I was attending college fulltime when my wife broke her tooth while eating popcorn. In order to pay the dental bill, I took the summer off from school to learn minor repairs and I never turned back.
I started my scratch and dent career as an employee practicing on hoods & fenders pulled out of a collision dumpster. After increasing my knowledge I began working at used car dealerships getting the car “showroom ready”.
After being mentored & receiving excellent technical training, I then earned my i-car certification and became proficient at factory warranty repairs on brand new cars for Mercedes, Volvo, Toyota/Lexus, Ford, GM, Honda, BMW, Chrysler, and others.
I started my career in Washington state. Some of the clients I served included: LeMay car museum, Coca-Cola, Budweiser, Washington State Patrol, Washington State Department of Transportation, Costco, Lacey Collision, Pierce County Schools, Safelite Auto glass, GSA (military at Fort Lewis), US Army, insurance companies, and many local dealerships in Seattle, Bellevue, Puyallup, Gig Harbor, and Olympia. I was also told that I worked on Mona Locke's car (she's the wife of Gary Locke, the governor of the State of Washington at that time). I could hardly believe it.
Later I was offered a better position (so I thought) at a company in southern California. So I moved down but after working there three short days, I learned my boss was a drug addict. I figured I could serve my family and my customers better if I started my own business. So with the U Haul still packed, we moved to Ventura and the adventure began.
It was a wonderful 5-year experience. I did work at car dealers, MGM & Universal Studios and for L.A. Sports Productions and even worked on several hearses at mortuaries. I had the good fortune to receive a lot of word-of-mouth referrals from satisfied customers, body shops, auto detailers, insurance agents, military personnel, golf courses, and many carwashes. Seriously, I'm not trying to toot my own horn...but I feel I should share this with you: I had the good fortune and honor to work on Tom Cruise and Smokey Robinson's car. Also did Heather Locklear's mom and Tim Commerford (bassist for Audioslave). Also, America's Memory Motivator Hermine Hilton, and NFL superstar (Seattle born) Corey Dillon running back for the New England Patriots. These were an absolute shock to me. I am not saying they endorse my service. I am only saying that I had the privilege to work on their automobiles. As surreal as it was, it just goes to show that everybody prefers a convenient, smarter repair whether you're Tom or a hardworking everyday person like most of my clients.
Most of my work was for the general public. I worked mostly on cars & trucks but also worked on RV's, motorcycles, mopeds, boats & yachts. Thankfully, business was plentiful, but after having our fourth child, my wife and I wanted to come back to our childhood roots near Seattle. We believe it is a better place than California for us to raise our kids. So we sold our very busy business to a Ventura County police officer, moved to Washington, and started the same business over in 2005. While there, somehow I ended up being featured in the Wall St. Journal.
Then in 2011, we moved to the Denver metro area for a number of reasons: One, because we have family here (My Dad & Mom) and two, it is a wonderful place to live with a lot more sunshine! Being mobile, I was tired of working in the rain and wanted to be closer to hail damage jobs. While here I had the good fortune to be interviewed by Kirk Yunkhe at Fox 31 on Kirk, Does it work? I was aired as an expert to test a scratch repair product. Thanks for reading about me. I would personally be pleased for the opportunity to earn your business.