Interview: Gearhead Workspace – A DIY garage in Chicago
If you ever lived in a large city, apartment, or even a condo, you probably realized that it is very difficult to work on your car or motorcycle. I lived in apartments while in college, in Los Angeles for 1.5yrs, and in downtown Chicago for a few months. During those periods, I always became frustrated when repairs or maintenance where required. Also, I like to tinker in the garage, and that is something you almost have to give up for a while living in those situations.
I remember I was working on my Chevelle one night in the apartment parking garage, and was questioned by the security guard as if I was stealing parts from the car! After several questions, he finally realized I was simply crazy (it was about 10pm on the weekend). Then he started asking questions about the car and whether it had a big block in it or not. Ha!
So why am I mentioning all this? Well, I stumbled across a cool website/local business the other day and reached out to the owners with a bunch of questions. Also, I thought it would be a cool idea to interview them and also spread the word.
The website/local business is Gearhead Workspace, a DIY garage for car and motorcycle enthusiasts. They plan to open summer of 2015 in the Chicago area. This garage plans to have rental bays & vehicle lifts, standard & special tools, and even an on site mechanic to help with your project if needed. If you don’t have the time, you can let their mechanics complete the job start to finish. They also plan to have workshops where people can learn How-To repairs (a brake job for example). How cool is that?
Here is pic of the team I interviewed. From left to right: Me, John Mullen (Marketing), Tim Heyen (Founder), & Molly Heyen (Co-Founder).
Want to Find Out More?
If you would like to find out more about this DIY garage, visit their website Gearhead Workspace or Facebook page.
Feedback and Comments?
Overall, what do you think of this idea? What is limiting you from tackling your maintenance or repair projects? Is it space or the lack of knowledge? Let us know!
I live near Portland, Oregon where there’s a thriving ‘open source’ community that fosters this kind of shared workspace. I love the idea. I believe the most important thing though is someone who’s able to be firm with the users. Folks that don’t pay or don’t respect others’ space have to be bounced out almost immediately. I applaud anyone trying to keep the DIY spirit alive. It’s something we’re loosing as time goes on.
Thanks for the feedback – I love Portland! One of our goals is to facilitate the DIY-ers in the auto community and provide education for those that want to learn more.
We completely agree that the appropriate execution of this concept is vital to its success. To ensure we don’t have people trying to “cheat the system,” and to more generally facilitate seamless bay use, we will have a reservation system in place, as well as a garage manager overseeing the space during working hours.
Ofeargall,
I agree. Like any business, the customers have to respect and appreciate “the space”.
Have a link to the place in Portland? I’d like to learn more about it.
Here’s that link. http://www.adxportland.com/
Thanks for sharing. Looks like a cool place.