Meet Jerry Strybos of FMG Exhaust

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jerry Strybos.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
It was 1965, a cold December day. Just kidding.

It was actually 1986. I had a baby on the way and didn’t have a consistent income. My brother got me a job in a Muffler shop on Telephone road near Hobby Airport working for two-hundred dollars a week. I had a thirty minute drive to the shop every day, and man did I work hard for that two-hundred bucks. But, it was consistent income.

The owner of that shop opened his second location about four years later and asked me to be the assistant manager there. It was in Deer Park near the ship channel. I lived about ten minutes away so I was very excited to make the move. The guys that I worked with over those first years really helped me. They taught me the craft and pushed me hard. I learned a lot about the industry from them.

I had originally come to FMG to buy the business when the previous owner was ready to retire. I waited as long as I could. That day just didn’t seem to be coming. I gave the owner a full year notice, and in 2001 I left for California.

I played sports in school, swim team and water polo, and I had appreciation for the athletic human body, so I worked on my educated as an Athletic Trainer and in Rehabilitation, and that’s what I did in California. I worked with some amazing doctors out there and learned so much about how to help people. Very rewarding… But I also never lost my passion for crafting metal or building hot rods.

During the next few years I moved to Austin, around 2008, and then back to California. A couple of years later I moved to Saudi Arabia and then France. When I returned to San Diego in 2013 the call came. It was Mike, the previous owner of FMG. They finally wanted to sell me the shop. They said that I worked to build that place and they wanted me to have the first shot at it. I knew the people in Crosby and they knew me. I knew how they liked things: honest, straightforward, and right, I tried to keep emotions out of it, and just looked at it from a business standpoint. I didn’t need a job, I was living in San Diego and kinda digging it, ya know. I talked to my wife about the move and she said OK. That was big, because she is from Europe and had only lived in California while here in America. Culture shock was to be expected, for myself included. Mike and I hashed out a contract, and signed it. I resigned my position at the doctors’ office and loaded up my stuff, again…

The contract was for me to work as manager for two or three years to get myself acclimated back to the automotive industry, and then make the purchase of the shop. I hadn’t really touched a car for more than a decade. And I knew things had changed a lot. I needed to re-learn things, and couldn’t really do it on my dime this time. It also took every day of that three years to get the owner to let go of his shop. I was making good money for him, and had relieved him of much of the worries of a day to day business.

I always had dreams of what FMG could be. So we saved our money. Learned all we could about the way automotive business had changed. And then took the shop over completely when the time came.

I look back at all those years ago when I originally wanted to buy the shop, I realize now that I wasn’t ready. I needed more time for so many things.

I started as the low man on a totem pole, and now own the very shop I wanted for so long. FMG is continuing to grow. I’m continuing to grow. I see only wonderful things for the future.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It hasn’t been difficult. But, it’s been hard. Being the one who has it all on the line is scary sometimes. But hard work isn’t difficult. You wake up, put your big boy pants on, and go to work.

All the same things other business owners, or other business’ face. Money. Time, Humility.

I guess the challenges all people face, really.

Having your own perceived fate in someone else’s hands and waiting on them for the next move. You can push them only until a certain point.

I consider Crosby a rural suburb of Houston, however it’s very much like other small towns. People like things the way they’ve always been. Getting folks to accept us and change is a challenge still today.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about FMG Exhaust – what should we know?
When I originally started working at FMG, we were just a little shop in a small rural area outside of Houston. We worked hard. We treated people right. Within a few years we began to grow. After adding on to the old building a couple of times. And getting a few automotive lifts, and other pieces of equipment… We became the go to shop for performance and custom exhaust.

While I was gone from FMG, the shop went through plenty of employees. Some had skills… Some didn’t. That hurt the custom side of the business more than the owners had thought. I’m even sure that it hurt the service side of the business as well.

During the time since I’ve been back, we have worked hard to return the reputation of FMG back to where it once was. It’s always had a fair reputation for automotive service and brake work, but we wanted it back to the days when hot-rods and show cars would come from other states to get custom exhaust crafted.

We have that back.

We are craftsmen, and we take pride in what we do. We build the best performing and most beautiful custom exhaust you can get. All of our custom work is one off. I design fabricate and build all the custom work myself. Many of the top hot rod and show car builders around bring their projects to us exclusively. There are times my waiting list is two months long, and they say no worries.

We are undercar specialists. We service most of your undercar needs, like catalytic converters, exhaust repair and replacement, brakes, shocks, oil changes, diesel filters, etc…

When we change your oil, for instance, you literally have an automotive tech that specializes in things under your car changing your oil. We see things differently. We’re able to recognize when things aren’t just right. That keeps you and your family safer.

When we install a new catalytic converter on your car, it’s being done by one of the most experienced exhaust techs in the industry. When we see a mistake that happened in manufacturing during the installation, and it’s going to potentially cause a problem or concern down the road, we correct it on the spot whenever possible. We have the tools and knowledge to make it right.

We are a green thinking shop. We recycle everything we can… All our paper, cardboard, plastic, steel, used motor oil and oil filters. We’re on the San Jacinto River water shed so it’s very important that we respect our area and the impact the shop might have on it. We work on more than three-hundred cars a month and only take out one city sized trash can of waste a week. Most of the time it’s not full. No trash dumpster.

We’ve also gone to all electronic customer information, billing and invoicing. Being paperless anytime we can.

The shop was originally built in 1980, so embracing the retro look and feel of the old place was important. But we needed to bring it up to speed on modern technology. Also having technology would help us serve our customers better and improve our efficiency. We’ve added new alarm and video camera systems, hi-speed wireless throughout the shop, a new phone system, all while keeping the old school look and feel of the place.

I feel we are the very best at the things we do. We don’t do everything automotive for that reason.

Like I said before, we treat people right and do absolutely the best work we can. I only see a wonderful future for us.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Determination and love of serving others.

Contact Info:

• Address: 108 4th Street, Crosby, TX 77532
• Website: fmgexhaust.com
• Phone: 281-328-4714
• Email: fmgexhaust@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fmg.exhaust.crosby/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fmgexhaustcrosby/
• Other: https://goo.gl/maps/dtPAFhjBt8S2

Image Credit:
Jerry Strybos

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