Rising Stars: Meet Ross Miller of Beachwood, Ohio

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ross Miller.

Hi Ross, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started customizing cars over 30 years ago. I changed the sound system in my mother’s car before I could even drive. I joined the Navy and was trained in electronics. When I got out, I moved to South Florida and worked in several retail jobs, some car related, most weren’t, but I always tinkered on cars and motorcycles for fun, In fact, I was installing and building custom body kits, wheels, nitrous and of course sound systems for friends on the side.

In my late twenties, I moved back to Ohio and started working in Restaurants in the Akron and Cleveland area. I was managing some very exclusive restaurants when I came to the realization that I should be managing my own business. So in 2009 I quit managing restaurants and started working on my first official business called Salt and Light Customs. I was building and installing High-End custom sound systems out of my home garage in Bedford Heights. I still worked in restaurants but as a waiter now. It was flexible and a lot less hours and allowed me to manage my time for my business. Over the next couple of years, I was able to showcase a few cars at the SEMA show in Las Vegas that won several awards!

In 2013 while attending the SEMA show and showing off my latest custom vehicle, I was able to meet with several industry leaders that encouraged me to move into High-End Automotive detailing. So before I was even back in Cleveland, I had hired my first employee and rebranded my company into Rehab Detailing. At first we specialized in Paint Correction, Ceramic Coatings, color-change vinyl wrapping and window tint. Over the next few years, I built it up and upgraded shops a couple of time to end up in a shop in Bedford Heights again where we stayed until 2019. I was still working in restaurants at night and working with my employees at the shop during the day. I even chose to live in my shop for about a year just to be able to allocate more time and money into the business.

During this time we were acknowledged as one of the top 10 shops in the country by the DuPont Registry. We had clients bringing us cars valued in the millions. We were experiencing massive growth in the main business as well as having developed several branding offshoots like, Luxury Home Coatings, Cleveland Custom Wheels, Rehab Auto Design and Cleveland Auto Reserve over the years.

In 2022, I made the decision to move us to a bigger shop in much nicer area to allow for more affluent clientele. We continued to grow exponentially, moving into a 9,000 sqft shop in Beachwood with multiple departments and at the height, 10 full time employees and we still needed more! it was during this time that my son was born and I wanted to spend more time with my wife and son. I tried to scale myself back a little and then quickly realized that we needed a different concept because Rehab Detailing was growing too fast.

It took nearly 3 years to work through the backlog of work that was planned as we phased out normal operations and in June of 2025, we relaunched 3 business shoot offs, Cleveland Auto Reserve, Gloss Boss Training Academy and Cleveland Custom Wheels.

By the time we had relaunched Cleveland Custom Wheels (CLE Wheels), we had nearly 10 years of experience and portfolio of work installing high-end custom wheels on high-end cars like Lamborghini, Porsche, Ferrari and Rolls Royce. We are still in the first year since we switched it to it’s own company and we have been working like crazy to document the new designs coming in and getting in front of as many local people as possible at local car events.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
In starting any company, struggles are absolutely part of the process. You will never see any level of success or accomplishment if you don’t first have to overcome something difficult. Otherwise, everyone would do it. I went the first 5 years without a paycheck. I work 3 different jobs while I payed my employees payroll. I lived in my shop for nearly a year. I missed family gatherings, movies, nights out, hangin with friends, etc for years just to be focused on building my business. I have had vendors steal thousands, I’ve had to refund thousands for things that weren’t my fault.

The good news is, that it can be worth it, if you push through it all. I have been able to build amazing relationships with my clients, closed $20k jobs with nothing more than a text message. I have served others for so long, that I have been able to ask for help and grace when I truly needed it. I don’t even feel like I have made it yet, there is still so much more to do.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I enjoy being a business man and growing in my abilities in operations and leadership, but at heart, I enjoy the artistry of what I do. Working with affluent clientele in the high-end automotive customization world, we are able to offer project design and management to fully transform a vehicle’s aesthetic. I love to create in a space that leaves room for some shock value, but not so much that it appears trendy in short order. I have designed and built over 100 cars and many of them have been sold with the custom work still intact many years later, which is a rarity in the 6 figure car space and a testament to the solidity of the design as well as the build quality. When you can bring 30 years of customization experience to the design table as well as spending time spotting trends in the hotspots like Miami and LA, you can offer clients a different level then most people in the business. Even then, every custom car designer has a signature that runs through most of their designs. So there is no way to compare one custom designer to another, it is very much like art in that respect, you either connect to the design and their work, or you don’t.

Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
There are so many, so it would be hard to narrow it down to one. As a salesperson, honesty and clarity are the most important to be successful. The days of high-pressure selling are long gone. As a founder and entrepreneur, being strategic and tenacity go hand in hand. it would be hard to get a business off the ground if you were missing either of those. I would say lastly as a leader of others, consistency and grit seem to be to ticket. People want someone to lead the charge and they want someone to rely on. If they know you are consistently giving it your all, then they will feel confident to do the same!

Pricing:

• Our design services range from $250 to over $2,500. In many cases these design retainers can be applied to your final purchase.
• Custom Wheel Sets start around $2,500 for semi-custom wheels, and go up to $12,000 and beyond for fully custom wheels
• Wheel Storage Options Start at $650/year

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.clewheels.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clewheels
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clewheels
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rossemiller
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@clewheels?si=vhOBmPa3SPelQcb3