Nakuru car enthusiast with a knack for transforming old vehicles into sleek machines
Prince Johnson working at his home compound on January 16, 2024.
Prince Johnson has done what many people dream of doing; turning their hobbies into a profitable business.
Born out of his passion for automobiles, Prince currently runs a car pimping business that has enabled him to own more than 100 cars.
The 42-year-old narrates, "My love for cars began in my childhood. I'd often deconstruct my toy cars just to build them back again."
Prince Johnson during an interview with Mtaa Wangu on January 16, 2024.
It wasn't until his campus years that Prince discovered he wanted to earn from working with cars.
"I pursued a degree in mechanical engineering but have never used those papers," he notes with a chuckle adding, "I pimped my first car back in 2007, and that labour of love was enough to set my mind to fully pursue car pimping."
He additionally credits the choice of working with cars to the support of his parents and an apprenticeship arrangement in his teenage years.
When explaining the car pimping process, he shares that it all starts with him identifying and buying an old car.
The car enthusiast highlights, "After the car has been acquired, I get labour, usually three guys to scrub off the car's previous paint."
One of the cars Prince Johnson has refurbished.
Once this is done, Prince then proceeds to repaint and change the car's spare parts and interior; all of which he does on his home compound.
"Whenever I'm buying an old car to pimp, I do so with the intent of owning it and driving it around. That's how I've come to own 103 cars," he shares.
Once he has used the car for a certain number of months, he then sells the car while it's still in stellar condition.
"My childhood dream was to own many cars," Prince shares as he additionally notes, "I plan on owning 700 cars within 5-7 years from now."
One of the cars that Prince has pimped parked at his home on January 16, 2024.
The car lover who also doubles as an IT expert shares that one of his business's biggest propellers has been social media.
He shares, "Social media has been a great help in sharing my work. As a result, I not only get clients to buy the pimped cars, I also get clients that bring in their vehicle with specific pimp projects."
Even as Johnson talks of how working with cars is all a labour of love, he notes that there are some challenges in his line of work.
He laments, "My first challenge is how hard it is to sell piped cars. Not too many people understand or even appreciate classic cars. Secondly, sourcing for the spare parts for classic cars is also quite difficult."
An old nissan that was pimped by Prince Johnson.
Regardless of these challenges, Prince still plans on working with cars full time till old age.
"My goals for the year are to purchase a garage and to quit my IT career to fully pursue cars. I am very grateful that I get to do something I love every day all while earning from it," Prince Johnson closes off.