Today we’d like to introduce you to Shawn Rizzo.
Hi Shawn, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
My fascination with cars began at a very young age. I would spend Sunday afternoon at my local library pouring over car magazines, technical manuals, books…whatever they had. I did not understand what most of the information meant, but at 9 years old I could tell you driveline types, displacements, engine configurations, and performance stats of most sports cars sold that year. As I got older, my fascination with cars grew…Slot cars, RC cars, Go Karts. Until I turned 16. I obviously wanted a sports car…my dad wanted a truck to pull his boat with…so we compromised, and I got a truck *grin*. I began attempting to modify it pretty much that same day. I would start on Saturday…if I didn’t want to be riding the bus on Monday morning, I had to get my truck back together and running. I rode the bus a lot the first few months. When an opportunity came later in life to change careers from my technical theatre background to something that would not require me to travel so much, it seemed like the choice was clear. I was really only good at one other thing. Got my first job as a Level 1 technician at an Infiniti dealership, later that year I got my first certification from Infiniti. The following year, ASE Certifications. Four years and three dealerships later I was ASE Master, L1 Certified, and working for Subaru. Got back into performance cars after about 4 years at dealerships and began doing performance work on customer cars out of my garage in 2005 while still doing service work at the dealership. I built up a pretty loyal performance client base who would bring their car to the dealership I worked at for maintenance and repairs, then to my home shop for any performance work the dealership wouldn’t do. Kraken Motorsports grew out of that very simple two-car garage all those years ago. My very FIRST paying customer back when I was working out of my garage still comes to the shop and has me work on his cars. He has been a customer of mine for over 15 years now. Since 2005 I have been known for quality, detail-oriented work, and fair pricing. So once the garage jobs grew into something that more resembled a full-time job, my wife, Alicia< suggested opening an actual shop and moving forward with this dream. We still do things the same way. We still sweat the details, have fair pricing, and strive to give every customer a quality product.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The last 3 years have been anything but smooth. We opened our doors April 2019 with myself, Alicia, and 1 other Technician. We became known throughout the import performance community which was GREAT… and then in August one of our direct competitors closed their doors. You would think any business would be ecstatic, but the way they closed their doors was just heartless and cruel to their customers. Leaving cars locked in the building and customer parts outside in the rain, so we stepped in to help the community we love so much. We offered these customers refuge and gave them steep discounts, basically charged them enough to cover our costs. This created a sudden influx of volume that we had not planned on and were not staffed for. So, 2 years before we planned, we hired another Tech and a front-end person to help with quotes, customer intake, and answering the phones. Moving in the right direction and starting to feel like everything is falling into place… COVID hit. We didn’t feel the impact of COVID until the middle of 2020 when the supply chain became so backed up that parts that usually took days to arrive started taking weeks, and weeks started taking months. It was a true lesson in customer service and ingenuity. We wanted to meet the needs of the customers and exceed their expectations, but there were so many things that were out of our control. It was frustrating, but we maintained open and honest communication and bought as many parts as we could when they became available which was a big hit to our cashflow. But we knew if we kept at it, put in the hours, and had faith that we would make it back. Again, our budget we worked so hard to create was useless. How can you plan for something so unprecedented? We applied for PPP and EIDL to help us maintain throughout 2020 and 2021 and actually wound up hiring 2 more employees. So, enter 2021, and we are so motivated because this must be the year where everything turns around right??? NOPE. In April of 2021, we had a part malfunction. The standard of our work comes first, and our integrity is a cornerstone of who we are, so Instead of waiting for our customers to have issues, we did a 12-month look back and proactively called all of our customers that would have been affected. We were upfront with them about the possible issue and asked them to bring their car in so we could look it over. They were all very thankful and receptive. We warrantied every customer car that was affected, which cost us about $200,000 overall. We did the repairs strategically so we could continue to maintain and grow the business while still taking care of our customers. Kraken Motorsports is who we are as people and my wife and I believe at our core that doing the right thing and making sure our customers are taken care of was not only the right thing to do but the only decision we could make. Now, December of 2022, we have a total of 8 employees (including myself), and we are incredibly excited for 2023, it is our year to shine!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
We are an automotive performance shop specializing in JDM cars. Anything from the land of the sun…Japan. (Mitsubishi, Honda, Subaru, Mazda, etc.) and we have started adding Porsche and Audi to our repertoire as well. We are a one-stop shop for all of your car needs. We do everything from drivetrain, suspension, engine rebuilds, transmission work, fabrication and powder coating, alignments, maintenance, and much more. Every build is tailored to the individual customers’ needs and goals… So, whether it’s drivability, a little more power or a 1500 horsepower beast, or just some great bolt-ons, we have you covered. We invested in everything we need to not only build the car and improve it but also to maintain the car for longevity and safety. When we built Kraken Motorsports, we wanted to make sure we could take care of our customers’ needs from start to finish, and our Techs don’t physically do it, we have a guy for that. Our goal is to bridge the gap of the car you drive and the car you dream of no job is too small or too big. If you love it, so do we.
What sets us apart and what we are most proud of is the culture we have created. We have always been car people and we wanted to create a place where people feel comfortable asking questions and really being a part of their build. From the minute you walk into the shop, you can see and feel how different we are, from the smiling faces to the crazy amount of artwork on the walls. We are all vested and take pride in what we do. We have a saying that is posted at every workstation “the standard of our work comes first.” It’s a phrase we live by.
Another thing that that sets us apart is our commitment to the car culture and the community. We are very humbled by the immense support and care that this community gives to us and because of that we make it a priority to give back. Every car meet we host has a charity attached to it. Whether it’s a food drive, book drive, helping raise awareness and donations for Parkinsons, breast cancer, animals, Veterans, and first responders… it warms our hearts knowing we made an impact.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
My favorite childhood memory was the summer I met my now wife, Alicia. We met when we were 11 years old… or so I thought. We spent the summer in Connecticut where she lived (I was visiting grandparents) and quickly became very close. She told me she was 11.
Between us seeing each other each summer, we would keep in touch by phone (when our parents would allow it) and cards/letters. When I turned 16, I was so excited to get my license!!! So naturally, I wanted to talk to my best friend about it! Come to find out, she had not started taking driver’s Ed because she was only 15 years old! She had lied to me all those years ago. Being 10 when we met, she thought I wouldn’t like her if she told me she was 10, so she lied and said she was also 11. “It didn’t seem cool to be 10!” she says. It has been fun poking her every so often over the last 35 years about her little lie that began our whirlwind relationship!!!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kraken-motorsports.com
- Instagram: krakenmotorsports
- Facebook: krakenbuilt
- Youtube: kraken motorsports dfw
Image Credits
Side B Productions
