Background
Lou was born on a Monday, in May 1963, in the Bronx, New York, to Lily, an aspiring school teacher and Raul Santiago, an ironworker.
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Lou Santiago
Edit ProfileEducation
In Long Island, he graduated from Uniondale High School where he attended a two-year trade program in diesel mechanics with the Board of Cooperative Education Services, better known as “B.O.C.E.S.”.
Career
Their love for street racing with Wayne’s ’68 Dart with a 340 and later 383 with a 4-speed involved budget car building and creative fabrication. His Navy career only increased his desire for building very cool cars. His work required that he maintain heavy equipment and when overseas with parts sparse, the need for creative fabrication became invaluable.
Lou joined the United States. Navy in 1981 as a Seabee mechanic supporting Navy Seal Team Eight.
As a Seabee, Lou was responsible for maintaining heavy equipment that was vital to the safety and support of Team Eight. His fabrication abilities were an asset, as parts were sparse and conditions intense.
He began working as a Behavior Management Technician at a school for children with behavior challenges. To supplement his income, he began to teach himself how to build transmissions, brackets, roll cages and chassis.
In 2005, Lou was given the opportunity to showcase his talents on Spike television"s MuscleCar.
Lou was the Host of MuscleCar for 44 episodes chronicling a multitude of car builds and entertaining viewers with his charismatic personality. In 2009, Lou joined the Discovery Channel as a host for Ultimate Carolina Build-Office. Lou can also be found on GarageInsiderTV.com.
lieutenant is an online resource for car enthusiasts providing full length episodes of Garage Insider television, a tech tips page, a forum for discussions, and an online store carrying custom fabricated parts by Swanyago Performance.
He is currently filming the last episodes of the Carolina Fix television show, seen on Velocity, by Discovery.
