Today we’d like to introduce you to Billy Weigle

Hi Billy, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.

I genuinely appreciate getting this opportunity once again to dive deeper into my life! I first started in the entertainment industry and later applied my skills to both branding and marketing. At the age of three, I first began to dance, and that opened the door to work with some of the biggest people in multiple industries. I was taught by Mrs. Emily Bernazolli, who taught tap dance, and she worked with Brenda Buffalino, who was taught by the late great Bill Bojangles Robinson. I was also taught by Mrs. Tamaya & Mrs. Keleah Barr, who both taught jazz, and Juan I. Riveria, who goes by his stage name, Mr. Relentless. Juan I. Riveria teaches hip hop and was a choreographer for Chris Brown’s “Fine China Music Video” and has toured with Rae Sremmurd in 2016 as a backup dancer for the hit song “Black Beatles.” Ever since I was little, I have always wanted to learn more and how to make myself a figure in various industries. Once I set the stone in one thing, I want to build and apply that resource to others and apply myself to connect and tap in with people. Even though “Liv & Maddie” did not work out for me, I still acted here and there, and I took a few headshots. One of my headshots was displayed online, in magazines, and on all the cruise ships at the time for “Royal Caribbean International Cruise Lines.” The first time I can remember reaching out and making plays on my own was in 3rd grade when I mailed Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks a letter stating who they should trade and changes for the Mavericks to grow. I even got a response back from Mark Cuban! Speaking about basketball, I used to play AAU even though I was the Muggsy Bogues on the court. I had an amazing opportunity my senior year with my traveling team when we got to play on the Washington Wizards court for a championship game. My team and I even got the opportunity to shake hands with the players when they were coming out of the tunnel. We lost; however, I ended up putting up 3 pts and 1 block and got to go against many future D1 players. Whether it is pickup basketball, representing my school, or AAU, I have been lucky to be on the court with professionals such as Briggs McClain (D1 basketball), C.J. Burks (played overseas in Iceland), and Chase Delauter (plays for the Cleveland Guardians baseball).

Then in 2021, I applied for the NBA draft as I thought it would look great on my resume, and I played basketball with individuals who have played at an elevated level. I got the opportunity to be in the NBA draft, and my name will forever be surrounded by some of the brightest and most talented stars, such as Cade Cunningham and Jalen Green. I previously mentioned marketing, but I never mentioned how I got the hang of it on my own. In the summer between the end of 5th and the start of 6th, I was at a yard sale, and there were 2 pairs of brand-new pink (Pepto-Bismol) Foamposites. I told my dad I was going to buy these and sell them to a brand-new store in our area called Foam City at the time. I asked the lady how much, and she said $80 for the pair. I told her I would take them, and my dad intervened and said that is a lot of money for shoes. However, it was my decision, and I ended up buying the pair for $40. When we got back inside the car, my dad was not too happy with my decision and said, Billy, you just spent $40 on shoes that do not even fit you. What are you going to do with them? I asked him, “Can you take me to this new shoe store about 30 minutes away?” He took me in there, and I only walked in with one pair, and I walked out with $120, and they said, “You know, you are young doing this; you are going to be a tycoon.” Around 2015, when Round Two and Paul Cantu were buzzing all over YouTube and Instagram, I wanted to get into vintage clothing. I was in Arlington, VA, at a flea market, and I bought a vintage 1988 Magic Johnson shirt for $3. I asked my dad if he would drive me almost 2 hours to Richmond, the capital. At the time he was not too happy with my statement, and he said we would be burning up more gas than we would be making. He took me to Round Two, and I walked in and ended up selling the shirt for $180 when vintage clothing was just becoming a thing. In 2016, I mailed President Obama a letter asking if he could sign my custom pair of Air Force One Obamas as I was selling both sneakers and vintage clothing. I even had a backdoor plug, and I was getting shoes before they were even released to the public. This shows how big I was into the sneaker world then. To this current day, I still dabble in vintage clothing and antiques. I have sold numerous vintage pieces to JLaw (Jamie Lawrence, the owner of One Room Media). If you are not familiar with JLaw, he is a videographer and former manager of Mario Judah. JLaw filmed the music video “Die Very Rough” for Mario Judah, which has over 140 million streams on Spotify. Not to mention, he has filmed music videos for Lil Durk, Juice Wrld, Mario Judah, Lil Skies (he is Lil Skies uncle), and Xanman. In Xanman’s music video “Stolen SRT, the vintage Orioles jacket that he was wearing was curated by me, as I bought and sold that vintage jacket. Another person I have had the pleasure of doing business with within the vintage community is Christian Meskanick, who owns “The Closet” in Pittsburgh, PA. He has curated and sold vintage items to Madison Beer, players from the Pittsburgh Steelers, Wiz Khalifa, 6lack, and Kayzo while they are on tour or by stopping in at his shop. After graduating in 2021 and obtaining my associate’s degree from Blue Ridge Community & Technical College. I decided I wanted to do real estate. I signed up and took the 90-hour pre-course in the spring. A few months later, it being summer, I found myself working with Mrs. Charlotte and “The Charlotte Sherman Team,” and with the help of Mrs. Charlotte, we sold two houses back-to-back in three weeks. Both houses were in a nice little neighborhood and ranged from 1,300-1,500 square feet (I am not selling million-dollar properties as you see on HGTV). Then we all know that stimulus checks and high interest rates since the fall of 2022 to the present day have been a roadblock for many buyers, as they cannot be approved for a loan, and many homes being sold today are now having multiple families living in them. As for being a realtor, it is not what it seems to be. You have many factors, and everything you do costs money, such as stapling paper, printing contract forms, and having an office; all these costs are being paid to the broker. Yes, you may have made a small amount for commission, but your team and overseers are going to a percentage, so at the end of the day, that substantial number that you were looking at keeps dwindling. The only way you are going to make it in the real estate industry is if you buy and flip on your terms or become a broker. However, in WV, you meet certain requirements to become a broker, such as being a salesperson for 2 years and selling so many homes. So, currently, I have not sold a house in 2 years, and as far as getting back into the real estate industry, now it is not a priority, but that does not mean down the road, I will not pick it back up.

In the past article I stated that I was involved in music & entertainment, and I used to record music, and I still have some unreleased music, but I have not released music in almost 2 years. My artist’s name is LBB Unalike, as LBB stands for Lil Billy Bang, and the Unalike just displays that I cannot be replicated. I have been blessed as my song Icebreaker, featuring RMB Homie, has been played on Smash 97.7 ATL, 103.7 Miami Shaq Fu Radio owned by Shaquille O’Neal, and BBC Radio in London. The song “Icebreaker” has been reposted and seen by DDG, Sommer Ray, Tony Fadd (Trap Queen producer), 2K Baby, Adrien Broner, Guwop Reign (featured on Lil Tecca’s album), Mook TBG, Ponce, Cupid (who created the Cupid Shuffle), GLC (Kayne’s friend & business partner who was on the College Dropout Album), etc. In the music industry, I have talked to some of the biggest artists, did interviews with these artists, Sun News, and smaller online articles, and collaborated with them. Many of these celebrities who I have mentioned have transitioned into other business adventures, and they love cars. Within the music scene, the first three things that come to one’s mind are cars, money, and women. What better way to transition the music scene to the “Billy Bang Car” brand and have celebrity clients? I have already made a noise for myself now I have to do is keep it up. I love making music, but the music industry is not all that I am; I am not selling my soul. I have been offered advancements from Triple the Mogul, who is one of the A&R representatives for Cash Money and has collaborated numerous times with Tyga. Within the music industry and entertainment, it is a wicked industry, and many people often find themselves lost or so messed up by the bigwigs in these industries. Another aspect of the music industry is that there is a difference between an actual radio hit and a hit song, meaning there might be a song on the radio you don’t even like, but the label keeps pushing it on the radio or wherever it’s being played, and, in a few days, you start singing the song, and it’s becoming catchy. It is not even a hit song, but the label has emphasized that artist and a cash flow never-ending for this song. Also, with music and label streams, if you are no longer being pushed by the label, then you will be placed on the shelf and no longer be allowed to have that creative mindset.

As far as dreaming, I previously mentioned that I graduated high school with a 4.2 GPA. I applied to Harvard University and got accepted. However, I only applied out of curiosity and since it is a staple point of universities around the globe. I could never afford to go, but I wanted to see if I had what it takes to be with the bigwigs. I have seen recently that Lil Baby did a one-week program at Harvard, and I wondered what better way to speak my point of how one of those what-if questions. I can now say that I am certified in teaching Social Studies 5-Adult in the state of WV, as I passed my EDTPA. The EDTPA is a licensure requirement that demonstrates an individual’s readiness to teach full-time. It is designed to assess the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to meet the needs of students. Shoutout to my students at Musselman High School for making that happen! I am proud to say that I obtained a bachelor’s degree and have been part of Kappa Delta Pi (an education honor society) and Phi Beta Delta (an international honor society)! I plan to keep pushing my name out there and grind in multiple ways. There are so many things that I could mention, but if you do not know me, you would think I was making all these wild things up. My life is a movie, and I never know what tomorrow will hold! I am always on the go and tapping in with new people. I have thought about joining the military since there are numerous opportunities and benefits, and what better way to serve my country? Though I would love to see “Billy Bang Cars” progress within social media and one day have a reality TV show, for right now the YouTube channel with shorts and content is averaging 30k views a month. I will just keep on praying and grinding. If it is meant to be, it will be…
 

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?

Hence, for the name Billy Bang Cars, I have been blessed by numerous opportunities when hunting for classic cars, meeting new people, and building my celebrity client list. I talked previously about my dad and working with Rob Evans from Bob Evans Classic. However, when it comes to myself, I bought my first car to flip 2 years ago, and that was a 1983 Rx-7 GSL, and I sold that vehicle in less than 2 days. Then in a few months, I bought 9 RX-7s in one spot from an elderly man, and I acquired two 2nd generations of turbo II RX-7s. They only made 1,500 RX-7 Turbo II models. I sold all 9 of them in less than a week to the same person I sold the previous cars to. You are wondering how I bought 9 RX-7s at one time. I placed an ad in a multi-area newspaper wanting to buy an RX-7, and in a few weeks, I got a phone call. The funny thing is the same day I go look at these 9 RX-7s is the same day I get checked out of the hospital. I had breathing problems earlier in the day, and by lunchtime, when I got all cleared to go, I received a phone call on my way home. Well, I did not go home; instead, we drove an hour and a half to look at these cars. From there on we have bought and sold numerous classic cars, such as a 1972 “Heavy Chevy” Chevelle paired with a big block under the hood, and it is one of the holy grails of classic cars, as only 9,508 were made. I have also acquired a right-hand-drive Rolls Royce, Chevelle, Camaros, Impalas, and numerous other classic, foreign, and high-performance vehicles. The latest vehicle that I have purchased and sold was a 1999 Mustang Roush Stage II Convertible. Being a student teacher and having a celebrity clientele has been wonderful for both the students. I try to implement material that is worthwhile and engaging through content. Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down and Zoom with Grayson Russell. Grayson Russell has worked with numerous celebrities as an actor and is best known as “Texas Ranger” in Talladega Nights, “Fregley” in Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and “Signalman” in Tom Hanks’s Greyhound. Grayson has worked with Will Ferrell, Tom Hanks, Danny Glover, Steve Zahn, Jason Sudeikis, etc. He is also a musician, and most recently he opened for Nickelback and has talked about creating music with Post Malone. Bringing Grayson into a Zoom call was wonderful, as he is a very down-to-earth person, and the students could not believe that someone they saw in movies one day would get to watch a video by their teacher who had the opportunity to interview someone with that stature. People always ask me how I have done all the crazy things that the average person only dreams about. We all get scared to try something new, and you never know how the outcome will be until you try. There have been numerous times where I have been rejected or not gotten the outcome that I preferred. When you are talking to ordinary hardworking people or celebrities, you must treat them with the utmost respect, and for a lot of people, they do not reciprocate at all. If they are not showing me the amount of effort that I put in, then I will not waste my time with them. At the end of the day, if you show me love, I show it back. Sometimes I wonder why certain people or things did not last, but in your journey in life, God knows who you need to meet in your journey; that is why doors open and close for a reason. You must be silent the way you move, but the ones who are real and there for you… you must eat with who you starve with. If you are not in the mindset or have the same type of goals, then how are you going to help me grow and learn from one another? Be generous and recognize the people who have helped you along the way and show them that blueprint.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?

I’m just an individual who has a growing resume in numerous fields. I have been seen on NBC, magazine covers, and opening up shows. As for being a part of the car community, I have been known as the “Car Finder.” Being a car finder means that I scout and find vehicles that I know can be fixed, flipped, or need minor changes. Not to mention, being a car finder also means that I work with celebrities, as I will handpick and select a vehicle of their choice. I have a few clients at the moment who want a certain type of muscle car with their desirable specs. I have had the pleasure of being recognized by the late Rob “Rabbit” Pitts, who was known for his Netflix series “Tex-Mex Motors.”. I have been around vehicles since I was little, and I have always felt that cars can be the appeal to other people that will tell a story about you. Why cry in a Honda when you can try in a Bentley? If you put me in a room with hundreds of people and turn off the lights, I’m still going to shine. What I do cannot be replicated. There are people who do not want me to succeed, and guess what? I’m not losing! I came a long way, and I don’t see my going back. I’m just proud of how far I have come so far. Everything I have ever done is by God’s will, not mine. 

Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?

I’m very open-minded, and there are over 7 billion people on this planet. If one person thinks your idea is not worth anything, well, guess what? There has to be one person out of 7 billion people who will understand and agree with you. I can best be reached via email, setting up a Zoom meeting, and even shooting a DM on my Instagram page. 

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/billybangccars/?locale=us&hl=am-et
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGzUdXmQ4-q8si91n7CQG0w
• Other: Email: [email protected]