Goodguys Names their 2025 Trendsetter of the Year – Congratulations Paul VanNus of Dutchboys Hotrods!
Goodguys Rod & Custom Association announced Paul VanNus of Dutchboys Hotrods as the recipient of their 2025 Trendsetter Award during the Hot Rod Industry Alliance reception at the 2025 SEMA Show in Las Vegas. This prestigious award recognizes young, rising talents in hot rodding and has been presented annually since 1998. The list of winners includes some of the most prominent and influential names in our industry.
Paul VanNus is a fitting addition to the Trendsetter list. He grew up in a car-oriented family – his father and future business partner, Joe, worked in the body shop trade and had a prized ’71 Nova that the family often took to events like the Goodguys Nationals in Columbus, Ohio. “I grew up in that world and wanting to do that – wanting to be somebody,” Paul says.
Shop classes in high school and a co-op program with a local collision shop during his senior year steered Paul on a path toward pursuing his dream. After a short stint at that collision shop following graduation, he decided to venture out on his own, first doing bodywork and paint out of his garage, and then a small shop. He teamed up with his father to officially open Dutchboys Hotrods in 2010.
The father-and-son team initially focused on body-and-paint work and slowly built up a customer base, including local street machine legend Mark Stielow. They really put themselves on the map in 2015 with a pro touring second-gen Camaro that debuted at the SEMA Show. It showed off Paul’s growing fabrication and car crafting skills. “We stuck our neck out and built that car as a house car,” Paul says. “That car kind of broke the internet and kicked off the car building side of things.”
Since then, Paul and the Dutchboys team have built a string of cool and influential cars. The ’69 Camaro they crafted for customer Chris McPhie claimed the Goodguys 2020 PPG Street Machine of the Year title, which firmly established the shop’s reputation. This year, the shop finished a ’34 Ford that was a Goodguys Tanks, Inc. Hot Rod of the Year finalist, and then took home the 2025 PPG Street Machine of the Year honor with a sinister ’87 Buick Grand National built for customer Angelo Vespi.
Based in Vicksburg, Michigan, Dutchboys Hotrods now encompasses 20,000 square feet and employs 21 talented craftsmen. The shop has earned a strong reputation for creative and innovative fabrication, in addition to award-winning paint work. Their vehicles are also road proven, having been driven on multiple Goodguys Hall of Fame Road Tours and other highway outings. Paul somehow manages to accomplish this work while still being a devoted husband and father to three young children.
Please join us in congratulating Paul VanNus for being named the Goodguys 2025 Trendsetter. Follow this link for a tour of Dutchboys Hotrods.
