How Steelpire Started: Turning Car Parts into Unique Design Pieces

Where did Steelpire begin?

Somewhere quite ordinary.

During my university years, standing at the edge of adult life, it was only natural to think about how to make some extra income. I tried small deals, different business ideas… but none of them brought the kind of excitement or results I was really looking for.

Then, in a perfectly “ideal” way, the restoration of my car at the time slipped into the picture. Among other things, the shock absorbers had to be replaced. When the guys at the workshop asked what should happen to the old ones — whether I wanted to keep them or if they could throw them away — for some reason, the thought just wouldn’t leave me alone.

They were solid pieces. I was studying engineering, so I figured they had to be good for something. I took them with me.

A few days later, I was talking to a friend, and as it usually happens, the conversation somehow drifted towards business. Half-jokingly, he suggested making sofas out of cars — since wrecked cars are cheap, and furniture like that is expensive.

We laughed about it. Then we forgot about it. At least he did.

On my way home, though, the idea kept coming back. Again and again. And at some point, it just clicked.

I didn’t have a wrecked car. (Thankfully.) But I did have shock absorbers. Let’s make something out of that. Something different.

That’s where it all really began.

Or at least, it would have. Because I didn’t have a workshop. I didn’t have proper tools. We were living in a rented apartment in Budapest with my partner, so “just starting in the living room” wasn’t exactly an option.

So I started slowly. Week by week, gathering what I needed. Tools. Materials. Experimenting. On weekends, I worked in my parents’ garden, putting things together piece by piece.

Then there was more. More parts. More tools. Eventually, a proper workshop. And along the way, something started to take shape — something that didn’t even have a name yet.

Actually… it had several. Over the years, I tried three different names. One by one, they all faded away. None of them felt like “this is it.”

Then Steelpire was born. And that one stayed.

Now, as I’m writing this, there are nearly 80,000 followers across social media platforms. The brand is becoming more recognized. The projects are getting bigger. The pieces are becoming more refined. But that took a few years.

And maybe the best part of it all: that very first piece is still here. A bar stool made from a shock absorber.

It’s still in the workshop today. And when I’m wiring something or planning a laser engraving, that’s what I sit on.

And I’m happy to report: it’s still passing the durability test.