It all started in 1963 when Wings Kalahan received a tape recorder (which he still has & still works) for Christmas. There was a kind of magic a person could perform with a recorded voice. He made up radio skits with his friends and recorded them. It was like old-time radio. So Wings started a little entertainment business during high school in 1970.
He began his entertainment career as a disc jockey at parties, record hops and clubs. A friend invited him to read the news at night on a local radio station. At that time Wings' full-time job was as an auto mechanic at a Mercedes-Benz dealership. Automobiles were always a big part of his life, but fixing cars for a living was getting old. He loved modifying, souping up, and drag racing old cars, primarily Chevrolets. Wings has built everything from a '23 Ford T-bucket to a street wheelstanding 1963 Nova wagon. Wings was leaning more towards broadcasting for a living and fixing cars for fun. He combined an automotive and broadcasting background to start the "Cruisin' with Wings" disc-jockey road show. The year was 1977. Quoting Wings "I noticed a real void of professionalism with announcers in the motorsports industry, and I felt I had something very unique to offer it." Enter Kalahan Communications LTD. Kalahan Communications provides a unique form of entertainment and promotion to the motorsport industry. In addition to producing Hot Rod Radio USA®, Wings continues to announce at indoor automotive shows produced by Championship Auto Shows and outdoor automotive events produced by the National Street Rod Association. Since 1977, the "Cruisin' with Wings" show has provided this service to hundreds of motorsports venues from coast to coast.
Wings and his lovely wife Mary live in rural Wisconsin along with their collection of cars which include Chevrolets, Studebakers, 1948 REO truck, 1951 Henry J, and a '32 Ford Highboy Roadster. Wings Kalahan is a genuine hands-on car guy and innovative broadcaster. At the SEMA Show in 2005, Wings was inducted into the Hot Rod Hall of Fame. Wings is pictured above with his 1938 Chevrolet one and a half ton truck, powered by a 450 H.P.- 502 cubic inch big block Chevy.