At 13, Riley Schlick had one goal: to make enough money to buy a car. That single mission ended up changing everything. Now, at 21, she’s the founder of her own business, a member of the #PEAKSquad, a Great Race competitor, the star of a Meta ad, and a college student working on her masters in mechanical engineering. Between balancing school and her shop, there’s nothing she can’t do.

 

PEAK has the privilege of collaborating with Riley, and we had the chance to check in with her at college to see how she’s balancing her cars, classes and company.

 

The Girl Under the Hood

Like many 13 year olds, Riley dreamed of growing up, getting her license, and driving a cool car. Inspired by Megan Fox in Transformers, she wanted to be the girl that could look under the hood, know exactly what was going on and know what to do.

 

“I didn’t just want to be the girl who just had a cool car. I wanted to be the girl who knew exactly why it was cool,” says Riley. She wanted to be different, and more importantly, she wanted to feel capable. But big dreams often come with big challenges, and Riley first had to earn enough money to afford her dream ride.

 

 

Objects In Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear

Riley had her eyes set on the prize: a classic Jeep YJ, she had an idea….

 

She knew she wanted the car, but she needed a way to pay for it. At 13 years old, conventional jobs weren’t an option. She needed something that would be lucrative enough to make a dent in her savings goal. So Riley turned to her lifelong mentor, her dad, who taught her how to restore carburetors.

 

Equipped with her new skill and excited to get started, she took to social media, asking her local community for any old carburetors they had lying around. While hopeful for help, she never expected to find 300 carburetors sitting on her front porch. Her work was cut out for her, but her dream car was within reach.

 

After spending hours in her parents’ garage, recruiting her friends to help and teaching them everything she knew, the day she’d been anticipating finally arrived: Riley took home the keys to her very own Jeep YJ. There was just one slight problem … She wasn’t old enough to drive.

 

With the help of her dad, she started fixing up the Jeep, spending nights and weekends in the garage together. With each repair and adjustment, Riley learned the ropes. And with the help of her father, she built a Jurassic Park Jeep nearly two years early. When she finally had her license, “it was like all the pieces finally coming together,” she says.

 

 

From Side Hustle to Her Own Shop

Riley was busy. Between school, sports and the shop, making time for friends was difficult. So she started asking her friends to come over and sit with her while she worked. With each repair, she would teach her friends something new. And with a pile of carburetors staring back at her, it wasn’t long before these hangouts became a recruitment mission.

 

“My family lives off of a mantra to always be bringing people in. It'll come back to you as long as you keep giving and keep loving and keep cherishing,” says Riley.

 

Riley taught her friends everything she knew. With her favorite people by her side, she took on more work, growing her one-woman-show into a true business. As orders came in, she learned to delegate, trust other people and find true mentorship. According to Riley, “You can’t grow if you insist on doing it by yourself.” Soon her business began to outgrow her parents’ garage, and she needed a new space of her own.

 

At the young age of 21, Riley purchased her first shop. On opening day, she walked in feeling like an imposter, half-convinced someone would tell her she didn’t belong. She couldn’t believe it, and kept wondering what she did to deserve it. “But then I think back to all the time I’ve spent working so hard for the last five to seven years, putting in the work,” she says. “It’s my space, and I can do whatever I want with it, and that is such a fulfilling feeling.”

 

Then, because she could, she painted the entire place pink.

 

Behind the Wheel

After spending years working on incredible cars, it was finally time for Riley to get behind the wheel. With the help of her dad and a pit crew of best friends, she signed up for the Great Race, a time-speed-distance rally where drivers and navigators follow a precise course through North American back roads.

 

Riley made her Great Race debut in 2025 with a 1972 Corvette. She teamed up with her navigator and friend, Jo Bejar, to drive the 2,300 miles from Minnesota to South Carolina. The duo earned second place in the Rookie Class, celebrating alongside their friends who were competing in other divisions. In 2026, Riley and Jo came together again to compete in the Inaugural Manufacturer Division. Behind the wheel of Jo’s 1974 Datsun 240Z, Riley drove from Illinois to California along Route 66 in celebration of its 100th anniversary.

 

“It was one of the most incredible and challenging experiences I’ve ever had. It’s one thing to build a car and know everything about it. It’s another to take it across the country and find out just how much you still have to learn,” says Riley.

 

Riley and Jo dealt with mechanical problems, long hot days and communication challenges, but that’s what made it all so special. Riley beamed, “I think every year I come out of it as a different person and a better person. It’s a beautiful race, and we’ve created a beautiful support system of our all-female team, and it was just a wonderful experience.”

 

 

Building the Next Generation

Being a woman in a male-dominated industry isn't always easy. Riley knows what it’s like to be underestimated before she’s said a word, which is why representation matters so much to her. She wants young girls growing up to see women building engines, working on cars, racing across the country and owning their own shops.

 

“Those careers suddenly become possibilities they can imagine for themselves, and that’s what pushes me to continue. I don’t want to be good at something ‘for a girl’. I want to be good at what I do, period,” says Riley.

 

This year when Riley starred in a Meta ad, she insisted on including her crew in the video. She wanted to make sure people could see themselves in ways that haven’t always been represented in mainstream media: highschoolers learning to repair carburetors for the first time, women building careers in the shop, and young entrepreneurs bringing community together.

 

“We have a lot of false impressions and stories of what it’s like to be in the industry,” says Riley. “I think having the ad out was powerful, not only to have representation for women, but for kids. We’re powering the next generation and breaking down barriers, and that felt good.”

 

 

Her Dream Team

One of Riley’s favorite things about the automotive industry is the community. “Being part of the #PEAKSquad has given me opportunities to connect with incredible people,” she told us. She believes there’s a narrative that younger people aren’t interested in working on cars anymore and loves to challenge that assumption.

 

When asked if there was anyone she looked up to in the industry, she immediately mentioned #PEAKSquad member, Alex Taylor. “She’s the real deal,” says Riley. Seeing Alex work closely with her dad at an auto show, Riley felt fortunate to have someone to look up to with a similar lifestyle and values.

 

Riley continues to be thankful for the support she has received over the years from her best friends to her mentors. Since the beginning, she has had a group chat with women she admires, but the one person she wants to keep with her at all times is her dad. “He’s the biggest problem solver, the best navigator, and he knows how to calm me down if I’m frustrated,” says Riley.

 

Like any great build, her dream team was put together piece by piece, and it can take her anywhere.

 

What’s Next for Riley’s Rebuilds

Riley is currently in college pursuing a mechanical engineering masters degree while balancing her other full-time gig: Riley’s Rebuilds. On campus, her unique style lets her stay “just Riley,” but when she wears her leather jacket or shop clothes, people start recognizing her as the woman they saw on TV.

 

Even though she’s busy at school, Riley continues to grow her business and create opportunities for kids in her community. “I don't expect every kid who comes to our shop to become a mechanic or work in the automotive field forever. That's not necessarily the goal of our shop,” she says.

 

“It's to teach them how to solve problems, ask questions, make mistakes, be okay with that, work with their hands and be confident enough to try something that they've never done before. If they leave knowing that they can walk into an unfamiliar situation and figure it out themselves, I think that's something that I hope they would take away.”

 

Riley doesn’t subscribe to the notion that you have to choose between getting an education and pursuing trades or building a business, and she’s determined to do it all. She stressed that she wants Riley’s Rebuilds to become bigger than herself and most importantly, to continue to open doors for the next generation.

 

“The automotive industry has room for everyone,” Riley says. “I want to keep pushing the boundaries of what people expect young women to accomplish in the industry, whether it’s through racing, building, content creation or bringing more youth in.”

 

At 21, Riley is just getting started. What began as wanting a cool car has grown into so much more: hiring employees, owning her own shop, being on TV, traveling the country and racing in national events. When asked what she’ll do next, she smiles, “I love keeping this question open,” knowing that she can do anything she sets her mind to.