He’s wearing all black, hair slicked back, and there’s a focus in his eyes that you don’t see in most people his age. He’s serious about his work, executing each step at the soldering station with timely precision. He says more with his demeanor than words, in that cool but mysterious kind of way, leaving the rest of us wondering.
There’s a lot more there to uncover, but you won’t hear it from him unless you ask. So I did.
At age 19, Brock already has about six years of restoring cars under his belt. He started around 13 with a friend working on a 1930 Model A frame, and has never looked back. He is living and breathing cars and even said when he’s not working at PRIER or with his girlfriend, you can find him in the garage.
But it’s not just about cars for Brock. It was the Johnny Cash records his dad played for him as a child that began his admiration for an entire culture built on the young rebels of the nineteen fifties. Think Marlon Brando, James Dean, and Elvis Presley – the gold standard of effortless cool.
The music lead to movies, which then led to cars, and then a hobby became a lesson in true grit. He said, “I learned about cars, but more than that I learned about not giving up, pushing through, and that hard work pays off.”
His incredible insight and real-world mechanical experience have placed him in a very unique position to pursue a career in restoring cars. However, that’s not his plan.
“For most people that do that, they don’t want to work on their own stuff and I don’t want to make the one thing that makes me happy not fun anymore.”
Again, he surprised me with his perspective. He’s in no rush to make any career decisions, though. He’s thought about becoming a welder and he’s considering entering the US Airforce, with his sights set on becoming a crew chief. But for now, he’s going to play it cool and keep doing what makes him happy.
