Discovery’s “Bad Chad Customs” is proof that everything is possible with hard work and creativity. For as long as the two-season-long show was on the air, we got to see some of the most incredible car builds take form in front of TV cameras, thanks to the ingenuity of Chad ‘Bad Chad’ Hiltz, who is capable of turning any piece of trash-looking material into a beautiful body part.
However, behind Bad Chad’s work, there is Jolene MacIntyre, his fiancée, and the brain behind his business. She’s responsible for the growth his brand has experienced in recent years and is wholeheartedly convinced that her future husband’s genius needs to be known around the world.
So how did she turn his business into an internationally known TV and online show? What are her plans for the business’s future? How rich are her and Chad? Keep with us to find out!
Who Is Jolene MacIntyre?
Everyone who’s watched “Bad Chad Customs” on TV or YouTube knows about Jolene. It isn’t rare for her to make appearances in front of cameras, whether it’s to manage the budget of a project, or to help out her fiancé Chad Hiltz as he stresses over finishing a build.
However, there’s more to Jolene than just the beautiful girl who helps at Hiltz Auto Co., formerly Green Goblin Customs. She and Chad met in 2016 when the then-newly-graduated business major Jolene worked at a tavern in Nova Scotia, Canada. According to a video she and Chad shared in 2023, Jolene wasn’t interested in Chad beyond the beauty of his Green Goblin car, but he was immediately attracted to her beauty.
Some months later, and after considerable pressure from Chad, the pair began dating. It was then that Jolene found out more about how immensely dedicated to his craft Chad is, and convincing herself to let others know about his talents too. Since then, Jolene has been working non-stop to build a brand based around her now-fiancé’s car-building abilities, but which she describes as an art.
Jolene and Chad’s teamwork has resulted in not only millions of views, but also financial success. While it’s unclear what their net worth is now, some online sources estimate that Bad Chad’s YouTube channel has produced close to $400,000 overall, which is great for a self-produced project.
Growing An Audience & TV
One of the first things that Jolene MacIntyre figured out when she began managing Bad Chad’s business was that not enough people knew what he was capable of doing car-wise. Her plan needed to go beyond posting on social media, as it was necessary to entertain in order to catch new clients too.
That’s why when Chad began building a replica of Ralph Lauren’s black Bugatti for Jolene, she came up with the idea of filming it and posting it on a schedule on Facebook, as she revealed to Monsters & Critics.
Jolene’s plan turned out great, slowly but surely gaining Green Goblin Customs a growing online audience. In 2019, the business achieved one of its most important milestones when Chad and Jolene were set to star in their own Discovery show “Bad Chad Customs”.
The TV show brought some important changes to the business, such as changing its name to Hiltz Auto Co., and having Chad’s son Colton join the work team. That was a big turning point for Chad and Jolene, as the recognition of his work was finally within their reach.
However, they most likely didn’t expect people to extend their admiration towards Jolene as well, but it happened. Since appearing on TV, Jolene has seen herself growing on social media, and giving interviews about business-related topics for sites such as The Motorsports Agency and Monsters & Critics.
What Does She Do In The Shop?
The work that Jolene does in Hiltz Auto Co. is valuable in many ways. Though she’s the one in charge of the business side of the shop, she’s also willing to get her hands dirty if that means finishing building an important car project.
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Just as Jolene described it in a 2021 interview, she’s the ‘rover’ of the team, in the sense that she’s there whenever and wherever needed, whether it’s in the office answering emails and doing math, or welding something in the shop. Jolene also manages Bad Chad’s social media posts and YouTube channel, paying full attention to the details that have gained the brand the recognition it has today.
The otherworldly efforts that Jolene puts into her work don’t go unnoticed by her fiancé. As Bad Chad affirmed in an interview with AutoWise in 2020, he considers Jolene ‘smarter’ than himself, and takes pride in how that makes them a great work team. He expressed his admiration for Jolene and the hard work she puts into everything she does, admitting that it was one of the reasons he built the Ralph Lauren Bugatti replica for her.
Life After TV
“Bad Chad Customs” ran two successful seasons on Discovery before ending in late 2020. This left audiences surprised and confused, given the overall quality of the show and the fame it gained while on air.
Nevertheless, saying goodbye to TV was a conscious decision on Chad and Jolene’s part. As she affirmed in a 2023 Facebook video, there were a lot of behind-the-scenes details which made the workload too overwhelming as they filmed. It wasn’t only the friction among the members of the team, as shown in the show, but also the way that many things were out of their control, creatively and business-wise.
As Jolene explained, the deal Chad and she made with Discovery allowed them to keep the cars they built in the show, despite how “Bad Chad Customs” showed them in the hands of other owners.
Some of the cars Chad built in the show can be seen on Bad Chad’s YouTube channel, which has steadily grown since Jolene and he began taking real care of the video content they share on it. Nowadays, Bad Chad’s YouTube channel has close to 350,000 subscribers, and the pair don’t have any intention of slowing down.
Plans For The Future
Now that “Bad Chad Customs” is no longer on TV, and Jolene and Chad are fully focused on creating content for social media and YouTube, many wonder what the next plans the couple have for the future are.
While Jolene hasn’t revealed much about her upcoming content goals, in 2021 she revealed that she wanted Bad Chad to become YouTube’s number-one automotive channel. She also revealed that she has the goal of building six-figure profit streams from Bad Chad’s content.
All in all, there’s a long way to go for Bad Chad and Jolene when it comes to their dreams, but what’s amazingly admirable about them is how hardworking they are, and the great team they make by combining the best of their abilities with the love they have for each other.
