appy fifth anniversary to us! Part of me wants to say it’s hard to believe we’ve made it five years; the other part of me wants to say it’s hard to believe it’s only been five years, as it seems like it’s been a whole lot longer with everything we (all of us) have been through since we started this party back in early 2020!

The part of me that is slightly amazed that we’ve made it this far is the part that will never forget the challenges that COVID-19 posed—to us, and to the world in general—that would be the biggest red flags for anyone wanting to start a new business at the time. But taking a huge risk versus collecting unemployment, well, there was no choice … it was all or nothing! And while working from home while conserving toilet paper and drinking tap water wasn’t a burden, creating a product and hoping there’d be a market for it (print wise) was quite stressful, to say the least. But here we are—we not only survived the pandemic (our hearts go out to our dear friends and colleagues who were not as fortunate), but we succeeded in creating that product that people wanted, thanks in no small part to the corporate giant that put us in this “garage” to begin with! Thinking back, sitting at home and not wanting to watch/read the depressing news, a good niche publication like CTP (or Modern Rodding or, eventually, All Chevy Performance, which debuted in 2021) appeared to be a welcomed addition to many a household!

The transition from that former employer turned out to be pretty seamless, despite us literally working with a mere fraction of the people we were accustomed to (six of us, myself included, doing what three times that many people did previously). But when the core of that team are true enthusiasts, you weed out all that bean-counter BS and focus directly on the integrity of the product, which is something we take great pride in doing—and hopefully that shows in the finished product. Of course working with such a small, tightknit group creates a lot more responsibilities for everyone involved (especially the two women behind the scenes—Yasmin and Sarah—who literally keep this boat afloat!), but at the end of each day/week/month, we’ve all managed to do our part to continue successfully growing In The Garage Media above and beyond where the past five years have taken us!

Obviously, I take great pride in what I do. But, that level of pride would not be possible without the support from all of you—and for that, I say THANK YOU! Here’s to many more.