The BodyShop Leaders Podcast

David Luehr started his first collision shop with a $100 bill and a borrowed paint gun. Two years later he had 13 employees and was doing over a million dollars a year — and then he lost all of it. In this episode of The BodyShop Leaders Podcast, David — founder of Elite Body Shop Solutions and co-author of the #1 bestseller The Secrets of America's Greatest Body Shops — shares one of the mos...

What separates the collision shops that are thriving right now from the ones that are barely holding on? According to Dan Carranza, it comes down to one thing: culture — and whether it actually lives on the shop floor or just in the owner's head. Dan is the CEO and founder of Accelerate Growth Partners and one of the most well-rounded voices in the collision repair industry. He spent 16 years...

Sean Guthrie spent 20 years helping build one of the most impressive growth stories in the collision repair industry. Starting alongside his father Jim at Car Crafters in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Sean worked every role in the shop before stepping into operations leadership. When the family made the decision to partner with private equity, Sean served as COO of the newly formed Open Road Collision...

Tim Paap bought a rusty '67 Mustang at 15, discovered his love for collision repair with chicken wire and body filler, and opened Paap Auto Body as a one-man shop in Mattoon, Illinois in 2001. Nearly 25 years later, he's built one of the most OEM-certified collision repair facilities in central Illinois. In this episode, Tim shares the full story. From Nashville Auto Diesel College to pa...

"Let us know if we can help you." That's what Jim Lovejoy hears estimators say in shop after shop. And it's not a closing attempt. It's not even close. In this episode, I sit down with Jim Lovejoy, Senior Services Consultant at Akzo Nobel Vehicle Refinish, who has spent over 25 years helping auto body shops improve their profitability, their processes, and their people. Ji...

What does it take to go from sweeping floors in your dad's body shop to owning and operating three collision repair locations? In this episode of BodyShop Leaders, host Daniel Burkholder sits down with Doug Martin, second-generation owner of Martin's Body Shop in southern Indiana, to unpack a leadership journey built on hard work, family legacy, and the courage to take action. Doug share...

In this episode of BodyShop Leaders , Daniel Burkholder talks with Chase Landers about what it means to grow up in a body shop, step into leadership, and help move a family-owned collision repair business into the future. Chase shares stories from his early days around the shop and the path that eventually led him into a larger leadership role at Landers Towing and Collision Centers . He talks can...

In this episode of BodyShop Leaders , Daniel Burkholder talks with Todd McGee , owner of Johnson Auto Body in Knightdale, North Carolina, about what real leadership looks like inside a successful collision repair shop . Todd’s story begins in the paint booth and grows into something much bigger: ownership, mentorship, culture, and building a business that puts people first. He shares how his early...

In this episode of BodyShop Leaders , Daniel Burkholder sits down with Steve Olson , Managing Partner of Louisville Collision Centers and co-owner of Manchester Collision , to unpack one of the most compelling growth stories in collision repair. Steve shares how he went from washing cars for $8.50 an hour to leading a high-performing operation that scaled from $350K/month to over $1.4M/month —with...

What if the moment your team starts quitting… is actually proof you’re doing something right? In this episode of BodyShop Leaders , I sit down with multi-shop owner Ken Hunnel to unpack the uncomfortable truth about real process change inside a collision repair business. Ken started in the parts department in 2001 and worked his way up to owning multiple auto body shops across Oklahoma and Kansas....

What does it take to scale a collision operation to $75 million across 10+ locations — without sacrificing repair integrity? In this episode of BodyShop Leaders , Daniel Burkholder sits down with David Black, Corporate Collision Director at #1 Cochran, to unpack nearly four decades of leadership in the collision repair industry. From starting in his family’s shop at 12 years old to building one of...

In Episode 8 of BodyShop Leaders , Daniel Burkholder sits down with Kenny Davis , co-owner of Bob Maloney Collision Group in Northwest Arkansas, an operation built on people-first leadership, certified repairs, and deep community roots . Kenny’s story is the definition of earned leadership. He started in the automotive world chasing a love for cars, worked his way into collision repair, and eventu...

Most collision shops don’t fail because of bad technicians; they fail because of a leadership mistake. In this episode of BodyShop Leaders , host Daniel Burkholder sits down with Rod Cahoy , Business Development Manager at PPG Industries and a 40-year veteran of the collision repair industry, to break down what great leadership actually looks like inside a modern body shop. Rod shares hard-earned...

What does it really take to scale a collision repair business without losing your culture, or your people? In this episode of BodyShop Leaders, Daniel Burkholder sits down with Jordan Beshears, Vice President of Steve’s Auto Body, to unpack the real journey from working on the shop floor to helping lead a growing, multi-location operation. Jordan shares how hands-on experience shaped his leadershi...

What does it really take to build a collision repair business that lasts—not just financially, but culturally? In this powerful episode of BodyShop Leaders , host Daniel Burkholder sits down with Dave Dunn , founder of Dave’s Auto Body in Galesburg, Illinois, and co-founder of the Master’s School of Autobody Management —one of the most influential educators in the collision repair industry. Dave s...

What makes a great collision repair leader? For Chris Ray, owner of One Twenty-Two Collision and one of Georgia’s fastest growing MSOs, the answer comes down to one simple idea: people fix cars, not numbers. In this inspiring conversation, Chris shares the moment he realized he was helping build someone else’s dream and why that pushed him to create a shop where pride, craftsmanship, and culture t...

What does real leadership look like in a collision shop when the industry is changing faster than ever? In this episode of The BodyShop Leaders Podcast , host Daniel Burkholder sits down with Kyle Bradshaw , Director of Fixed Operations at K&M Collision and President of the Carolinas Collision Association . Kyle leads one of the most advanced repair operations in the country while also champio...

In this second episode of The BodyShop Leaders Podcast , host Daniel Burkholder sits down with Cole Strandberg , Managing Director at Focus Investment Banking and host of The Collision Vision Podcast , to unpack one of the most important conversations in the collision repair industry right now — how to grow, specialize, or sell in a changing market. Cole has spent years helping shop owners and mul...

In this first episode of BodyShop Leaders Podcast , host Daniel Burkholder sits down with Bill Park , founder and CEO of Crunchit , to talk about one of the most overlooked skills in the collision repair industry — financial clarity . Bill has spent over 30 years in the industry — from painting his first car at 15 to owning multiple shops, building systems, and now helping other owners master thei...