Reflections on GTM over the years

Mike@GTM

Sasha,

Thank you for your response. I accept responsibility for having been a part of GTM and having supported the company. I believed in the products and sold them willingly despite Sam's shadiness. As a passionate enthusiast, it is undeniable that the product was solid for the most part. Passion is why I stayed. There is simply no other company within a 30 minute drive of where I live that could even hold a candle to the positives of working at GTM. The negatives, however did motivate me to look elsewhere for employment on multiple occasions. I went so far as to apply to Stoptech in Compton, but since GTM was a commercial customer of theirs, it may have seemed to be a conflict of interest to them. So, yes, working for GTM has definitely been a detriment to my career. That said, I am not above admitting that some of my bitterness and frustration may have shown through in my interviews with other performance companies. It could also be that the companies were hesitant to hire someone that lives over an hour away without traffic. California traffic can easily add an additional hour to a one hour drive and punctuality is important no matter who you work for. Also, with a wife and two kids, it is not as easy to up and move for a new job unless it is very compelling...especially when the cost of living where most performance companies are is almost double compared to where we live.

That all said, I am extremely passionate about automotive aftermarket performance and there are a lot of guys that would give their left nut to work in this industry. That passion is what drives me to bust my *** wherever I work. Hell, my old boss in Seattle has invited me to move back up there and start a new venture with him, especially since my name is untarnished in the Subaru community up there...I just really, really, hate the rain. Seattlites can keep their 40 days straight of rain. lol

I digress. I have to say Sasha that what you do is nothing short of amazing. For you to work full time and come home and weld those beautiful welds, deliver outstanding customer service and put up with the flak and BS you got from GTM shows that you have the kind of drive and passion that few can even understand. I respect you greatly and was really disappointed that Sam wanted to see your hopes and dreams crushed under his boot. There is more than one way to mod a car and while I get that, Sam couldn't tolerate the thought of someone else outshining him in any way.

In all honesty, I don't have an answer for you. There is simply no way for me to truly predict Sam's actions or motivations for doing what he does because the story always changes. It makes it very difficult to discern the truth when you listen to him...even when he's right there in front of you. He's just that skilled with his delivery.