From growing up in the deep south of Hardeeville, South Carolina, to building custom cars in Hollywood, Sage "Donkmaster" Thomas has had quite the ride. We spoke with him to dig deeper into how he started in the automotive industry, his shop In & Out Customs in South Carolina, and his newest 1973 Chevy Caprice build for the film They Cloned Tyrone starring John Boyega, Jamie Foxx, and Teyonah Parris.
Today, the Donkmaster is a force in the high horsepower, custom car world, with many famous classic muscle cars sporting 26-inch wheels and a ton of power output on his resume. But well before Sage was famous for his 2,500 horsepower 1971 Chevrolet Impala, he was into go-karts.
Donkmaster On His Start In The Automotive Industry
Before Sage became the Donkmaster he was into the same world as a lot of gearhead kids: go-karts, bicycles, and four-wheelers. "My uncle Buggy was the neighborhood mechanic," he said. "He would show me and my cousin how auto parts worked, and he would take us to junkyards and garage sales to pick out different things. He instilled in us an understanding of hard work, and pretty soon after, we were fixing up, building, and riding go-karts."
The passion for working on small engines and the knowledge Sage absorbed from his uncle ended up with him selling go-karts he built starting at the age of 15 in Hardeeville. When it was time for Sage to buy his very first car, he chose a 1974 Chevy Nova, a car he still owns to this day.
"Although the Nova is not in driving condition right now because I've changed the engine out so many times for racing," he said, "...my favorite car is the 1971 Chevy Impala." It's not just his favorite, because it's his trademark, is the car the automotive enthusiasts world knows him for, simply known as the "Donk."
Related: These Are The Coolest Donks We've Ever Seen
The Donkmaster Nickname And Starting Out
A "Donk" refers to classic, boxy vehicles with oversized wheels. Historically, these are show vehicles that have one intent and one intent only: To make a statement, and like loriders, high power wasn't main focus. You probably saw hip hop artists appear driving them—Ludacris a famous example, although his personal car collection is quite different.
But the nickname Donkmaster means Sage is the master of all Donks. "I got the nickname 'Donkmaster' as a young kid in Orangeburg in South Carolina while I was at a car show," said Sage. This was around 2009, mainly because of his 1974 Chevy Nova, but with the twist of a ton of power going to its rear wheels.
In 2014, Sage opened up his shop In & Out Customs, which came after he proved himself on drag strips all around. His shop in North Charleston not only continues to work on his race cars, but also invest his expertise into building custom cars for all kinds of clients.
Related: 15 Head-Scratching Photos Of Donked Out Mustangs
Donkmaster's In & Out Customs
"In & Out Customs is a full performance, custom fab shop that's based in Charleston, South Carolina," he said. "We specialize in LS and LT swaps, building over 1,000 horsepower cars that are streetable, and we have the best components on the market." Sage is the CEO, as well as leading the designs, layouts, and visions for all builds.
In the beginning, In & Out Customs was in a building behind a house with dirt floors and no doors. At its start, it helped people in the neighborhood with their car tune-ups, but this quickly evolved into building cars for A-list celebrities and athletes, with the likes of Shaquille Leonard from the Indianapolis Colts, Za'Darius Smith from the Cleveland Browns, rapper T.I., and even comedian Karlous Miller. "The shop has changed tremendously, and right now, we are looking to franchise the brand all over the country," he explained.
Taking The Big Wheel Concept And Making It Work On Track
Before the rising popularity of social media, Sage watches VHS tapes and DVDs about the Donk scene called East Cost Ryders, hosted by Vido NoShake. "They would take the big wheels off of the back of the car and put slicks to increase traction," he said. A big wheel, thin tire set is the opposite of what drag racers use, where a fat sidewall and slick drag radials are needed to increase traction and decrease slippage. Sage wanted to have the best of both worlds.
"I wanted to make it fast and flashy, so we figured how to make the big wheels transfer the power without sacrificing traction." The science of tires is well established so there wasn't too much he can do there; instead, he turned his attention to the suspension where started testing products from FTI, Menscer shocks, and Moser axles.
In the end, you can only experiment with tire sizes and rubber compound so much, but for Sage and his vision, it always came down to suspension and tuning. This ensures he maximizes traction by keeping the tires in full contact as much as possible during launches, while experimenting with linear torque delivery to be able to put the massive power to the ground without spinning the tires. Sage went on to race against such legends as Ken Block.
Building The Donk For The They Cloned Tyrone
With Sage's reputation at an all-time high for building quality performance cars that as flashy as you can make them, the head of multicultural team at Netflix reached out. "She hit me up on Instagram about building a Donk to promote the film, and she said the only person that could pull this off has to be the Donkmaster," he said.
The team at In & Out Customs quickly got to work on this special project, and they chose a 1973 Chevy Caprice platform as the star of the show. They used a 6.0-liter LS engine as the heart of the Caprice, which works with a 4L80E transmission and a custom stall converter, and 3.73 rear gears. Of course, to give this classic car the "Donk" treatment, Sage opted for 26-inch Rucci wheels.
While Sage's personal car makes 2,500 horsepower, this one didn't need to be that extreme; instead, this Hollywood Caprice makes 425 hp at the wheels and 440 lb-ft of torque. While a project like this would typically take around six months, In & Out Customs had to get it finished in just 38 days.
"The script inspired all of the colors and shades of the build," he said. "The car has 'Netflix' on it over ten times, but they are all placed strategically in the right areas with LED lights throughout." They Cloned Tyronehas several Donks in it, and all the main characters ride around in 1970s Chevy Caprice for some of the film. This inspired Netflix to build a very special Donk to promote the film at numerous events around the country.
Related: Witness Sheer Mayhem When 1000+ Horsepower Fleet Of The Fastest Donks Rule A Drag Strip
The Donkmaster Is Taking Over Hollywood, But He's Still Committed To Racing
Sage can't reveal just yet what he's cooking on the racing side, but he was able to tell us that he's building something that no one has done before, with roughly 5,000 horsepower. However, he's doing both Hollywood and drag racing simultaneously and working on bridging the gap between the two.
"I'd love to see the Donk culture continue to grow and show up in more films, television shows, and billboards everywhere," he said. "It's my goal to use my influence to bridge the gap and bring more diversity to racing, and to the overall automotive industry one car at a time."
In order for Sage to accomplish this, he's actively seeking partnerships with high-caliber investors who want to push the limits of what's possible in the industry. Keep an eye on Sage Thomas and In & Out Customs as he continues to build an empire of big wheeled, high performance cars that will grab your eyes as quickly as they will launch.
