Green to the metal shaping world

[JUS*TINS219]

What's going on everyone? I'm Justin from NWI (originally from the South Side of Chicago) I have been in the body shop world since I was 15 and I am 41 now. (Damn getting old and I can feel it) I have loved cars since around the age of 6 or so and now it's more of a love/hate sometimes. -you all know what I mean-. I've worked at dealerships,mom and pop shops and have had my own shop. I started to get burned out by the collision industry not to mention bored,but 2 years ago my life was turned upside down. I was having some pain in my back and neck. (Much much more than usual) I went to the ER and wham doctor says Justin you have a broken neck. So life just stopped. I was in the hospital for 3 months had 2 surgeries and came out with a titanium spine and couldn't move my neck at all. During my break (no pun) I discovered metal shaping. I knew what it was but now I really started to get the whole concept of it . I was hooked. Big problem though... I just broke my neck and had to be layed up for the unforeseeable future. I had nothing but time, so there it began. I packed as much info into my composition notebooks as I could. After a year of reading and writing I decided to try and go back to work. Before my stint in the hospital I had just started working for a small up and coming Hot Rod shop. Absolutely love it there and Don and Gail could not be more supportive and understanding of my situation. So here I am trying to figure it out and I think the people and information on ALLMETALSHAPING will benefit me tremendously. Thanks -Justin Ryan

[Jaroslav]

Hi Justin, I have a similar rebirth story. You are in a good place here. Proceed slowly and think a lot about what you made and why. There are many ways and uses of technology. But some paths are blind or repeat the same mistakes that have become hereditary. Many people repeat them but don't know why. You determine the method that suits you and leads to the result. The result is the goal. Reflecting on the journey leads to learning. Buy Cass's book. She helped me a lot to understand the connections. Many books show only great results. The book by Cass shows logical paths and ideas. The thoughts sometimes give me a headache. Good luck.

http://cassnawrocki.com/index.html