March 9, 2025 • 54 mins
In this podcast, we delve into the intricacies of the automotive detailing industry in Malta, as articulated by Romina, a distinguished installer and distributor of System X products. Our discussion illuminates the burgeoning awareness of car detailing among consumers in 2025, underpinned by an emphasis on the necessity of education regarding proper cleaning techniques and the significance of protective coatings. Romina elucidates the unique challenges faced by detailers in Malta, particularly due to the island's climatic conditions and the prevalence of mineral deposits on newly imported vehicles. Furthermore, we explore the collaborative initiatives undertaken through their detailing academy to ensure that practitioners are well-versed in the latest methodologies and products, enhancing the overall quality of service in the region. This episode serves as a critical examination of how a small island like Malta fosters a vibrant detailing community amidst competitive dynamics and environmental challenges.
In an intricate exploration of the automotive detailing industry, the podcast episode presents a dialogue with Romina from Malta, a notable figure in the detailing scene. The hosts emphasize the intriguing backdrop of Malta as a small yet vibrant hub for automotive care, where the high number of vehicles per household necessitates comprehensive detailing services. Romina discusses the prevalent issues faced by car owners due to the island's geographical and climatic conditions, encouraging clients to invest in protective measures such as ceramic coatings. The conversation further highlights the collaborative efforts of Romina and her team to elevate the professionalism of the detailing industry in Malta through educational initiatives aimed at both consumers and fellow detailers. This commitment to knowledge dissemination not only enhances service quality but also fosters a community of informed car owners and skilled technicians, thereby uplifting the entire sector.
Takeaways:
- The podcast highlighted the significance of education in the detailing industry, emphasizing that a strong foundation in understanding chemicals and processes is crucial for success.
- Romina shared insights on the unique challenges faced by detailers in Malta, particularly due to the island's climate and its impact on vehicle maintenance.
- The discussion included the importance of customer service in the detailing business, illustrating how strategic location and added conveniences can enhance client experiences.
- The speakers emphasized the need for continuous learning and adaptation in the detailing field, as advancements in technology and products occur frequently, necessitating ongoing education.
- Romina's experience with System X was discussed, showcasing how partnerships with reliable brands can facilitate growth and professional development in the detailing sector.
- The episode also touched upon the camaraderie built among detailers during training sessions, which fosters a supportive community and encourages sharing of best practices.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:38):
Good morning.
Hello.
How are you?
Good, thank you.
Yeah.
So what is it like?
It's like 3:30 there your time?
It's half four in the afternoon.
Yeah, yeah, it's half four inthe afternoon.
Yeah.
So it's Mina, right?
(00:58):
Yes, it's Romina.
Romina.
Okay.
I, I know on Instagram you areFacebook, you just have Mina or whatever.
So Romina, for everybodylistening, we were introduced by
Todd Rutledge from System Xhere in the US because you are a
System X installer slashdistributor, correct?
(01:21):
Yes, yes.
We are in, in Malta of all places.
Malta.
Yes.
Yeah.
Which of Europe?
In the heart of Europe.
So as soon as he said Malta Iwas like, definitely want to have
her on because like I, like Itold you, I, I've been looking to
(01:41):
get more international guestson, especially this year and, and
Malta is kind of aninteresting place.
It's a tiny little island.
Really.
Yeah.
And it's not big at all, right?
It's not big.
27 kilometers.
(02:02):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So I think I looked up, it'slike 220 square miles or something
like that.
Yeah.
So.
So I, what I want to ask youis because I'm always curious with
people, especially the guysin, in Hawaii, you know, that are
small islands and things likethat is how is the detailing scene
(02:24):
on a.
I mean not even a small city,a small country like that.
You know, first and foremostwe have ample cars.
So since it's an island, mostof the we use mainly co.
We don't have very effectivepublic transportation.
(02:48):
So every family has like fourcars on average.
So there's loads of cars.
Secondly, it's an island.
We're surrounded by sea, bythe Mediterranean Sea.
So that causes a lot of issueswhen it comes to paint.
(03:11):
So definitely we highlyrecommend having the ceramic coating
done to the cars or even PPFand wrapping and the like.
So definitely we highlyrecommend to clients now in 2025
the consumers are more wellversed with what detailing is, with
(03:33):
what ceramic coating is about.
And we continue doing our bestto educate everyone on how to go
about properly cleaning a car,what tools to use, even just for
a consumer.
So because we also have adetailing academy here in Malta and
(03:59):
we do several sessions withcar importers to help them out because
when new cars are transportedwe, we find a very frequent issue
with the mineral deposits on cars.
So it's a brand new car andyou find the whole bonnet covered
in minerals.
(04:21):
And therefore we hold severalsessions with the PDI teams of the
car importers to help them out.
Understand what chemicals touse in order to address such.
So there's a huge awareness.
We try our best to keepteaching consumers and importers
(04:43):
what chemicals to use, whatare they for and the like.
Right.
No, that's, that's very cool.
I mean, yeah, I mean, you're,you're, you're right.
I mean, I.
Here in Florida, I mean, I'mkind of located in the, in the middle
of Florida, so not too closeto either the Gulf or the Atlantic
Ocean.
But I do know lot of detailerson both sides.
You know, they obviously youget like that salt breeze air, you
(05:07):
know, the, you get the, youknow, just the contaminants and stuff
from, from the water andthings like that.
So, so yeah, that's, that'spretty cool.
So how did you get involvedwith, with System X?
Like, how did that come about?
Okay, originally I, I studiedfor a marketing degree.
(05:32):
So I have an MBA in a business.
But my partner had oncevisited USA and he told me, whatever
you dream of in usa, they makeit happen.
And he said, I want to retirefrom the office and I want to do
what I enjoy most.
And we do, and we both love cars.
(05:54):
And that was five years ago.
And we said, okay, let's seewhat we can do with, with cars, you
know.
Then we started reading forthe detailing course through the
IDA and through the UKDetailing Academy as well with Rich
March.
And slowly, slowly we startedlearning detailing and the like and
(06:18):
we opened up a studio.
Obviously we said we wanted topartner with someone reliable for
ceramic coating.
And System X literally gave usthis opportunity, which I'm so very
grateful towards them becausewe keep growing and growing, the
both of us, and it's been avery nice, healthy relationship.
(06:43):
Oh, that's cool.
Yeah, the guys over there arepretty nice.
I mean, I know Todd, Todd'sbeen super cool to me.
I mean, know I'm kind of witha competing brand.
I know, I know, but, butthat's, that's kind of the cool thing
with some of the people in the industry.
And I think Todd is definitelyone of those guys that, you know,
(07:04):
it doesn't matter.
I mean, there's, there'splenty of, you know, food for all
of us to eat kind of thing.
And, and you know, Todd's beenvery helpful and, and even reached
out to me and Mike, one of theowners of Aquatech.
When we were at SEMA a coupleyears ago, he even, you know, pulled
us aside and said, hey, look,like if you guys ever have any questions,
(07:26):
you know, or if you guys needAnything, feel free to let me know.
And then I've known StevePersia from my IGL day, so Steve's,
Steve's a good dude.
And then, you know, I've knownJoey, not personally, but just through
social media.
We've met a couple of timesat, at SEMA event and everything.
And so, yeah, I mean, the, youknow, seems like a good, good group
(07:49):
of people, but that'ssomething that I.
Noticed that it's verydifferent, it's very different from
Europe, that the Americans arevery welcome to all brands and there's
no kind of friction, kind of.
So it's been very, very easyto acquaint people and make up and
(08:14):
make relations with others.
So it's been, it's quite different.
You know, I'm, I'm glad thatyou say that because sometimes I
feel like it's not that way.
I feel like, you know, I feellike everybody's trashing everybody
and whatever.
But it is kind of funnybecause, you know, one of the things,
especially with trying to getmore international people on the
(08:35):
podcast is, is kind oflearning the differences, right?
And I remember a couple yearsago we did a joint podcast with the
Speed six guys over in the ukand we kind of did, you know, the
differences between the UK andthe US on, on certain things.
And the joke that I alwaysmake with the UK guys is that, you
(08:59):
know, they'll spend 15 hoursjust washing a car, you know, whereas,
like, I feel like over here,we're like, okay, we're gonna be
paint correcting it, it'sgonna get, you know, whatever.
So let's just, let's just getto it.
Like, let's just throw somesoap on it, get it washed and, and
get going or whatever.
So.
But yeah, I've noticed that inthe, in the uk, some of the people
(09:20):
I know that, that it, it's alittle Caddy, you know, there's,
there's some trash talking or whatever.
So I feel, I feel like it'sthat way all over.
But I'm glad that you.
I'm glad that you think thatthe US Is pretty open.
I mean, I feel like, I feellike a lot of us are.
I mean, I, I am, I have, Ihave plenty of friends and with different,
different brands and differentcompanies and, you know, it's, you
(09:44):
know, hey, as long as we'reall doing well, that's, that's the,
the main thing.
I feel like, yes, and I thinkeveryone can find their own niche,
their own specialization, so.
And as long as you'recreative, how to Go about things.
There will be work for everyone.
Right?
Exactly, exactly.
So with it, with Malta beingsuch a, such a small island, such
(10:07):
a small country, is there alot of competition for you?
And you know, how does, how is that?
Yes, there's a lot of competition.
However, that was one of themain objectives, why we opened the
Multi Detailing Academytogether with the UK Detailing Academy.
Because a lot of detailersjust open up, they open up a studio
(10:32):
and they start acting as a detailer.
And to be a detailer, youreally need to know what chemicals
you're using.
What's the difference whatsituation the car is?
And you need to read andunderstand what the paint is telling
you, what the interior istelling you.
You can't just go and say, oh,yes, let's get vacuum, start brushing,
(10:55):
clean it up, you know, put ona pair of gloves and just let go,
just go with it.
So there are a lot ofdetailers and one of our main objective
is to ensure that the tailorsbecome certified.
So we are offering severaltraining courses to ensure that the
(11:18):
tailors are all certified.
Oh, I'm here, I'm here.
Okay.
So yes, there is competition,but still, let's put it this way,
a few do close down, down the,down the line, you know, after two
(11:41):
years because the tough getsgoing and, but tangled.
We've been here for five yearsand we're still growing more, so
we must be doing something right.
Yeah, yeah.
No, that's awesome.
And I like that you, that you,the way you talk about the training
aspect, because that's one ofthe things that I've always kind
(12:04):
of been a champion of is goingout and getting training.
No matter if you're new oryou've been doing this for a while.
Because, you know, I, I knowsome people that have done it, they've
kind of learned on their own.
They've been doing it for anumber of years.
They're pretty successful.
But at the same time, they'venever gone to a formal training to
(12:26):
understand things.
And that is one of the thingsthat I didn't understand until I
went to a formal, formal training.
Exactly.
And then, and then you realizelike, okay, this isn't just to, you
know, make you kind of feellike you don't know anything.
This is.
Okay, you know, this, buthere's how you can learn a little
(12:47):
bit better or, or know alittle bit more.
And we actually just did atraining at Aaron Knox this past
weekend up in Georgia.
And, and it was cool becausewe had, we had a, we had a couple
installers that have been, or,you know, know trainees that have
been ranging three to five years.
(13:08):
We had one guy that was like20 something years and then another
guy who is a neurosurgeon inhis, like late 60s, early 70s, and
he's learning it as a hobby.
So it was, it was neat to see,you know, everybody's kind of styles
(13:31):
and, and what they, you know,however long they've been in, what
they did know, didn't know.
So that's, that's, that's neatthat you guys are doing this.
And something else that isreally valuable when you attend the
training session is that youdon't get to practice on somebody's
car.
It's a very safe environment.
(13:52):
You get a bonnet, you cansmash it.
I mean, the pad can come offand you continue polishing.
It's okay.
Nothing's gonna happen.
No one's gonna sue you.
So it's a really environmentand, and it's nice as well to see
the tailors getting togetherand sharing experiences.
(14:12):
And, you know, multo so, sosmall, the island that's automatically
you end up bumping into everyone.
So it's, it's nice to create abit of that bond.
Even if something happens andyou just reach out to one another.
Hey, how did you go about this?
What, how, what did you find?
What can you tell me about,you know, the situation?
(14:34):
So sharing experiences, Ithink during a training session,
that makes it much easier.
And even the relationshipgoing forward, you know, who can
tell?
I mean, maybe detailers merge,you know, so it gives new possibilities.
Let's put it this way, so it'snot just a professional development,
(14:56):
but there are so many otherbenefits that's are naked to the
eye that they're just benefits.
Right, right.
Yeah, yeah.
And there's a lot ofcamaraderie that's, that's built
at those events because youare meeting a lot of times, you're
meeting people for the first time.
You know, there's thatnetworking that goes along with it
(15:19):
too.
Like, you know, hey, so how doyou do that?
Or, you know, can you show me this?
Sometimes that's outside ofthe actual trainer, you know, is,
is what I've noticed, the onesthat I've gone to is sometimes when
the training's over and we goback to the hotel at night or whatever,
and then everybody's sittingaround picking each other's brains
(15:40):
and everything.
So it's also a good thing for that.
Yes.
In fact, in fact, when we holdsessions, we do half days because
usually the Students absorbmost of the things that you tell
them.
And then in the afternoon,they start practicing, for example,
and automatically they start thinking.
And then the next day we'relike, okay, guys, what did we do
(16:02):
yesterday?
You know, and they're like, Ihave a question, you know, what can
you tell me more about this pad?
You know, so it's very interesting.
And technologies keepadvancing, so you have to keep up
to date with whatevercompounds and pads you're using,
the heat and the thermal andnot thermal.
So.
Right.
Everything keeps, Keepsimproving, the lines keep getting
(16:24):
better.
So.
So it's a great opportunity tojust keep up to date with what's
going on in the industry.
Right, right.
And with that, I mean, I knowobviously, you know, we met at mte,
which I'm guessing you werethere to see, you know, all the new
things and, and whatever.
How is that seen kind of in Europe?
(16:46):
I mean, I know that there'sWax Stock up in the uk, there's Autumn
Auto Mechanica.
I mean, how do those thingskind of compare to either like a
mobile tech expo or sema?
Okay, there are quite a fewothers in Europe, yes.
That are on the same level,not as big as sema, but then automaticanica
(17:09):
is.
I think the one that I've beenin Germany is a bit bigger than the
one than the one that I'vebeen in America, the Mobile Tech
Expo, to be quite honest.
So it depends exactly what youare after.
Then there are otherconferences, specific expos, specific
to wrapping, for example.
So it depends exactly what.
(17:29):
What one wants, whatever oneis after which, whether that's particular
niche within the detailingindustry or not.
So you can find differentexpos and conferences and workshops
that go on.
For example, Duro AutoMechanica in Germany, there were
several sessions, educationalsessions that were ongoing as well,
(17:50):
and one just could pop in.
They were a bit different fromthe Mobile Tech Expo because at the
Mobile Tech Expo, we had a daydedicated to education.
And then the Expo at the AutoMechanic in Germany, the fair just
keeps going on and then thereare specific sessions and you go
to the boot and join that session.
(18:11):
So it's a bit different, butit works as well.
So.
But yeah, no, that's.
That's pretty.
That's pretty neat.
You know, mobile tech is theone that I've been to the most, just
because it's.
It's here, so it's easy for meto go to.
Like, I can, I can.
It's like 30 minutes away.
So I just drive there, drivehome kind of thing or whatever.
(18:32):
SEMA is the one that I've,I've started going to a little bit
more now, but I feel like SEMAis just the, the big party, you know,
go to Vegas party.
That's what I was told.
I haven't attended yet.
It's on my bucket list.
Yeah, yeah.
I gotta tell Todd to get youout there for, for this year or something.
Yeah.
(18:55):
So.
So you guys have only beendoing this for five years and, and
you said you were doingprofessional stuff before then.
So how was, how was that, howwas that change like going from working
professional corporate styleto instead professional being a car
(19:21):
washer?
Yes, but you still, there arestill skills that I use from whatever
I learned from university,customer experience, process flows,
you know, making sure thatwhatever process we're adapting it
is the most efficient, youknow, to make a business profitable.
(19:41):
How otherwise it's not goingto work out.
You'll be ending up doing thisout of, as a, as a hobby kind of
thing.
So if you're doing this out ofthe, as a business, definitely lots
of skills came into play.
So it was very, very helpful.
Let's put it this way becausenowadays on the digital platforms,
(20:04):
email marketing, customerdatabases, reaching out to customers,
customer retention, it's veryuseful if you want to be successful,
you know, so.
Right.
I think I was very lucky thatI kind of married the two because
I have the academic backgroundand the detailing which is kind of
(20:27):
a passion.
It's something that we love doing.
Love, talking about love.
You know, it's, it's somethingthat it feels good to be in, in the
studio and working on cars.
So I, I must say I've beenvery, very, very, very lucky in this
regard.
No, that's awesome.
Yeah.
(20:48):
Because it seems like, and Idon't know in Europe right now, in
the US it seems like a lot ofpeople, a lot of detailers are, you
know, I don't want to saycompl concerned of it's kind of slow
and I know it's like wintertime, it's usually a slower season
(21:09):
for us and things like that,but it seems like people aren't as
busy now as they were yearago, two years ago, three years ago,
myself included.
Thankfully I have very lowoverhead, so I don't need to do crazy
money.
I saw Tick Tock yesterday of.
(21:31):
I forget the detailer, but hehas like a five million dollar facility
that he was going through likehis monthly expenses, his monthly
expenses were like almost 200kjust, just to, just to open the doors
and run, run the place kind of Thing.
So, you know, thankfully Idon't have that, that thing.
But, but yeah, I mean I thinkthat's, it's good that you have that
(21:55):
experience with the academicsand being able to bring it into the
business side and the socialmedia and the marketing and all that
stuff.
Because I think that, youknow, is something that a lot of
people don't fully understandand could definitely help their,
their business.
Yes, it's not easy.
I mean every business, youknow, when you start off, everything
(22:17):
is, is, is not easy.
You just have to work hard.
But if you're determined, youknow, and if you love it, you just
keep going at it.
You just keep trying.
And sometimes what I find isthat when you have these troughs,
you know, it's actually theright time to become more creative
(22:40):
and come up with new ideas,how to go about things or come up
like silly thing, for example,a second hand car package deal.
So if you're second handselling your car, a second hand car,
you know, you can have anactual detailing package to help
you sell the car.
(23:00):
For example, anyone who wantsto sell their, their car, we offer
a package, a detailing packageincluding polishing and we also do
reels for them.
So we take the car, you know,by the sea, we go for a drive.
Obviously, obviously with theclient's permission, it's me and
(23:22):
another, another person frommy team and they film while he's
driving the car.
We put it together, you know,through a reel, a story and then
we pass everything to theclient so they get a nice car which
is presentable to anyone whowould like to purchase the car.
So automatically when you arenegotiating for the price for the
(23:44):
car, they get a better dealand we help them as well with the
marketing.
So we give our own clientsreels and stories and ideas and we
tell them now you can go onFacebook, you know, put these up
and it will help you sell.
So usually when it's a bit ofa trough, you kind of get your creative
(24:04):
thinking in and say, okay, letme think of something, I have to
do something.
I can't stay quiet.
No.
And that's, and that'sinteresting because I, I always have
some of my clients that'll,you know, when they're selling their
cars or something, then they'you know, ask me, hey, do you know,
somebody interested?
The unfortunate thing is likeit's always a, you know, six figure
(24:27):
plus car.
And I go, you're the guy thatI would reach out for that you know,
kind of thing.
Like I, you know, like I havelimited, you Know, clients, I can
afford those cars, you know.
Now if you're selling your,your daily driver, I said I could
probably help you sell that alot more than, than your, your exotic
or whatever.
But that's, that's kind uniqueidea of, of offering to do videos
(24:52):
and, and things like that thatthey could use as reels or promotional,
you know, materials.
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Yeah, no, that's, that's interesting.
Yeah.
I have to tell them next timethey need to sell one of the cars,
let me have it for a day.
Yes, exactly.
Especially the exotic one.
(25:14):
Right?
Exactly.
I'd be so scared to drive it.
You know, the few times I've driven.
Driven some of my, my clientscars with exotics.
Not, not me per se, but I'mjust, you know, everybody else, I'm
worried about somebody elsenot paying attention because they're
looking at the car and then.
Yeah.
So yeah, so I, I tried the.
First, it's the first thing we did.
(25:35):
We, we have a specialinsurance as well at the detailing
studio and for us to drivecars if only asked by for clients,
and we always get the client'spermission in writing that we can
drive and make sure thatdefinitely we have insurance.
And also we don't just go forit, you know, we have to make sure
(25:57):
that certain things are therein place.
Yeah, that's, that's what Ihad to do with a few of mine because
they would want me to come andpick the cars up and then bring them
to the shop to detail.
Yes.
Because it's, it's easier forthem that way, you know, than for
them to schedule everything.
Exactly.
So, yeah, so we had, we had tobump our insurance up for me to be
(26:18):
able to do that.
And.
But I still try to like, youknow, keep it to a small radius so
I'm not driving very far or,um, you know, I could, I can take
um, like not back roads, butnot highway roads or, or interstate
roads, you know, that, thatthere's higher speeds, more traffic.
(26:39):
I can do more kind of streets,city streets or whatever.
So.
Yeah, I try.
One thing that impressed memost when I was in America.
Oh yeah.
Because from a tiny island,you know.
Yeah.
Connecticut, and, and toOrlando, I was like, oh, wow, okay.
(27:01):
The, the, you know, RangeRovers, this actually looks small
on the road.
Whilst the Malta were like,hey, watch out.
Bumper to bumper.
Right, Right, exactly.
It was, it was a very funny feeling.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's the one thing I, youknow, whenever I see either videos
of Europe or, or watch moviesor things like that or, or Even the,
(27:24):
The, the time that my wife andI went to Italy for our honeymoon
is the streets are way smallerover there.
So narrow.
Yeah, so narrow as well, so.
Yes, definitely.
Yeah.
And over here, our.
Our lanes are like nine feetwide, you know, which obviously because
(27:46):
our semis are so big, youknow, so sometimes it doesn't feel
like they're that wide whenyou're sitting in the car.
The perspective view.
But you definitely have plentyof room.
Oh, for.
For me, even seeing a wildtruck on the road, I was like, oh,
my gosh, it really looks small.
And it has, you know, all thearches and everything.
And I'm like, it really looks small.
(28:08):
Yeah.
Was that, was, Was that yourfirst time coming to the States?
Yes, it was indeed.
Okay.
Yes, it was.
It was.
So what was the inspirationfor coming to the States?
Were you coming just forvacation or were you coming purposely
for mobile tech or.
I wanted to meet up withSystem X in person because we've
(28:31):
been working together for fiveyears and I.
It's always like Google Meetsand WhatsApp video calls.
So we wanted to actually meetthe team in person.
So first we went toConnecticut, and then after Connecticut,
we came to the Mobile Tech Expo.
We said we hit two birds withone stone, and we took the opportunity
(28:52):
to come to the Mobile TechExpo because we were told it is very,
very specific to detailers.
It used to be very much forpdr, and now it's slowly, slowly
shifting into.
More into detailing.
So, yeah, it's funny, it wasactually started for detailing.
Started for pdr.
Yeah.
Well, well start it.
(29:13):
So the guy who started it was.
Was a detailer, or him and hisson were detailers, but it just kind
of drew a bigger PDR crowd.
So the first one that I wentto was probably almost 10 years ago
now, maybe nine years ago now.
(29:33):
And it definitely was way morePDR centric.
I mean, like, I think the, theonly detailing companies that I remembered
was like, Rag Company, Gion,Rupes, Auto Geek, and then there
was a couple, like, reallytiny ones, and it was, it was in
(29:55):
a super.
I mean, like, you couldn'teven walk.
Like, you had to like.
Excuse me, excuse me, excuse me.
It was in such a small space.
It was almost like in abanquet room than.
Than a convention center kindof atmosphere.
But it's been cool to kind ofwatch it grow over the years to where
it's.
It was, you know,predominantly a pdr.
(30:19):
And then the detailing startedgrowing and growing and growing.
And now the.
I have a pretty goodrelationship with Sheldon who works
for the company that puts it on.
And I think last year he toldme the detail portion finally took
over percentage wise and.
(30:42):
And was a bigger section thanthe pdr.
So I haven't really had achance to talk to him about how this
year was, how much bigger it was.
But the thing I noticed thisyear was there was a lot more film
coming in now, which is cooltoo, because for the last, you know,
other years there, thereweren't a lot of, if any, really,
(31:04):
film companies.
I think last year might havebeen the first year that some film
companies showed up and it waslike I think maybe two.
And this year, you know, Ithink there was like five or six,
seven.
Yes.
You know.
Yeah.
So it's, it's just interestingto kind of, you know, watch it, watch
it grow over the years and,and see how it gets bigger and bigger
(31:25):
every year.
So I'm excited for next year.
I mean, we just did the paintcorrection competition this year,
which was awesome.
So we're looking forward togrowing that next year and on.
So, yes, I was followingbecause even so.
So what were your thoughts on it?
What did you, what did youthink of it?
Of the paint competition?
Yeah, yeah, I loved it.
(31:47):
I loved it.
And also the preciseness andthe readings, you know, and the timing,
so it creates a bit of that.
Let me go and check, you know, how.
How well I can fare.
Yeah.
So I think it's really cool.
Nice.
Awesome.
Okay.
I've been trying to get everybody.
Everybody that I.
(32:07):
I can that was there or saw it.
I wanted to get their, Theirreaction to it because it is one
of those things that, youknow, I, I don't.
I.
I know.
I.
So I did talk to Sasha.
He said they do one over inGermany for like the last eight years.
I know that somebody said theydo one down in South America.
(32:32):
Hey, do you mind getting outof the way so I can see?
Can you move?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
She's.
She's.
She loves coming in here whenI'm in here, so she must have just
came out of her hiding spot somewhere.
But no, it's just interestingbecause there's been a few of them
(32:54):
done elsewhere.
But, you know, everybody wetalked to said that there was never
really one here in the Statesor nothing that came of it.
So we were trying.
So this was the first time.
So this was the first.
Well, the first time at Mobile.
Mobile Tech Expo.
I will say that.
I don't know.
Apparently years ago, I thinkthey tried to do one at sema.
(33:15):
I don't Know, you know, it waslike many, many years ago before
I was into detailing.
I was still.
I was still running powerwashes at that time, apparently.
So I don't know, like, howmany other ones there been, but I
do know that mobile tech expo,this was the very first one.
And so we were trying tofigure it out to where, you know,
(33:36):
there would be no complaints.
No.
Well, this guy, this.
That person, this, my thingthat, you know.
So now that we kind of got anice little foundation, now we can
kind of work to maybe tweakit, make it a little bit better,
do a little bit more with it.
So I think it's quite fair.
(33:57):
Thank you.
Thank you.
So you got to see the first one.
That's.
That's awesome.
Are you guys.
Are you guys planning to comeback next year or.
I think.
I think we're.
Wait.
Okay.
Yes.
That'll be cool to see youguys there.
So what other kind of thingsdo you guys do?
I mean, with the.
(34:17):
With the shop and the trainingand, you know, is there anything,
like, different or unique thatyou do that, you know, maybe some
other people aren't.
I.
Not.
Not nothing that I canactually think of.
I think the.
(34:38):
What people tell me is thecustomer experience, definitely.
So.
Because we are alsostrategically located next to the
airport, so before people goabroad, they can drop the car and
when they come back, they findus ready.
Oh, that's nice.
Yeah.
So we offer courtesy serviceas well.
(34:59):
We give a courtesy card, so ifpeople leave their car over for ceramic
coating, they get a cortex carfor two days.
So if they are going abroad,we also provide transport services
from our detailing studio tothe airport.
(35:20):
So I think what sets us apartare these small details.
And the customer service.
Definitely the customer service.
You kind of have like thatfull concierge type service of pick
cars, all that stuff.
That's interesting.
That's.
That's cool.
So any boats?
(35:41):
I mean, you're out in the middle.
Few boats.
There are ample boats.
Ample boats.
There are here in Malta, we'vegot, I think about three or four
marinas.
And the beaches, the scene,the beaches and summer, they're covered
with boats.
But when it comes to ceramiccoating of boats, a lot of boat owners,
(36:06):
they tell us, we prefer topolish the boat ourselves.
Okay.
And as you know, the ceramiccoating is the last thing that is
put on the boat.
So if the prep work isn'tproperly done, you will not get the
full benefits of the ceramic.
So it is not something that wesaw is profitable enough to go into
(36:29):
considering the Hard work,that is, when you're polishing a
boat, it's not.
It's not a joke.
Secondly, it's extremely hotoutside, so the works usually start
now in March, because by May,everyone has their boat down already
at sea.
Okay.
(36:50):
So it's.
It's quite hot, and it's very tedious.
It's a tough job, let's put itthis way.
The owners maybe are not thatappreciative of the amount of work
that goes behind it, so theymight even find it a bit expensive.
(37:10):
So to strike a bit of abalance there, it gets a bit tricky.
So there's loads of boats, definitely.
But let's say the ceramiccoating hasn't picked that much yet
in that area.
So with.
With the.
Being in the Mediterranean, Imean, I.
(37:31):
I'm guessing that your weatheris probably gorgeous all year round
for the most part.
How does the heat and humiditykind of play with coatings?
Because obviously here, youknow, we're very tropical climate
in Florida.
(37:51):
So high heat, high humidity,sometimes in the thick of summertime,
it can be kind of a pain inthe ass.
Yes, it is very much the same.
It's very much the same.
So as, you know, with theheat, the paint expands and.
And shrinks and expansion.
(38:12):
So we definitely tell ourclients that proper maintenance has
to be done to the car.
But strictly speaking, it'slike everything.
You know, even when you have ahouse, it doesn't just, you know,
clean itself, clean by itself.
You know, you have to takecare of anything that you.
That you purchase.
(38:32):
So if it's an asset, you need to.
So you need to take care of it.
So it's very much the samelike Florida.
So it's very humid, especiallyin September.
It's crazy humid.
You can barely breathe, andit's extremely hot.
But definitely the car wouldthank you when doing ceramic coating,
because with this increase inhigh temperatures and high uv, it's
(38:59):
an extra layer of protection,let's face it.
So it definitely helps.
It helps the vehicle, it helpsthe paint.
And with the new range that weare using for ceramic coating, it
has a 30% increase in resin,and we found that it's helping a
(39:22):
real lot to decrease the water spotting.
Okay, so that was.
That was going to be the nextthing I was going to ask you is how
bad are the water spots there?
Again, just being in themiddle of.
Terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible.
And sometimes it rains.
It rains like soil, you know,from this Sahara desert.
(39:44):
So it's terrible.
And that's where we insistwith clients to ensure first and
foremost, we ask them toalways use a ph neutral shampoo.
Even though it's acidic rainor the like we say, guys, just always
(40:04):
play it safe and go.
If you are washing it, go fora ph neutral shampoo.
And if need be, just wash ittwice, you know, so.
But with the new line ofceramic coating, we're finding that
it's better and better.
Okay.
Okay.
And have you found a waterspot remover that works?
(40:28):
Because I feel like, I don'tknow, here in Florida.
I mean, we get some prettybad, you know, water spotting from
well water or, you know, justthe contaminations and waters and
things like that.
But sometimes I feel likewater spot removers just, they're
too watered down, you know,and they don't work as well.
(40:50):
We do have a way how toaddress it.
Extra dilution of acid.
And we see what works best.
Depending on the situation ofthe car.
Yeah.
So depending on the car, we,we, we address accordingly.
Okay.
(41:10):
But it's definitely, it's ahigh risk job.
Yeah, yeah.
So you just go straight acidwater down.
It depends.
It depends as well on the car.
Recently we had one with a lotof salt marks.
So we use a specific solutionfor, to address salts.
(41:31):
But then we had anotherspecific car, it was matte, not polished.
In that case, yes, we had togo for acid.
But obviously you have to knowwhat you're doing when it comes to
the dilution.
You can't just.
Yeah, yeah.
Matt's, Matt's the one that.
I mean, I, I love ceramiccoating matte cars because I feel
(41:54):
like I make a lot of money fordoing nothing, you know, because
all you have to do is kind ofwash it.
Two weeks ago, I did an xm, aBMW xm.
The ceramic coating on themat, the color was midnight blue.
Oh, beautiful.
Beautiful.
(42:14):
But in my case, if you don'tensure that you are watching the,
how the ceramic coating is curing.
Okay.
You can get a high spot on amatte car.
So it's like, ah.
So you have to be alert.
(42:37):
You have to, you know, not,you can't be tired on the job.
You have to keep your eyes on,on the body all the time.
Like, what am I doing?
You know, and make sure thatyou're, you're watching what you're
doing.
So you can't just, it's notlike just spreading ceramic coating.
Yeah, yeah, I didn't mean like that.
I, I meant more along thelines of I don't need to spend like
(43:00):
6 to 12 hours paint correcting it.
Yes, it's true, it's throwwash it, wash it and then start coating
it.
But yes, you do have to payattention to it and especially with
Matt, because Matt is, excuseme, such an absorbent material or
such an absorbent paint thatyou have to even make sure you're
putting on the correct amountbecause a lot of times what you would
(43:23):
normally put on a clear coatedpaint is not going to do the same
size panel on a, on a mattepaint or satin finish or whatever.
So I feel like you have to,you know, make sure that you're putting
a little bit more on, makingsure you're fully covering it, things
of that nature.
But thank, thankfully theproduct is, is very easy to use and
(43:44):
it's a single application aswell, so it helps.
I don't, I don't know how any,any coding companies anymore are
doing two layers.
I feel like the technology hasmoved, moved on to single layer application.
There is still, there is, andthere's still plenty of detailers
(44:04):
using them.
But I don't know, I look at itas, hey, time is money and I'd rather,
exactly, I'd rather lay down asingle layer and be done versus having
to come back and do it againor wait a certain amount of hours
before doing it again or whatever.
So yeah, that's why, that's,you know, I went from a two layer
(44:26):
to a single layer and then Iwas like, you know, why was I, why
wasn't I doing this all along?
Totally feel you.
Totally feel you.
Easy.
Yes.
We get that reaction veryoften from when we're teaching and
we tell them like this is asingle post and they're like, okay.
And I don't have to go, youknow, from left to right or up and
(44:49):
down or, or, you know, thereisn't a specific method.
I would say like you still goleft, right.
But you know, you, you segmentit into chunks and that's it.
And they're like, oh, wow,this is perfect.
So yes, like, I understandtotally the relief.
Yeah, yeah, it's, it's such aneasy thing when you guys do classes.
(45:10):
Are they, do you keep themsmall so that you get a little bit
more one on one or do they getkind of big?
Well, it depends because wehave a ratio of one instructor is
to four or five.
It depends whether it's an Abeginner's class or an intermediary
class.
It depends on the knowledge aswell of the detailers and as well
(45:34):
on the number of machines.
So if you have 10, 10 peopleat one go, you know, you have to
have the machines availableand the space and the area.
So it depends.
It all depends.
But we make sure that we haveone instructor.
One is to four.
The ratio is one is to four.
Okay?
(45:54):
So we're all the time watching what's.
What's happening.
Usually the instructor is inthe middle and the panel is round,
so the students around, and wemake sure that we're watching and
following.
We also found really usefulall Rich March also does this during
the sessions.
We film them, and then at theend of the day, we send them WhatsApp
(46:17):
with the videos, andautomatically they.
The student can see how betterpositioned they are when they are
holding the buffer, whetherthere's a particular brand of buffet
that they feel morecomfortable using.
So automatically, instead ofus telling them, no, not like this,
(46:38):
you know, lift it up, right?
Press more in the edges,rather than saying.
And we send it over and we letthem sleep on it.
And usually they would comeback and they would tell us, over
here, look what I've done.
You know, like, yeah, yeah, yeah.
So it works.
It works.
(46:59):
That's interesting that youguys do that, because I know the.
The training we just did with Noxy.
What he.
What he does is he tellspeople, like, when you go home, film
yourself so that you can kindof critique how your positioning
is.
You know, do you have theright movement?
Because, again, like, youlearn it.
(47:20):
It's so much.
It's so much information in atraining, and you.
And you learn it in atraining, and you get the.
You know, the sway down.
You know, you get the body position.
You know, you got your elbowtucked in like you're supposed to,
and it's not way out here or whatever.
But then you go home and you get.
You know, you fall back into those.
So.
But that's.
That's interesting.
I like the.
(47:40):
That you guys film.
Actually film the trainings to.
So that they can kind of seeit when they do go home.
Like, okay, I was doing itlike this, so I need to make sure.
Because that's.
That's always my thing too.
Like, I'll try something.
It works for me.
And then, you know, fourpanels later, I'm back to my old
technique.
You know, halfway around thecar and I gotta stop myself and be
(48:03):
like, hang on a second.
Let's go back to how westarted this, you know, kind of thing.
Do you have.
Do you have people come to youfrom, like, different areas in Europe,
too?
Or.
Or do you guys.
We're planning the.
That.
We're planning that.
We're Planning that for September.
(48:26):
We're planning a trainingsession for September.
Polishing and polishing andceramic coating and we're trying
to package it all as the Maltaexperience as well.
So we're getting some maybescooters and go around the capital
(48:47):
city and the next day we'llhave the training.
Then in the evening we'll havea really nice lunch.
Maltese style Maltese food,like rabbit and things like that.
You know, typical Maltese food.
Right.
And at the end we're trying tosee whether we can do a boat party
or something of the sort.
(49:07):
So.
Oh, wow, that's.
Yeah, we're trying.
We're trying.
I'm working on it at the moment.
No, so I'm planning that out.
Yeah.
Because it's summer.
It will be summer inSeptember, so it will be hot.
And whilst they're here, Imight as well, you know, spend three
days and enjoy it at the sametime as well.
So we're gonna do a bit of a mix.
(49:28):
Yeah, no, I think that's coolbecause, you know, sometimes like
you want to see some of the sites.
Yeah, you know, I, I went to acouple years ago, Jason Otterness
invited me to come up toChicago Auto Pros to do some podcasting.
He was doing a content creatorevent and, and it was nice because
(49:49):
we did our event stuff duringthe day.
But then one of the nights we,a bunch of us actually went into
downtown Chicago, the city anddid some of the, did some of the
sites in Chicago and, and youknow, had Chicago style pizza, you
know, deep dish pizza and youknow, that typ stuff.
(50:10):
So things like that are, arekind of cool.
Some of the other trainingsI've gone to, the thing that I like
is usually they'll kind of dolike a, a meet and greet on Friday.
So everybody kind of, youknow, flies in on Friday.
You meet up in the afternoon,hang out, go to dinner, get to know
each other.
So that's.
That sounds.
The Malta experience sounds alot more fun than just going to a
(50:35):
restaurant and getting to know everybody.
But.
Yeah, that's kind of cool that.
In fact we're planning itbetween Thursday and the Friday.
So anyone who wants to thenstay over the weekend, they can with
the family maybe.
So we'll have a meet and greeton Wednesday and then Thursday and
Friday the training.
(50:55):
But as I said, in the eveningsit will be open for excursions and
well, we're trying to make abit of the most of it, you know,
and also automatically, evenwhen you meet at, at these informal
places, you just feel A bitmore comfortable, more at ease.
So automatically people startnetworking more and sharing experiences
(51:17):
more.
And I think everyone learns as well.
Although it's not a trainingsession, but, you know, you get to
learn just the same.
So still an opportunity.
No, no, that's, that's cool.
So, yeah, if anybody's inEurope and wants to go to Malta.
(51:39):
Yeah, exactly.
Any.
Any other plans for you guys traveling?
You know, like you said, youhaven't been to sema.
Are you planning to come this.
This year in June?
We're going to do.
There's Auto Mechanica, I'mnot mistaken.
Okay.
But so far my plans stop therebecause then I have the big event
(52:03):
in September.
So so far that's, that's howfar my calendar goes.
Yeah, you're kind of like me.
You're kind of like me.
I'm.
I'm like, I don't even knowwhat I'm doing tomorrow, like, let
alone six months from now or.
I have up to September.
I have up to September planned.
(52:23):
That's good enough.
Yeah, you're a little bitfurther ahead.
Yeah.
But, yeah, I, I always, youknow, I always tell people, like,
look, I don't know, just plan it.
We'll figure it out, you know,when it gets there kind of thing.
Exactly.
Yeah.
So.
Well, listen, I appreciate youcoming on and doing this.
It was, it was a pleasuremeeting you.
I know we didn't have a lot oftime to, to talk at, at mte, but,
(52:48):
you know, I was looking forsomebody to come on this week and,
and didn't have anythingscheduled, so I was like, be perfect
time because I, I've got somemornings available to, to be able
to talk to you and not haveto, you know, you be up super late
or, or maybe up super early.
So.
Yeah.
Thank you so much, Alex.
(53:09):
Yeah, it's, it's.
It was exciting to learn, youknow, about, about you and, and what,
you know, you guys are doingover there in Malta.
And I'll have to keep an eyeout a little bit more and see how
it goes.
And maybe what we could do is,is get back maybe after September
(53:30):
and find out how your.
For sure, your experience wentwith everything.
For sure.
I can call you as well.
Yeah, yeah, I'll call you inthe afternoon.
I'll tell you, like, hi, Alex.
Yeah, exactly.
We could do that.
Yeah.
And then, and then hopefullyI'll get to see you and Mobile Tech
(53:50):
next year.
Definitely.
Definitely.
I look forward to that.
Fantastic.
Thank you.
Listen, you enjoy the rest ofyour day.
Thank you.
The same.
And it was great talking to you.
If anybody would want to meetor reach out to you to talk to you,
like, how do they get in touchwith you?
They just send us an email onInfo systemx MT for molta and.
(54:16):
Or else.
I.
I don't know if you can put my.
Handle my Instagram.
Yeah.
I mean, if you want.
Yeah.
If you want to tell me yourInstagram handle or your Facebook,
that's up to you.
Just put it there.
Yep.
Okay.
Perfect.
All right.
All right, Fantastic.
Thank you.
We'll talk soon.
Thank you.
Hey, don't go anywhere yet.
Good morning.
Hello.
How are you?
Good, thank you.
Yeah.
So what is it like?
It's like 3:30 there your time?
It's half four in the afternoon.
Yeah, yeah, it's half four inthe afternoon.
Yeah.
So it's Mina, right?
(00:58):
Yes, it's Romina.
Romina.
Okay.
I, I know on Instagram you areFacebook, you just have Mina or whatever.
So Romina, for everybodylistening, we were introduced by
Todd Rutledge from System Xhere in the US because you are a
System X installer slashdistributor, correct?
(01:21):
Yes, yes.
We are in, in Malta of all places.
Malta.
Yes.
Yeah.
Which of Europe?
In the heart of Europe.
So as soon as he said Malta Iwas like, definitely want to have
her on because like I, like Itold you, I, I've been looking to
(01:41):
get more international guestson, especially this year and, and
Malta is kind of aninteresting place.
It's a tiny little island.
Really.
Yeah.
And it's not big at all, right?
It's not big.
27 kilometers.
(02:02):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So I think I looked up, it'slike 220 square miles or something
like that.
Yeah.
So.
So I, what I want to ask youis because I'm always curious with
people, especially the guysin, in Hawaii, you know, that are
small islands and things likethat is how is the detailing scene
(02:24):
on a.
I mean not even a small city,a small country like that.
You know, first and foremostwe have ample cars.
So since it's an island, mostof the we use mainly co.
We don't have very effectivepublic transportation.
(02:48):
So every family has like fourcars on average.
So there's loads of cars.
Secondly, it's an island.
We're surrounded by sea, bythe Mediterranean Sea.
So that causes a lot of issueswhen it comes to paint.
(03:11):
So definitely we highlyrecommend having the ceramic coating
done to the cars or even PPFand wrapping and the like.
So definitely we highlyrecommend to clients now in 2025
the consumers are more wellversed with what detailing is, with
(03:33):
what ceramic coating is about.
And we continue doing our bestto educate everyone on how to go
about properly cleaning a car,what tools to use, even just for
a consumer.
So because we also have adetailing academy here in Malta and
(03:59):
we do several sessions withcar importers to help them out because
when new cars are transportedwe, we find a very frequent issue
with the mineral deposits on cars.
So it's a brand new car andyou find the whole bonnet covered
in minerals.
(04:21):
And therefore we hold severalsessions with the PDI teams of the
car importers to help them out.
Understand what chemicals touse in order to address such.
So there's a huge awareness.
We try our best to keepteaching consumers and importers
(04:43):
what chemicals to use, whatare they for and the like.
Right.
No, that's, that's very cool.
I mean, yeah, I mean, you're,you're, you're right.
I mean, I.
Here in Florida, I mean, I'mkind of located in the, in the middle
of Florida, so not too closeto either the Gulf or the Atlantic
Ocean.
But I do know lot of detailerson both sides.
You know, they obviously youget like that salt breeze air, you
(05:07):
know, the, you get the, youknow, just the contaminants and stuff
from, from the water andthings like that.
So, so yeah, that's, that'spretty cool.
So how did you get involvedwith, with System X?
Like, how did that come about?
Okay, originally I, I studiedfor a marketing degree.
(05:32):
So I have an MBA in a business.
But my partner had oncevisited USA and he told me, whatever
you dream of in usa, they makeit happen.
And he said, I want to retirefrom the office and I want to do
what I enjoy most.
And we do, and we both love cars.
(05:54):
And that was five years ago.
And we said, okay, let's seewhat we can do with, with cars, you
know.
Then we started reading forthe detailing course through the
IDA and through the UKDetailing Academy as well with Rich
March.
And slowly, slowly we startedlearning detailing and the like and
(06:18):
we opened up a studio.
Obviously we said we wanted topartner with someone reliable for
ceramic coating.
And System X literally gave usthis opportunity, which I'm so very
grateful towards them becausewe keep growing and growing, the
both of us, and it's been avery nice, healthy relationship.
(06:43):
Oh, that's cool.
Yeah, the guys over there arepretty nice.
I mean, I know Todd, Todd'sbeen super cool to me.
I mean, know I'm kind of witha competing brand.
I know, I know, but, butthat's, that's kind of the cool thing
with some of the people in the industry.
And I think Todd is definitelyone of those guys that, you know,
(07:04):
it doesn't matter.
I mean, there's, there'splenty of, you know, food for all
of us to eat kind of thing.
And, and you know, Todd's beenvery helpful and, and even reached
out to me and Mike, one of theowners of Aquatech.
When we were at SEMA a coupleyears ago, he even, you know, pulled
us aside and said, hey, look,like if you guys ever have any questions,
(07:26):
you know, or if you guys needAnything, feel free to let me know.
And then I've known StevePersia from my IGL day, so Steve's,
Steve's a good dude.
And then, you know, I've knownJoey, not personally, but just through
social media.
We've met a couple of timesat, at SEMA event and everything.
And so, yeah, I mean, the, youknow, seems like a good, good group
(07:49):
of people, but that'ssomething that I.
Noticed that it's verydifferent, it's very different from
Europe, that the Americans arevery welcome to all brands and there's
no kind of friction, kind of.
So it's been very, very easyto acquaint people and make up and
(08:14):
make relations with others.
So it's been, it's quite different.
You know, I'm, I'm glad thatyou say that because sometimes I
feel like it's not that way.
I feel like, you know, I feellike everybody's trashing everybody
and whatever.
But it is kind of funnybecause, you know, one of the things,
especially with trying to getmore international people on the
(08:35):
podcast is, is kind oflearning the differences, right?
And I remember a couple yearsago we did a joint podcast with the
Speed six guys over in the ukand we kind of did, you know, the
differences between the UK andthe US on, on certain things.
And the joke that I alwaysmake with the UK guys is that, you
(08:59):
know, they'll spend 15 hoursjust washing a car, you know, whereas,
like, I feel like over here,we're like, okay, we're gonna be
paint correcting it, it'sgonna get, you know, whatever.
So let's just, let's just getto it.
Like, let's just throw somesoap on it, get it washed and, and
get going or whatever.
So.
But yeah, I've noticed that inthe, in the uk, some of the people
(09:20):
I know that, that it, it's alittle Caddy, you know, there's,
there's some trash talking or whatever.
So I feel, I feel like it'sthat way all over.
But I'm glad that you.
I'm glad that you think thatthe US Is pretty open.
I mean, I feel like, I feellike a lot of us are.
I mean, I, I am, I have, Ihave plenty of friends and with different,
different brands and differentcompanies and, you know, it's, you
(09:44):
know, hey, as long as we'reall doing well, that's, that's the,
the main thing.
I feel like, yes, and I thinkeveryone can find their own niche,
their own specialization, so.
And as long as you'recreative, how to Go about things.
There will be work for everyone.
Right?
Exactly, exactly.
So with it, with Malta beingsuch a, such a small island, such
(10:07):
a small country, is there alot of competition for you?
And you know, how does, how is that?
Yes, there's a lot of competition.
However, that was one of themain objectives, why we opened the
Multi Detailing Academytogether with the UK Detailing Academy.
Because a lot of detailersjust open up, they open up a studio
(10:32):
and they start acting as a detailer.
And to be a detailer, youreally need to know what chemicals
you're using.
What's the difference whatsituation the car is?
And you need to read andunderstand what the paint is telling
you, what the interior istelling you.
You can't just go and say, oh,yes, let's get vacuum, start brushing,
(10:55):
clean it up, you know, put ona pair of gloves and just let go,
just go with it.
So there are a lot ofdetailers and one of our main objective
is to ensure that the tailorsbecome certified.
So we are offering severaltraining courses to ensure that the
(11:18):
tailors are all certified.
Oh, I'm here, I'm here.
Okay.
So yes, there is competition,but still, let's put it this way,
a few do close down, down the,down the line, you know, after two
(11:41):
years because the tough getsgoing and, but tangled.
We've been here for five yearsand we're still growing more, so
we must be doing something right.
Yeah, yeah.
No, that's awesome.
And I like that you, that you,the way you talk about the training
aspect, because that's one ofthe things that I've always kind
(12:04):
of been a champion of is goingout and getting training.
No matter if you're new oryou've been doing this for a while.
Because, you know, I, I knowsome people that have done it, they've
kind of learned on their own.
They've been doing it for anumber of years.
They're pretty successful.
But at the same time, they'venever gone to a formal training to
(12:26):
understand things.
And that is one of the thingsthat I didn't understand until I
went to a formal, formal training.
Exactly.
And then, and then you realizelike, okay, this isn't just to, you
know, make you kind of feellike you don't know anything.
This is.
Okay, you know, this, buthere's how you can learn a little
(12:47):
bit better or, or know alittle bit more.
And we actually just did atraining at Aaron Knox this past
weekend up in Georgia.
And, and it was cool becausewe had, we had a, we had a couple
installers that have been, or,you know, know trainees that have
been ranging three to five years.
(13:08):
We had one guy that was like20 something years and then another
guy who is a neurosurgeon inhis, like late 60s, early 70s, and
he's learning it as a hobby.
So it was, it was neat to see,you know, everybody's kind of styles
(13:31):
and, and what they, you know,however long they've been in, what
they did know, didn't know.
So that's, that's, that's neatthat you guys are doing this.
And something else that isreally valuable when you attend the
training session is that youdon't get to practice on somebody's
car.
It's a very safe environment.
(13:52):
You get a bonnet, you cansmash it.
I mean, the pad can come offand you continue polishing.
It's okay.
Nothing's gonna happen.
No one's gonna sue you.
So it's a really environmentand, and it's nice as well to see
the tailors getting togetherand sharing experiences.
(14:12):
And, you know, multo so, sosmall, the island that's automatically
you end up bumping into everyone.
So it's, it's nice to create abit of that bond.
Even if something happens andyou just reach out to one another.
Hey, how did you go about this?
What, how, what did you find?
What can you tell me about,you know, the situation?
(14:34):
So sharing experiences, Ithink during a training session,
that makes it much easier.
And even the relationshipgoing forward, you know, who can
tell?
I mean, maybe detailers merge,you know, so it gives new possibilities.
Let's put it this way, so it'snot just a professional development,
(14:56):
but there are so many otherbenefits that's are naked to the
eye that they're just benefits.
Right, right.
Yeah, yeah.
And there's a lot ofcamaraderie that's, that's built
at those events because youare meeting a lot of times, you're
meeting people for the first time.
You know, there's thatnetworking that goes along with it
(15:19):
too.
Like, you know, hey, so how doyou do that?
Or, you know, can you show me this?
Sometimes that's outside ofthe actual trainer, you know, is,
is what I've noticed, the onesthat I've gone to is sometimes when
the training's over and we goback to the hotel at night or whatever,
and then everybody's sittingaround picking each other's brains
(15:40):
and everything.
So it's also a good thing for that.
Yes.
In fact, in fact, when we holdsessions, we do half days because
usually the Students absorbmost of the things that you tell
them.
And then in the afternoon,they start practicing, for example,
and automatically they start thinking.
And then the next day we'relike, okay, guys, what did we do
(16:02):
yesterday?
You know, and they're like, Ihave a question, you know, what can
you tell me more about this pad?
You know, so it's very interesting.
And technologies keepadvancing, so you have to keep up
to date with whatevercompounds and pads you're using,
the heat and the thermal andnot thermal.
So.
Right.
Everything keeps, Keepsimproving, the lines keep getting
(16:24):
better.
So.
So it's a great opportunity tojust keep up to date with what's
going on in the industry.
Right, right.
And with that, I mean, I knowobviously, you know, we met at mte,
which I'm guessing you werethere to see, you know, all the new
things and, and whatever.
How is that seen kind of in Europe?
(16:46):
I mean, I know that there'sWax Stock up in the uk, there's Autumn
Auto Mechanica.
I mean, how do those thingskind of compare to either like a
mobile tech expo or sema?
Okay, there are quite a fewothers in Europe, yes.
That are on the same level,not as big as sema, but then automaticanica
(17:09):
is.
I think the one that I've beenin Germany is a bit bigger than the
one than the one that I'vebeen in America, the Mobile Tech
Expo, to be quite honest.
So it depends exactly what youare after.
Then there are otherconferences, specific expos, specific
to wrapping, for example.
So it depends exactly what.
(17:29):
What one wants, whatever oneis after which, whether that's particular
niche within the detailingindustry or not.
So you can find differentexpos and conferences and workshops
that go on.
For example, Duro AutoMechanica in Germany, there were
several sessions, educationalsessions that were ongoing as well,
(17:50):
and one just could pop in.
They were a bit different fromthe Mobile Tech Expo because at the
Mobile Tech Expo, we had a daydedicated to education.
And then the Expo at the AutoMechanic in Germany, the fair just
keeps going on and then thereare specific sessions and you go
to the boot and join that session.
(18:11):
So it's a bit different, butit works as well.
So.
But yeah, no, that's.
That's pretty.
That's pretty neat.
You know, mobile tech is theone that I've been to the most, just
because it's.
It's here, so it's easy for meto go to.
Like, I can, I can.
It's like 30 minutes away.
So I just drive there, drivehome kind of thing or whatever.
(18:32):
SEMA is the one that I've,I've started going to a little bit
more now, but I feel like SEMAis just the, the big party, you know,
go to Vegas party.
That's what I was told.
I haven't attended yet.
It's on my bucket list.
Yeah, yeah.
I gotta tell Todd to get youout there for, for this year or something.
Yeah.
(18:55):
So.
So you guys have only beendoing this for five years and, and
you said you were doingprofessional stuff before then.
So how was, how was that, howwas that change like going from working
professional corporate styleto instead professional being a car
(19:21):
washer?
Yes, but you still, there arestill skills that I use from whatever
I learned from university,customer experience, process flows,
you know, making sure thatwhatever process we're adapting it
is the most efficient, youknow, to make a business profitable.
(19:41):
How otherwise it's not goingto work out.
You'll be ending up doing thisout of, as a, as a hobby kind of
thing.
So if you're doing this out ofthe, as a business, definitely lots
of skills came into play.
So it was very, very helpful.
Let's put it this way becausenowadays on the digital platforms,
(20:04):
email marketing, customerdatabases, reaching out to customers,
customer retention, it's veryuseful if you want to be successful,
you know, so.
Right.
I think I was very lucky thatI kind of married the two because
I have the academic backgroundand the detailing which is kind of
(20:27):
a passion.
It's something that we love doing.
Love, talking about love.
You know, it's, it's somethingthat it feels good to be in, in the
studio and working on cars.
So I, I must say I've beenvery, very, very, very lucky in this
regard.
No, that's awesome.
Yeah.
(20:48):
Because it seems like, and Idon't know in Europe right now, in
the US it seems like a lot ofpeople, a lot of detailers are, you
know, I don't want to saycompl concerned of it's kind of slow
and I know it's like wintertime, it's usually a slower season
(21:09):
for us and things like that,but it seems like people aren't as
busy now as they were yearago, two years ago, three years ago,
myself included.
Thankfully I have very lowoverhead, so I don't need to do crazy
money.
I saw Tick Tock yesterday of.
(21:31):
I forget the detailer, but hehas like a five million dollar facility
that he was going through likehis monthly expenses, his monthly
expenses were like almost 200kjust, just to, just to open the doors
and run, run the place kind of Thing.
So, you know, thankfully Idon't have that, that thing.
But, but yeah, I mean I thinkthat's, it's good that you have that
(21:55):
experience with the academicsand being able to bring it into the
business side and the socialmedia and the marketing and all that
stuff.
Because I think that, youknow, is something that a lot of
people don't fully understandand could definitely help their,
their business.
Yes, it's not easy.
I mean every business, youknow, when you start off, everything
(22:17):
is, is, is not easy.
You just have to work hard.
But if you're determined, youknow, and if you love it, you just
keep going at it.
You just keep trying.
And sometimes what I find isthat when you have these troughs,
you know, it's actually theright time to become more creative
(22:40):
and come up with new ideas,how to go about things or come up
like silly thing, for example,a second hand car package deal.
So if you're second handselling your car, a second hand car,
you know, you can have anactual detailing package to help
you sell the car.
(23:00):
For example, anyone who wantsto sell their, their car, we offer
a package, a detailing packageincluding polishing and we also do
reels for them.
So we take the car, you know,by the sea, we go for a drive.
Obviously, obviously with theclient's permission, it's me and
(23:22):
another, another person frommy team and they film while he's
driving the car.
We put it together, you know,through a reel, a story and then
we pass everything to theclient so they get a nice car which
is presentable to anyone whowould like to purchase the car.
So automatically when you arenegotiating for the price for the
(23:44):
car, they get a better dealand we help them as well with the
marketing.
So we give our own clientsreels and stories and ideas and we
tell them now you can go onFacebook, you know, put these up
and it will help you sell.
So usually when it's a bit ofa trough, you kind of get your creative
(24:04):
thinking in and say, okay, letme think of something, I have to
do something.
I can't stay quiet.
No.
And that's, and that'sinteresting because I, I always have
some of my clients that'll,you know, when they're selling their
cars or something, then they'you know, ask me, hey, do you know,
somebody interested?
The unfortunate thing is likeit's always a, you know, six figure
(24:27):
plus car.
And I go, you're the guy thatI would reach out for that you know,
kind of thing.
Like I, you know, like I havelimited, you Know, clients, I can
afford those cars, you know.
Now if you're selling your,your daily driver, I said I could
probably help you sell that alot more than, than your, your exotic
or whatever.
But that's, that's kind uniqueidea of, of offering to do videos
(24:52):
and, and things like that thatthey could use as reels or promotional,
you know, materials.
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Yeah, no, that's, that's interesting.
Yeah.
I have to tell them next timethey need to sell one of the cars,
let me have it for a day.
Yes, exactly.
Especially the exotic one.
(25:14):
Right?
Exactly.
I'd be so scared to drive it.
You know, the few times I've driven.
Driven some of my, my clientscars with exotics.
Not, not me per se, but I'mjust, you know, everybody else, I'm
worried about somebody elsenot paying attention because they're
looking at the car and then.
Yeah.
So yeah, so I, I tried the.
First, it's the first thing we did.
(25:35):
We, we have a specialinsurance as well at the detailing
studio and for us to drivecars if only asked by for clients,
and we always get the client'spermission in writing that we can
drive and make sure thatdefinitely we have insurance.
And also we don't just go forit, you know, we have to make sure
(25:57):
that certain things are therein place.
Yeah, that's, that's what Ihad to do with a few of mine because
they would want me to come andpick the cars up and then bring them
to the shop to detail.
Yes.
Because it's, it's easier forthem that way, you know, than for
them to schedule everything.
Exactly.
So, yeah, so we had, we had tobump our insurance up for me to be
(26:18):
able to do that.
And.
But I still try to like, youknow, keep it to a small radius so
I'm not driving very far or,um, you know, I could, I can take
um, like not back roads, butnot highway roads or, or interstate
roads, you know, that, thatthere's higher speeds, more traffic.
(26:39):
I can do more kind of streets,city streets or whatever.
So.
Yeah, I try.
One thing that impressed memost when I was in America.
Oh yeah.
Because from a tiny island,you know.
Yeah.
Connecticut, and, and toOrlando, I was like, oh, wow, okay.
(27:01):
The, the, you know, RangeRovers, this actually looks small
on the road.
Whilst the Malta were like,hey, watch out.
Bumper to bumper.
Right, Right, exactly.
It was, it was a very funny feeling.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's the one thing I, youknow, whenever I see either videos
of Europe or, or watch moviesor things like that or, or Even the,
(27:24):
The, the time that my wife andI went to Italy for our honeymoon
is the streets are way smallerover there.
So narrow.
Yeah, so narrow as well, so.
Yes, definitely.
Yeah.
And over here, our.
Our lanes are like nine feetwide, you know, which obviously because
(27:46):
our semis are so big, youknow, so sometimes it doesn't feel
like they're that wide whenyou're sitting in the car.
The perspective view.
But you definitely have plentyof room.
Oh, for.
For me, even seeing a wildtruck on the road, I was like, oh,
my gosh, it really looks small.
And it has, you know, all thearches and everything.
And I'm like, it really looks small.
(28:08):
Yeah.
Was that, was, Was that yourfirst time coming to the States?
Yes, it was indeed.
Okay.
Yes, it was.
It was.
So what was the inspirationfor coming to the States?
Were you coming just forvacation or were you coming purposely
for mobile tech or.
I wanted to meet up withSystem X in person because we've
(28:31):
been working together for fiveyears and I.
It's always like Google Meetsand WhatsApp video calls.
So we wanted to actually meetthe team in person.
So first we went toConnecticut, and then after Connecticut,
we came to the Mobile Tech Expo.
We said we hit two birds withone stone, and we took the opportunity
(28:52):
to come to the Mobile TechExpo because we were told it is very,
very specific to detailers.
It used to be very much forpdr, and now it's slowly, slowly
shifting into.
More into detailing.
So, yeah, it's funny, it wasactually started for detailing.
Started for pdr.
Yeah.
Well, well start it.
(29:13):
So the guy who started it was.
Was a detailer, or him and hisson were detailers, but it just kind
of drew a bigger PDR crowd.
So the first one that I wentto was probably almost 10 years ago
now, maybe nine years ago now.
(29:33):
And it definitely was way morePDR centric.
I mean, like, I think the, theonly detailing companies that I remembered
was like, Rag Company, Gion,Rupes, Auto Geek, and then there
was a couple, like, reallytiny ones, and it was, it was in
(29:55):
a super.
I mean, like, you couldn'teven walk.
Like, you had to like.
Excuse me, excuse me, excuse me.
It was in such a small space.
It was almost like in abanquet room than.
Than a convention center kindof atmosphere.
But it's been cool to kind ofwatch it grow over the years to where
it's.
It was, you know,predominantly a pdr.
(30:19):
And then the detailing startedgrowing and growing and growing.
And now the.
I have a pretty goodrelationship with Sheldon who works
for the company that puts it on.
And I think last year he toldme the detail portion finally took
over percentage wise and.
(30:42):
And was a bigger section thanthe pdr.
So I haven't really had achance to talk to him about how this
year was, how much bigger it was.
But the thing I noticed thisyear was there was a lot more film
coming in now, which is cooltoo, because for the last, you know,
other years there, thereweren't a lot of, if any, really,
(31:04):
film companies.
I think last year might havebeen the first year that some film
companies showed up and it waslike I think maybe two.
And this year, you know, Ithink there was like five or six,
seven.
Yes.
You know.
Yeah.
So it's, it's just interestingto kind of, you know, watch it, watch
it grow over the years and,and see how it gets bigger and bigger
(31:25):
every year.
So I'm excited for next year.
I mean, we just did the paintcorrection competition this year,
which was awesome.
So we're looking forward togrowing that next year and on.
So, yes, I was followingbecause even so.
So what were your thoughts on it?
What did you, what did youthink of it?
Of the paint competition?
Yeah, yeah, I loved it.
(31:47):
I loved it.
And also the preciseness andthe readings, you know, and the timing,
so it creates a bit of that.
Let me go and check, you know, how.
How well I can fare.
Yeah.
So I think it's really cool.
Nice.
Awesome.
Okay.
I've been trying to get everybody.
Everybody that I.
(32:07):
I can that was there or saw it.
I wanted to get their, Theirreaction to it because it is one
of those things that, youknow, I, I don't.
I.
I know.
I.
So I did talk to Sasha.
He said they do one over inGermany for like the last eight years.
I know that somebody said theydo one down in South America.
(32:32):
Hey, do you mind getting outof the way so I can see?
Can you move?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
She's.
She's.
She loves coming in here whenI'm in here, so she must have just
came out of her hiding spot somewhere.
But no, it's just interestingbecause there's been a few of them
(32:54):
done elsewhere.
But, you know, everybody wetalked to said that there was never
really one here in the Statesor nothing that came of it.
So we were trying.
So this was the first time.
So this was the first.
Well, the first time at Mobile.
Mobile Tech Expo.
I will say that.
I don't know.
Apparently years ago, I thinkthey tried to do one at sema.
(33:15):
I don't Know, you know, it waslike many, many years ago before
I was into detailing.
I was still.
I was still running powerwashes at that time, apparently.
So I don't know, like, howmany other ones there been, but I
do know that mobile tech expo,this was the very first one.
And so we were trying tofigure it out to where, you know,
(33:36):
there would be no complaints.
No.
Well, this guy, this.
That person, this, my thingthat, you know.
So now that we kind of got anice little foundation, now we can
kind of work to maybe tweakit, make it a little bit better,
do a little bit more with it.
So I think it's quite fair.
(33:57):
Thank you.
Thank you.
So you got to see the first one.
That's.
That's awesome.
Are you guys.
Are you guys planning to comeback next year or.
I think.
I think we're.
Wait.
Okay.
Yes.
That'll be cool to see youguys there.
So what other kind of thingsdo you guys do?
I mean, with the.
(34:17):
With the shop and the trainingand, you know, is there anything,
like, different or unique thatyou do that, you know, maybe some
other people aren't.
I.
Not.
Not nothing that I canactually think of.
I think the.
(34:38):
What people tell me is thecustomer experience, definitely.
So.
Because we are alsostrategically located next to the
airport, so before people goabroad, they can drop the car and
when they come back, they findus ready.
Oh, that's nice.
Yeah.
So we offer courtesy serviceas well.
(34:59):
We give a courtesy card, so ifpeople leave their car over for ceramic
coating, they get a cortex carfor two days.
So if they are going abroad,we also provide transport services
from our detailing studio tothe airport.
(35:20):
So I think what sets us apartare these small details.
And the customer service.
Definitely the customer service.
You kind of have like thatfull concierge type service of pick
cars, all that stuff.
That's interesting.
That's.
That's cool.
So any boats?
(35:41):
I mean, you're out in the middle.
Few boats.
There are ample boats.
Ample boats.
There are here in Malta, we'vegot, I think about three or four
marinas.
And the beaches, the scene,the beaches and summer, they're covered
with boats.
But when it comes to ceramiccoating of boats, a lot of boat owners,
(36:06):
they tell us, we prefer topolish the boat ourselves.
Okay.
And as you know, the ceramiccoating is the last thing that is
put on the boat.
So if the prep work isn'tproperly done, you will not get the
full benefits of the ceramic.
So it is not something that wesaw is profitable enough to go into
(36:29):
considering the Hard work,that is, when you're polishing a
boat, it's not.
It's not a joke.
Secondly, it's extremely hotoutside, so the works usually start
now in March, because by May,everyone has their boat down already
at sea.
Okay.
(36:50):
So it's.
It's quite hot, and it's very tedious.
It's a tough job, let's put itthis way.
The owners maybe are not thatappreciative of the amount of work
that goes behind it, so theymight even find it a bit expensive.
(37:10):
So to strike a bit of abalance there, it gets a bit tricky.
So there's loads of boats, definitely.
But let's say the ceramiccoating hasn't picked that much yet
in that area.
So with.
With the.
Being in the Mediterranean, Imean, I.
(37:31):
I'm guessing that your weatheris probably gorgeous all year round
for the most part.
How does the heat and humiditykind of play with coatings?
Because obviously here, youknow, we're very tropical climate
in Florida.
(37:51):
So high heat, high humidity,sometimes in the thick of summertime,
it can be kind of a pain inthe ass.
Yes, it is very much the same.
It's very much the same.
So as, you know, with theheat, the paint expands and.
And shrinks and expansion.
(38:12):
So we definitely tell ourclients that proper maintenance has
to be done to the car.
But strictly speaking, it'slike everything.
You know, even when you have ahouse, it doesn't just, you know,
clean itself, clean by itself.
You know, you have to takecare of anything that you.
That you purchase.
(38:32):
So if it's an asset, you need to.
So you need to take care of it.
So it's very much the samelike Florida.
So it's very humid, especiallyin September.
It's crazy humid.
You can barely breathe, andit's extremely hot.
But definitely the car wouldthank you when doing ceramic coating,
because with this increase inhigh temperatures and high uv, it's
(38:59):
an extra layer of protection,let's face it.
So it definitely helps.
It helps the vehicle, it helpsthe paint.
And with the new range that weare using for ceramic coating, it
has a 30% increase in resin,and we found that it's helping a
(39:22):
real lot to decrease the water spotting.
Okay, so that was.
That was going to be the nextthing I was going to ask you is how
bad are the water spots there?
Again, just being in themiddle of.
Terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible.
And sometimes it rains.
It rains like soil, you know,from this Sahara desert.
(39:44):
So it's terrible.
And that's where we insistwith clients to ensure first and
foremost, we ask them toalways use a ph neutral shampoo.
Even though it's acidic rainor the like we say, guys, just always
(40:04):
play it safe and go.
If you are washing it, go fora ph neutral shampoo.
And if need be, just wash ittwice, you know, so.
But with the new line ofceramic coating, we're finding that
it's better and better.
Okay.
Okay.
And have you found a waterspot remover that works?
(40:28):
Because I feel like, I don'tknow, here in Florida.
I mean, we get some prettybad, you know, water spotting from
well water or, you know, justthe contaminations and waters and
things like that.
But sometimes I feel likewater spot removers just, they're
too watered down, you know,and they don't work as well.
(40:50):
We do have a way how toaddress it.
Extra dilution of acid.
And we see what works best.
Depending on the situation ofthe car.
Yeah.
So depending on the car, we,we, we address accordingly.
Okay.
(41:10):
But it's definitely, it's ahigh risk job.
Yeah, yeah.
So you just go straight acidwater down.
It depends.
It depends as well on the car.
Recently we had one with a lotof salt marks.
So we use a specific solutionfor, to address salts.
(41:31):
But then we had anotherspecific car, it was matte, not polished.
In that case, yes, we had togo for acid.
But obviously you have to knowwhat you're doing when it comes to
the dilution.
You can't just.
Yeah, yeah.
Matt's, Matt's the one that.
I mean, I, I love ceramiccoating matte cars because I feel
(41:54):
like I make a lot of money fordoing nothing, you know, because
all you have to do is kind ofwash it.
Two weeks ago, I did an xm, aBMW xm.
The ceramic coating on themat, the color was midnight blue.
Oh, beautiful.
Beautiful.
(42:14):
But in my case, if you don'tensure that you are watching the,
how the ceramic coating is curing.
Okay.
You can get a high spot on amatte car.
So it's like, ah.
So you have to be alert.
(42:37):
You have to, you know, not,you can't be tired on the job.
You have to keep your eyes on,on the body all the time.
Like, what am I doing?
You know, and make sure thatyou're, you're watching what you're
doing.
So you can't just, it's notlike just spreading ceramic coating.
Yeah, yeah, I didn't mean like that.
I, I meant more along thelines of I don't need to spend like
(43:00):
6 to 12 hours paint correcting it.
Yes, it's true, it's throwwash it, wash it and then start coating
it.
But yes, you do have to payattention to it and especially with
Matt, because Matt is, excuseme, such an absorbent material or
such an absorbent paint thatyou have to even make sure you're
putting on the correct amountbecause a lot of times what you would
(43:23):
normally put on a clear coatedpaint is not going to do the same
size panel on a, on a mattepaint or satin finish or whatever.
So I feel like you have to,you know, make sure that you're putting
a little bit more on, makingsure you're fully covering it, things
of that nature.
But thank, thankfully theproduct is, is very easy to use and
(43:44):
it's a single application aswell, so it helps.
I don't, I don't know how any,any coding companies anymore are
doing two layers.
I feel like the technology hasmoved, moved on to single layer application.
There is still, there is, andthere's still plenty of detailers
(44:04):
using them.
But I don't know, I look at itas, hey, time is money and I'd rather,
exactly, I'd rather lay down asingle layer and be done versus having
to come back and do it againor wait a certain amount of hours
before doing it again or whatever.
So yeah, that's why, that's,you know, I went from a two layer
(44:26):
to a single layer and then Iwas like, you know, why was I, why
wasn't I doing this all along?
Totally feel you.
Totally feel you.
Easy.
Yes.
We get that reaction veryoften from when we're teaching and
we tell them like this is asingle post and they're like, okay.
And I don't have to go, youknow, from left to right or up and
(44:49):
down or, or, you know, thereisn't a specific method.
I would say like you still goleft, right.
But you know, you, you segmentit into chunks and that's it.
And they're like, oh, wow,this is perfect.
So yes, like, I understandtotally the relief.
Yeah, yeah, it's, it's such aneasy thing when you guys do classes.
(45:10):
Are they, do you keep themsmall so that you get a little bit
more one on one or do they getkind of big?
Well, it depends because wehave a ratio of one instructor is
to four or five.
It depends whether it's an Abeginner's class or an intermediary
class.
It depends on the knowledge aswell of the detailers and as well
(45:34):
on the number of machines.
So if you have 10, 10 peopleat one go, you know, you have to
have the machines availableand the space and the area.
So it depends.
It all depends.
But we make sure that we haveone instructor.
One is to four.
The ratio is one is to four.
Okay?
(45:54):
So we're all the time watching what's.
What's happening.
Usually the instructor is inthe middle and the panel is round,
so the students around, and wemake sure that we're watching and
following.
We also found really usefulall Rich March also does this during
the sessions.
We film them, and then at theend of the day, we send them WhatsApp
(46:17):
with the videos, andautomatically they.
The student can see how betterpositioned they are when they are
holding the buffer, whetherthere's a particular brand of buffet
that they feel morecomfortable using.
So automatically, instead ofus telling them, no, not like this,
(46:38):
you know, lift it up, right?
Press more in the edges,rather than saying.
And we send it over and we letthem sleep on it.
And usually they would comeback and they would tell us, over
here, look what I've done.
You know, like, yeah, yeah, yeah.
So it works.
It works.
(46:59):
That's interesting that youguys do that, because I know the.
The training we just did with Noxy.
What he.
What he does is he tellspeople, like, when you go home, film
yourself so that you can kindof critique how your positioning
is.
You know, do you have theright movement?
Because, again, like, youlearn it.
(47:20):
It's so much.
It's so much information in atraining, and you.
And you learn it in atraining, and you get the.
You know, the sway down.
You know, you get the body position.
You know, you got your elbowtucked in like you're supposed to,
and it's not way out here or whatever.
But then you go home and you get.
You know, you fall back into those.
So.
But that's.
That's interesting.
I like the.
(47:40):
That you guys film.
Actually film the trainings to.
So that they can kind of seeit when they do go home.
Like, okay, I was doing itlike this, so I need to make sure.
Because that's.
That's always my thing too.
Like, I'll try something.
It works for me.
And then, you know, fourpanels later, I'm back to my old
technique.
You know, halfway around thecar and I gotta stop myself and be
(48:03):
like, hang on a second.
Let's go back to how westarted this, you know, kind of thing.
Do you have.
Do you have people come to youfrom, like, different areas in Europe,
too?
Or.
Or do you guys.
We're planning the.
That.
We're planning that.
We're Planning that for September.
(48:26):
We're planning a trainingsession for September.
Polishing and polishing andceramic coating and we're trying
to package it all as the Maltaexperience as well.
So we're getting some maybescooters and go around the capital
(48:47):
city and the next day we'llhave the training.
Then in the evening we'll havea really nice lunch.
Maltese style Maltese food,like rabbit and things like that.
You know, typical Maltese food.
Right.
And at the end we're trying tosee whether we can do a boat party
or something of the sort.
(49:07):
So.
Oh, wow, that's.
Yeah, we're trying.
We're trying.
I'm working on it at the moment.
No, so I'm planning that out.
Yeah.
Because it's summer.
It will be summer inSeptember, so it will be hot.
And whilst they're here, Imight as well, you know, spend three
days and enjoy it at the sametime as well.
So we're gonna do a bit of a mix.
(49:28):
Yeah, no, I think that's coolbecause, you know, sometimes like
you want to see some of the sites.
Yeah, you know, I, I went to acouple years ago, Jason Otterness
invited me to come up toChicago Auto Pros to do some podcasting.
He was doing a content creatorevent and, and it was nice because
(49:49):
we did our event stuff duringthe day.
But then one of the nights we,a bunch of us actually went into
downtown Chicago, the city anddid some of the, did some of the
sites in Chicago and, and youknow, had Chicago style pizza, you
know, deep dish pizza and youknow, that typ stuff.
(50:10):
So things like that are, arekind of cool.
Some of the other trainingsI've gone to, the thing that I like
is usually they'll kind of dolike a, a meet and greet on Friday.
So everybody kind of, youknow, flies in on Friday.
You meet up in the afternoon,hang out, go to dinner, get to know
each other.
So that's.
That sounds.
The Malta experience sounds alot more fun than just going to a
(50:35):
restaurant and getting to know everybody.
But.
Yeah, that's kind of cool that.
In fact we're planning itbetween Thursday and the Friday.
So anyone who wants to thenstay over the weekend, they can with
the family maybe.
So we'll have a meet and greeton Wednesday and then Thursday and
Friday the training.
(50:55):
But as I said, in the eveningsit will be open for excursions and
well, we're trying to make abit of the most of it, you know,
and also automatically, evenwhen you meet at, at these informal
places, you just feel A bitmore comfortable, more at ease.
So automatically people startnetworking more and sharing experiences
(51:17):
more.
And I think everyone learns as well.
Although it's not a trainingsession, but, you know, you get to
learn just the same.
So still an opportunity.
No, no, that's, that's cool.
So, yeah, if anybody's inEurope and wants to go to Malta.
(51:39):
Yeah, exactly.
Any.
Any other plans for you guys traveling?
You know, like you said, youhaven't been to sema.
Are you planning to come this.
This year in June?
We're going to do.
There's Auto Mechanica, I'mnot mistaken.
Okay.
But so far my plans stop therebecause then I have the big event
(52:03):
in September.
So so far that's, that's howfar my calendar goes.
Yeah, you're kind of like me.
You're kind of like me.
I'm.
I'm like, I don't even knowwhat I'm doing tomorrow, like, let
alone six months from now or.
I have up to September.
I have up to September planned.
(52:23):
That's good enough.
Yeah, you're a little bitfurther ahead.
Yeah.
But, yeah, I, I always, youknow, I always tell people, like,
look, I don't know, just plan it.
We'll figure it out, you know,when it gets there kind of thing.
Exactly.
Yeah.
So.
Well, listen, I appreciate youcoming on and doing this.
It was, it was a pleasuremeeting you.
I know we didn't have a lot oftime to, to talk at, at mte, but,
(52:48):
you know, I was looking forsomebody to come on this week and,
and didn't have anythingscheduled, so I was like, be perfect
time because I, I've got somemornings available to, to be able
to talk to you and not haveto, you know, you be up super late
or, or maybe up super early.
So.
Yeah.
Thank you so much, Alex.
(53:09):
Yeah, it's, it's.
It was exciting to learn, youknow, about, about you and, and what,
you know, you guys are doingover there in Malta.
And I'll have to keep an eyeout a little bit more and see how
it goes.
And maybe what we could do is,is get back maybe after September
(53:30):
and find out how your.
For sure, your experience wentwith everything.
For sure.
I can call you as well.
Yeah, yeah, I'll call you inthe afternoon.
I'll tell you, like, hi, Alex.
Yeah, exactly.
We could do that.
Yeah.
And then, and then hopefullyI'll get to see you and Mobile Tech
(53:50):
next year.
Definitely.
Definitely.
I look forward to that.
Fantastic.
Thank you.
Listen, you enjoy the rest ofyour day.
Thank you.
The same.
And it was great talking to you.
If anybody would want to meetor reach out to you to talk to you,
like, how do they get in touchwith you?
They just send us an email onInfo systemx MT for molta and.
(54:16):
Or else.
I.
I don't know if you can put my.
Handle my Instagram.
Yeah.
I mean, if you want.
Yeah.
If you want to tell me yourInstagram handle or your Facebook,
that's up to you.
Just put it there.
Yep.
Okay.
Perfect.
All right.
All right, Fantastic.
Thank you.
We'll talk soon.
Thank you.
Hey, don't go anywhere yet.
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