Automotive Repair News Today

Braxton Critcher [00:00:05]:
All right, welcome in to another episode of Automotive Repair News today. And today's podcast is a little different than probably any podcast I've ever recorded or released. This is newsworthy, this is a big deal. But it's also, I think, important because we're going to honor the life and the legacy of Malin Newton, a guy who transformed not just the industry and repair shops, but he transformed people and made a real difference in their work life. But from people that I've talked to, AKA Lucas Underwood, also made a real difference in their personal life and who they are as a person. And so glad that you're here, subscribe to the channel, podcast, YouTube and would love to have you follow along on this journey and comment below with your thoughts about Malan and any way that you can honor him in the comments. We'd love to hear from you about what he meant to you and your life. So when Malan passed, and admittedly I never got the chance to meet him, but I heard hearsay about him a bunch.

Braxton Critcher [00:01:22]:
And when he passed, I talked to Lucas a couple of days after and he told me two or three stories about his life and when he first met him at aste, now ASTA in Raleigh, and some of the things that he said in one of the classes that he took. But ultimately he told me that he loved customer service, helping women in the industry and stepping in in ways that a lot of people wouldn't when it maybe didn't mean he made a lot of money. It wasn't about money to him, it was about people. So want to welcome to the podcast a couple of amazing guests. They're going to help me honor his life. And I want to go to you, Marianne, first, just because when I said, lucas, I think I should record a podcast to honor Malan, he said, well, you got to reach out to her. So when you think of, of Malan and his life, what, what comes to mind first?

Maryann Croce [00:02:23]:
Well, thanks for having me. The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of Malan was when we first met. My husband and I were, were in the he'd been my husband had been in the industry for years, but I came into the industry in 1999 as a shop owner. And when we met May Lin, the first thing that I noticed about him was his sense of humor, very dry humor and his facial expressions. They said it all and we connected right away. And what I really stood out with Malan was as my husband and I would go as shop owners, Malan spoke to me the same way he Spoke to my husband. There was no differentiation. Where a lot of times I found people, the public would think that my husband was the owner and I was support somehow for him.

Maryann Croce [00:03:18]:
And he didn't treat us that way. So that really stood out to me right from the beginning. And I could see how he supported women in the industry. And then as time went on and we're now 25 years in, it was just amazing because he supported me in other ways as well. He encouraged me to do things as far as speaking and coaching and he saw things in me that I didn't see see in myself. So I think the things that I, when I think of Malan, you know, he was, he was there when I did my first presentation, sitting in the front row, cheering me on and supporting me. And you know, when I heard the news about his passing, I. I thought to myself, I don't want to think of what I lost because I know the industry has lost an icon.

Maryann Croce [00:04:10]:
But I really want to focus on what he inspired in me. And I will, I will always picture him in the front row as far as I'm concerned. But he's a huge support for women and he'll always be near and dear to me.

Braxton Critcher [00:04:26]:
So you knew him from the, you know, kind of the start of your career?

Maryann Croce [00:04:30]:
Yeah. 99. Absolutely. Yeah. It. And you know, we had conversations about so many things, you know, deep conversations. You spoke about customer service and culture in a shop. And we've had so many different conversations.

Maryann Croce [00:04:49]:
And I would say, hey, did you read this book? And you know, he would make a note of it if he hadn't read it. So I enjoyed that so much about him. He was very open minded.

Braxton Critcher [00:05:02]:
Lorraine, what about you? What do you. When you, when he comes to mind, what do you think?

Lorraine Klein [00:05:07]:
Oh, it's very similar to what Marianne said because I had met Malin at atra. So that's the ATRA Automatic Transmission Rebuilders Association Expo when we first opened our business, because we opened in 2011. My husband is huge transmission guy and he's like, this is what I want to do. So I'm like, okay. So I met Malin and he just like pulled me in to like his conversation. I just stood there listening to him talking to other clients or just people that were stopping by the booth. And I just thought to myself, this is who I want to coach us. Like, I want to learn from this guy.

Lorraine Klein [00:05:49]:
And had a conversation with him and it was the same thing. It just, he felt like he was like, I've known him forever. So it was I guess it was just that, that warm, like, feeling that he, he understood exactly, like, how I was feeling, even though I was the wife, for lack of a better phrase. I, you know, I'm. I'm a half owner with my husband, or was a half owner with my husband in the business. And he, he didn't look at us any. At me any differently, like I was part of the business. And even if I was the wife, I'm still part of the business because something my husband always says is that every, you know, behind of every good.

Lorraine Klein [00:06:35]:
Every good man is a better woman. And Malan believed that. So. And I, And I guess that's why we lasted as long as we did because we always had that support from him. And we. You could just text him, call him, whatever, and he would, like, reach back out and just give those couple words of wisdom. But I agree with Marianne. He had this awesome sense of humor that I just kind of clicked with.

Lorraine Klein [00:06:57]:
It was so dry.

Braxton Critcher [00:07:00]:
I feel like I wouldn't like this guy. I feel like we're kind of similar in that way. I'm a very. People sometimes have to know me first to know if I'm joking because it's just so dry. But, man, I like, I like that about people. And that sounds really cool about Malin. Yeah, Birdie, what, what are your thoughts? What, you know, what do you have to add to the conversation?

Melissa "Birdie" Patterson [00:07:24]:
Well, my name is Melissa Bertie Patterson, and Malin and I actually, we met over at During COVID and everything was virtual. So it wasn't the traditional way that most people meet him at trade shows and engage. But he and I ended up connecting. I had worked in the automotive industry for over 23 years. Hands on in the shop. I was in the collision industry and I was transitioning into marketing. I was working for a marketing firm and wanted to specialize in automotive. So it was just a natural transition.

Melissa "Birdie" Patterson [00:07:58]:
And he's an automotive business coach. Phelan and I ended up spending hours on the screen not having met in person for months and months. And eventually, I think it was almost a year into our relationship when trade shows started opening up and we started meeting at trade shows. And I was helping him with his classes and getting set up to give his seminars. He was really more than a teacher and a connector. He was really a doer. And his vision was to support women in the automotive industry. So with amazing women in automotive, it being a place for women to connect and learn, he really pushed that ball forward.

Melissa "Birdie" Patterson [00:08:44]:
It was his, his brainchild. He really, as everyone here is Saying he was the most supportive man for all of us women in the industry. So it was. It's been amazing being by his side. I've worked with him very closely. He's written a couple of books, and we're on the final editing phase, so I'll be working with his family to finish that up. But to pull all that knowledge out of his brain and get it compiled. 40 years in the industry or longer, he has been.

Melissa "Birdie" Patterson [00:09:22]:
It's been a privilege to spend so much time up in his mind and working with him. He says he never worked a day in his life, but he took his work so seriously. It was always, never just about business. He always sat back and connected with people, and that's how everyone came to know and love coming past our booths. But for a number of years, we would joke that I was a seeing eye dog because he couldn't see very well after the strokes. And I do have a little funny story. One day he was walking to me. I had had the car, and he was full speed and just bam, hit this sign, and he walked straight into it.

Melissa "Birdie" Patterson [00:10:05]:
He bounced off, shook it off, and it was continued walking like nothing ever happened. That was him. He always moved forward. That's totally Malin.

Lorraine Klein [00:10:17]:
I pictured him doing it.

Melissa "Birdie" Patterson [00:10:19]:
Yeah.

Braxton Critcher [00:10:20]:
People like that are just resilient, you know, and it sounds like, you know, you mentioned the strokes. It sounds like he was resilient with that. And that. That's just a very short story of running into a car that really, I think exemplifies who he was as a person, to not get knocked down, but to keep going and keep fighting. And I think that's a great example for, you know, for us, too, I think, too.

Maryann Croce [00:10:46]:
When he spoke it, what struck me is he would share lessons learned, you know, like he talked about when he was younger or mistakes or things that happen and lessons that he learned from it. So he never came across as, you know, he knew it all type of thing. He didn't have that attitude. He shared. And, yeah, he was fun to be around.

Braxton Critcher [00:11:10]:
So learn from my mistakes, right?

Maryann Croce [00:11:14]:
Exactly. Yeah.

Braxton Critcher [00:11:15]:
So say what now?

Lorraine Klein [00:11:20]:
He made them, too.

Braxton Critcher [00:11:21]:
Yeah.

Melissa "Birdie" Patterson [00:11:22]:
And he was always bragging about his children. Oh, my gosh.

Braxton Critcher [00:11:25]:
Oh, yeah.

Lorraine Klein [00:11:26]:
Oh, yes.

Braxton Critcher [00:11:28]:
Yes, Bertie. So out of the three of you, you're the only one that was already in the industry collision, but you were in the industry and. And you met Mayland. The. You know, you other two, you. You met him pretty early on in your career. And so, you know what the difference, the contrast is in your life, your career pre Malin and Post. So I.

Braxton Critcher [00:11:57]:
I'm curious to know, like, what you. What you think he changed in you, you know, after meeting him and your perception on the industry and all that kind of stuff.

Melissa "Birdie" Patterson [00:12:10]:
Well, it really opened up my world. I hadn't been part of an automotive training group. I hadn't been to expos or conventions. So it opened up a world of possibilities. I had no idea that there were communities and groups and training events such as. As all the ones that he would go to from Tools and Vision and Apex and. Well, the list goes on and on. Right.

Melissa "Birdie" Patterson [00:12:43]:
And finding out that there's all of this ongoing education and he was such a wealth and resource. I had already left the shop by that time and I was in helping with the marketing piece in automotive repair shops. But the wealth of knowledge. I sit down and I was gonna say, still, every time I would sit at his class, I would just take note after notes to bring that to my clients. He was a wealth of information. Not only his lifetime in the shop, but his lifetime educating shops and going into. I don't know if you knew this Braxton, but he for years was a service writer that filled in at other shops.

Braxton Critcher [00:13:26]:
Yes. Lucas told me that I wanted to bring that up.

Melissa "Birdie" Patterson [00:13:28]:
Oh, my. And so his experiences of how every independent shop runs, there is no norm. And the importance of creating that consistency within a shop, even if it's individualized, so someone can plug and play to come into that shop and that leads to the legacy business. And at the very end, I mean, even the week before he passed, he had a legacy business class that he was going to do. And he wanted me to step in and do that digital piece with him and everything sort of from the beginning of a shop opening its doors or transitioning. That was one of his goals, was to help a shop be able to become a legacy business and to hand off to the next place. So make sure your finances are right, that your people are right to your. For me, usernames and passwords.

Melissa "Birdie" Patterson [00:14:26]:
Having unilateral. Not your employees having those.

Lorraine Klein [00:14:29]:
Having.

Melissa "Birdie" Patterson [00:14:30]:
Having primary ownership. So there was just so much that he and I would brainstorm about and tease on, especially. Especially writing that book with him. And it's called the Joy of Auto Repair. And we're just one final edit away. But it's a collection of all of his seminars over the years put into a digestible and humorous. Humorous book, naturally. Hundreds and hundreds of pages.

Braxton Critcher [00:14:57]:
That's really great that there's a book, you know, that'll be. You're talking about Legacy and coaching and that kind of stuff. But I think the legacy of Malan lives on in the pages of the book, so that's great. But also in just his legacy lives on in so many people's hearts. And that's what Lucas tried to tell me was, you know, this, this man left a mark on my life. And you've, you've, you've shared stories about how that happens and what you think of him. But when you think about legacy and, and the industry and the people that he touched, what do you think his lasting legacy is and how will he be remembered in the future?

Melissa "Birdie" Patterson [00:15:48]:
I think he's going to be honored in so many ways, hopefully. And I do believe that it's already in place with different events is sponsorships for ongoing education, to sponsor a technician, preferably he preferred to sponsor a female technician and to send them to training to expand their knowledge, to encourage women to own automotive repair businesses and really get involved. So I would say his mission would be to better every company out there. And maybe, Marianne, you could help me with the words to try to share how much it meant to him to, to help a business thrive and succeed. Each individual independent shop.

Maryann Croce [00:16:37]:
Yeah, absolutely. He, he saw, I'm going to go back to saying, when he would talk to shop owners or anybody in the industry, I mean, you could be a, you know, software company, it didn't matter all the different parts of the industry. He had really good relationships with people because he saw how everybody work together and the need. Right, to do that and how important building relationships were with your suppliers, your vendors, your team, connecting all of the people that you even trusted, advisors such as, say, your coach, your accountant, all those types of things. And he saw that. And he was a great connector. If he saw someone needed help with someone, he even knew who to connect you with. When I was asked to speak for the very first time, coaching wasn't even on the radar for me.

Maryann Croce [00:17:33]:
It was just an association saying, hey, you're going on a forum and you're giving out information, lessons learned, what worked for you and you're sharing it, why don't you come and speak? And he really guided me with that. He really encouraged me and helped me through it. And like I said, he was there in the front row and, and he didn't look at, he didn't look at the industry. My take on it was as siloed as some people see it. He wanted to see why everybody couldn't work together to support the industry and make the industry better and make the industry stronger. So that was something that. An impact that I said he really left on me. That was important to me because I aligned with a lot of the way he thought it, really.

Maryann Croce [00:18:23]:
And so did my husband. We both aligned with his thinking and giving back. And I think one of the things that really inspired me was how he was with the young people coming into the industry. And that inspired me to get involved with the next generation of young men and women that are coming into the industry. And that really inspired us as shop owners. And, you know, even in the coaching process part, it really helped me say, I want to be a resource to them. And I think that was a big inspiration from. That came from him positioning the industry as a viable career opportunity and option for them.

Braxton Critcher [00:19:09]:
And I wanted to take a second and talk about his passion, his desire, the legacy that he leaves for women in the industry. And so, you know, I think, Lorraine, obviously you can speak to that. So that's something that he's going to leave behind him, is his passion and how he helped bring so many women into the industry. And I think it's awesome that, that all three of your women on this podcast talking about Malan because he cared that deeply about women. So. So, yeah, just share what you think he meant to women in the industry and how he helped you and how he poured into your life.

Lorraine Klein [00:19:48]:
Well, something that he always said was, you know, that women need a voice in the industry. And he gave us that voice with creating the Awia Automotive women. Amazing women in automotive. Sorry, tongue tied. And I got involved in it after it was started, which was kind of cool because I wasn't that involved in the shop, but I was involved in the backside of it. And he, he would say, yeah, but you're still involved in the shop, so you need to, you know, be part of this. You could probably give them this perspective or that perspective. And I was like, okay, so honestly, right now, what I bring to the table for the Awia is I'm the comic relief.

Lorraine Klein [00:20:36]:
I make everybody laugh. And he was just like, but then that's your place. That's what you're supposed to do. So I like that he did encourage me to become part of this group. And it's kind of an amazing group. I mean, I know it's in the name, but I mean, these women are fantastic. The things that they do, the things that they, for lack of a better phrase, put up with is just so amazing. And Malan always pushed us to be better, which I think helped me just in my life, even in my, my, my other job.

Maryann Croce [00:21:13]:
So.

Lorraine Klein [00:21:14]:
But I know Bernie can talk more to the passion of the awia probably. Right, Bernie?

Melissa "Birdie" Patterson [00:21:20]:
Well, I had this is just last week's roundtable. It's every Wednesday at 11 Pacific Time. And I brought in one of my clients. They had bought a shop that I had been working with. And so this legacy business, the next owner, and it's a younger couple, and she joined us and I had a meeting with her after that same day after she joined the roundtable for the first time. And she was lit up. She was so excited about our group. And not only just the things that we were talking about, the issues in the shop and the challenges and how we were dealing with it, but also the side stories as us, we women would freely converse.

Melissa "Birdie" Patterson [00:22:01]:
She was so excited. She said she, she was a school teacher, I think a second grade school teacher before she became an automotive repair shop owner. And she was writing notes and she just couldn't believe that there was a group like ours. And not only did from the different topics that we were talking about the in shop problems and solutions that we were working through, but also just the side stories and the little how, how we manage it as women. She was so lit up. I was really, really excited so that that sort of the after effect. But it was Meilan's passion to give us this freedom to speak in a women's only group. I'm not sure if I'm answering your.

Braxton Critcher [00:22:45]:
Question very well, Marianne. You're probably the best to ask this, but I understand there's a GoFundMe page out there. There's also scholarships in his name. So tell me more about that and what's happening, you know, right now with, with the industry and fundraising.

Maryann Croce [00:23:09]:
Well, I know that we are, we do, for amazing women in automotive, we do a dinner and what we do is we have a, a scholarship where we have a woman come to industry events, different trainings that are out there. So we'll have them come and take care of the cost of the event and the hotel if they, you know, airfare is needed and they'll come to the event and we honor them at the dinner. We make a big deal out of it that they're coming and they're getting all this training, so we'll have that. And also we get people that want to sponsor the actual dinner that we have. So there'll be vendors or suppliers out there that want to get involved and support women. So they'll come, they'll donate and sponsor the event that we're having the dinner. So we've we've had that. I know there were other things out there.

Maryann Croce [00:24:12]:
I can't speak about those because I'm not sure what they may be involving Malan, but I know with Amazing Women in Automotive, that's something that was really important to him because Malin actually funded that organization. He's the founder of it before we became a nonprofit and we were self funded. But Malan started that and that is just, you know, and I know, I know in my heart of hearts because he spoke so highly of it and he lit up as the group was growing and he'd be at an event and come in and speak and let the group know. He'd be there for like 10 minutes or so, telling the group, you know, why he started letting them know. And then he would go off and he would say, I want to give you ladies your time together. And we would have a nice dinner and we would network and learn a lot more about each other and support one another. But I know that's something that he would want to continue.

Braxton Critcher [00:25:13]:
I know there, I'm looking at it now. There's a GoFundMe for says Honor Malin Newton. Support his legacy GoFundMe page. You can Google it, find it. I'm not sure how much money has been raised. I can't find that here. But I know that's out there and I think there's some other scholarships as well to honor his life. And so his legacy lives on.

Maryann Croce [00:25:39]:
Absolutely.

Braxton Critcher [00:25:42]:
Anything else? Anything else? We need to make sure we talk about about Malin and his life.

Melissa "Birdie" Patterson [00:25:49]:
There's so much. Where would it stop? But the truth is his. His passion project. I apologize. His passion project, it's My sweetheart is Amazing Women in Automotive. Yes. You know, he had a stroke and once a year he would birth. Visit those nurses at the recovery center that he was at.

Melissa "Birdie" Patterson [00:26:14]:
And that was an annual thing that he really felt powerful about. But year round with his work and with his career, 100%. I believe in my heart of hearts that amazing women in automotive and having a scholarship in his name and helping with continuing education of shop owners and especially women was his passion project. It was absolutely where all conversations would funnel back to.

Braxton Critcher [00:26:45]:
Yeah, so I'll put a link to amazing women in automotive in the description of the video. If you'd like to learn more about that. If you're watching listening, ladies, thank you. Thank you for honoring his life today.

Maryann Croce [00:27:00]:
Thank you for having us.

Braxton Critcher [00:27:02]:
And if you're watching listening, we want to hear from you. If there are stories you want to share what or just a comment about what Mayland meant to your life, then we want to hear in the comments. YouTube, Spotify, you can comment on the video or the podcast and just share your thoughts. This is just a great way to do that, to honor Mailin's life in just any small way we possibly can. So thanks for watching this episode of Automotive Repair News Today. Hey, if you're still here, thank you so much for listening to this episode of Automotive Repair News Today. If you enjoyed the show, please take a moment like share. Subscribe to the podcast that'll help us out a big deal and help grow the show.

Braxton Critcher [00:27:50]:
And you know what? While you're at it, slap on a review too. If you feel like this content is is helpful for the industry, don't forget to follow us on all your favorite social media platforms. We're on Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn. Stay connected and be the first to know about new episodes, behind the scene, content and more. And until next time, let's make the industry better together.