About Us

James Love for cars started at a young age listening to his Dads stories about the Muscle cars he had in the 60's and 70's leaving him with a soft spot for Vintage Classic Cars and Hot Rods. Going to Car shows, collecting piles of Hot Rod Magazine's and working on cars in the driveway with his Dad sparked a life long love and passion for Custom Cars, Custom paint work, Pinstriping, Performance Modifications, Customization, wheel and tire fitment, lift and lowering vehicles, exhaust modifications and all things V8 Loud and Fast.

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James followed in his fathers footsteps pursing an apprenticeship as a Auto Technician for several years off and on while also, working in body shops where he discovered his love for Paint Refinishing and Detailing. Cleaning his parents vehicles on the weekend and growing up not yet knowing that was what he was destined to do.

 

After a family friend offered a job to work for a Mobile Power Wash company in 2003 the concept of people paying for a cleaning service was intriguing but not yet realized. Fast forward a few years, an apprenticship  and a few part time jobs later James found himself being drawn  towards Paint Refinishing, Interior detailing and car washing/waxing. Working for several detailing companies over the years developing his skills and managing his first Detail Shop for Uniglass Plus Ziebart in 2014 he made the leap in 2017 to Northside Toyota's newly built multimillion dollar Detailing Shop Polished Auto where he helped develop detailing packages, recommend detailing equipment/chemicals, supervise and train new staff. Install Paint Protection Film, Ceramic Coatings and Detail Show room Vehicles.  Perfecting his Paint Correction and Auto Reconditioning skills.  Until 2019 when the Pandemic put everything on hold..... Due to covid 19 shutdowns and School Closures he opted to take care of his growing family and work from home part time detailing out of his driveway while taking care of his family and home schooling his 3 kids remotely until he was approached buy Great lakes Honda to work in their New Detailing Center after being referred buy a long time friend and fellow detailer Fall of 2020.

Things were going great! That summer Zen Luxury Detailing had Received an award from SSM Community Votes as the Platinum Best Detail Company. James was settling in at Great Lakes Hondas Our Detailing Shop completing Pre-Owned Vehicle Reconditioning, Paint Correction, Ceramic coating installations and PPF installations. Everything was going fantastic until tragedy struck January 2021 when James and his 4 year old daughter were involved in a serious multivehicle collision that changed everything.  The families Black RAM 4x4 Truck James pride was a total loss, he was off work for several months recovering from Concussion Symptoms and Whiplash injuries. Suffering from Memory Loss and Chronic Pain. It was April when James attempted to return to work. This was a frustrating and diss heartening experience, realizing getting back to normal wasn't going to be fast or easy. Slowly going back 2 half days a week  between physio and therapy appointments to treat the whiplash and PTSD.  After 3 long months of modified hours and light duty work James left Great lakes Honda after Burning out due to the face paced Dealership environment and trying to do more before he was ready. He then turned his Focus on ZEN for the summer and work on himself, his mental health and be home more for his family.  

 

Two years later countless Physio, Counseling, Therapy and Doctor's appointments later James has made some progress and has made several adjustments with the help of his wife Stevie and his Counselors to better accommodate his new normal and even though he is still struggling with memory loss and chronic pain he remains optimistic that he will one day get back to his old self. 

in the mean time James has made several adjustments, simplified Package lists, sought out cognitive memory training to help heal his brain injury.

Switched to Part time modified hours, implemented new systems and reminders to help him remember booking appointments and invested in new equipment to complete details easier and more efficiently. 

 

Here is to 2024! A fresh start, staying positive and believing things can only get better from here!

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