What American subculture was born from Southern California hot-rod culture of the 1960s?

The American subculture born from Southern California’s 1960s hot-rod culture was Kustom Kulture.

Kustom Kulture includes customized cars and motorcycles, graphic art, clothing, hairstyles, music, and a distinctive do-it-yourself attitude. The deliberately altered spelling “Kustom” evokes the scene’s custom-car vocabulary and helps distinguish the broader cultural movement from ordinary automotive customization.

Its roots reach through several overlapping communities. Southern California hot rodders, drag racers, customizers, pinstripers, tattoo artists, and musicians helped shape the look. Artists and builders such as Ed “Big Daddy” Roth, Von Dutch, Dean Jeffries, Robert Williams, and the Barris brothers became important figures. Their work popularized flamed paint, elaborate pinstriping, chopped roofs, metalflake finishes, and fantastical hot-rod imagery.

Rockabilly, lowrider culture, surf culture, punk, and other scenes influenced Kustom Kulture, but they are not the canonical answer to this question. Kustom Kulture is the umbrella subculture connecting the vehicles, art, fashion, and attitudes.