“Harry Styles scratched my Porsche but I let him off”: Why this celebrity car stylist is loved by stars who hire him to pimp their rides

Yianni Charalambous is the man the celebrities turn to when they want their supercars turned into works of art – from gold metallic wraps to spoilers, state of the art sound systems and neon lighting

It used to be the preserve of petrol headed boy racers to customise old bangers to look like supercars.

But the age of social media has changed all that and it’s now a firm favourite hobby for celebrities who want a unique car.

Tinted windows, bodywork wrapped in multi-colour patterned vinyl and sound systems which cost more than most people’s cars are all on the shopping list.

And for many famous faces, the man who makes this happen is Yianni Charalambous.

The 41-year-old dad of two who counts Harry Styles and the One Direction boys as personal friends, Harry Potter’s Rupert Grint as a pal (he’s given his whole family customised cars) boasts some of the Premier League’s biggest names his best customers.

Yianni with his pal Harry Styles

Niall and Harry have both had cars customized by Yianni

Yianni has spent £30k on his Lamborghini which cost him £315k new ( Image: Philip Coburn)

One Direction’s Scooby Doo van ( Image: Yianni Charalambous)

In fact he has been known to lend cars to stars in the past but not always with amazing results, he said: “Harry Styles borrowed a Porsche from me and when he came back all the alloys had been kerbed (scratched) and he was so apologetic.

“I said listen don’t worry, you are Harry.”

From the street his garage Yiannimize looks like the kind of place you might get a tyre fixed or an MOT test but it’s where the rich and famous come to get their supercars made over.

He can add spoilers, £6,000 a pair alloys, tint your windows, wrap your car in whatever pattern your heart desires or add a body kit costing £60,000 to turn your car into something which looks like Batman drives it.

Yianni is a car nut and owns a £315k Lamborghini and a £80k Range Rover, and has a Lamborghini Urus SUV on order, but like so many of his customers he can’t leave them as they were when they rolled off the factory production line.

He said: “People say to me Lamborghini have spent billions making their car perfect so why touch it, but I can’t leave it alone.

Aguero who had a car made to look like his football boots

A Lamborghini Yianni wrapped for Sergio Aguero

Hetor Bellerin with Yianni

“I’ve added a spoiler, new wheels – two of each type, a bonnet splitter and wrapped it in satin black. I probably spent £30,000 on top of what the car cost.”

The car is his pride and joy and he cites it as the pinnacle of 12 years of hard work building up the business in north London since his first celebrity client – Arsenal player Bacary Sagna – walked in asking for a car upgrade.

Yianni washes his cars five times a week and refuses to let his sons, or anyone, eat in the back, “they can drink water” he laughs.

Bacary Sagna was one of Yianni’s first clients

KSI’s Lamborghini was wrapped

The YouTube star had the car covered in reflective ‘Tron’ lines

Arsenal star Theo Walcott with a customised car
The list of his clients is impressive:

Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero – Lamborghini Aventador (wrapped in satin black, gloss black wheels with orange centres), Nissan GTR (made the car look like a football boot), 2x Range Rovers in matt grey.

Arsenal’s Héctor Bellerín – Mercedes 63 AMG (wrapped in pearl white and tinted the windows, glass black wheels and smoked lights)

Pop star Tinie Tempah – Lamborghini Huracan (satin black and gloss wheels tinted windows)

One Direction’s Niall Horan – Range Rover Sport (wrapped matt black, tinted windows)

Inbetweeners actor James Buckley – Mini (painted purple, digital dashboard, six speed gear box)

YouTube star KSI – Lamborghini Aventador (chrome purple wrap, orange Tron lines, Orange LEDs underneath, massive sound system)

Sophie Kasaei from Geordie Shore had her car wrapped in gold

The Ox is a good customer ( Image: Philip Coburn)

Marvin and Rochelle both love their cars ( Image: Philip Coburn)

Rupert Grint visited and signed the garage roof ( Image: Philip Coburn)

Rochelle had a Mercedes customised ( Image: Philip Coburn)
Liverpool’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – Audi R8 (tinted windows, gloss black alloys, painted wheels)

Husband and wife Marvin and Rochelle Humes – Mercedes G-Wagon (Satin black, tinted windows)and Mercedes SLS (matt grey)

Geordie Shore’s Sophie Kasaei – Range Rover velar (Urban custom wheels and branding, wrapped in gold sparkles, tinted windows, sidesteps)

1D’s Harry Styles – Audi RS5 (tinted windows), Range Rover (wrapped)

Tottenham defender Jan Vertongen – Lamborghini Aventador (wrapped)

The list goes on including One Direction’s tour bus which was a copy of the Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine and dozens of other stars.

A Ferrari at Yianni’s garage

James Buckley’s Mini had a makeover

Chelsea’s Willian is a customer
Yianni, who comes from Cyprus, says his clients are “high net worth” individuals with plenty from oil rich Arab states including members of Middle Eastern royal families, and Russian oligarchs and their families.

Some of his creations – like chrome wrapped cars – have been derided but he says wrapping your car can actually save you money as it enables you to buy a colour with a better resale value and change it with wrapping before removing the wrap – which protects from stone chips – before you sell.

He cites Premiership stars who regularly have black or white Mercedes on year long loans and have the car delivered to his garage where he charges the colour and shape allowing them to drive individual motors for a year before having the customization reversed when the cars go back.

In 2016 the entire Premier League winning Leicester City squad were given blue BMW i8s as bonuses but the players were forced to get them customised as they did not know which car was theirs after training – Yianni was the man they turned to.

He said: “People who have money spend it on property, cars and jewellery – I am happy to be the car man.

“Customers come in and know exactly what they want, they have bought the car and they say ‘Yianni this is what I want, do this, this, this and this’.

“Then you get customers who haven’t got a clue, they say ‘I am about to buy a Range Rover what is the best colour to buy it in for resale’, but then they want a crazy colour so they will buy in a black which they know they can sell but then I will wrap in a pink.

“I’ve been doing this for 12 years. We do a lot of Ferraris but recently it’s been Lambos, Lambo after Lambo, they are like Smart cars they turn up everywhere.

Aston Merryfield from JLS

Yianni’s car has had a makeover

Mirror’s Steve Myall meets Yianni at his garage ( Image: Philip Coburn)

Yianni with his £315k Lamborghini ( Image: Philip Coburn)
“The majority is Range Rovers, if you are wealthy a Range Rover is one you will have a second or third car, back in the day it was Satin Black and Matt Black but then it was white and then it went chrome.

“When it went chrome everyone was ‘what have you done to your car’ because it is love or hate, but it has gone back to satin black now.

“People say if you have a Ferrari it’s got to be red, it’s changed now, it’s not about the red Ferrari with the cream interior it’s custom your car.

“It doesn’t matter what the customer has but people like colours, green and gold. If you don’t care what people think the world is your oyster.”

Yianni has become so well known he has his own impressive social media following – 1million on Instagram – and now he has his own TV show.