November 13, 2025 • 21 mins
A good mechanic saves weekends. A great one shows up in your driveway with a story that reminds you what grit really looks like. Meet Matt Thompson, the owner of Renew Mobile Small Engine and Equipment Repair, who turns dead mowers and stubborn snowblowers into reliable workhorses all across Northern Kentucky—no trailers, no shop drop-offs, no waiting weeks to be seen.
We dig into what “mobile repair” really means for homeowners and small property managers: on-site diagnostics, transparent fixes, and the seasonal realities of riding mowers, push mowers, trimmers, leaf blowers, and snowblowers. Matt breaks down common culprits like stale fuel, clogged carburetors, safety interlocks, worn belts, and low-oil shutdowns that mimic bigger failures. He shares how quick checks can save time and money, when to repair versus replace, and why simple maintenance habits pay off before the first snowfall or the first cut of spring.
Then the conversation turns personal. In 2021, Matt survived a ruptured brain aneurysm, months in a medical coma, multiple strokes, and a long rebuild through intensive rehab at the Shepherd Center. Doctors said disability was permanent and driving was off the table. He pushed back, retrained, retested, and returned to the wheel—and to work. Renew Mobile grew from that resolve: a locally rooted business built to serve neighbors, chip away at medical debt, and prove that skill and service can thrive after hardship. If you care about reliable equipment, practical advice, and the power of a second chance, this one’s for you. You can reach Matt Thompson at 859-991-9350. You can email him at renewmobilesmallengine@gmail.com
Subscribe for more local stories that spotlight the people behind essential services. Share this episode with someone who needs a trusted mobile small engine expert, and leave a review to help others in Northern Kentucky find us.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the point
where local businesses andneighbor come together.
Here's your host, Mike Murphy.
SPEAKER_01 (00:11):
Hey, thank you, Charlie.
That's I'm Mike Murphy, host ofthe Good Neighbor Podcast.
We talk to local business ownersin northern Kentucky so that you
can know them as people and notjust logos on a business card.
And so I've got somebody with metoday who I have recently met,
and he has a pretty compellingstory.
So I asked him to come in andshare it with um the residents
of Northern Kentucky, many ofwhich are currently his
(00:34):
customers, and some of which aregoing to be future customers.
So without further ado, uh MattThompson, you are the owner of
is it uh Renew Small Engines?
Renew Mobile, Small Engine andEquipment Repair.
Okay.
And so the mobile part of it isyou go to the customer, correct?
SPEAKER_02 (00:54):
We bring the shop to you.
SPEAKER_01 (00:56):
Okay.
So um having said that, go intoa little deeper detail of what
it is you do uh within thebusiness.
SPEAKER_02 (01:05):
Do anything small engine equipment, uh log
splitters, leaf blowers, uh snowblowers, anything small engine
related, we do it.
SPEAKER_01 (01:15):
So within that category, what is the most
common piece of equipment youwork that you work on?
SPEAKER_02 (01:23):
Probably riding tractors.
SPEAKER_01 (01:26):
Okay, okay.
SPEAKER_02 (01:27):
Riding lime wars or leaf blowers, re weed eaters.
unknown (01:32):
Okay.
SPEAKER_02 (01:33):
I've had a huge string of uh snowblowers here
lately because it's coming toseason.
SPEAKER_01 (01:37):
Yeah, people people don't want to be uh caught
without them.
Yeah, yeah, that's yes.
Uh the the the day of the firstbig snowfall is no time to
figure out that you aresnowblowers.
SPEAKER_02 (01:48):
No, it's not.
SPEAKER_01 (01:49):
I guess I would assume that uh maybe the number
one thing would be the oldhandheld lawnmower, uh the push
mower, the push mower, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (01:57):
I I do a lot of those.
SPEAKER_01 (01:59):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (01:59):
But number one uh here lately has been the
snowblower.
SPEAKER_01 (02:03):
Okay.
All right.
So uh if somebody calls you,typically they've got your
business card say, or they'recalling from a referral or
whatever.
SPEAKER_02 (02:12):
Word of mouth.
SPEAKER_01 (02:13):
Word of mouth.
If they call you and say, heyman, um, I'm dead in the water
here, need help.
Um, what's a typical turnaroundtime?
SPEAKER_02 (02:22):
Uh it depends on my schedule.
But I had a guy who call me thismorning.
He said he lives down in uhCorinth, and I'm like, that's a
little bit out of my servicearea, but I I do have customers
down in Corinth area.
I told him I I could be downthere uh Friday tomorrow.
SPEAKER_01 (02:39):
Okay.
But well, I mean, that's that'spretty reasonable.
Oh, yeah.
You know, one thing people don'tlike to hear in that situation
is I'll try to get to you in twoto three weeks.
SPEAKER_02 (02:48):
Yeah, you know.
Um next day or a couple of dayslater.
Okay, depending on schedule.
I mean, I'm not gonna putsomebody off to make somebody
else happy.
I want to make everybody happy.
SPEAKER_01 (02:59):
So we'll we'll continue our business
conversation here in a bit, butone of the things that I thought
was uh interesting about you,kind of compelling, um a chapter
of your life um with a medicalissue that you've had to work
hard to overcome.
And um so knowing knowing whatyou've been through and then uh
actually you know seeing youthis morning, shaking your hand
(03:22):
and and meeting you in personfor the first time.
Oh yeah, I was thinking, wow,he's he's really he's doing
well.
He's come along.
SPEAKER_02 (03:28):
It's been a long road, I'll tell you that.
SPEAKER_01 (03:30):
So tell us what what happened to you and and and when
what's what's the story youtell?
SPEAKER_02 (03:34):
January 21st of 21.
I was I was living in Tampa,Florida at this time.
SPEAKER_01 (03:39):
Fucking the camera.
SPEAKER_02 (03:40):
And uh I I uh I left work on a Thursday.
I I took work, I took the dayoff on Friday because I was
planning on flying up here to uhmeet one of my good friends for
his birthday on Friday.
And uh I remember going togetting off of work and going to
the airport and buying air aplane ticket.
(04:00):
And uh when I I paid for I paidfor the ticket with cash and I
put this change in my pocket.
When I put the change in mypocket, the hit keys that I
pulled I'd use to pull a truckup to the bay door that day.
And uh, I was like, man, I gottatake these keys back to work.
So I take the keys back to work,and I remember disarming the
(04:22):
alarm, and I remember going in,putting my keys up, and I
remember coming back out thedoor and putting my or setting
an alarm, and then I put mytruck in reverse and I woke up a
couple months later.
SPEAKER_01 (04:35):
Wow.
SPEAKER_02 (04:37):
So it happened while you were in the truck, yeah, and
I hemorrhaged in in the truckfor an hour, and I think it was
like an hour and 35 minutesbefore anybody found me.
And then they took me down toTampa General where they done a
uh a tox screen or whatever.
They thought I was a drugoverdose case and let me sit for
another hour and a half or sohemorrhaging.
(04:58):
Uh, and then there this miraclelady walked in through the
through the uh the ER there andsaid he's not a drug overdose
case, he needs a head CT stat.
And that's when they found thatuh I had aneurysm rupture in
your brain, and they give me athree percent chance of
survival, and I do have two moreactive aneurysms in my head.
(05:19):
Okay, how often do they um I I Iscan every six months?
SPEAKER_01 (05:24):
Okay, all right.
Well, I mean, I know you'll havea lot of people praying for you
that um you know they don'trupture on you, but yeah, do
they when when they knowsomething like that exists in
you, it uh can they do anythingabout it?
SPEAKER_02 (05:38):
It I have the two in my head that are coiled, they
put coils around them to keepthem from expanding more.
SPEAKER_01 (05:44):
Yeah, okay.
SPEAKER_02 (05:45):
But I do have uh I do have the one clipped and two
coiled.
unknown (05:49):
All right.
SPEAKER_01 (05:50):
So you're backing the truck out and then you know,
out go the lights, and then I Idon't remember any of that.
It was two months later you saidyou woke up in the hospital?
SPEAKER_02 (06:02):
Yeah, uh that that I remember.
SPEAKER_01 (06:04):
Okay, all right, all right.
SPEAKER_02 (06:06):
So even though that's your first memory, how
long were you actuallyunconscious or uh I think I was
in they putting me in a medicalcoma for like a month or two?
Okay, just so I could heal.
SPEAKER_01 (06:22):
So when you came out of it and you were finally
aware, um I know an aneurysmlike that can be very dangerous
in terms of all the things thatwill disrupt within your body.
Yeah, so what kind of conditionwere you in at that moment?
SPEAKER_02 (06:41):
Uh I got some pretty nasty pictures that that I
couldn't walk, I could talk, Icouldn't talk, I was wheelchair
bound.
I was actually bed bound forforever.
And uh I went through I went toa place in Atlanta, Georgia
called the Shepherd Center.
All right, and I I that's whereI done all my my rehab and
(07:01):
therapy and things like that.
That's like uh Disney inAtlanta.
So I'll tell you, it's it'sthat's an amazing place.
unknown (07:07):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (07:08):
So where were you actually living when all this
was happening?
Were you in Tampa?
SPEAKER_02 (07:14):
I lived in uh oh goodness, it was uh near Tampa.
It was on the outside of Tampa.
I can't remember the name of itnow.
I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_01 (07:25):
But uh Tampa was kind of like the the nearest I
worked in Tampa.
SPEAKER_02 (07:28):
Okay, so and that was the nearest major medical
school that could be and TampaGeneral is a uh they are a I
guess a a world uh worldrenowned yeah, they're like the
brain aneurysm specialists,okay, from what I was told.
SPEAKER_01 (07:44):
I don't I don't know for sure, but a lot of great
places around the country wheresomething like that could have
happened to you if it had tohappen at all, but it's gotta be
there.
SPEAKER_02 (07:53):
Yeah, it's gotta be there.
SPEAKER_01 (07:54):
Yeah, okay.
So the road back from then towhere you are now, what's that
struggle been like for you?
SPEAKER_02 (08:04):
It's been I I still struggle daily.
Well, I had four strokes orthree strokes right back, all
back to back behind thataneurysm, too.
But um, I my whole entire rightside is all numb.
I have no feeling on my rightside, on my arm, my leg,
nothing.
But uh, I mean, it's been a verylong road learning how to walk
and talk and um just learninghow to be me again, right?
(08:29):
Yeah, something that nobody uhnobody ever wants to have to
experience and no, it's none ofus can really imagine.
And uh it's been pretty tough,honestly.
SPEAKER_01 (08:39):
How old are you, man?
SPEAKER_02 (08:40):
I'll be actually 44 tomorrow or uh November 1st.
I'm gonna two days.
SPEAKER_01 (08:46):
Okay, all right.
SPEAKER_02 (08:47):
Yeah, I'll be 44.
SPEAKER_01 (08:48):
All right.
Well, happy early birthday.
Thank you.
Appreciate it.
It's nice that you're able to behere celebrating birthdays.
SPEAKER_02 (08:54):
Yeah, there was times that I thought I wasn't
gonna be here.
unknown (08:57):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (08:58):
And even though uh, you know, physically you
obviously put in the work andgot better and all that stuff,
yeah.
There had to be days when justmentally you were you were still
good when we're done.
SPEAKER_02 (09:09):
I still go through it every single day.
Like, man, I should have justgave up and just stayed on
disability.
That they told me I was gonna beon disability pretty much for
the rest of my life, and theytold me I was never allowed to
drive again.
And uh I was down in Tennessee,we'll move down to Tennessee
there for a little while.
I've done some more therapy andI said, I can't handle this, I
(09:31):
have got to drive.
She's like, You're not gettingyour license unless you go get a
uh uh do a driving test.
So I called this uh a drivingcompany down there.
I said, I need to do a drivingtest.
I said, My my wife at the time,I said she won't let me drive
until I get my driving test.
And I did that and I left therethere with a job and a job
(09:52):
offer.
unknown (09:53):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (09:54):
Well, it's quite an interesting story.
Um you know, you mentioned uhyou can drive now, and oh yeah,
you know, and uh kind of struckme when I saw you drive up in
that uh truck, you know, yourwork truck.
I'm like, um, well, obviouslyhe's driving just fine.
SPEAKER_02 (10:09):
One John Dooley.
Yeah.
And uh having to pull thattrailer around to bring the shop
to them.
SPEAKER_01 (10:15):
Yeah, it's a nice truck.
Um so yeah, um I guess you know,there's uh there's part of the
story where you're you'reemployed at one place full time,
yes, and then there's thisbusiness that we're kind of here
to talk about today.
SPEAKER_02 (10:32):
Yes.
SPEAKER_01 (10:32):
Um, your small engine repair business.
And I think you shared with methat uh one of the reasons for
that is it uh kind of help to uhget rid of the medical debt that
you'd use.
SPEAKER_02 (10:44):
Exactly, yeah.
Trying to get rid of some ofthat medical debt.
SPEAKER_01 (10:48):
Yeah.
Medical debt is a prettyinsidious thing.
It can ruin people's lives.
SPEAKER_02 (10:52):
Yes, it can.
SPEAKER_01 (10:53):
It's a blessing and a curse.
Okay, you uh went through all ofthat, you you you know, uh owe
the medical community a you knowgood debt of gratitude.
SPEAKER_02 (11:01):
Oh yes, oh yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (11:03):
But you know, then you've got this curse that comes
with it.
And I recomm I mean I I Icommend you, I um I applaud your
efforts in um doing what you canto um take care of that debt.
SPEAKER_02 (11:19):
But I do wonder, like, with all the stuff you've
been through, so major, if youdon't mind sharing, well, like
what what did the total end upbeing on that uh I there was one
point in a time I checked in andI was like three million dollars
or something like that in debtwith uh medical bills.
And what I've had to do withthat.
I mean, I've had uh I've hadthree open brain surgeries, and
(11:43):
I'm I'm gonna have to haveanother one here uh shortly, I
believe, uh to take care of theother two in there in there.
SPEAKER_01 (11:51):
All right.
So when when you have thosesurgeries, are you having them
here locally or do you flysomewhere?
SPEAKER_02 (11:59):
Probably you see.
SPEAKER_01 (12:00):
Okay.
All right, so they're able tohandle that uh sensitive surgery
up here as well.
All right.
Well, you know, now that I youknow have met you and know your
story and you're sharing it withus today, of course, I'll be
wanting to um stay in contactwith you and and you know make
(12:21):
sure that all of that istracking the way we all hope it
will.
But in the meantime, uh thissmall engine repair business,
the mobile business.
Yeah, now that people understandthe purpose behind it, yeah.
Uh it's not something you justdecided to do because you're
good at it.
SPEAKER_02 (12:39):
I I love doing small engines, I really do.
SPEAKER_01 (12:41):
That's I would think that would be kind of
therapeutic for you too, right?
SPEAKER_02 (12:44):
It is, it it is, it really is.
Uh, like when I was in thehospital, my friends would call
me and they wanted to see if Icould remember things uh as far
as I'm I'm a huge mechanic aswell.
I've been mechanic my entirelife.
But uh they would always call meand say, Hey, my car is doing
this, my truck is doing this.
(13:05):
What do you think the issuecould be?
And I pretty much nailed it downevery single time.
So I've been mechanical all myall my life.
SPEAKER_01 (13:15):
Well, I think if if that's where your talent lies,
yeah, deep in that part of yourbrain, it's probably um ironclad
on lockdown.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, you're you're you're gonnahopefully have that with you for
the rest of your life.
But I want people out there toknow that um you know that the
(13:36):
whole small engine thing is kindof a pain in the butt for like
especially like the weekendwarriors who are doing their own
landscaping or or whatever.
SPEAKER_02 (13:45):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (13:46):
And the first thing we do is we start um putting
around with it and checkingfilters and checking do we have
fuel and all that.
There's a little bit of stuffthat we can all kind of maybe
figure out a little bit.
Yeah, but um many times, and Iknow I've been this way in the
past, I get to a point where I'mlike at an impression.
SPEAKER_02 (14:04):
I'm like, just throw it.
SPEAKER_01 (14:06):
Yeah, it's like you know, either you uh kick it,
cuss at it, yeah, uh, you know,whatever.
But at the end of the day, youstill come right back to all
right, I gotta get this done.
SPEAKER_02 (14:16):
You gotta get it done.
SPEAKER_01 (14:17):
I mean, and I've never really known in those
moments who to call because weall have auto mechanics that we
can call, or oh yeah, we pass bythem all the time on the road.
Oh yeah.
But when it comes to the smallengine repair, especially
somebody that can come to you.
SPEAKER_02 (14:32):
Yes, that's that's the big thing.
SPEAKER_01 (14:34):
Yeah, that's that's really good.
I mean, that's you know, whensomebody finds you, then you're
such a godsend to them in thatmoment.
Yeah, they will not lose yourcard.
SPEAKER_02 (14:44):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (14:45):
You know, they put you in the phone and they uh
they make sure never to loseyour number.
SPEAKER_02 (14:50):
Yeah, you can always reach me, 859-991-9350.
SPEAKER_01 (14:55):
Okay, and again, it's Matt Thompson.
SPEAKER_02 (14:57):
Yeah, Matt Thompson.
Renewed mobile, small engine andequipment repair.
SPEAKER_01 (15:01):
Perfect.
Okay.
So when people now that peopleknow kind of like the purpose
behind that business, yeah, Ithink people will probably just
naturally want to um support youand the business.
SPEAKER_02 (15:13):
Yeah, that'd be awesome.
SPEAKER_01 (15:15):
Yeah, and I think you know that's one of the
reasons not just hearing yourstory, yeah, but thinking, all
right, uh, this guy needs uhjust a forum to be able to talk
to the community and say, Yeah,here's my story, here's why I'm
doing this business.
All right, and I would love toserve you in whatever capacity.
Yes.
SPEAKER_02 (15:33):
So again, there's nothing I haven't been able to
figure out, figure out yet.
So that's that's a good thing.
SPEAKER_01 (15:40):
All right.
Uh have you ever uh arrived atsomebody's place and and the old
the old classic uh you're out ofgas?
Does that ever happen?
SPEAKER_02 (15:48):
That has happened many times.
Or they have a low oil shutdownon them and they're low on a
oil, throw a little bit of oilin.
Normally I don't charge them toto do that.
I mean that that's just yeah,okay.
SPEAKER_01 (16:03):
Well, you know, although in those moments we
might be embarrassed, um, youknow, you're the expert, not us.
We're the ones calling for thehelp.
We don't care how how we get thehelp, right?
SPEAKER_02 (16:14):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (16:15):
As long as uh when you're leaving, uh everything's
up and running again.
SPEAKER_02 (16:19):
Exactly.
SPEAKER_01 (16:19):
So that's got to make you feel good to do it.
It does.
SPEAKER_02 (16:21):
It it'd be a hero.
There's a there's a lot ofgratitude that comes with it, a
lot of happiness that somebodycalls me, they can't get their
stuff running.
I I love getting I love helpingpeople.
I mean, that's that's just I'vebeen that way my entire life.
SPEAKER_01 (16:35):
Do you have any story uh where you know one one
or two in particular that werekind of like your favorite calls
you've ever gone out on, oranyone you've uh helped uh in a
kind of a special way?
SPEAKER_02 (16:48):
Just uh a lot of out-of-fuel or out-of-oil calls.
I mean, there's been quite a fewuh out-of-oil calls that uh just
show up and throw a cap full ofoil in there and it fires right
up.
Okay, so yeah, a lot of peopledon't realize they have uh low
oil shutdowns on these things.
And if if the if if if it's nottouching that sensor, it will
(17:12):
not start.
unknown (17:13):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (17:14):
So you're talking about oil in the crankcase
itself, not not not like uh notlike a two-cycle mixture sort of
just or in the engine itself.
Okay, all right.
Well, I guess that makes sense,and it's good that there's that
shutoff, so yes, it keeps youfrom uh dancing things.
SPEAKER_02 (17:30):
Yes, sir, there is.
SPEAKER_01 (17:31):
I know a lot of people that need that for their
car because there's a lot ofpeople out there who don't
realize uh you need to bechanging your oil every so often
and all body fluids.
SPEAKER_02 (17:43):
You gotta check it too.
SPEAKER_01 (17:45):
Right.
And the first time you check itcan't be when your car's being
towed away.
SPEAKER_02 (17:50):
Nope, nope.
SPEAKER_01 (17:51):
All right.
So uh do you mind uh sharingwhere you're working full time?
SPEAKER_02 (17:57):
I work full-time TLG Peterbelt in northern Kentucky.
Okay, we're actually gettingready to move uh next Friday
over to uh by the airport,Earhart Court.
SPEAKER_01 (18:08):
All right, yeah, a lot of stuff going out there at
the airport.
Yes, there is.
Yeah, a lot of a lot of jobs outthere, a lot of people, a lot of
uh building, oh yeah.
Okay, all right.
Well, um, is there anything thatwe haven't talked about or
anything you want to say umbefore we sign off?
This has been a goodconversation, but uh it's coming
(18:29):
to a close.
SPEAKER_02 (18:30):
So nothing that I can think of.
SPEAKER_01 (18:31):
We've covered everything.
Yeah, I've covered all thethings that I wanted to cover
with you, yeah.
Um, your story in particular,because I think it's it's um uh
you know kind of miraculous,really to think about what
happened to you when ithappened, and that you had to
that you were left so longwithout being found.
And when they found you, theystill left you.
(18:53):
Still left me.
SPEAKER_02 (18:53):
They thought you were thought I was a drug or
overdose case.
SPEAKER_01 (18:56):
Yeah, no, and and did that mean to them like you
weren't worth it?
SPEAKER_02 (19:01):
I I guess, but uh my wife at the time she actually
beat me to the hospital.
Okay, and um they said, Man,what kind of drugs is your
husband husband on?
She said, He doesn't he doesn'tdrink, he doesn't do any drugs
at all.
He there's he doesn't doanything, and they say, Well,
we'll like the top screen uhtell us the answer that.
SPEAKER_01 (19:20):
So, yeah, well, that's it's a shame that that's
the first thing that they thinkof.
Yeah, but I think that justspeaks to how um common that is
and how often they say that.
SPEAKER_02 (19:31):
Oh, yeah, I'm sure.
And that was in Hills,Hillsborough County where they
found me too.
So, I mean, that's a prettyrough area anyway.
SPEAKER_01 (19:39):
So okay.
Well, all that aside, thank Godyou're still here with us, and
you're rocking and rolling andyou're finding a way forward.
SPEAKER_02 (19:47):
Um daily struggles.
I mean, still, I mean, I justlike I said, my whole side is
numb and I just no feeling, butanyway, um, yeah, it's just a
daily struggle for me still.
SPEAKER_01 (19:59):
Okay, well, you'll you're gonna have a lot of
people who listen to this, sothey're gonna pray pray for you.
I'll be one of them.
So good deal.
I'm happy to know you and I hopewe get to stay in contact.
And in the meantime, we wantpeople to um make note of you
know your contact information.
SPEAKER_02 (20:15):
Yep.
SPEAKER_01 (20:15):
If if they need help with their small engine repair,
you'll go to them.
SPEAKER_02 (20:19):
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01 (20:20):
One more time.
I want you to say your number.
SPEAKER_02 (20:21):
It's uh 859-991-9350.
Renew mobile small engine andequipment repair.
We do everything.
SPEAKER_01 (20:31):
Matt Thompson, thank you for uh visiting with us
today.
SPEAKER_02 (20:34):
Thank you.
SPEAKER_01 (20:34):
And um, I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of
your journey.
A lot of other people are ohyeah going to be curious about
that too.
So um, on occasion, I'll justsort of uh you know post little
updates and let people know howyou're doing.
SPEAKER_02 (20:47):
That's perfect.
SPEAKER_01 (20:48):
All right, brother.
Well, um again, thanks forthanks for coming by today.
Thanks for sharing your story,and we wish you all the best.
Uh, we will all do our best touh think of you when we need
small repair, and sooner orlater all of us do.
So uh having said that, thatwraps up this latest episode of
(21:10):
the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Until we see each other again,everyone out there, please be
good to your neighbor.
So long.
Bye, everybody.
SPEAKER_00 (21:18):
Thanks for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast
Union to nominate your favoritelocal businesses to be featured
on the show.
Go to DNPunion.com.
That's gnpunion.com or call at859 4651 820.
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the point
where local businesses andneighbor come together.
Here's your host, Mike Murphy.
SPEAKER_01 (00:11):
Hey, thank you, Charlie.
That's I'm Mike Murphy, host ofthe Good Neighbor Podcast.
We talk to local business ownersin northern Kentucky so that you
can know them as people and notjust logos on a business card.
And so I've got somebody with metoday who I have recently met,
and he has a pretty compellingstory.
So I asked him to come in andshare it with um the residents
of Northern Kentucky, many ofwhich are currently his
(00:34):
customers, and some of which aregoing to be future customers.
So without further ado, uh MattThompson, you are the owner of
is it uh Renew Small Engines?
Renew Mobile, Small Engine andEquipment Repair.
Okay.
And so the mobile part of it isyou go to the customer, correct?
SPEAKER_02 (00:54):
We bring the shop to you.
SPEAKER_01 (00:56):
Okay.
So um having said that, go intoa little deeper detail of what
it is you do uh within thebusiness.
SPEAKER_02 (01:05):
Do anything small engine equipment, uh log
splitters, leaf blowers, uh snowblowers, anything small engine
related, we do it.
SPEAKER_01 (01:15):
So within that category, what is the most
common piece of equipment youwork that you work on?
SPEAKER_02 (01:23):
Probably riding tractors.
SPEAKER_01 (01:26):
Okay, okay.
SPEAKER_02 (01:27):
Riding lime wars or leaf blowers, re weed eaters.
unknown (01:32):
Okay.
SPEAKER_02 (01:33):
I've had a huge string of uh snowblowers here
lately because it's coming toseason.
SPEAKER_01 (01:37):
Yeah, people people don't want to be uh caught
without them.
Yeah, yeah, that's yes.
Uh the the the day of the firstbig snowfall is no time to
figure out that you aresnowblowers.
SPEAKER_02 (01:48):
No, it's not.
SPEAKER_01 (01:49):
I guess I would assume that uh maybe the number
one thing would be the oldhandheld lawnmower, uh the push
mower, the push mower, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (01:57):
I I do a lot of those.
SPEAKER_01 (01:59):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (01:59):
But number one uh here lately has been the
snowblower.
SPEAKER_01 (02:03):
Okay.
All right.
So uh if somebody calls you,typically they've got your
business card say, or they'recalling from a referral or
whatever.
SPEAKER_02 (02:12):
Word of mouth.
SPEAKER_01 (02:13):
Word of mouth.
If they call you and say, heyman, um, I'm dead in the water
here, need help.
Um, what's a typical turnaroundtime?
SPEAKER_02 (02:22):
Uh it depends on my schedule.
But I had a guy who call me thismorning.
He said he lives down in uhCorinth, and I'm like, that's a
little bit out of my servicearea, but I I do have customers
down in Corinth area.
I told him I I could be downthere uh Friday tomorrow.
SPEAKER_01 (02:39):
Okay.
But well, I mean, that's that'spretty reasonable.
Oh, yeah.
You know, one thing people don'tlike to hear in that situation
is I'll try to get to you in twoto three weeks.
SPEAKER_02 (02:48):
Yeah, you know.
Um next day or a couple of dayslater.
Okay, depending on schedule.
I mean, I'm not gonna putsomebody off to make somebody
else happy.
I want to make everybody happy.
SPEAKER_01 (02:59):
So we'll we'll continue our business
conversation here in a bit, butone of the things that I thought
was uh interesting about you,kind of compelling, um a chapter
of your life um with a medicalissue that you've had to work
hard to overcome.
And um so knowing knowing whatyou've been through and then uh
actually you know seeing youthis morning, shaking your hand
(03:22):
and and meeting you in personfor the first time.
Oh yeah, I was thinking, wow,he's he's really he's doing
well.
He's come along.
SPEAKER_02 (03:28):
It's been a long road, I'll tell you that.
SPEAKER_01 (03:30):
So tell us what what happened to you and and and when
what's what's the story youtell?
SPEAKER_02 (03:34):
January 21st of 21.
I was I was living in Tampa,Florida at this time.
SPEAKER_01 (03:39):
Fucking the camera.
SPEAKER_02 (03:40):
And uh I I uh I left work on a Thursday.
I I took work, I took the dayoff on Friday because I was
planning on flying up here to uhmeet one of my good friends for
his birthday on Friday.
And uh I remember going togetting off of work and going to
the airport and buying air aplane ticket.
(04:00):
And uh when I I paid for I paidfor the ticket with cash and I
put this change in my pocket.
When I put the change in mypocket, the hit keys that I
pulled I'd use to pull a truckup to the bay door that day.
And uh, I was like, man, I gottatake these keys back to work.
So I take the keys back to work,and I remember disarming the
(04:22):
alarm, and I remember going in,putting my keys up, and I
remember coming back out thedoor and putting my or setting
an alarm, and then I put mytruck in reverse and I woke up a
couple months later.
SPEAKER_01 (04:35):
Wow.
SPEAKER_02 (04:37):
So it happened while you were in the truck, yeah, and
I hemorrhaged in in the truckfor an hour, and I think it was
like an hour and 35 minutesbefore anybody found me.
And then they took me down toTampa General where they done a
uh a tox screen or whatever.
They thought I was a drugoverdose case and let me sit for
another hour and a half or sohemorrhaging.
(04:58):
Uh, and then there this miraclelady walked in through the
through the uh the ER there andsaid he's not a drug overdose
case, he needs a head CT stat.
And that's when they found thatuh I had aneurysm rupture in
your brain, and they give me athree percent chance of
survival, and I do have two moreactive aneurysms in my head.
(05:19):
Okay, how often do they um I I Iscan every six months?
SPEAKER_01 (05:24):
Okay, all right.
Well, I mean, I know you'll havea lot of people praying for you
that um you know they don'trupture on you, but yeah, do
they when when they knowsomething like that exists in
you, it uh can they do anythingabout it?
SPEAKER_02 (05:38):
It I have the two in my head that are coiled, they
put coils around them to keepthem from expanding more.
SPEAKER_01 (05:44):
Yeah, okay.
SPEAKER_02 (05:45):
But I do have uh I do have the one clipped and two
coiled.
unknown (05:49):
All right.
SPEAKER_01 (05:50):
So you're backing the truck out and then you know,
out go the lights, and then I Idon't remember any of that.
It was two months later you saidyou woke up in the hospital?
SPEAKER_02 (06:02):
Yeah, uh that that I remember.
SPEAKER_01 (06:04):
Okay, all right, all right.
SPEAKER_02 (06:06):
So even though that's your first memory, how
long were you actuallyunconscious or uh I think I was
in they putting me in a medicalcoma for like a month or two?
Okay, just so I could heal.
SPEAKER_01 (06:22):
So when you came out of it and you were finally
aware, um I know an aneurysmlike that can be very dangerous
in terms of all the things thatwill disrupt within your body.
Yeah, so what kind of conditionwere you in at that moment?
SPEAKER_02 (06:41):
Uh I got some pretty nasty pictures that that I
couldn't walk, I could talk, Icouldn't talk, I was wheelchair
bound.
I was actually bed bound forforever.
And uh I went through I went toa place in Atlanta, Georgia
called the Shepherd Center.
All right, and I I that's whereI done all my my rehab and
(07:01):
therapy and things like that.
That's like uh Disney inAtlanta.
So I'll tell you, it's it'sthat's an amazing place.
unknown (07:07):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (07:08):
So where were you actually living when all this
was happening?
Were you in Tampa?
SPEAKER_02 (07:14):
I lived in uh oh goodness, it was uh near Tampa.
It was on the outside of Tampa.
I can't remember the name of itnow.
I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_01 (07:25):
But uh Tampa was kind of like the the nearest I
worked in Tampa.
SPEAKER_02 (07:28):
Okay, so and that was the nearest major medical
school that could be and TampaGeneral is a uh they are a I
guess a a world uh worldrenowned yeah, they're like the
brain aneurysm specialists,okay, from what I was told.
SPEAKER_01 (07:44):
I don't I don't know for sure, but a lot of great
places around the country wheresomething like that could have
happened to you if it had tohappen at all, but it's gotta be
there.
SPEAKER_02 (07:53):
Yeah, it's gotta be there.
SPEAKER_01 (07:54):
Yeah, okay.
So the road back from then towhere you are now, what's that
struggle been like for you?
SPEAKER_02 (08:04):
It's been I I still struggle daily.
Well, I had four strokes orthree strokes right back, all
back to back behind thataneurysm, too.
But um, I my whole entire rightside is all numb.
I have no feeling on my rightside, on my arm, my leg,
nothing.
But uh, I mean, it's been a verylong road learning how to walk
and talk and um just learninghow to be me again, right?
(08:29):
Yeah, something that nobody uhnobody ever wants to have to
experience and no, it's none ofus can really imagine.
And uh it's been pretty tough,honestly.
SPEAKER_01 (08:39):
How old are you, man?
SPEAKER_02 (08:40):
I'll be actually 44 tomorrow or uh November 1st.
I'm gonna two days.
SPEAKER_01 (08:46):
Okay, all right.
SPEAKER_02 (08:47):
Yeah, I'll be 44.
SPEAKER_01 (08:48):
All right.
Well, happy early birthday.
Thank you.
Appreciate it.
It's nice that you're able to behere celebrating birthdays.
SPEAKER_02 (08:54):
Yeah, there was times that I thought I wasn't
gonna be here.
unknown (08:57):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (08:58):
And even though uh, you know, physically you
obviously put in the work andgot better and all that stuff,
yeah.
There had to be days when justmentally you were you were still
good when we're done.
SPEAKER_02 (09:09):
I still go through it every single day.
Like, man, I should have justgave up and just stayed on
disability.
That they told me I was gonna beon disability pretty much for
the rest of my life, and theytold me I was never allowed to
drive again.
And uh I was down in Tennessee,we'll move down to Tennessee
there for a little while.
I've done some more therapy andI said, I can't handle this, I
(09:31):
have got to drive.
She's like, You're not gettingyour license unless you go get a
uh uh do a driving test.
So I called this uh a drivingcompany down there.
I said, I need to do a drivingtest.
I said, My my wife at the time,I said she won't let me drive
until I get my driving test.
And I did that and I left therethere with a job and a job
(09:52):
offer.
unknown (09:53):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (09:54):
Well, it's quite an interesting story.
Um you know, you mentioned uhyou can drive now, and oh yeah,
you know, and uh kind of struckme when I saw you drive up in
that uh truck, you know, yourwork truck.
I'm like, um, well, obviouslyhe's driving just fine.
SPEAKER_02 (10:09):
One John Dooley.
Yeah.
And uh having to pull thattrailer around to bring the shop
to them.
SPEAKER_01 (10:15):
Yeah, it's a nice truck.
Um so yeah, um I guess you know,there's uh there's part of the
story where you're you'reemployed at one place full time,
yes, and then there's thisbusiness that we're kind of here
to talk about today.
SPEAKER_02 (10:32):
Yes.
SPEAKER_01 (10:32):
Um, your small engine repair business.
And I think you shared with methat uh one of the reasons for
that is it uh kind of help to uhget rid of the medical debt that
you'd use.
SPEAKER_02 (10:44):
Exactly, yeah.
Trying to get rid of some ofthat medical debt.
SPEAKER_01 (10:48):
Yeah.
Medical debt is a prettyinsidious thing.
It can ruin people's lives.
SPEAKER_02 (10:52):
Yes, it can.
SPEAKER_01 (10:53):
It's a blessing and a curse.
Okay, you uh went through all ofthat, you you you know, uh owe
the medical community a you knowgood debt of gratitude.
SPEAKER_02 (11:01):
Oh yes, oh yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (11:03):
But you know, then you've got this curse that comes
with it.
And I recomm I mean I I Icommend you, I um I applaud your
efforts in um doing what you canto um take care of that debt.
SPEAKER_02 (11:19):
But I do wonder, like, with all the stuff you've
been through, so major, if youdon't mind sharing, well, like
what what did the total end upbeing on that uh I there was one
point in a time I checked in andI was like three million dollars
or something like that in debtwith uh medical bills.
And what I've had to do withthat.
I mean, I've had uh I've hadthree open brain surgeries, and
(11:43):
I'm I'm gonna have to haveanother one here uh shortly, I
believe, uh to take care of theother two in there in there.
SPEAKER_01 (11:51):
All right.
So when when you have thosesurgeries, are you having them
here locally or do you flysomewhere?
SPEAKER_02 (11:59):
Probably you see.
SPEAKER_01 (12:00):
Okay.
All right, so they're able tohandle that uh sensitive surgery
up here as well.
All right.
Well, you know, now that I youknow have met you and know your
story and you're sharing it withus today, of course, I'll be
wanting to um stay in contactwith you and and you know make
(12:21):
sure that all of that istracking the way we all hope it
will.
But in the meantime, uh thissmall engine repair business,
the mobile business.
Yeah, now that people understandthe purpose behind it, yeah.
Uh it's not something you justdecided to do because you're
good at it.
SPEAKER_02 (12:39):
I I love doing small engines, I really do.
SPEAKER_01 (12:41):
That's I would think that would be kind of
therapeutic for you too, right?
SPEAKER_02 (12:44):
It is, it it is, it really is.
Uh, like when I was in thehospital, my friends would call
me and they wanted to see if Icould remember things uh as far
as I'm I'm a huge mechanic aswell.
I've been mechanic my entirelife.
But uh they would always call meand say, Hey, my car is doing
this, my truck is doing this.
(13:05):
What do you think the issuecould be?
And I pretty much nailed it downevery single time.
So I've been mechanical all myall my life.
SPEAKER_01 (13:15):
Well, I think if if that's where your talent lies,
yeah, deep in that part of yourbrain, it's probably um ironclad
on lockdown.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, you're you're you're gonnahopefully have that with you for
the rest of your life.
But I want people out there toknow that um you know that the
(13:36):
whole small engine thing is kindof a pain in the butt for like
especially like the weekendwarriors who are doing their own
landscaping or or whatever.
SPEAKER_02 (13:45):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (13:46):
And the first thing we do is we start um putting
around with it and checkingfilters and checking do we have
fuel and all that.
There's a little bit of stuffthat we can all kind of maybe
figure out a little bit.
Yeah, but um many times, and Iknow I've been this way in the
past, I get to a point where I'mlike at an impression.
SPEAKER_02 (14:04):
I'm like, just throw it.
SPEAKER_01 (14:06):
Yeah, it's like you know, either you uh kick it,
cuss at it, yeah, uh, you know,whatever.
But at the end of the day, youstill come right back to all
right, I gotta get this done.
SPEAKER_02 (14:16):
You gotta get it done.
SPEAKER_01 (14:17):
I mean, and I've never really known in those
moments who to call because weall have auto mechanics that we
can call, or oh yeah, we pass bythem all the time on the road.
Oh yeah.
But when it comes to the smallengine repair, especially
somebody that can come to you.
SPEAKER_02 (14:32):
Yes, that's that's the big thing.
SPEAKER_01 (14:34):
Yeah, that's that's really good.
I mean, that's you know, whensomebody finds you, then you're
such a godsend to them in thatmoment.
Yeah, they will not lose yourcard.
SPEAKER_02 (14:44):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (14:45):
You know, they put you in the phone and they uh
they make sure never to loseyour number.
SPEAKER_02 (14:50):
Yeah, you can always reach me, 859-991-9350.
SPEAKER_01 (14:55):
Okay, and again, it's Matt Thompson.
SPEAKER_02 (14:57):
Yeah, Matt Thompson.
Renewed mobile, small engine andequipment repair.
SPEAKER_01 (15:01):
Perfect.
Okay.
So when people now that peopleknow kind of like the purpose
behind that business, yeah, Ithink people will probably just
naturally want to um support youand the business.
SPEAKER_02 (15:13):
Yeah, that'd be awesome.
SPEAKER_01 (15:15):
Yeah, and I think you know that's one of the
reasons not just hearing yourstory, yeah, but thinking, all
right, uh, this guy needs uhjust a forum to be able to talk
to the community and say, Yeah,here's my story, here's why I'm
doing this business.
All right, and I would love toserve you in whatever capacity.
Yes.
SPEAKER_02 (15:33):
So again, there's nothing I haven't been able to
figure out, figure out yet.
So that's that's a good thing.
SPEAKER_01 (15:40):
All right.
Uh have you ever uh arrived atsomebody's place and and the old
the old classic uh you're out ofgas?
Does that ever happen?
SPEAKER_02 (15:48):
That has happened many times.
Or they have a low oil shutdownon them and they're low on a
oil, throw a little bit of oilin.
Normally I don't charge them toto do that.
I mean that that's just yeah,okay.
SPEAKER_01 (16:03):
Well, you know, although in those moments we
might be embarrassed, um, youknow, you're the expert, not us.
We're the ones calling for thehelp.
We don't care how how we get thehelp, right?
SPEAKER_02 (16:14):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (16:15):
As long as uh when you're leaving, uh everything's
up and running again.
SPEAKER_02 (16:19):
Exactly.
SPEAKER_01 (16:19):
So that's got to make you feel good to do it.
It does.
SPEAKER_02 (16:21):
It it'd be a hero.
There's a there's a lot ofgratitude that comes with it, a
lot of happiness that somebodycalls me, they can't get their
stuff running.
I I love getting I love helpingpeople.
I mean, that's that's just I'vebeen that way my entire life.
SPEAKER_01 (16:35):
Do you have any story uh where you know one one
or two in particular that werekind of like your favorite calls
you've ever gone out on, oranyone you've uh helped uh in a
kind of a special way?
SPEAKER_02 (16:48):
Just uh a lot of out-of-fuel or out-of-oil calls.
I mean, there's been quite a fewuh out-of-oil calls that uh just
show up and throw a cap full ofoil in there and it fires right
up.
Okay, so yeah, a lot of peopledon't realize they have uh low
oil shutdowns on these things.
And if if the if if if it's nottouching that sensor, it will
(17:12):
not start.
unknown (17:13):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (17:14):
So you're talking about oil in the crankcase
itself, not not not like uh notlike a two-cycle mixture sort of
just or in the engine itself.
Okay, all right.
Well, I guess that makes sense,and it's good that there's that
shutoff, so yes, it keeps youfrom uh dancing things.
SPEAKER_02 (17:30):
Yes, sir, there is.
SPEAKER_01 (17:31):
I know a lot of people that need that for their
car because there's a lot ofpeople out there who don't
realize uh you need to bechanging your oil every so often
and all body fluids.
SPEAKER_02 (17:43):
You gotta check it too.
SPEAKER_01 (17:45):
Right.
And the first time you check itcan't be when your car's being
towed away.
SPEAKER_02 (17:50):
Nope, nope.
SPEAKER_01 (17:51):
All right.
So uh do you mind uh sharingwhere you're working full time?
SPEAKER_02 (17:57):
I work full-time TLG Peterbelt in northern Kentucky.
Okay, we're actually gettingready to move uh next Friday
over to uh by the airport,Earhart Court.
SPEAKER_01 (18:08):
All right, yeah, a lot of stuff going out there at
the airport.
Yes, there is.
Yeah, a lot of a lot of jobs outthere, a lot of people, a lot of
uh building, oh yeah.
Okay, all right.
Well, um, is there anything thatwe haven't talked about or
anything you want to say umbefore we sign off?
This has been a goodconversation, but uh it's coming
(18:29):
to a close.
SPEAKER_02 (18:30):
So nothing that I can think of.
SPEAKER_01 (18:31):
We've covered everything.
Yeah, I've covered all thethings that I wanted to cover
with you, yeah.
Um, your story in particular,because I think it's it's um uh
you know kind of miraculous,really to think about what
happened to you when ithappened, and that you had to
that you were left so longwithout being found.
And when they found you, theystill left you.
(18:53):
Still left me.
SPEAKER_02 (18:53):
They thought you were thought I was a drug or
overdose case.
SPEAKER_01 (18:56):
Yeah, no, and and did that mean to them like you
weren't worth it?
SPEAKER_02 (19:01):
I I guess, but uh my wife at the time she actually
beat me to the hospital.
Okay, and um they said, Man,what kind of drugs is your
husband husband on?
She said, He doesn't he doesn'tdrink, he doesn't do any drugs
at all.
He there's he doesn't doanything, and they say, Well,
we'll like the top screen uhtell us the answer that.
SPEAKER_01 (19:20):
So, yeah, well, that's it's a shame that that's
the first thing that they thinkof.
Yeah, but I think that justspeaks to how um common that is
and how often they say that.
SPEAKER_02 (19:31):
Oh, yeah, I'm sure.
And that was in Hills,Hillsborough County where they
found me too.
So, I mean, that's a prettyrough area anyway.
SPEAKER_01 (19:39):
So okay.
Well, all that aside, thank Godyou're still here with us, and
you're rocking and rolling andyou're finding a way forward.
SPEAKER_02 (19:47):
Um daily struggles.
I mean, still, I mean, I justlike I said, my whole side is
numb and I just no feeling, butanyway, um, yeah, it's just a
daily struggle for me still.
SPEAKER_01 (19:59):
Okay, well, you'll you're gonna have a lot of
people who listen to this, sothey're gonna pray pray for you.
I'll be one of them.
So good deal.
I'm happy to know you and I hopewe get to stay in contact.
And in the meantime, we wantpeople to um make note of you
know your contact information.
SPEAKER_02 (20:15):
Yep.
SPEAKER_01 (20:15):
If if they need help with their small engine repair,
you'll go to them.
SPEAKER_02 (20:19):
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01 (20:20):
One more time.
I want you to say your number.
SPEAKER_02 (20:21):
It's uh 859-991-9350.
Renew mobile small engine andequipment repair.
We do everything.
SPEAKER_01 (20:31):
Matt Thompson, thank you for uh visiting with us
today.
SPEAKER_02 (20:34):
Thank you.
SPEAKER_01 (20:34):
And um, I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of
your journey.
A lot of other people are ohyeah going to be curious about
that too.
So um, on occasion, I'll justsort of uh you know post little
updates and let people know howyou're doing.
SPEAKER_02 (20:47):
That's perfect.
SPEAKER_01 (20:48):
All right, brother.
Well, um again, thanks forthanks for coming by today.
Thanks for sharing your story,and we wish you all the best.
Uh, we will all do our best touh think of you when we need
small repair, and sooner orlater all of us do.
So uh having said that, thatwraps up this latest episode of
(21:10):
the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Until we see each other again,everyone out there, please be
good to your neighbor.
So long.
Bye, everybody.
SPEAKER_00 (21:18):
Thanks for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast
Union to nominate your favoritelocal businesses to be featured
on the show.
Go to DNPunion.com.
That's gnpunion.com or call at859 4651 820.
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