SUPERCAR customiser Yianni Charalambous has revealed how he got his big break, leading to him getting his own TV show.
The BBC star broke into the public eye after a collaboration with some Premier League legends.
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Yianni revealed that after years working in recruitment, property and even owning a milkshake shop, he spotted a “niche in the market” for wrapping high-value motors.
He told The Sun Online: “I was always passionate about cars…I’ve always loved cars.
“I spotted a niche in the market with car wrapping.
“Nobody had done individual colours, and if they had they were doing it on really low-end cars.
“People were not trusting it.”
Yianni tried out his wrapping process on his own Lamborghini as he sought to build his business, catching the eye of some big-name footie stars, including his best mate and Prem legend Bacary Sagna.
The Arsenal and France right back wanted to jazz up his Range Rover and gave him a call.
Yianni explained: “We wrapped it in white, put the body kit on it you name it.
“We put TVs in the headrest, this was the early days, obviously they come as standard now.
“He drove it to the training ground and they were like ‘Your car’s amazing’.
“So I get invited down to the training ground by William Gallas and he wanted me to wrap his [Mercedes] SLR in chrome.
“They were playing Blackburn that day and I think it was on The Sun’s back page.”
From then, Yianni’s fame continued to rise, with Gallas passing on clients including former England captain John Terry and Chelsea icon Didier Drogba.
He now has a TV show, titled Yianni: Supercar Customiser, currently re-running on BBC Three
That led him onto what he described as his coolest project, which he landed only a few years ago.
An unexpected phone call led him to wrap Simon Cowell’s Tesla Model X in an unusual colour as the BGT judge sought to stand out on the school run.
It comes after drivers were left raving about a luxurious motorway service station that they “go out of their way” to stop at.
Yianni: Supercar Customiser airs weeknights on BBC Three between 7-7.45pm.
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