Mister Jalopy is a fearlessly experimental welder, woodworker, bicycle mechanic, writer, photographer, embroiderer, artist, electronics troubleshooter, teacher, furniture rebuilder, garage saler, activist, wheeler dealer, street racer, blogger, editor, auto mechanic, speaker, fabricator, builder, large appliance repairman, columnist, designer and entrepreneur.
Empowering consumers to be able to repair, rebuild, reuse and reinvent the products they invest in is at the core of Mr. J’s philosophy. As part of the Maker’s Bill of Rights article in Make: Magazine, Jalopy declared, “if you can’t open it, you don’t own it” Asserting that an individual should be able to open, repair and modify the products that they buy, the Maker’s Bill of Rights gave a clear voice to the Maker Movement’s frustration with increasingly disposable products that lock out consumers.
“Innovation does not stop at the end of the assembly line. Companies should think of customers as collaborators and reap the benefits of building a community of fierce advocates. There is significant economic incentive to connect with customers beyond consuming. Companies can create legendary brands that people care about and build products that customers will praise and defend,” states Jalopy. “Innovation should be shared.”
Mister Jalopy has appeared in The New York Times, USA Today, Wired, Popular Science, Garage Magazine, Make: Magazine, Garage Life (Japan), Make: (Japan), Factory Gear (Japan), International Herald Tribune, Associated Press and is a contributing editor at Make: Magazine. Mr. Jalopy has also been featured on Michael Feldman’s “Whad’Ya Know”, Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen and NPR’s Day to Day. In 2008, Mister Jalopy had his first solo art show at The College of the Canyons.
In addition to appearing on the Discovery Channel and ABC News/Nightline, Mister Jalopy can be seen in a regularly featured segment on Make: TV, airing on PBS nationwide.
Mister J owns eight cars, fifty bicycles, one coin laundry, three underwater camera rigs from the filming of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, two dogs and a used bicycle store in Los Angeles where faded champions are reborn for another chance at glory.
