PDR Life Podcast copertina

PDR Life Podcast

PDR Life Podcast

Di: Gene Fetty
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A proposito di questo titolo
 PDR Life Podcast is built for anyone looking to learn the basics of paintless dent repair and start building real PDR skills. Through interviews, advice, beginner training, and practical tips, you’ll learn who Gene is, how he built his experience, and what it takes to grow your own PDR abilities. From tools and techniques to mindset, business, and getting started in the trade, PDR Life is here to help you learn, improve, and move forward. Economia Gestione e leadership Leadership
Episodi
  • Your Offer, Your Path Forward | PDR Life Podcast Ep. 10

    Your Offer, Your Path Forward | PDR Life Podcast Ep. 10
    Oct 13 2026
    Episode 10 of 10 · approx. 16 minutes · Host: Gene Fetty 00:00 The final episode If the last nine episodes gave you an honest look at becoming a PDR tech, the podcast did its job. Whatever you decide — PDR or not — go all in. That's what it takes to get the PDR life. 00:50 This season The money, the tools, every training option from DIY to immersion plus apprenticeship, Mack's progress and competition results, and resources from Gene and his friends in the training world. 02:20 Why Gene stayed out of beginner training Teaching may be Gene's calling, and people he respects kept telling him to teach beginners. He pushed back: much of beginner training feels like a money grab, he refused to go partway in, and running a repair business, he couldn't shut down for four to eight weeks of full-time beginner classes. Meanwhile: glue pull training for hundreds of auto shops (well over a thousand techs), advanced glue pull and push training, business, sales and marketing training, and a 20 Group he and MeLissa run for business owners. He didn't have a beginner product good enough and different enough — until now. 04:20 The PDR Success Academy Gene's new program, launching (or launched, depending on when you listen). 05:00 The problem with six weeks away Gene still believes six weeks of immersion, then an apprenticeship, is the fastest track. But it's a big ask. Few adults can put life on hold for six weeks and spend tens of thousands of dollars. Average household bills don't stop while you're gone for a month and a half or two. 07:00 Built for the all-in learner The question Gene asked: for people who want to go all in but can't pause life, what could he build to set them up to succeed? His answer is a completely different approach to learning PDR — as far as he knows, unlike anything else available. 07:40 The keys to success Accountability and metal time. In-person, over-the-shoulder instruction. The right tools. And somewhere to turn — not if, but when — you hit a roadblock. Gene thinks that last one may matter more than the immersion itself. 08:30 Six weeks isn't enough on its own Even the best six- or eight-week program isn't long enough to become proficient, and most instructors will tell you to keep practicing at home. You need a longer series of sessions. 09:40 Drinking from a fire hose Short events can teach the theory — Gene could cover it over a long lunch. Putting it into practice is another story. Even in his glue pull trainings (with KECO and independently), people forget a lot without reinforcement — and that's experienced body techs learning a new method. PDR is a brand-new, highly detailed skill that changes your body, eyes and brain. After a long session, you're overloaded, and in the first 30 days home you start to slip (see episode 6). 11:00 Who it's for Not for testing the waters — go get online training for that. It's for people who want to go all in, would choose boutique training, but can't pause life that long. 11:30 How it works A six-month commitment. Gene works with you week in and week out. Hybrid: in-person plus online — and online means you and Gene, eye to camera, working on exactly what you need, not just watching videos. When you hit a roadblock — a dent you can't figure out, a flaw you keep leaving — you have access to Gene for all six months. 13:00 In person, in bite-sized chunks It starts with a three-day deep dive into fundamentals, plus homework, skills and drills. Then, between virtual sessions and new drills, you come back for two-day sessions on Friday and Saturday — built for working professionals, so you miss one day of work and head home Saturday evening. Over six months, you build from the smallest dents to complex dents, with Gene by your side. 14:20 Out and billing Gene had Mack out and billing within six months. His goal is to have Academy students out on their own and billing by the end of six months — with full commitment. Not for someone just thinking about PDR, or looking for a side gig. full commitment, and the blog notes that results depend on the work you put in. You passed on the earnings disclaimer earlier, so this is your call. This one is closer to a guarantee than anything else in the series, so it's worth a second look before launch. 15:00 How to apply It's not a buy-now. When enrollment is open, you book a consultation call. Gene wants to make sure you're a fit and fully committed, because he's fully committed to teaching you. Fill out the form at pdrsuccessacademy.com and Gene will be in touch personally.
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    17 min
  • The Gateway Conversation w/ Mike Sewald | PDR Life Podcast Ep. 9

    The Gateway Conversation w/ Mike Sewald | PDR Life Podcast Ep. 9
    Oct 13 2026
    Episode 9 of 10 · approx. 48 minutes · Host: Gene Fetty · Guest: Mike Sewald, Gateway Dent 00:00 Episode 9 After covering every training option in episode 8, Gene says the best way to learn is full immersion, and the best company doing it today is Gateway Dent. Teaser: Mike changes Gene's mind on the best way to learn PDR. 01:40 At Gateway Dent "Live in St. Louis" — about an hour away. Gene spent the day there and taught Mike's class a glue pull session. 02:50 Apprenticeship vs. immersion Gene's starting opinion: a true apprenticeship under a master is the best way to learn, and total immersion is second. Gateway: six weeks, five days a week, about eight hours a day — roughly 240 hours, out of your element and in theirs. Gene knows several people who sent sons, family and friends to Mike and got them back fixing damage to billable levels. 04:50 Mike's start Mike was a police chief earning a small salary. A friend went to work for Dent Wizard and made $74,000 his first year, then got Mike an interview. Hired in 1993 and sent to run routes in southern New York and Connecticut. 05:50 Becoming a trainer Mike moved to Virginia Beach, chased hail, and worked in Canada for a while. When asked what he really wanted to do, he said teach. A reference got him a trainer interview in St. Louis. He started late 1995 and taught for Dent Wizard for 10 years. 07:00 Pioneer days Back then it was PDR vs. body shops, not tech vs. tech, so prices were good. Techs were taught they could only fix a quarter-size dent and a one-inch crease. They kept asking "why not bigger?" and grew the trade. Today's tools and glue are unbelievable by comparison. 08:10 Thousands of careers At one point there were four trainers, and two trainers handled 30 students each — 60 techs every three months. Gene's math: about 240 a year, likely a couple thousand careers over Mike's time there. 09:00 Starting Gateway Dent Once Dent Wizard bought back its franchises, which had paid per student, the senior trainers became an expense rather than a profit center. Mike saw the writing on the wall. 10:00 A curriculum built from the field At Dent Wizard, Mike wrote lectures within company guidelines. Teaching advanced classes, he asked returning techs what new techniques and tools they used, and much of what he teaches now came from the field. He's been teaching on his own for close to 20 years. 11:20 Who succeeds Number one: research, and come in hungry. It's a lifestyle, not a job. The best students are energetic and eager to get into the field. Mike turns away a lot of people whose parents want them to learn a trade when they aren't convinced. Skin in the game: pay for your own training. If a company sends someone, Mike encourages the trainee to pay and be reimbursed over a couple of years. They try harder. 14:30 Do your research Talk to dent techs (most people know one), use social media and podcasts like this one, and call other instructors too. You need 100% faith in your instructor. People who pick a two-week class because they can't do six often come back to Gateway later — and spend two years saving up again. Gene: buy once, cry once. 16:20 Physical traits Vision isn't the gatekeeper it was once said to be — Gene has worn contacts his whole career. Women do some of the best. The information matters more than the hands-on work; women often give Mike's lectures back word for word. They overcome the strength gap with leverage and longer tools. Determination matters more than anything. 18:30 Determination plus information Gene calls it obsession. Mike adds: you need the right information to point that energy at. 19:30 Why not just videos Videos may hold good information, but students forget it and are doing the wrong thing two minutes later, with nobody to correct them. 20:30 Mentorship after training The grads Gene knows who came home billing all had someone mentoring them. Mike almost won't take a student who doesn't have a mentor lined up afterward. Going straight out on your own is really hard. Gene's point from a talk with Keith Cosentino: move the same dent one inch and it's a different world. That's the fun for veterans and the struggle for new techs. 22:40 Week one No pushing the first couple of days. Students learn to set up and read the light, describe the dent, point to and dot the center, and position the light to see center and depth. Then walk the tip to center and work outward in spirals. Homework in weeks one and two: draw dot spirals on paper with a pen to imprint the pattern. By week's end: small class A dents. 25:20 Week two One-inch creases. Mike never teaches dragging — students walk the tool in from 3 or 9 o'clock, not drag in from 12. Later in the week: class B and C dents — deeper, sharper, bigger. Students guess a class A will take 8 or 12 pushes. Mike makes 300 to 500 light pushes to show ...
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    49 min
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