We recently connected with Rocky Frost and have shared our conversation below.

Rocky, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How do you think about vacations as a business owner? Do you take them and if so, how? If you don’t, why not?

During my 47 years of building, starting, owning and operating a small business with my dad and wife, vacations were few and far between. When they were taken, it took a day or two at the beginning to become acclimated. Then the last day or two was thinking about getting back to work at the shop. Since we closed the business and retired a couple of years ago, those several days are not lost during our vacations. Now, I am a full time artist creating my latest paintings, while kayak fishing for fun.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

As a child, I had many interests and passions. The major ones were art, music, cars and sports. I always created art throughout school and studied and performed music. Sports was always a love and I competed in everything I possibly could. As I got older, my love of bikes and cars blossomed. I began fixing and customizing them and my dad took notice. He suggested that we build an automotive shop. Custom Auto Body opened in 1972 and business took off. Besides auto body collision repair, I preferred working on customizing and restoring classics. Towards the end of the business, restoration was our predominant business. Finally, my wife and I decided to lease our shop to another business so we could retire and travel. Well, timing was on our side for business, as COVID 19 struck right after. But, that also put a hold on travel. So, I began painting art pieces, which I always said I would do when I retired. Since I had been kayak fishing on the weekends for years, I could now fish any day and almost anywhere. I took my son several times and he made a wise observation. He purchased ink and rice paper for me and suggested that I try gyotaku. He knew I would put own artistic spin on it and he was correct. I have spent nearly a year printing and painting the fish that I catch on my kayak. I don’t see any end in sight, as of now.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

When we built Custom Auto Body, there was only a piece of dirt and very few businesses in sight. Within a year, we were up and running. In a another year or two, business was booming. Then came the onslaught of other shops. Our neighborhood became over saturated in body shops and many did not survive. But, our experience of excellent workmanship and reputation with insurance companies kept us in the forefront. We marketed the insurance industry and dealerships heavily. As time progressed, large corporate body shops began to take shape. They tried to work deals with insurance companies and paint manufacturers. In the beginning they failed, but it was just a matter of time before they would convince everyone that this was the future. It was time to adjust our business plan again. I decided to return to our roots and reinvent customizing and restorations.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

At the beginning of Custom Auto Body, working with insurance companies on collision repairs was very profitable; However, after several years, insurers began to cut many of those profits. Therefore, I decided to work for customers exclusively. Whether it was for repairs, customizing or restoring, I could charge what a job should cost and not what a company was only willing to pay. One problem that we always faced, but was becoming even more of a challenge was finding the best technicians. With restoring old vehicles, finding qualified personnel to work on them was becoming nearly impossible. It was finally at this point that retiring was becoming the best option. Art and travel was to become the new life.

Contact Info:

• Website: rockyfrostart.com
• Instagram: @rockyfrostart
• Linkedin: Rocky Frost
• Youtube: Rocky Frost