BANGOR-BASED Unit Thirteen boasts dozens of car modifying experts across Gwynedd and Anglesey and is the focus of S4C Hansh motoring series Pen Petrol, which delves into the car scene in North Wales.

Since their big break, the group’s reputation has grown significantly.

Last summer, they held the highly successful Unity car show in Mona Showground on Anglesey, which attracted hundreds of spectacular cars and more than 1,000 visitors from across the UK.

The Unit Thirteen brand has seen something of an expansion, having formed partnerships with local garages and tuning companies.

The group has have started working with Coleg Menai to help students on their motorsport course.

Craig Gilmour, Unit Thirteen founder, said: "The series has definitely raised our profile. Originally, it was me and two other lads, and after two years I took the reins and started Facebook and Instagram pages. Two or three years later I rebranded to the ‘thrtn’ branding that we have now, and we’ve kept the group small and tight.

"Since Pen Petrol, I’ve seen loads of cars with Unit Thirteen stickers, cars I don’t even know. I go to Tesco in Bangor sometimes and my Mrs points out young lads wearing ‘thrtn’ t-shirts! We’re in touch with a few people in London now, who represent our brand over there, like brand ambassadors in a way.

North Wales Chronicle: The Unity show this year. The Unity show this year. (Image: S4C)

"It’s exciting and a bit nuts. This was just a little something between friends and it’s blown up now. We didn’t have any aspirations of growing the brand, it was just something for us, to represent ourselves at other car shows."

Aaron ‘Slim’ Lewis from Unit Thirteen added: "The series has shown that not everyone who enjoys modifying cars likes revving cars really loudly. As a group of friends, we’re a bit older, in our late 20s or 30s, and that could be a factor.

“We’ve always had a good reputation, we’ve got lots of skilled people in our group and people know we’re not idiots who drive around dangerously. We all come together to build cars and it’s a great community to be a part of."

2023 also has plenty in store for Unit Thirteen. After the success of the inaugural Unity show this year, the event is set to return to Mona Showground on July 16.

But before then, Pen Petrol will return the screen on January 2 with the group once again taking centre stage. The first episode goes behind the scenes at Unity 2022, showing the stress and hard work involved in organising an event of that size.

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Aaron Lewis said: "We had been talking about a show for years, but we were nervous that it wouldn’t be a success. But after people had seen us on Pen Petrol, we decided that it was time to go for it."

Craig Gilmour added: "We’d been to plenty of shows like this in England, and we thought Wales deserved better, so that was the reason behind Unity really. Anglesey had never had a show like this before, so we wanted to put out stamp on the island. Organising it was such a full-on experience for everyone, but we were blown away with the turnout.

"Hopefully after the success of the show, we can look at other venues in the future, maybe in the Llandudno area. And if things carry on growing, we could hold more than one show a year.

"We want to start our own YouTube channel next year also, and collect as much content as we can for that to show different projects, builds and car collections around north Wales. So we’re hoping we can carry on expanding next year."