Automotive Excellence SUMMER 2025_01_09-22-2025_DIGITAL - Flipbook - Page 14
A Humble Start
with a Heart
for Service
In the heart of Canton, Ohio, there is a shop that combines
community service and expert car care. Fix-It with Fred,
owned and operated by Fred Gestwicki Jr., blends small
business success with neighborhood support. What began
as a one-man operation in early 2011 grew steadily, with Fred
hiring his first technician in October of that year. Since then, the
shop has evolved into a trusted name in the region’s automotive
repair scene.
THE ATI DIFFERENCE
Finding ATI was a pivotal change in growth for my shop. When I was looking for
a new location, I stumbled on the Automotive Training Institute. My ATI coach,
Kim Hickey, really opened my eyes to what I was leaving on the table financially. She walked me through the numbers and showed me how the pie was
getting bigger, but Fix-It with Fred wasn’t becoming more profitable—I realized what I was good at and where I needed development, and ATI helped me
get better at everything in running Fix-It with Fred.
Fred’s approach from day one
was simple: treat customers with
honesty and deliver quality work
every time. Today, the team has
doubled in size, but the mission
hasn’t changed. “God’s staffing
agency works better than Indeed,” Fred says—a nod to his
belief that the right people show
up looking for work when you are
doing the right things.
HOW IT ALL STARTED: FRED’S
JOURNEY TO INDEPENDENCE
Fred Gestwicki Jr. didn’t grow up
with a wrench in his hand. His
household was filled with music
and fine cuisine, not motor oil. His
mother held a master’s degree
in piano performance, and his
father a master’s degree in the
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culinary arts. There wasn’t a single
mechanic in the family—and no
reason to believe Fred would become one.
That changed when he was fifteen, when the family lawnmower
gave out. The plan was simple: toss
the broken mower and buy a new
one. But Fred, with zero training
and sheer curiosity, tore apart the
lawnmower, diagnosed the issue,
and got it running again—before
the replacement mower even
arrived. That moment sparked his
natural mechanical instinct and
appetite for solving problems.
Despite earning a full scholarship
to Case Western Reserve University for engineering, Fred followed
his high school girlfriend to Oklahoma, 1,300 miles from home. With
savings from a steel factory co-op
job and just three months of
living expenses, he checked into
a low-budget hotel and started
walking the streets—literally—filling out job applications wherever
he could.
He landed at Jiffy Lube and
quickly worked his way up to
assistant manager at Avis Lube. A
technician role opened at a local
dealership, and they reached
out to Fred, who told them the
truth: “I’ve got no experience, but
I’ve got a few tools.” The team
assured Fred he would do great,
so he spent $300 to buy some
more tools and started turning
