Today we’d like to introduce you to Samuel Fuller Colt Patterson
Hi Samuel Fuller, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I will describe my side of how I, Sam, got started into the industry years ago and give you a brief outline of my professional career leading up to meeting Colt and forming our current endeavor.
I started into the automotive reconditioning industry back in 2005, with Alloy Wheel Repair Specialists. AWRS is a franchise style business that only specialized in mobile alloy wheel repair. I started at the bottom as an apprentice and then to an actual mobile tech. I had the responsibility to be a self starter, because the way it was structured as a company it only paid via commissions on sales/completed work.
So it goes without saying if you didn’t work you didn’t get paid. I had a foundation of hard work, honesty and steady progress instilled in me from an early age. I grew up on the last dairy farm in Walker county, TX, so I understood hard work and what it looked like.
I worked for that franchise for nearly ten years. During that time the company evolved and started remanufacturing alloy wheels as well. Remanufacturing is the process of repairing the wheels to actual factory condition, via powder coating, welding, bending and machining. I had the opportunity to manage the major operation of the shop overnight and improve quality control. I had developed a reputation for high quality work and a personal standard that exceeded the industry’s standard. Which translated well to a shop environment and a position of management. I personally learned a great deal about myself and my limitations during my time as the shop foreman.
But that led to a bit of burnout due to hitting a “glass ceiling,” of compensation and achievement. I got back on a route after my brother retired from the industry to pursue a career in music and left his route open. I immediately jumped at the chance to get back on the road. I had many personal and professional reasons for letting go of the management position, but that is a whole other story.
I had time to ponder my career while back on the route and had excelled in my skills and gained the knowledge of a working remanufacturing facility as well… I had “conquered” this area and needed a change badly. My burnout was extreme and mental health had declined substantially.
So, it is spring of 2014 and burnt out, looking for a way out or something different. I had developed a professional working relationship with many individuals and companies over the years. While on a lot on the northside of Houston, I saw the owner of an interior repair company that I had known for years and knew me well. I walked over to his van and simply asked if he was looking for someone to hire and that I didn’t want to do wheels anymore.
I was given a job on the spot and that afternoon put my 2 weeks notice in. I started learning interior repair and leather dying. A whole new world of possibilities opened up in my mind and in my skills as I trained, and then was put on a route for that company. I became the only technician in the company that could competently and effectively work in two different specialties, alloy wheel repair and interior repair. I rapidly gained a professional reputation of high quality work and flexibility for my clients and the company.
The next few years led to consistent growth personally and professionally for myself. I was an effective manager, trainer, technician and gained a large network. This propelled me into working only with the highest levels of the industry. I had been working exclusively with the few exotic car dealerships in Houston, matter of fact the only high end exotic dealership I had not worked at was Ferrari of Houston, all of the others knew me and trusted me to do an excellent job.
I began to see that personally I wanted to grow even more. I had trained and managed many people over the years and wanted to create something unique in the industry and change some of the fallacies the industry had. I saw common problems and wanted to fix them. I had already started my company, Republic Interior Repair, back in 2014 and had a significant side hustle. This led me to start developing my network even more.
Fast forward a few more years to about the end of 2022. I was making the most money I had ever made, my career and reputation were steadily growing. I had a chance introduction at friend’s function to Colt Patterson and we hit it off as friends and like minded people immediately.
Colt is personally driven to excellence and holds himself to the highest personal standards. His ability to problem solve is honestly second to none. He can adapt to any situation and find solutions when others struggle to get their thoughts in order. I had worked with only a few individuals in the automotive industry that could even come close to his skill set and they were the owners of dealerships or shops.
Colt was between career choices at the time we met and had so many opportunities laid out before him. Like myself, he has a significant network of mentors, friends and companies, that he had developed over the years. His reputation allowed him to leverage himself into a position where he could pick and choose who he wanted to work for. Similar to where I was, he wanted to take the next step. He was sitting at a crossroads and is a consummate student and ever curious about how things work.
We, having like minds and similar goals for ourselves professionally and personally, decided to join forces and reform my company, Republic Interior Repair, and set out to change the automotive industry’s standards, as Republic Alloy & Leather Pros.
We began to grow and build routes for myself and Colt, while working contract work with other automotive reconditioning companies. We saw opportunities almost daily to build our network and grow, so we did exactly that. Strategic planning, finding the right professionals to work with, learning new skill sets and becoming a hub for our clients to find exactly what they need. We laid the solid foundation for our company that has set us on a continuous growth path since.
We opened our brick and mortar in April of 2024 in The Woodlands TX, where we offer full automotive, marine and outdoor upholstery and trimming services. We offer full concierge service to clients homes and businesses for mobile alloy wheel repair and interior repair. We contract with high end shops and dealerships and have continued growth and success over the last few months.
At this time we are training technicians and gaining a solid customer base for the shop while running the mobile division.
Thank you for the opportunity to tell a bit about our story.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
We have faced many of the same obstacles that any growing newer business faces. Honestly we have not had any major issues. There are aspects that have impeded our growth, but that is a part of the growing pains of any business.
Finding the right people is always difficult, but we have been lucky to have hired the people we have so far. They are fast learners and have great mindsets, I will speak nothing but praises towards them.
The transition from solely mobile services to having a brick and mortar has had some hiccups, but myself and Colt are adaptive and have overcome many of those hurdles readily and easily.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Republic Alloy & Leather Pros, is a professional automotive reconditioning company. We offer many different services to our customers and clients.
We provide mobile solutions for Alloy wheel repair, fixing curb rash and cosmetic damage on alloy wheels. We also offer remanufacturing of alloy wheels too, machining, powder coating, bends and cracks. I just want to add that remanufacturing is not a mobile service.
We provide mobile repair services for automotive interiors, repairing steering wheels, seats, consoles, headliners, door panels and dashboards. We can fix or repair plastics, leather, vinyl and even carbon fiber components in a limited way. The awesome thing is if there is anything that we cannot fix mobile when it comes to interior components, we can bring back to our shop and do full replacements of those components.
Our shop is a full service upholstery and automotive trim shop. We can re-style, customize, replace or repair just about anything inside your vehicle. We also offer our wheel repair service in the shop and can have your vehicle professionally detailed, ceramic coated, paint corrected, wrapped or have top of the line PPF installed for our clients as well.
We pride ourselves on consistently delivering high quality work and strive to clear communication and setting appropriate expectations for our clients and ourselves. We have a reputation for honesty and integrity, high quality work and in general we love what we do and that translates into a great experience for our clients and staff.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
To be honest, covid-19 didn’t really affect our business in any real negative way. We work remotely and mainly outdoors. We technically weren’t essential, but we were able to limit our actual proximity to people and adapted contactless methods to do our work. In some ways, we saw a spike in our business, because of our concierge mobile service. Customers didn’t need to be present or even come out to us if they didn’t want/need to.
In conclusion Covid-19 was just an inconvenience really.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.republicalp.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/republic.alp/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RepublicAlloyandleather
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@republicalp
- Other: https://maps.app.goo.gl/Ug1dxxdL71Rct3V67
