Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Daniel Maffett. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Daniel, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
When I was a kid in highschool, Overhaulin was just about the biggest show on tv. Leading up to this I loved cars and I loved drawing and creating things with my hands. I watched Chip Foose drawing a beautiful render of a vehicle and then in the same episode commence to building a car and making that drawing become a reality. Until I saw this, the idea of cars, and art were some how so far apart to me. This was the first time my mind connected the dots and I realized that my two passions were aligned. I could design cars and build them, art could be mechanical and move under its own power. From that show forward I knew that I wanted to design and build vehicles, I had no idea how but my mind was made up.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My path was not direct, I went to school for film and studio production got a degree in that field and worked in the movie industry for some time. All the while freelancing in design and photography as well. I did the occasional art commission and independent projects for a while. I did design work for a custom shop for a few years designing their projects which led to me meeting Chip Foose at an event where I got to sit with him and talk about design, drawing, art, and life. After this meeting I knew I wanted to level up and start taking my passion for rendering cars and building them seriously. Shortly after that I told my wife Brianne what I wanted to do and she has been my biggest supporter since! I started Maffett Motorwerks a Restomod company and Design House. I help builders and tv shows across the US design and plan their projects. With the help of my friend Andy Sheppard we produce a Youtube/Amazon Prime web series of video blogs documenting our shop projects, and show viewers how to install popular products. We have traveled across the country with projects and that has led to me guest on truck tech, engine power, PowerNation, and a host on the Motorweek show “Your Drive”. We are very proud to say we have a tremendous support from friends and family and other shop owners. The automotive industry has some of the best people in the world in it and we are glad to be part of that.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
The book that I highly recommend to people is “The Subtle art of not giving a F*ck”. It is one of those books that lays out the world in a way to say its alright to put yourself first and to make decisions for yourself.
Secondly I would highly recommend Chris Hardwick’s book “The Nerdist Way: How to Reach the Next Level (In Real Life)” Yes it is filled with a lot of nerd lingo and references. But he breaks down the mentality of a creative hyper aware mind and reveals how he has overcome anxiety and over thinking. Most creatives, business owners generally have an over active mind. This book perfectly depicts that cause and affect of this and how to deal with those. Also has great chapters on setting goals managing expectations.
How did you build your audience on social media?
We built our audiences through partnerships and content. Content is free to utilize, if you have a cell phone you have the ability to create content. Most brands have an issue, they make amazing products but most of them only have a team of 1 to 3 people that create content for their brand. If you are buying that product any way, make a video of the unboxing, shoot some photos of the install publish it online to your socials and tag the brand you are using. I promise that 9 times out of a 10 that brand will repost your content bringing natural traffic and growth to your pages. Brands need authentic content around their brand and you can help them with that. in the world of social media CONTENT IS KING.
Contact Info:
- Website: maffettmotorwerks.com
- Instagram: @mmwerks
- Facebook: facebook.com/maffettmotorwerks
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-maffett-59246253/
- Twitter: @mmotorwerks
- Youtube: youtube.com/c/maffettmotorwerks
- Other: https://www.amazon.com/Barn-Find-41-Plymouth/dp/B08J6FR4ML instagram.com/dmaff06
Image Credits
The group photo of the MOTORWEEK crew is credit to motorweek the others are all my own photos.