We Got This
By Nick Licata – Photography by Chris Shelton & Courtesy of HRIA/SEMA
The SEMA Show held at the Las Vegas Convention Center is always a great event, but the 2021 show was a little–no, a lot—more special than in years past. As this magazine company (In The Garage Media) enters its second year in business, we’ve been putting everything we’ve got into our three magazines: All Chevy Performance, Classic Truck Performance, and Modern Rodding. Unlike the previous company we all worked for, which had a fairly large staff to take care of everything from selling advertising to running social media, this little company lacks the luxury of extra human horsepower to do all those things, needless to say everyone here wears multiple hats. So, when In The Garage Media was named the 2021 Hot Rod Industry Alliance Business of the Year during the SEMA Show, we were totally surprised and absolutely honored. It felt good to be recognized for all the hard work our team puts in to produce three quality magazines each and every month.
Now, I typically attend the HRIA banquet for the free beer and quesadillas (this year they kinda looked like tacos) and to catch up with the industry folks I’ve known for years but typically only see once a year. It’s also a great way to meet up-and-coming car builders new to the scene and other young people getting started in the hot rod industry. Looking back, it now makes sense that this year we were seated more up front at the banquet, as us editorial types don’t typically hang out at the “big kids” table.
All kidding aside, this is a great honor that could not have happened without the dedicated staff–especially those who work behind the scenes doing much of the heavy lifting. They are the ones who make All Chevy Performance and our other two magazines look as good as they do and ensure proper grammar and punctuation is used throughout.
I figure this would be a good time to thank those responsible for our success: publisher Tim Foss along with editorial director and Modern Rodding magazine editor Brian Brennan for bringing me on board. Rob Fortier who is not only editor of Classic Truck Performance magazine but also the one to makes sure I find trouble whether I’m looking for it or not. Behind the scenes, Yasmin Fajatin is our associate publisher and operations manager and does way more than what her titles suggests. Sarah Gonzales is ad coordinator and managing editor. She makes our editorial readable so by the time you see it in the magazine the words make sense. Rob Munoz is our art director and one of the best I’ve ever worked with. He’s got mad skills and is responsible for the killer layouts and making the car features and cover images pop off the page.
Unfortunately, I don’t have the space to list every person on our editorial team, but this band of road gypsies are legit in every way–excellent photographers and tech writers all around. I don’t refer to them as freelancers because it sounds so impersonal, and they all deserve way more than what our “little guy” magazine budget allows, so I want to sincerely thank them for their contributions and making All Chevy Performance so successful.
So, when you pick up this magazine or read it on your computer, have a look at the names under the masthead on page 6–those are the ones who keep this engine running and are just as deserving of receiving the 2021 HRIA Business of the Year Award as I. So when I say “we got this” I mean we all got this.
You in?
