media personality. He is the star of the reality television show ''

Fast N' Loud ''Fast N' Loud'' was a reality-styled Discovery Channel TV show featuring Richard Rawlings and his crew from the Dallas, Texas-based Gas Monkey Garage as they search for tired and run-down cars, and restore them for profit. The show was success ...

'' on

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...

. He is also a proprietor of the Gas Monkey Garage as well as both the

Gas Monkey Bar N' Grill Gas Monkey Bar N' Grill is an American restaurant and live music bar in Dallas, Texas started by entrepreneur Richard Rawlings, who is also the star of Discovery Channel reality television show ''Fast N' Loud''. History Beginnings (2013) ...

and

Gas Monkey Live Gas Monkey Live was an American music venue in Dallas, Texas, owned by Richard Rawlings, star of American television program Fast N' Loud and owner of both Gas Monkey Garage and Gas Monkey Bar N' Grill. History On October 11, 2014, Rawlings ...

music venues in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, Texas. Beginning in 2014, Rawlings was featured in national

television commercials A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

promoting

Dodge Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...

vehicles and financing.

Early years

Rawlings was born in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

, in 1969. As a child he went to

auto show An auto show, also known as a motor show or car show, is a public exhibition of current automobile models, debuts, concept cars, or out-of-production classics. It is attended by automotive industry representatives, dealers, auto journalists a ...

s with his father and constructed cars, having purchased his first at the age of 14. In the next six to seven years, he graduated from

Eastern Hills High School Eastern Hills High School is a four-year public high school in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. The school is educating students in grades 9–12, as part of the Fort Worth Independent School District. In an historical footnote, the band from ...

In 1993, Rawlings married Karen K. Grames, but they divorced the following year. In 1999, Rawlings started the printing and advertising company Lincoln Press. Also in 1999, he married his second wife, Suzanne Marie Mergele, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The couple divorced in 2009, but remarried in 2015. On March 11, 2019, Rawlings announced via his Twitter account that Suzanne and he were separating and filing for divorce.

Gas Monkey Garage

In 2002, Rawlings launched Gas Monkey Garage in Dallas, selling Lincoln Press in 2004. The shop customizes classic and

hot-rod Hot rods are typically American cars that might be old, classic, or modern and that have been rebuilt or modified with large engines optimised for speed and acceleration. One definition is: "a car that's been stripped down, souped up and made ...

automobiles for customers worldwide. From 2012 to 2020, the business was the focus of the

series ''

''. Rawlings also co-hosts the show ''Garage Rehab'' on the Discovery Channel since 2017, which is about overhauling struggling automotive shops, along with co-hosts Russell Holmes and Chris Stephens. He pitched the concept to the network circa 2015.

Cannonball Run/Bullrun

In May 2007, Richard Rawlings and co-pilot Dennis Collins allegedly broke the 1979

Cannonball A round shot (also called solid shot or simply ball) is a solid spherical projectile without explosive charge, launched from a gun. Its diameter is slightly less than the bore of the barrel from which it is shot. A round shot fired from a lar ...

Run time from New York City to Los Angeles of 32 hours and 51 minutes. The two bet rival Jay Riecke that they could beat the time in their 2007 Bullrun entry, a black Ferrari 550, modified with extra fuel cells. Their final time was 31 hours and 59 minutes, but much debate remains in the legitimacy of this time, as the distance and times do not match up. They were the only pair to defeat the 1975 mark by Rick Cline and Jack May in a Ferrari Dino, as all other competitors did not leave and arrive at the correct locations or took alternate routes that did not follow the original Cannonball Runs of the 1970s. Even their personal heroes Dave Heinz and Dave Yarborough in their Jaguar XJ-S that set the 1979 record left from Darien, Connecticut, instead of Manhattan.

Food and music venues

In September 2013, Rawlings started

Northwest Dallas Northwest Dallas is an area consisting of many communities and neighborhoods in Dallas, Texas, (USA). Geography The area is bordered by I-635 to the North, Stemmons Freeway to the West, the Dallas North Tollway to the East and to the South it go ...

and a second location at

Dallas Fort Worth International Airport Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport , also known as DFW Airport, is the primary international airport serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and the North Texas Region in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the largest hub for American Air ...

opened in March 2014. Rawlings indicated a desire to open a third Texas location outside of the

Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, officially designated Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, is a conurbated metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Texas encompassing 11 counties and anchore ...

. In October 2014,

, a venue dedicated predominantly to live music, was opened. The venue closed in May 2020. Rawlings, started a new restaurant venture, Richard Rawlings' Garage. The first restaurant opened in Harker Heights, Texas, in 2016, and it permanently closed in March 2019. In 2019, Rawlings licensed the Gas Monkey brand to a line of energy drinks.

Autobiography

On May 12, 2015, Rawlings published his first autobiography entitled ''Fast N’ Loud: Blood, Sweat and Beers''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rawlings, Richard American business executives 1969 births Living people People from Fort Worth, Texas