Seduction begins with a wink. For Carl Brucher, it was the glint of polished chrome in the sunlight. Impossible to miss when he and his mother arrived at the fire station where his dad and uncle served long shifts as firefighters.
“The fire engines—they were spotless! And they were always cleaning them,” Brucher recalls. Oh, how he revered that pristine gleam of the big red truck! He loved when the firemen would let him help wash and polish because afterward, they’d flip the hood forward, cracking the vehicle open like a treasure chest. Then they’d show young Carl how to maintain all the mechanical components.
“My uncle was quite a car mechanic, and he built cars,” Brucher says. He inherited his uncle’s passion for hot rods and would go on to own a Shelby Mustang, a Dodge Challenger, a Plymouth Road Runner, and a Chevy Corvette.
In 2019, after spending his first career in corporate printing and publishing, Brucher shifted gears and built a new business focused on vehicles. After all, romance runs on obsession.
YUK Custom Designs services, details, and upgrades cars, trucks, and SUVs. But YUK is not an automotive repair shop.
Picture instead a concierge—the kind that works at luxury hotels, anticipating clients’ needs, tracking down wish list items, tending to the minutiae they’d rather not do. Brucher is on hand to be a consultant for all things vehicle-related.
Whether restoring a family heirloom vehicle, tracking down and buying a vintage Porsche, or determining if the iconic yet slightly rusty nostalgia-mobile in the garage could fetch a decent sales price with the right upgrades, Brucher is there to help.
Can he also keep a car detailed, immaculate, and up to date on all its maintenance schedules? Absolutely. Can he repair seat covers, replace old seat cushions, and restyle a vehicle’s entire interior, from the carpet to the roof liner? You betcha. And his specialty is leather.
“I work with two leather manufacturers here in the U.S. One is more fine Italian leather so it's more what I would consider boutique. I'm a certified restyler/installer for [both],” he explains.
Brucher’s swatch wheel showcases an endless universe of leather samples in a vast array of colors, textures, and embossed designs. He has more swatch wheels organizing the many thread colors for the stitching options. He zips through byzantine websites loaded with custom stitching design options—think geometric or scalloped patterns. Although the many choices can be overwhelming, Brucher makes the process manageable by getting to know a client’s preferences and lifestyle.
Brucher sees his work less as auto care and more as caring for people. He explains, “That car or truck is more than just a machine. They create a lot of memories for families. They could be the beginning of a vacation. Or, they go back and forth to work in them every day and that's their sanctuary. A vehicle's not just transportation; your kids learn to drive in that vehicle.”
YUK began on the East Coast where Brucher and his wife had built their lives, but after decades recreating in and around Durango, they realized the local community was too enticing to pass up.
“In a lot of ways, Durango's community is very attractive. Everybody knows one another. People are invested,” he says.
YUK’s persistent success arises from Brucher’s meticulous attention to details, which is at the core of both the name and the unusual logo of a puckered face. YUK—said “yuck”—references the old poison control stickers. The brightly colored icons screamed: Pay attention!
And the logo speaks to all the yuckier facets of vehicle ownership and upkeep. For instance, a worn interior: yuck. Having five different people involved in an upgrade: yuck!
Brucher aims to remove the yuck while placing attentiveness at the center of his services. “I want to be known within the community as somebody that can be a trusted advisor that you can come to. Let me help you solve your problems, or if you're looking for vehicle care solutions, come talk to me. This [business] really is about relationships.”
In other words, devotion arrives by design—through the consistent, deliberate act of paying close attention to the little details.
"That car or truck is more than just a machine. They create a lot of memories for families."
YUK’s persistent success arises from Brucher’s meticulous attention to details, which is at the core of both the name and the unusual logo.