...did everything I could to stay ahead, which meant skipping school once in a while.”
Major worked at the shop for a couple years, then moved on to a larger high-production shop, where he was a painter’s helper for the next 2.5 years.
With a resume that was partially fictional, Major talked himself into a job as a full-time painter at a different shop.
“I was finally given the chance to move into painting full-time, so I jumped on it," Major said. "I kind of lied with the help of the painter who I first worked with to land a job. The deal I had when I was hired was that I had to paint six cars every day. Up until that point, I hadn’t painted six cars by myself total. I knew that I could figure out how to paint with my background as a helper for the last four years.”
The new job wasn’t a slam dunk and before long, Major was overwhelmed.
“What I didn't anticipate was the high level of quality that they expected," he said. "This made the transition very hard, and I was ready to quit more than once. They had three painters sharing one paint booth and I needed to turn between 100 and 130 hours most weeks. We couldn’t be in the shop before 6 a.m., and most nights the latest we could stay was 6 p.m.
"As a result, I worked hard to become more efficient. I starting trying different tools to increase my efficiency. I changed my schedule and processes for prepping cars, so I could stay on target. I knew that If I couldn’t stay on top of it, they would hire more painters or fire me.”
While Major was looking for a better way to do things, a family member said something that eventually led to the invention of Fast Blocks, he said.
“One day, my grandmother called me, and the first thing she said was ‘You’re the most artistic and creative person I know and I need your help.’ To this day I still think she called the wrong grandchild because I can’t draw a stick person to save my life," Major said. "She wanted me make something that would keep her oxygen hose off the floor in her house. Up until then, I had never...
Ed Attanasio