CELEBRITY car wrapper Yianni Charalambous is set to appear on his new TV show ‘Yianni: Supercar Customiser’ which premieres on UKTV’s entertainment channel Dave at 8pm tonight.

Yianni has a client list that includes some of the biggest names in the world of sport and entertainment including Harry He is also a star on social media, with a YouTube channel boasting almost over a million subscribers, and over two million social media followers.

The show takes a closer look into Yianni’s world showing how he manages a busy garage full of big personalities making sure that all the cars are successfully wrapped and converted to perfection.

The Westmorland Gazette: Yianni: Supercar CustomiserPicture Shows: Yianni CharalambousLocation: Yiannimize Garage

What part did cars play in your childhood?

I’ve always been passionate about cars from a very, very young age, even when I used to park my toy cars, my mum said to me you parked them in exactly in the perfect space. I’d make sure the gap at the front is exactly the same at the back and that was like at two to three years old, so cars were always something that I loved.

How did you get into specifically modifying cars and what were your early attempts like?

Cars were something that I was always passionate about and my first car was a Ford Fiesta, a B-reg back in the day and it was a cool car, but it didn’t have any spec. I decided to change the wheels on it, so once I changed the wheels I tinted the windows and I tried to add a little bit of kit to it. It was horrendous. I see people doing it nowadays and I cringe and I think I was that guy when I was 17 years old.

Without giving too much away what are the secrets to doing what you do?

I think you need to be passionate about your job and if you love what you do it doesn’t feel like working. With car customising you need to have an eye for it and you need to listen to what your customer says, and if you listen to what your customers says and you give them your advice as well, between the both of you, you can come up with a good result.

How long does it take in terms of preparation, man hours etc to do an average wrap and what goes into it?

An average wrap can take between three and five days. The car would come in, it would initially be washed, it would then come into the unit and you would take parts of like wing mirrors, door handles, bumpers and doors. Once the car is stripped you would then wrap the vehicle in the vinyl, the car would then be fitted back together, it would then be re-cleaned and you would deliver it back to the customer.

Is what you do only available to the rich and famous?

No, I’ve done (rich people's) cars, I’ve done Joe Public. It doesn’t have to be rich and famous, but people with money tend to spend a lot more money on their vehicles. However I’ve got customers that are 17-year-old and they’ll wrap their first car which is like a Vauxhall Corsa.

What is the most bizarre request you have received?

So I’ve got a customer that has got four chrome gold cars. He wrapped one and then he bought another and he bought another and he bought another. So he has a fleet of four chrome gold cars. He can’t drive them all, but he loves them.

Do you consider yourself an artist in the same way as a sculptor or painter would?

No I wouldn’t say that, I think I’m just someone that customises vehicles with a difference. A lot of people can wrap a car in a white or a black, but because we do chrome and we do really, really crazy out there colours, I think we’re different from the rest.

How would you react to criticism that what you do is just for poseurs and egotists?

I’d say some people yes, you’re not wrong, I’ve got some of my customers that are like that, some people want to do this because they want to be seen, they want to get massive on social media - other people are passionate about cars. I’ll wrap my car in chrome rose gold, but this is what I do for a living and I love cars and I don’t care what people think so, a lot of my customers feel the same.

How have you handled the fame that has come with what you do?

I was originally known as famous amongst famous people. If you were a celebrity you’d know who I was but Joe Public wouldn’t know me. Over the years because of my social media it’s grown and grown. I’m from the generation that they say ‘never meet your hero because you don’t want to be disappointed’, so I’ll always take time out to have pictures or sign anything and because my following are quite young. I’ve got the young kids that’ll say to me ‘Oh Yianni, we love you we know you wrapped so and so persons cars’, but then I’ve got their dad that’ll say ‘Yianni I respect you because you’re an entrepreneur and you work really hard, and I’m glad that my son follows you rather than a YouTuber, playing computer games’.

What do you drive and what have you done to it, if anything?

I’ve got a few cars, but my Lamborghini Aventador S is wrapped in satin black so it looks like the Batmobile. It’s got a massive Nero body kit on it, it’s got big wheels and tinted windows.

What ambitions do you have as far as your career is concerned?

I’ve reached a very, very high level in the car customising industry. I’m probably the most known person out there and we work on the high end cars that I don’t think anyone else can really do nowadays. But for me it’s about taking it abroad, if I can go to whether it be Dubai or America, another good car culture place, they’d love that, I’d love that.

Finally, you are followed by many young fans, what advice would you give to someone who may have similar ambitions to you in the business world, but might be unsure how to achieve them?

Firstly, work hard, you have to work hard whatever you want to do, you can’t become an overnight success, it doesn’t work nowadays and people think with social media its easy. It’s not it takes a lot of graft. Love what you do, you have to be passionate about what you do, and that will come across, whether it be on YouTube or whether it be in real life or whether it be when you put your work out there. A lot of people nowadays again think, ‘oh it’s okay, I’ll just put myself on social media, I’ll put myself on YouTube and I’ll get millions of views’ - it’s not as easy as that. Enjoy what you do, it’ll never feel like work, and it’ll come across natural.