Adrian: Yeah I’m completely mobile, but this is when I’m doing a coatings I’m bringing it home or if not, you know, on the garages or when on location and it’s hard putting on coatings.

Jody: Yeah, so are so are you a one man shop? Or do you have some guys or gals that work with you?

Adrian: Well, I’m only me, me only. Because people I mean it’s hard to get people do the things like, like, you know, I’m very picky that’s why, probably. You know car washing and pressure washing, the guys can do these things but i mean, detailing a this level is hard. Were we are now it’s hard, it’s very hard.

Jody: yeah, I was having when I was in Jacksonville about a month ago, I was visiting with Mark Elliott about that because he has, he has a team of three or four that work with him in his shop and I asked him, I go, how do you, how do you hand that over? He goes well, I only handle, I only hand over certain task to them. When it comes to the higher end, the more detail oriented that really take a fine eye and a fine touch, he goes I do those myself because my name is on that and I want to make sure that whatever goes out that door represents, you know, Firehouse Detail there in Jacksonville properly.

Rod: So Shawn, I know Shawn does a lot of training with his guys, Shawn Sepulveda does extensive training with his folks to make sure that they’re up to that level that he expects them to do. And you, you know, Shawn, I mean, he’s, he’s, he’s, just like, He was just like

Adrian: yeah,

Rod: he’s like, detail, detail, detail.

Jody: Squad two, Squad two.

Adrian: Squad Two!

Rod: He’s got more detail in just the lines on his facial hair than I can deal with. So, you know

Jody: I love it.

Rod: And that’s, that’s kind of overall. I mean, you know, we joke around a lot, but I think overall that’s really that’s the difference, like you were saying, that what sets apart where you’re at now and where you were probably five years ago is just that, that level of detail in that level of acknowledgment in what a correction actually is, you know.

Adrian: Yes

Rod: I talked to Ryan McGowan about it, too, and he was saying, you know, what I used to think I was correcting is not corrected at all. It’s,there’s a difference there.

Adrian: That’s a big, big difference. I mean, my. My first tool, I remember, was a power cable, a power cable orbital whatever I don’t know, I mean they’re not bad machines, but I mean, what we’re using now is totally different. I mean, we’re doing a correction. We were doing it before, like just rubbing and putting wax on the car. You know, the day after it would disappear now we are focused more on correct and bing pretty much I’m calling like a craftsman, that’s what we are I think we are conditioning specialist that’s that’s I would name that, that way. that’s what we are.

Jody: Yeah, I know one of the things that you and I talked about in Seattle was finding a way to educate your customers to know the difference between a detailer that it’s just washing a car and vacuuming it o A detailer that really is a craftsman. That’s going, to really protect and take care of that car, not just clean it.

Adrian: Yes.

Jody: How are you, how are you bridging that gap with your customers to educate them about that difference?

Adrian: Well, honestly that’s a big gap to bridge and is probably one of the things that every day I’m working on it. Try to educate people, try to educate my customers, and to uh, people think sometimes they something happened to the car, a scratch or whatever. They just, they say, well, I mean, just call the insurance and have them repaint. And one of the things I told, my clients is keep or try to keep your original paint on the car, because once they touch the car, they never I mean it’s never going to be the same. And that’s, that’s, one of the teams don’t still realize. Other thing is car wash, car wash. I know I don’t have and, you know, don’t get me wrong. But they only work in production, its production, and sometimes people get mad because the way you see the car, they’re, they’re. I mean, they’re paint is destroyed, the paint is destroyed.

Jody: Yeah

Adrian: Because of the way they’re doing on the car washing. So that’s one of the things that for me it’s hard to educate my clients and tell them that, you know, not don’t take it to the car wash, but, you know, try take care or try to change their mind about car washing and detailing and what detailing is, well.

Rod: it’s, almost like um, I think we were talking, it might have been with Shawn, we were talking to again, but it was it was kind of the difference of mentality of somebody taking a brand new car and taking it to a detail shop to get it protected because you’re basically, you’re coating that car, and you’re protecting that surface so that the day to day things that are hitting it, whether you’re, you know, in in climate or environment that has salt on the roads or has some kind of winterization, or whether it’s just day to day driving and rain and stuff it’s you’re protecting that paint, you’re putting a layer over the top of it, whereas I think, you know, prior to giving. That education to customers, they’re thinking it’s well, when the car looks bad, you take it to somebody to make it look good as opposed to reacting and preserving it, you know? Yeah, and I think that’s the difference a lot. I mean, car enthusiasts for years have been protecting their cars and preserving them, but I think that now you’re seeing, um, just day to day the mom minivan or the Honda that they drive to work every day. It’s they wanted to be, they want to keep it as long as they can. They wanted the last and so they’re taking care of it better.

Adrian: yes definitely, and if people is paying for, I don’t know 30, 40, 60, or 8 thousand dollar car and that, that, that’s the point we need to let people know they have to take care of that investment, but I mean, cars are expensive and they don’t take care properly, that’s that one of the things that I mean it’s not matching I mean, they’re, they’re getting a car, an expensive car and they they don’t invest on, you know, take care of the car. That’s I think that’s. When we are, I mean over me had to let them know and get to that point.

Jody: Yeah, one of things. It was a big visual eye opener for me about the power of coatings was this past weekend I attended The Rag Company event where Renny Doyle and Dave Phillips came down and they were doing trainings on how to apply coatings. And they had a number of hoods setup that we could polish and then they had one where Anthony and I went over and he was showing me and a couple other people about the danger of accidentally dropping coating on, on the hood. And because one of thing’s that Renny was giving a tip was, he said, whenever you pour the coating on the sponge, make sure you’re not over the car because you don’t want to accidentally create, you know, a high spot of coating, and so he purposely poured some on and then just let it dry in a splat and I was like, wow, that is a nice one to two mil coating that is protecting that car and to have, you know, and and I’m like, all right, if we if we leave that twenty four hours a day he goes yes, we’re going to have to wet sand that sucker, I was like, wow. I mean, it was a really visual to me, of how effective coatings can be to protect your investment on a vehicle.

Adrian: Yeah, that’s, that you say it, right, protect your investment, that’s the point, you say, right, you say it,

Jody: Yeah so so What are the fun things that you have in store for the coming year two thousand nineteen for your business? What are you planning on doing anything new and exciting, or.

Adrian: well, yeah, well, definitely trying. Try to get uh. Probably not a shop but a place to expand the business and apply coatings. Not, not even on paint, but no windshields, on interiors, on wheels, on calipers. I mean, there’s, there’s. A big is it there’s a big, big market on coatings. I don’t probably everybody you get, you know, is crazy about coatings now, but I mean it’s. I mean, I think that’s for now, it’s a better solution to protect your investment.

Jody/Rod: Yeah, yes.

Adrian: So I’m looking forward to get a place for the business. A place where I can work on my projects and, yeah, go to SEMA and see you guys and, you know, share all them memories and ideas of what we can do to, you know, to become, you know, to help this industry to become better.

Jody: Yeah, one of the things to that at the training event that, that happened this past weekend at The Rag Company was they introduced a brand new, hashtag, and it was called #detailindustrystrong and the idea behind it was that you know, what we’re, we as The Detail Mafia and the IDA on the vendors that are supporting them is that really everybody is trying to invest in everybody else’s success. Um, because I think for a long time, people felt like, well, if you’re competing against me, we’re competing, we can’t help each other both be successful there. Do you find that? Do you find that among your cohorts? Um and, you know, your circle of friends, that they’re, they’re very invested in helping you be successful?

Adrian: Well, it’s, hard to tell, but I mean, yeah, that’s a great opportunity to do what you’re doing, I mean, it is I mean, I’m totally in on it you can always try to, you know, I was trying to work with my community and try to support, or do a little, you know, a little help, I mean, makes a difference that’s what we have to do, but it’s like you said that, that’s, what I’m trying to do sometimes I don’t have time, but there’s definitely something that we start, you know, doing it, I’m going to, you know, start first, like, you know, trying to help a little help makes a difference, I think,

Rod: yeah, there that’s one of the things that that would be impressed me the most about the Air Force One project is not just the, uh I was completely shocked, so be honest, as I went in there because of the basically just everybody working together, and I thought, how you do you get, you know, sixty people that do the same stuff that in some cases, their competitors that work together, but everybody just does. And then on top of that, when you look at it in the sense that it is a volunteer activity to really go work yourself to death for a week, I mean, that is can you wait on and on and not get paid other than just your personal sense, satisfaction and a really cool t-shirt and get a hang with some really cool guys. And you guys, I’ve got a really cool hat we’re not cool enough to have a hat. Yeah, but we’re working on it, but um, but the thing about that that is given back to the community. I mean, every single person that worked on that project is putting in time preserving and protecting a piece of American history for generations to come. I mean, it is and that enough to me that two weeks or that week that everybody does that, that is, that is awesome. You know, you can. You can fill your tank on the volunteer side with that kind of activity. And then it leads to other stuff. I mean, I know Ryan McGowan up in Alaska. You know, he coated somebody’s car because just cause he was nice and there’s some gal up there, that, that he coated her car for and did some stuff. And you hear about all kinds of people doing that stuff throughout the industry. And I think that’s, the Mafia and the people that are at that level. Heads.

Jody: Yet, you know, it’s been an amazing experience. It does look like we may have lost a Facebook live. I’m going to try to add him one last time, and then let’s, see, I think that is him, so we’ll try one more time.

Rod: Try to get him back for you in just a second. We can close out way. Good, so we’re just wrapping things up, so tell people where they can find you. Your address, your phone number and how to get ahold of you.

Adrian: Okay, 562-644-9348 go on the website. Instagram or RoadFS