Nathan Jaramillo is owner of Nate’s Customs & Collision, a Diamond Certified company. He can be reached at (510) 371-4986 or info@natescandc.com.
Nathan Jaramillo: Preserving the Past
By Matt Solis, Editor
Like many automotive professionals, Nathan Jaramillo’s relationship with cars began with an early interest and gradually grew into something bigger. “I got into cars around 1993 through the lowrider scene,” he remembers. “My uncle had a ’55 Chevy at the time, and I spent that summer working on it with him and basically fell in love. When I graduated high school, I started prepping cars at a local auction house before moving on to a body work position. I worked under three journeymen and they taught me everything they knew about body work. At the same time, I started taking an auto painting class at College of Alameda. I was more into painting than body work, but as time went on, I saw there was more opportunity on the auto body side. So, I stuck with it and ended up loving it more than I thought I would.”
Nathan actually left the auto body industry to join his local millwright’s union, but he never strayed far from his original passion. “While I worked in the union, I would come home from an eight-hour shift and do body work in my backyard, so I never really left the trade,” he explains. “Around 2003, I found a small location in Oakland and decided to start my own shop. It was just me—I would bring in one car at a time and do that on the side. Eventually, I started burning out from doing both trades at once, so I talked to my father and he told me to choose one and leave the other alone. So, one day I picked up my tools from a union job and never looked back. In 2016, I found a little building in San Leandro and managed to buy it, and Nate’s Customs & Collision has been here ever since.”
A lifelong resident of the Bay Area, Nathan grew up in the Oakland/Alameda area and currently lives in San Leandro with his wife, Tracy, where he appreciates all that life in the East Bay has to offer. “This has always been a special place,” he affirms. “My dad was kind of a history buff, so he used to tell me all the things that happened in the Bay Area before I was born and it made me really appreciative. It has changed a lot over the years, but there’s still a lot of opportunity.”
Outside of work, Nathan unsurprisingly spends much of his free time participating in the local auto scene, but he also makes time for a few unrelated hobbies. “I love going to car shows and I’m a big car collector—or a ‘hoarder,’ as my wife calls me,” he laughs. “But I collect other things as well, like American pop history stuff and toys from the ’70s and ’80s. I’m also part of a historical preservation group called E Clampus Vitus. We’re called ‘Clampers’ and we go around preserving historical sites that are connected to the gold mining era.”
When asked what his life might look like if he retired tomorrow, Nathan says his first move is essentially set in stone. “We go to Mexico pretty frequently, so the plan is to buy something and retire there. There’s a place called Los Cerritos on the Baja side, about 45 minutes from Cabo San Lucas—that’s where we’re planning to go, at least for six months out of the year.”
Ask Me Anything!
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
A: Europe. I’d love to visit Italy, Greece and Spain.
Q: What’s your favorite local restaurant?
A: Manor Grill in San Leandro.
Q: What’s your dream car restoration?
A: I have a 1938 Lincoln Zephyr convertible that I’d love to finish one day.
Q: What’s your earliest memory?
A: Going to the flea market in San Jose and driving past all the orchards on the way.
Q: If you could talk to anyone living or dead, who would it be?
A: My dad.