I grew up in a suburb outside Detroit, Michigan. My dad worked as a mechanic at a local shop, fixing up whatever rolled in, mostly sedans and the odd pickup. I’d sometimes poke around his tools as a kid, but I was just as likely to be out riding my bike or messing around with video games. Cars were cool, though, and I learned to drive a stick on my dad’s old Chevy Cavalier, which was kind of a clunker but did the job.
When I was about 13, I remember “helping” my uncle fiddle with an old Pontiac Sunbird in his garage. I was just passing him tools while he grumbled about the carburetor. When it finally started, though, I thought it was pretty awesome, like we’d cracked a code.
After school I tried community college for a business degree but bailed after a year because it felt pointless. I worked random jobs – retail, food delivery – before getting a desk job in marketing for a company that dealt with auto parts distributors and small repair shops. A few years later, I started writing about cars in my free time.
Now, I write car reviews, service advice, and buying guides to hopefully help people better understand their vehicles and make smart choices when picking out a new one. I’m big into the right-to-repair movement since it’s tough for people to fix their own vehicles otherwise. Once in a while, I get asked to talk about the auto industry on a podcast or local radio bit, which is kind of neat.
When I’m not writing, I mess with my old Volkswagen Golf, which runs most of the time. I’ve tried rallycross a couple of times – mostly just skidding around and hoping not to break anything. I think Electric cars are fine, but I still get a kick out of a cheap manual-transmission beater. Outside cars, I like grilling burgers for friends and finding used mystery novels. Writing and tinkering keep me busy, and I’m good with that.