WHAT WE DO
We are VMS, a automotive media and build group based in Orange County, California.
We build, document, and share real automotive projects from start to finish.
We don’t just show finished cars. We show everything that actually comes with building them - the mistakes, the wins, the setbacks, and the progress in real time.
Our focus is on affordable, achievable builds that everyday enthusiasts can relate to and learn from. We take on projects that people can realistically recreate, and we document exactly what it takes so others don’t have to guess.
We test parts, builds, and ideas ourselves first. That way we can show what works, what doesn’t, what’s worth it, and what ends up being a waste of time or money.
Everything we do is centered around one thing — helping people build better cars without wasting years or going into extreme debt doing it.
We create content across video, photo, and social platforms to show the full process of automotive builds and share it with a growing community of enthusiasts.
We are not a scripted media company. We are not a polished corporate brand.
We are builders first, creators second — documenting everything as it happens.
We’re Ian Mckinney and Marina Briscoe
And This is our story.
This didn’t start in a boardroom. No investors. No plan. No safety net.
It started with me, Marina, running up to random shop doors with a camera in my hand and something to prove. I had just bought my first camera. No real experience, no connections `just this feeling I couldn’t ignore. I didn’t want a normal job. Sitting at a desk, doing something I didn’t care about… that was never the life I was going to settle for.So I started walking into shops. One after another. Getting turned down. Over and over. Until I walked into a small exotic dealership.
That’s where I met Ian.
He remembers it different than I do. He saw me come in sweaty, talking fast, handing over a resume like it actually meant something. A duplicated resume, sure but a fire in my eyes that didn’t feel normal.
Fate was already written. The dream team’s lives had just collided like peanut butter and chocolate.
He was already deep in the automotive industry years of climbing, building, learning everything the hard way. And in that moment, after a decade of climbing the ranks of the automotive industry, Ian met someone who didn’t just match the energy… she multiplied it. He could tell right away this wasn’t ordinary. So he took a chance. And that one moment changed everything.
We didn’t just work together—we ended up running dealerships, bouncing between shops, figuring everything out the hard way. Late nights, early mornings, no real structure—just constant movement and learning.
Somewhere in all of that, we built more than experience. We built a bond. Anything we touched started turning into a masterfully relatable story and moment. Two completely different backgrounds. Same direction.
IAN
I am Ian McKinney, born and raised in Capistrano Beach. Since I can remember I was fascinated with custom, niche things and unlocking their potential. When I found the world of modified / upgraded vehicles I knew that was my calling. I cannot stop upgrading my vehicles and anyone else’s that is inspired like me to create a unique, personalized and fun experience I can share with others. I am like any other guy that loves to surf, hit the gym, eat good food and build vehicles of any mark or specific use case—the weirder the better as long as it has potential, new boundaries we can push and share with the world. After years in the automotive industry I built and ran a suspension shop for about 7 years. It was a beautiful but sobering dose of reality. Then I got into a harsh accident being run over bicycling in broad daylight and had to lose everything in the process—breaking my working hand, hip and injuring my entire body. I laid in wait as I healed and visualized my life’s work and life’s mission. I am now living that vision I pieced together for months in bed and years on my feet.
We have only begun and we are up against all odds and at times struggling but life is amazing and we can see everything clearly.
We are utterly overrun by the love of building affordable creations that break necks and inspire the masses to join or at minimum confide in us for a glimpse of glory.
We have a beautiful obsession that anyone can build and create a vehicle that can be upgraded or modified in a way that adds an enormous amount of enjoyment and mental stimulation to their daily lives.
Vehicles are intricate and unforgiving machines—but also one of the purest forms of expression.
We do it first so you know what works, what doesn’t, what’s worth it, and what isn’t—so you don’t waste time or money going in blind.
We are not here to pretend we’ve made it.
We are just here building it in real time.
MARINA
My story is different.
Life hit early. Losing both my parents, being separated from my siblings, getting passed around until I finally found stability. Most people don’t come back from that the same. But I didn’t stop there. The second I had a chance, I locked in. I wasn’t going to live a life I didn’t love. I picked up a camera and never put it down. Cars, off-road, anything with wheels—it all clicked instantly. I dropped out, bet everything on myself, and went all in. Ian saw it before I fully did. He guided me. I pushed him. And at the same time I brought a different energy into his world—new perspective, new generation mindset, same obsession for cars and creation. And somewhere in the middle of that push and pull… VMS was born.