Derek Bieri popularly known as Vice Grip Garage is an American Classic car enthusiast and YouTube personality who is recognized for his content on the Vice Grip Garage channel. His videos mostly include tips on budget builds, automative restoration, vehicle rescues, and how to’s in simple laymen terms. His channel is dedicated to salvaging and resuscitating anything with wheels. If you love to watch the old, rusty and ramshackle cars get revivified and turned brand new then probably you might have probably known Vice Grip Garage. Most of those cars have been driven or dragged to a permanent resting place and forgotten. But Derek respects the story behind every old car and wants to give them a brighter future after a long history of neglect.
The main strength of ‘Vice Grip Garage’ is Derek’s willingness to tackle a challenge without a script, or hauler trailer, when he rescues a forlorn old vehicle. He doesn’t travel with a safety net crew like a few other car guy adventure shows.
Derek was born on May 16th 1984 in Minot, North Dakota, USA and grew up on a farm in remote countryside of North Dakota where times could get tough, so he learned his skills from his father and grandfather over the years. Though he is not a certified mechanic but he picked up over the years while watching them work. He recalls watching his father, grandfather, and uncles working on the farm and ranch making things work with what they have, and very rarely opt to buy new parts. He is considered to be an “old school” mechanic too as he relies on his senses more than any new gadgets or expensive tools.
He apprenticed under Roger Zweifel, working his way through school building and/or restoring hundreds of 40s-60s hot rods and classic cars. Even to this date, Derek still has no official mechanical certification. This old school DIY mechanic is a husband, father of 3 boys and is also known for Motortrend. He started Vice Grip Garage channel out of his passion to save classic automobiles and muscle cars, and share his experience working in the automotive industry.
Bio
| Name | Derek Bieri |
| Nick Name | Derek |
| Gender | Male |
| Profession | Classic Car Enthusiast, Youtuber, Director, and Digital Content Creator |
| Personal Life | |
| Date of Birth | 16 May 1984 |
| Age (as in 2022) | 38 |
| Zodiac | Taurus |
| Nationality | American |
| Place of Birth | Minot, North Dakota, USA |
| Currently Lives in | Tennessee, USA |
| Ethnicity | Caucasian |
| Religion | Christian |
| Physical Stats & More | |
| Height (approx) | in feet inches - 5 '11" in centimeters - 180 cm in meters - 1.8 m |
| Weight (approx) | in kilograms - 72 kg in pounds - 159 lbs |
| Eye Colour | Brown |
| Hair Colour | Brown |
| Tattoo(s) | No |
| Family, Relationship & More | |
| Relationship Status | Married |
| Girlfriend / Wife | Jessica Bieri |
| Children | Three Kids |
| Affairs / Past Relations | NA |
| Net Worth (approx) | $ 1-2 Million |
| [email protected] | |
| Address | Po box 2088, Lewisburg, TN, United States |
Before becoming a full time YouTuber he was a successful C level officer (former US veteran), President or owner of multiple companies and is considered to be a “street smart” entrepreneur from a young age. Derek changed up his game a little when he purchased a 1956 Buick Special two-door hardtop, a car with its special links to his family. It took Derek over a decade before he was finally able to track down this family legacy Buick in Texas. He owned the car before he sold to its former owner and Derek’s late father owned the Buick before him. The car became an important part of the Bieri family legacy over the time. It was the first car that he can recall from his childhood and he remembers many personal experiences as a kid when it comes to the ‘56 Buick.
He remembers his dad painting the car in a dirt floor garage while Derek did circles on a plastic trike in the same building. His father was doing a hurry-up paint job because the car needed to look good for a parade the next day. While their family excursions in the Buick with his dad behind the wheel and only low gear available in the Dynaflow automatic transmission. He said that the car could only hit about 30 mph during the trips but as he had hands-on experience with vehicles over the years, he was able to improve the Buick until an untimely fire occurred shortly before its complete restoration and he was forced to sell it.
But he never felt right about the sale because of the car’s strong link to his dad. He bought the car-complete with a 1500-mile trip from Texas to his Minnesota home and decided to show the entire journey in ‘Vice Grip Garage’ episodes.
Derek said the most difficult part is travelling to get the cars which were offered for sale. He keeps some of the cars which have sentimental values to him and just in case if the owners want to buy the cars back. Some cars he keeps for himself and some he gives to his children leaving the rest for sale from which he puts the money back into his YouTube channel. He also donates all winnings in their motorsports competitions to several charitable organizations.
Talking about his Youtube channel, he commented, “85% of my viewers have something like that (i.e., an old vehicle with huge issues) and are too nervous or gun-shy to start the process… but enjoy watching somebody else do it”.
Some Interesting Facts About Derek Beiri
- Derek purchased a Chevy Monza race vehicle in 2019. Both he and Adam LZ creates motor vehicle content on YouTube.
- Derek Beiri has more than 1.5 Million subscribers on Youtube and 215k followers on his Instagram handle.
- His wife’s name is Jessica Beiri and they had three children (3 boys) together. She is also very active and participate in his work. She features in some of his videos on his channel and on posts of his Instagram. Even she is famous too and has more than 47k followers on her Instagram account (hello_jessa_b).
- Derek started creating his own original videos in Youtube in 2018 and his famous video titled “Will It RUN AND DRIVE 600 Miles Home? 1968 Buick LeSabre 400 FORGOTTEN For 26 YEARS!,” has more than 10 million views. And his channel has earned a total of 297 million views till date.
His merchandise is available on his official website vicegripgarage.com.
